Engage high school readers with these worksheets and assessments for “The Shadows on the Wall” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, a short Gothic horror story (perfect for Halloween) that explores the relationship between grief and fear after a man dies under suspicious circumstances. A reading comprehension quiz, literary analysis activity, vocabulary worksheet, crossword puzzle, word search game, copy of the narrative, and answer keys are included.

By engaging with these materials, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly.
• Explore challenging vocabulary.
• Articulate the greater significance of given details (e.g., why the author included details about Henry’s violent past, why the author mentions the fact it was a “cold, gloomy day of fall,” etc.).
• Describe tone in context.
• Infer the intended effects of given details (e.g., descriptive language, the incorporation of onomatopoeia, etc.).
• Make evidence-based inferences about characters (e.g., the implied cause of Edward’s death).
• Analyze characterization (e.g., what a character’s speaking in an “almost inaudible voice” reveals).
• Apply knowledge of literary devices (e.g., euphemism, foreshadowing, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, situational irony, symbolism, etc.).
• Consider themes in context.
• Support claims with relevant textual evidence.