Q1 2018 The House Where it Happened Spoiler Thread

[Colleen]

This is the spoiler thread.

[Colleen]

There are discussion questions at the end of my book so I thought I'd list a few .
1.The story is told though the perspective of Ellen, a female servant.
Why do you think the author choose Ellen or do you think it would have made a better story if told though another viewpoint ?

[Colleen]

2. Is this a traditional "haunted house " narrative ?

[Colleen]

3. Does the fact that the story is based on true events influence your reading of it ?

[Colleen]

4. Hamilton Lock is a fictional character (though the actions the author attributes to him during the Magee massacre are documented facts ). Why do you think the author has created this character?

[Colleen]

5. What factors appeared to influence Mary Dunbar when she began making her accusations ?

[Colleen]

6. What does the use of dialect contribute to the story?

[Colleen]

7.What do you make of the fact that a woman is accusing other women of witchcraft?

[Colleen]

8. Discuss the handling of the Ulster -Scots versus the native Irish in the story.

[Colleen]

9.How does the Islandmagee community self -regulate (i.e enforce or uphold its own rules and laws without external intervention ) ?

[Colleen]

10. What is the importance of the following elements in the plot:
Land ownership
Memory
Superstition and legend

[Colleen]

11. What is the public entertainment element of the Islandmagee witchcraft trial ?

[Colleen]

12. What do you think happened to Mary Dunbar after she left Islandmagee ?

[Colleen]

14. Do you think the author intends us to feel ant sympathy for Mary Dunbar ?

[Colleen]

15.Is there anything quintessentially Irish about the story or is it universal ?

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "There are discussion questions at the end of my book so I thought I'd list a few .
1.The story is told though the perspective of Ellen, a female servant.
Why do you think the author choose Ellen or..."

I think that Ellen was chosen as she was a link between the classes on Islandmagee. She had a perfect vantage point to see all htat was happening in the house. I don't think the story would have been as effective if it was someone else who told the story.

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "2. Is this a traditional "haunted house " narrative ?"

OK, this is a hard one! I don't think it is a traditional haunted house narrative but I haven't really read many 'haunted house' books! House of Leaves and The Woman in Black would be my reference points for this question and neither of them are very traditional!

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "3. Does the fact that the story is based on true events influence your reading of it ?"

Yes, I think that it being based on true events makes me more intrigued by the story. I find myself wondering what happened to some of the real characters after the story ends, although the author's notes at the back of the book dies give you some idea.

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "4. Hamilton Lock is a fictional character (though the actions the author attributes to him during the Magee massacre are documented facts ). Why do you think the author has created this character?"

I think the author uses the character of Hamilton Lock as a lynchpin which the events can revolve. He is a useful 'boogeyman' to blame for the events that occur.

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "5. What factors appeared to influence Mary Dunbar when she began making her accusations ?"

I think Mary Dunbar likes the attention she receives when she is having her 'hauntings' and when she is making accusations. She has everybody looking after her and hanging on her every word - why wouldn't she continue?

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "6. What does the use of dialect contribute to the story?"

I don't know if the dialect really had much influence on the story for me, except that it definitely kept in my mind that there were simple folk and more educated people.

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "7.What do you make of the fact that a woman is accusing other women of witchcraft?"

I think that in many cases it has been a woman accusing other women of witchcraft. It happened in England (I believe - I saw it in a programme about Great British Castles, I think it was Leicester Castle) and in Salem also. Women of that time seem to me to have been jealous of each other. Perhaps it is the same now, just less accusations of witchcraft!

[Bookworm with Kids]

Colleen wrote: "8. Discuss the handling of the Ulster -Scots versus the native Irish in the story."

It was mainly all told from the point of view of the Ulster-Scots as we don't learn until late in the book that Ellen is actually from native Irish heritage. The Church of Ireland minister who comes to Islandmagee at one stage does seem to be more sceptical than the local Presbytherian minister about Mary Dunbar's haunting. He would more than likely have come from the Anglo-Irish gentry and would possibly have been more educated than the local man.