# How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery explained — Ghost Stories

> Chapter companion for Ghost Stories by E. F. Benson.

## What happens

Madge Dalrymple, staying at Church-Peveril, encounters the ghosts of twin children in the long gallery. Instead of fleeing in terror, she kneels and speaks to them with pity and sympathy, causing them to smile and fade away peacefully. The chapter recounts the legend of the twins, murdered by their uncle Dick Peveril in 1602, and the family's casual attitude toward their many ghosts. Madge's compassion breaks the curse, and she emerges unharmed.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fear and Terror

Madge experiences paralyzing fear when the twin ghosts appear, but overcomes it through compassion.

### Supernatural and Occult

The central haunting by the twin ghosts and the family's casual acceptance of multiple specters.

### Guilt and Retribution

Dick Peveril's murder of the twins leads to a curse that brings death to those who see the ghosts, until Madge's pity breaks it.

### Death and the Afterlife

The twins' spirits continue to haunt the gallery, and the chapter explores the idea of a curse tied to their violent deaths.

## Character check-ins

### Madge Dalrymple

Protagonist who confronts the twin ghosts in the long gallery and overcomes fear through pity.

### Blanche Peveril

Daughter of the house; meets Madge after the encounter and is initially terrified but reassured.

### Mrs. Peveril

Current mistress of Church-Peveril; treats ghosts casually and tells the story of the twins.

### Dick Peveril

Historical figure who murdered the twin children in 1602 to inherit the estate.

### Unknown Narrator

First-person narrator who visits Church-Peveril and recounts the family's ghost stories.

## Key lines

> She sank down on to her knees, and stretched out her hands towards them. 'Oh, my dears,' she said, 'I only fell asleep. I have done no more wrong than that⁠—'

Madge kneels and pleads with the ghost children, explaining she meant no harm.

_Key moment where Madge's fear transforms into pity._

> He entered the room where the twins slept with their nurse, and quietly strangled the latter as she slept. Then he took the twins and put them into the fire which warms the long gallery.

Dick Peveril killed the nurse and threw the twin babies into the fire in the long gallery.

_Historical account of the twins' murder._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters/how-fear-departed-from-the-long-gallery
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters