Essay Questions

Who killed Lord Montbarry?

Lord Montbarry’s death was carefully plotted by his new wife, Countess Narona. She and her brother, Baron, were in an incestuous relationship and longed to run away together. Thus, she had hoped to use the lord’s life insurance cheque to start a new life with her brother. The Baron disposed of the body using acid but kept the head and stored it in the ceiling of one of the rooms in the palace.

What is Agnes’ role in uncovering the murder?

Agnes comes to stay at the palace for a few nights. When she is there, she is housed in room 13a, which is the room that the Lord died in. she finds herself unable to sleep and has visions of a head above her. She also sees a woman sitting beside her, later revealed to be the countess. All of this raises her suspicions that the Countess was involved in the murder of her husband.

What happens to the Countess in the end?

The Countess reveals her actions to Agnes and Henry by giving them a script of her ghost story, which details the encounters of her committing the murder with her brother. She feels she has nothing left to lose as her brother and lover had been murdered and so she gives herself away and kills herself to be reunited with the Baron.