My House Is Haunted - I Chapter Notes | English Class 3 ICSE PDF Download

Introduction

This chapter is taken from the well-known book "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri. It follows the life of a young girl named Heidi, who becomes an orphan as a baby and grows up happily with her grandfather in the lovely mountains of the Swiss Alps. Later, her aunt takes her to Frankfurt, Germany, to live with the Sesemann family and help their sick daughter, Clara. The chapter focuses on strange and scary events that start happening in the Sesemann house, causing fear among the servants and Clara’s governess, Ms. Rottenmeier, while Heidi remains unafraid because she doesn’t know about ghosts.

Key Points

This story is about strange and scary things happening in the Sesemann house.

• Every morning, the front door is open, even though it’s locked at night.
• Ms. Rottenmeier and the servants are scared and don’t want to be alone.
• John and Sebastian try to catch the ghost and see a white figure on the stairs.
• Clara gets very scared and asks her father to come home soon.
• Mr. Sesemann comes back and plans to catch the ghost with a doctor’s help.

Explanation

For several days, Ms. Rottenmeier, Clara’s governess, moves quietly around the house, often looking back as if someone is following her. She feels nervous and asks someone to accompany her when going to the upper or lower floors. The servants also share her fear and prefer to stay together rather than go anywhere alone. A strange event begins when the servants find the front door wide open every morning, even though it is locked with two locks at night. 

Initially, they suspect a robbery, but nothing is ever missing. To solve the mystery, John and Sebastian, the butler, decide to stay awake all night to catch the culprit. They sit in a room downstairs, talk for a while, but soon fall asleep in their chairs. They wake up when the church clock strikes one, and as they step into the hall, a strong wind blows out John’s light. In a panic, John pulls Sebastian back into the room and locks the door. When the light is relit, Sebastian notices John is pale with fear and asks what happened. 

John, breathing heavily, says the door was open and a white figure was on the stairs, disappearing quickly. Both sit still until dawn, too scared to move. The next morning, they report the incident to Ms. Rottenmeier, who writes to Mr. Sesemann. He replies that he cannot leave his business yet. Clara, hearing the scary story, becomes very upset and insists she won’t stay alone, begging her father to come home. Heidi, unaware of ghosts, remains calm. Another letter is sent to Mr. Sesemann, warning that the strange events might affect Clara’s health badly. This brings Mr. Sesemann home quickly. 

He listens patiently to the whole story and suspects Ms. Rottenmeier and Sebastian might not get along, thinking Sebastian could be playing a trick. He asks Sebastian directly if he scared Ms. Rottenmeier as a ghost, but Sebastian denies it. Mr. Sesemann scolds him for being afraid and tells him to bring Doctor Classen at nine o’clock that night, saying he came from Paris to consult the doctor and wants him to stay awake all night. Sebastian agrees to follow the instructions. That night, the doctor arrives on time and jokes about Mr. Sesemann’s health. 

Mr. Sesemann explains the house is haunted and tells the doctor the door opens every night. He thinks it might be a prank or a gang of thieves planning to rob the house. To catch the ghost, Mr. Sesemann and the doctor sit in the same room, leaving the door slightly open to avoid scaring it away. They bring candelabras and revolvers for safety and pass the time talking. The doctor thinks the ghost might not come, but Mr. Sesemann says it usually appears after one o’clock. They wait quietly until the doctor hears a sound, hinting at something happening, which continues in the next chapter.

Message

The story teaches us to be brave and not let fear take over. It suggests that mysterious events might have simple reasons, and it’s better to investigate calmly instead of getting scared.

New Words with Meanings

• Haunted: A place believed to have ghosts.
• Whisked away: Taken away quickly and suddenly.
• Wandering: Moving around without a clear path.
• Butler: The main male servant in a household.
• Sit up: To stay awake on purpose.
• Put out: To stop something from burning.
• Gasped: Caught the breath with fear.
• Dawn: The time when daylight first appears in the morning.
• Reported: Told about something to someone.
• Exclaimed: Said with strong emotions.
• Unaffected: Not changed or influenced by something.
• Ought to: Should.
• Anxiously: In a worried way.
• Punctually: Exactly on time.
• Candelabrum: A branched candlestick that holds many candles.
• Revolver: A small gun with a turning container for bullets.
• Scented us: Got to know about our presence.