Summary of the House Call | Magic of Words | Grade XI

Summary of the House Call

‘The House Call’ is a supernatural story from Germany. It is the story about the incarnation of a dead person in the form of a living girl to help her sick mother. As a ghost form, a little girl who had died before three months goes to call a doctor for the treatment of her mother.

It is 1930, the day after Christmas at 9:30 pm. Dr. Emil Braun is taking rest after 8 hours more surgical work for the whole day. He wakes up suddenly by hearing the sound of the doorbell. His wife replies to a little girl to come tomorrow. But, a little girl says that her mother is very sick and may die.

Listening to the plea of girl. Dr. Braun becomes ready to go. The little girl of six or seven years old. She is in a cotton dress, shabby shoes and ragged shawl. Dr. Brawn follows her but cannot meet her. She only stops only at the bending of the road to show where she is going. Finally, she climbs up the stairs of an old tenement house. It is slightly raining outside.

The little girl stands at the door of the fifth floor. She thanks the doctor for his kindness and points to the room where a woman was lying sick. Dr, Braun goes inside and hears the door close softly behind him.

More Summaries:
1. Summary of the Lost Doll
2. Summary of the Recurring Dream
3. Summary of the Loving Mother

In the dim light of the room, Dr. Braun easily recognizes Mrs. Elda, who was once a maintenance staff in the same hospital, where he was working. Three years back, she had left the job and gone to the village with her single daughter Adelheid. At present, she is suffering from pneumonia.

Dr. Braun asks her why she returns from the village. He also shows his strangeness for her grown-up and obedient daughter. But, Mrs. Elda says that her daughter died before three months, after her seventh birthday. And then Elda returned to the city. She further says that she has kept her shoes and shawl which reminds her daughter that she is still living.

Dr. Braun looks towards shoes and shawl, which were wet. Elda says that she was thinking about Dr. Braun last night and she was lucky for his presence. Dr. Braun looks around, finds Elda asleep and steps out into the dark hallway and close the door.