# Madam Crowl's Ghost explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

An elderly woman recounts her childhood experience as a young servant at Applewale House, where she was warned that the old Dame Crowl was possessed by the devil. After the Dame's death, the narrator witnesses a ghostly apparition of a small boy in her room, later revealed to be the spirit of a child who was imprisoned and died in the house, likely murdered by the Dame.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and the Uncanny

The ghostly apparition of the boy and the warnings of possession highlight the supernatural elements central to the tale.

### Guilt and Retribution

Dame Crowl's presumed murder of the boy and her subsequent haunting suggest a theme of guilt and supernatural retribution.

### Corruption and Injustice

The hidden murder and cover-up of the boy's death reflect corruption and injustice within the household.

## Character check-ins

### Aunt Margaret

The narrator's aunt, housekeeper at Applewale House, a stern woman who took her in as a servant.

### Wicked Captain Walshawe

Referenced as Dame Crowl's grandson, Squire Chevenix Crowl, who owned the estate at the time.

### Mrs. Molloy

Mentioned as Mrs. Wyvern, one of the women attending Dame Crowl during her final illness.

### Tom Chuff

Not present in this chapter.

## Key lines

> I was but thirteen, my last birthday, the night I came to Applewale House.

The narrator was thirteen years old when she first arrived at Applewale House.

_Establishes the narrator's age and the beginning of her story._

> she's possessed by the devil, and more an half a ghost.

A stranger warns the narrator that Dame Crowl is possessed by the devil and is partly a ghost.

_Foreshadows the supernatural elements and the Dame's malevolent nature._

> I sid a little boy, wi’ a face as white as snow, and his hands clasped, and he looked sa sadly and sa steadfastly at me, as if he wanted me to do something for him.

The narrator sees the ghost of a pale little boy who looks at her sorrowfully, as if seeking help.

_Key supernatural encounter revealing the ghost of the murdered child._

> there was no doubt it was the poor little boy that was missing sa lang sen, that was shut up to die thar in the dark by that wicked beldame.

The aunt confirms that the ghost was the boy who disappeared long ago, imprisoned and left to die by Dame Crowl.

_Reveals the truth behind the haunting and the Dame's crime._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/madam-crowl-s-ghost
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters