Chapter 3 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Waal?" clanked the awful voice. "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther. He positively stuck at the substantive. "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him. "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
Chapter 3 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “"Waal?" clanked the awful voice.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “"My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.”
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading “"My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “"Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.”
extremely
From this reading “He positively stuck at the substantive.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “"I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.”
caught or fixed
From this reading “He positively stuck at the substantive.”
of or relating to the real nature or essential elements of something
From this reading “He positively stuck at the substantive.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He positively stuck at the substantive.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading "Waal?" clanked the awful voice.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Waal?" clanked the awful voice.
dearly loved
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
not any; not one
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
and nothing more
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
extremely
From this reading He positively stuck at the substantive.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
not in physical motion
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
caught or fixed
From this reading He positively stuck at the substantive.
of or relating to the real nature or essential elements of something
From this reading He positively stuck at the substantive.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Waal?" clanked the awful voice.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Oh! there hasn't been nothin'," she said slowly still peering at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Waal?" clanked the awful voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Waal?" clanked the awful voice.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "My dear woman," he burst out finally, "there's been something awful--" So far his desperation took him, but no farther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I reckon you've only seen and heard what the others did.
Chapter 3 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 3 holds 407 sentences of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 3 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3297 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14471 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14471, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 274 minutes of reading across 660 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
