Contents
The House Call
The House Call Summary:
“The House Call” is a supernatural story taken from Berlin, Germany. This story deals with the apparition of a young girl’s spirit which goes to the house of the surgeon requesting him to make a house call.
It was 09:30 PM on the evening of the 26th of December 1903. The famous surgeon of Berlin, Dr. Emil Braun was resting in the dining room of his house after conducting and supervising difficult surgical operations during the day. He was thinking of having his dinner and writing some notes on surgery. But he was so tired that he was unable to do either of them. He had just begun to doze off when he was awakened by the sound of the doorbell. He heard his wife talking to someone who was requesting for a house call. As he went to the door he saw a girl of 6-7 years old requesting him to visit her sick mother. Thinking that it was indeed an emergency, he got ready and followed the girl in the darkness.
The girl walked ahead of the doctor stopping at each corner to make sure that he was following her. He was trying his best to catch up to the girl so that he could ask her some questions. But the girl walked so fast that he couldn’t follow her properly. She led the doctor to an old tenement house (rented house) through the poorest part of Berlin. She climbed up the building up to the fifth floor and waited for the doctor outside a room, at the end of a dark hallway. As the doctor approached her, she thanked him and disappeared.
When the doctor went into the room, he saw a sick woman lying on the bed. He recognized her as Elda who used to work as a maintenance staff in his hospital. She was suffering from pneumonia. After giving her some medicine he talked to her about the girl, who had gone to his house. But he was totally surprised to know that the girl whom he had supposed to be the daughter of Elda had died last September.
Elda showed him a pair of shabby shoes and a worn-out shawl that she had kept to remind herself of her daughter. When he felt the shoes and the shawl he found them to be wet and damp. Now he was pretty sure that he was been called by the spirit of Elda’s daughter, Adelheid. But he didn’t tell her anything about Adelheid because it might have an adverse effect on the psychology of his patient, Elda. Elda fell asleep while talking to the doctor. Checking her feverish head once again, doctor Braun returned back home in the darkness.
This story deals with the appearance of a girl’s spirit to a doctor requesting him to make a house call. The story shows that Elda was surrounded and assisted by the spirit of her daughter long after her death. The events as such don’t take place in real-life situations and are beyond scientific principles. Therefore “The House Call” is a supernatural story.
Some Important Questions from The House Call
Question. Elaborate about Doctors Braun’s character.
Answer. Dr. Emil Braun, a famous surgeon of Germany was a diligent, sincere, optimistic, altruistic and kind-hearted person.
He used to spend his day carrying out and supervising difficult surgical operations. He would be ready to make a house call at any time of the night sacrificing his personal comfort and luxury.
He regarded every work as the gift of God; he was ready to serve his god carrying out his duties and responsibilities. He was always bound with the chain of responsibility as a surgeon. Besides being an experienced surgeon he was a psychologist too. He treated his patients both medically as well as psychologically. Though an old man of 67 years, he had the spirit and enthusiasm of a teenager.
Indeed, he was an idol for everyone desiring to become a doctor.
Question. Why was the doctor tired? What was he doing when the girl Knocked at the door?
Answer. The doctor was very tired because he performed and supervised difficult surgical operations for more than 8 hours that very day. He at the home was sitting and thinking of having his dinner and writing some notes on surgery. But he was not able to do either of the. Finally, he dozed off with his head on his arm on the table. The girl came and knocked on the door at the same time.
Question. Who is Dr. Emil Braun? How old is he when he visits Elda?
Answer. Dr. Emil Braun was a hard-working, gentle and kind man. He is a German doctor who is also the head of the surgeon in a hospital in the central part of the city. He is involved in the supervision of different difficult surgical operations in the hospital for more than 8 hours. He is 68 years old when he visits Elda.
Question. What did Dr. Braun discover when he went with a girl who came to his house?
Answer. When Dr. Braun went with a girl who came to his house he discovered that the girl’s mother was seriouslysick from pneumonia and lying on the bed. He also discovered that she was once the maintenance staff at his hospital. The girl’s mother told him that her daughter was dead 3 months before. The doctor was a little bit frightned knowing the truth of the girl who was not alive but a sprit who had appeared merely to help her mother.
Question. Why did the doctor have a look of surprise on his face when Elda told him that her little daughter died in September?
Answer. Her little daughter had gone to the doctor for the House call for her treatment. When the doctor asked her about her daughter, she said that she had died last September. She also showed him damp shawl and shoes of her daughter which she had kept for her memory. How had the little girl gone for the house call if she was already dead? In such situation it is obvious to be surprised and afraid. That’s why the doctor showed a look of surprise on his face.
Some Important Questions From “The House Call”
Short Questions:
- Why was the doctor tired? What was he eating when a girl knocked at the door
- Why did the doctor have a look of surprise on his face when Elda told him that her little daughter died in September?
- Why did the little girl come to the doctor’s house in the story “The House Call”?
- Who is Dr. Emil Braun? How old is he when he visits Elda?
- What did the mother Elda keep to remind her of her daughter?
- What did Dr. Braun discover when he went with a girl who came to visit his house in the story “The House Call’?
Long Questions:
- Show the similarities and differences between the two supernatural stories “The House Call” and “The Loving Mother”.
- What are the two possible explanations of who the girl was who came to fetch the doctor?
- Summarise the story “The House Call’.
- Show the points of similarities and differences between the two supernatural stories “The House Call” and “The Loving Mother”.
For all the exam notices/results and more join our Facebook group. Join Now.
For further discussion Join our Forum
Also Read:
THE RECURRING DREAM
THE LOST DOLL
FEAR
THE LOVING MOTHER
MY HEART LEAPS UP WHEN I BEHOLD
SPEAKING OF CHILDREN
LOOK AT THE TEACUP
A WORN PATH
THE THREE DAY BLOW
THE POPLAR FIELD
THE NIGHTMARE LIFE WITHOUT FUEL
UNCHOPPING A TREE
KEEPING THINGS WHOLE
CONCRETE CAT
OOPS! HOW’S THAT AGAIN?
MALINI
THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
ON THE VANITY OF EARTHLY GREATNESS
IN BED
THE GARDENER
Good