Chapters 6 & 7 Summary

At dinner parties, the narrator often wonders why conversation drifts to discussions about Charlotte. After the children are put to bed, the adults often discuss Charlotte and her tales at length, but stop if one of the children wakes up and wanders into the room. This fact has always puzzled the narrator. The narrator considers two of Charlotte's childhood memories that have left a strong impact on him. The first is when Charlotte visits a group of young people in a village. The children there are very concerned with supernatural experiences and dare Charlotte to visit the cemetery at exactly midnight. They dare her to lay an object on a tombstone for them to investigate later. Charlotte unflinchingly agrees.

The other memory the narrator cherishes is of Charlotte's father, a reputable doctor who once heard from a patient that the peasants demonstrating in...