Summary - A Shady Plot

Summary

Mr Hallock, a professional writer employed by Mr Jenkins, is asked to produce a popular ghost story. Mr Jenkins instructs him to write something extremely frightening and supernatural because such stories sell well. Although Mr Hallock is not a specialist in ghost tales, he agrees to try because no other publisher prints his work. He is surprised to find that whenever he decides to write a ghost story, an appropriate plot seems to appear out of nowhere.

One evening Mr Hallock sits down to write but finds himself distracted and unable to summon an idea. As his thoughts wander, he exclaims, "This writing business is delightful, isn't it?" To his astonishment a voice from the far end of the room answers, "Yes it is." Slowly a figure materialises: a tall, angular woman with large fishy eyes and spectacles. She stands before him and explains that she has come because the writer called her to help with a story. She says that the ghosts are going on strike and that writers should stop bothering them for plots. She claims that many successful ghost plots had in fact originated with her and the other spirits she has gathered into a kind of "Writers' Inspiration Bureau".

The woman reveals that in a previous life she had been a writer and that she and other like-minded ghosts used to sit on a living author's shoulder to inspire plots. The ghosts are now tired of being summoned at all hours and have decided to strike. She urges the writer to tell his acquaintances to stop using the Ouija board. Before the conversation proceeds further, Mr Hallock's wife enters. She is excited about a recent purchase and reveals that she has bought an Ouija board to make story-writing easier for her husband. Mr Hallock objects but his wife refuses to discard it; he decides to reason with her later.

The next day Mr Hallock goes to work; he is an accountant with a lumber company and cannot give up that job because of financial needs. Returning home he is told to dress quickly because his wife has invited guests. When he joins them in the parlour he finds that the room is full of women from his wife's book club. Between each pair of friends there is an Ouija board. His wife introduces him to Miss Hinkle (referred to as Mrs Hinkle in another line of the passage), and Miss Hinkle takes Mr Hallock's fingers and places them on the Ouija board.

The letters indicated by the board spell out the word "TRAITOR." When asked who the traitor is, the board spells the name "Helen."strong 

This revelation causes an uproar among the women. Every Ouija board present seems to point to Mr Hallock. Feeling accused and unable to answer, he flees and sleeps. The next morning he finds a note saying his wife is leaving him and that her lawyer will communicate with him. He is shocked.

Helen reappears and tells Mr Hallock that she caused the disturbance so that his wife would dispose of the Ouija board. Mr Hallock angrily tells Helen that she has caused him to lose his wife, his home and his happiness. His wife Lavinia then returns and confirms that she is moving out. The cook also announces she will not serve in a house where Ouija boards and charms are used. Lavinia confronts Mr Hallock and notices Helen standing behind him; Helen does not disappear and tells Lavinia her name. Lavinia feels humiliated at having wrongly accused her husband. Witnessing the scene, Mr Hallock realises that he has found an excellent plot for a ghost story.

Themes And Literary Features

• Satire of commercial writing: The demand from Mr Jenkins for a sensational ghost story and the idea of a bureaucratised "Writers' Inspiration Bureau" mock the commodification of art and how market forces shape literary production.
• Irony: The writer, who struggles to invent spooky plots, is accused of being unfaithful by means of a device his wife purchased to help him write. The very tool intended to inspire him causes personal disaster and yet provides the story he needs.
• Personification and comic supernaturalism: Ghosts are given bureaucratic organisation and motives (they go on strike), which is a humorous twist on the usual eerie portrayal of spirits.
• Social commentary: The episode highlights gossip, the quickness to judge in a social circle, and the ease with which appearances can be misread in a small community.
• Narrative technique: The passage uses a third-person narrative focused on Mr Hallock, blending light comic tone with elements of the supernatural. Dialogue and direct speech play a significant role in revealing character and moving the plot.

Key Vocabulary And Expressions

• Ouija board - A flat board marked with letters and numbers used in séances; participants place their fingers on a planchette which supposedly moves to spell out messages from spirits. In the passage it functions as a plot device that generates conflict.
• Supernatural - Events or entities beyond natural explanation; used in descriptions of ghost stories and the kind of tale Mr Jenkins demands.
• Strike - Here used humorously to mean refusal to work; Helen says the ghosts are on strike, meaning they will no longer supply inspiration.
• Trait or Traitor - "Traitor" denotes betrayal; the Ouija board spelling out this word causes the social accusation and plot complication.
• Inspiration - The creative impulse or idea; personified in the ghost Helen and formalised as the "Writers' Inspiration Bureau.