The Screaming Staircase

Part 1, Foreword-Chapter 4

Reading Check

1. Iron chains (Chapter 3)

2. Her deceased husband (Chapter 1)

3. Tossing a flare inside the house (Chapter 4)

4. Lamps and tea (Chapter 1)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Stroud wanted to create a modern ghost story that challenged stereotypes of helpless humans by replacing them with capable youth. He also decided to present hauntings as an epidemic of sorts, rather than focusing on a single apparition. (Foreword)

2. Ghost-lock is a phenomenon in which people who are touched by a ghost will become paralyzed and unable to fight back in any way. Ghost-lock can range from moderate to severe or even lead to death. (Chapter 3)

3. Sources are the origin of a haunting, and it is in dealing with the Source that Lockwood & Co. are able to rid the location of the inhabiting spirits. Lucy and Lockwood believe that Annabel’s body is her Source. (Chapter 4)

Part 2, Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. Brainstorming and planning (Chapter 7)

2. They died in their work as psychic researchers. (Chapter 7)

3. Spiders (Chapter 8)

4. A ghost that does not interfere with the living (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Children are far more capable at seeing, hearing, and sensing spiritual activity than adults. They also have a passion and resolve that many adults in the novel seem to lack. (Chapter 5)

2. Lucy’s mother sold her to a ghost-hunting agency when she was a young child, leaving her to fend for herself and be put in harm’s way. Despite these downsides, the experience allowed Lucy to hone her natural talents. After seeking employment at the top agencies, Lucy reluctantly settles for Lockwood & Co. (Various chapters)

3. Lucy is able to hear the spirit talking about running out of time and having faulty brakes, which leads her to believe it was some sort of motor vehicle accident. Sure enough, the group finds a group of smashed motorcycle parts in a box in the garage, and when they get rid of it, the haunting disappears. (Chapter 8)

Part 3, Chapters 9-16

Reading Check

1. The head of a ghost (Chapter 9)

2. The Department of Psychic Research and Control (Chapter 10)

3. Annabel’s ghost (Chapter 11)

4. Hugo Blake (Various chapters)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. George’s research led him to find out about Annabel, but by the time he came to warn Lucy and Lockwood, they had already left for the Hope house. George feels that Lucy is too impulsive and doesn’t take time to prepare. (Chapter 9)

2. Inspector Barnes tells Lockwood that the Hope family is suing his company for the damages incurred by the fire Lucy set. They want $60,000, and because Lockwood neglected to take proper precautions during the mission, DEPRAC refuses to support him. (Chapter 10)

3. Lucy finds out that Annabel was in a tumultuous relationship with a man—a relationship that ended in a heated argument and Annabel’s death. (Chapter 12)

4. Lockwood sees it as an opportunity to gain massive exposure and fame for taking on such a dangerous and high-profile case. He also knows that the money will help instantly pay off the lawsuit. (Chapter 16)

Parts 4-5, Chapters 17-26

Reading Check

1. The Red Room (Chapter 19)

2. She finds a hidden panel on the wall of the Red Room and pushes through it. (Chapter 21)

3. Lucy hears the screaming of the monks, and the monks’ shadows then chase the team down the stairs. (Chapter 22)

4. Annabel’s ghost (Chapter 25)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

Lockwood’s failure to consult them before taking on the Fairfax case was inconsiderate. (Chapter 17)

1. A group of monks was said to have delved into dark magic and brought a curse upon themselves. They were then burned alive by a man who wanted to take over the manor, and their ghosts remained. Another man was said to keep the skulls of his murder victims on the screaming staircase, and another was said to have died by suicide after being driven to insanity. (Chapter 18)

2. Lockwood suspects that Fairfax is the true murderer of Annabel, and after seeing photos of Fairfax dressed as Hamlet, Lockwood believes that evidence from Fairfax’s acting past is the key to proving Fairfax is the murderer. (Various chapters)