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95 pages 3 hours read

Jonathan Stroud

The Screaming Staircase

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2013

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Answer Key

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