Nightmare Abbey Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Choice spirits"

Nightmare Abbey, the story begins, is a highly picturesque yet semi-dilapidated property occupied by Christopher Glowry, a fairly melancholy man whose mistress valued money over all else before her untimely death. After spending much of their riches on even richer items, she came to find that she was not happy with the things she foolishly purchased and decided to rid herself of the objects of which she had come into possession. Her anger surmounted until the people of the abbey purposely avoided her. One day Christopher found his wife dead in her bed and she left behind one son, Scythrop, named after an ancestor who reportedly hanged himself in weariness.

Many years later, Scythrop went to university where little learning was done. Much of his time was spend with "choice spirits" and he found company with friends and alcohol. Sometimes he would visit his uncle, a cheerful man in gay company, and he would spend time at the abbey. It is under this circumstance that Scythrop met Emily Girouette, a young woman who he instantly fell in love with, as Romantics are apt to do. When terms could not be agreed upon by their parents, they pledged that they would remain in love forever (as Romantics are apt to do) before she married someone else less than a month later. Later, seeking his father's comforting words, Scythrop is told that marriage is a blind lottery and it's best not to invest the time or effort. Dismally, he retires to his tower.

The castle contains many towers, one of which is occupied by Scythrop, another by Christopher, and another by the domestics who Mr. Glowry hires under special circumstances, those circumstances being Gothic traits. He either selects servants with long faces or dismal names (such as 'Raven', 'Skellet', and 'Deathshead'). Few guests ever appear at Nightmare Abbey; those that do are usually equally dismal. One such guest, Mr. Flosky, was slighted by the lack of great things to arise from the French Revolution and deduced that the world was more miserable than it was before the possibility of misery's eradication was even a consideration. Now his stories are deluded with ghostly qualities, much to Mr. Glowry's liking. Other guests such as Mr. Larynx and Mr. Toobad are similar in their issues of ghastliness, but this is the way Mr. Glowry likes his company.

Answer: She is his niece

Crestfallen over the topic of love, Scythrop takes to reading Gothic novels in one of the ruined towers of the abbey (the one containing dozens of owls) and, on the suggestion of Mr. Flosky he ponders metaphysics. In his sleep, he begins to dream about underground secret societies using their knowledge to take action. When his father leaves for a prolonged period to deal with legal issues, Scythrop decides to write his views and have them published. To his disappointment, only a handful of copies are sold. Instead of being passive, he takes it upon himself to find a way to repair human nature on his own.

Mr. Glowry returns home and spends time with Scythrop, the both of them joking about miseries. Glowry's favourite guests also join including a certain Mr. Listless from London. Mr. and Mrs. Hilary bring along one of Glowry's nieces, Miss Marionetta Celestina O'Carroll who, unlike the others in the party, is quite lighthearted but also cares little of pursuing that which is out of her reach. Marionetta, however, takes a liking to Scythrop in her first three days at Nightmare Abbey and sets out to win his heart despite his outre personality. She is able to do so, but when she retracts and shows coldness, he simply retires to his tower, much to her disappointment, and purposely acts cold towards her.

On one occasion, however, Marionetta accidentally walks into Scythrop's tower while he is changing and under the circumstances he professes his love for her. Marionetta is taken aback by this considering his recent behavior but he assures her that he wishes to open a vein in each of their arms, mix the blood in a bowl, and drink it as a sacrament to their love (as you do, I suppose). She's disgusted by this (as one usually is) and flees. He chases after her and runs into Mr. Toobad, forcing them to tumble down the stairs. Mr. Toobad blames the devil for their misfortunes (and all the misfortunes in the world it seems) before heading to dinner.

Answer: French

Mr. Glowry discusses the issue of love with Scythrop in private quarters as he's worried about the progression of his and Marionetta's relationship. He fears that, much like his own marriage, any wedlock between his son and niece would be disastrous, especially since she possesses no fortune of her own. Scythrop, from a Godwinian viewpoint, argues that liberty of his actions is only natural while Mr. Glowry states that man is no more than a puppet or a slave. He also expresses his disappointment in being forced to disinherit him.

Regardless, Scythrop purposely approaches Marionetta soon after and falls to her feet in grief. She also joins him on the floor and notes that she may be forced to leave the abbey. To prevent this, Scythrop threatens to drink from the skull of an ancestor (reputed to raise spirits). Mr. Glowry prevents him from doing this in superstitious fear and Marionetta is allowed to stay. When Mr. Glowry visits Mr. Toobad in London soon after, they both agree to introduce Scythrop to Toobad's daughter by bringing her to Nightmare Abbey and offering her for marriage. Glowry is satisfied with the idea as his prospective daughter-in-law is just as gloomy as he could hope.

Marionetta continues to toy with Scythrop's heightened emotions and on one occasion, after Scythrop has once again retired (frustratedly) to his tower, she discusses literature with Mr. Listless (and his servant, Fatout, who delivers a package) and Mr. Flosky in a lounge. This conversation is soon interrupted by Mr. Toobad who, after leaving the Abbey to get his daughter from London not long before, returns covered in mud, his body covered in mud. He blames the devil amongst them for his carriage falling into a hidden ditch.

Answer: Celinda

Mr. Toobad finally reaches London again and meets with his daughter, Celinda, who is quite averse to the idea of her father's arranged marriage. Claiming that she should be free to marry who she chooses, she flees in the night and Mr. Toobad blames the devil for it all. He decides to search for her, making several stays at Nightmare Abbey in the course of things.

At the Abbey, Marionetta and Scythrop continue their little game. Marionetta attempts to flirt with Scythrop while he's reading Dante Alighieri's "Purgatorio" though he claims to be in Hell. Mr. Listless is more polite to Marionetta claiming that he is instead in Paradise in her company. Mr. Flosky overhears the comments about Dante and weighs in on contemporary literature before speaking at length on the topic of metaphysics and 'truth'. He argues that imaginative literature as opposed to factual writing requires too much overexertion on the part of the writer to make something sensational. Even the most basic concepts like devils and ghosts have become stale and overdone. The subject is soon turned back to more essential beauty and Marionetta is asked to play a song for the party. While singing, she smiles at Scythrop and he loses his dismal feelings.

Answer: Mermaid

The party at Nightmare Abbey is joined by Mr. Asterias, an ichthyologist and acquaintance of Mr. Glowry who is in Lincolnshire to sight a mermaid in the nearby waters. After the birth of his son, Aquarius, many hypothesized that he had been searching for years for a mermaid who had originally mothered the child and that led him into his line of work.

When he thinks, on one night, that he has finally spotted a mermaid, he is disappointed to let the shadowy figure on the nearby shore get away. The others ask if he believes that mermaids exist and he claims that yes, they must. Mr. Listless complains that there's too much excitement in such a quest, but Mr. Asterias argues that ennui is the most horrifying idea on his mind and that he'd never trade his experiences for anything. Mr. Listless agrees, but complacently states that he would not want to exert himself; instead, he's happy to follow his routine. Mr. Flosky makes sense when he says that one must pursue what makes them happy (though he second-guesses himself when he uses logic and reason to do so) and Mr. Hilary echoes these sentiments while Scythrop tells Marionetta that good things are indeed good, but humans are not yet accustomed to better lives.

Answer: Writing poetry

Marionetta gets frustrated over the next few days- Scythrop is more brooding than normal and no amount of teasing or flirting is changing anything. While Mr. Glowry excites himself with the idea that Marionetta will not be his daughter-in-law, she heads off to speak to Mr. Flosky who is in his own tower writing dismal ballads by gloomy candlelight (even in the middle of the day). He is initially angered by her intrusion into his writing time, but after Marionetta makes her point of wanting to know more about Scythrop, he says that mystery is becoming on a man in the same way it is important to poetry. He's also currently writing a poem that came to him in a dream, and it is all mystery. On the other hand, perhaps Scythrop is simply miserable for misery's sake, as is the style of sensibility. Marionetta is disappointed that either he doesn't know any true answers or he refuses to give a straight one, but Flosky is okay with this. If he gave any real information, his transcendental self would be at fault and his reputation would be at stake.

Time goes by and Marionetta finds that she can no longer grasp Scythrop's attention. When he notices her becoming saddened by the spirit of Nightmare Abbey, he says that despite his overwhelming urges to find a way to better human nature, she is undoubtedly the most important thing to him. The two argue before expressing their love for one another and Mr. Glowry, discovering that they will likely be happy in their misery, decides to wed them. By the time he returns with Mr. Hilary's blessing however, Marionetta has decided that she may no longer wish to wed Scythrop who heads back to his tower miserable.

Answer: Stella

On the night on which Mr. Asterias thinks he sees a mermaid near the water, Scythrop heads to his study to find the figure dressed in black awaiting his arrival. Dropping their hood he finds a beautiful woman underneath, much to his astonishment. The woman, who says her name is Stella, says that a paper which he wrote had placed her under the assumption that he was a like-minded individual so she sought him out to find freedom from her unjust prosecution. He offers her a suite in his tower which is hidden from much of the house and remains typically unused and she accepts until he can procure a new place to stay. Unfortunately, both forget as the days go by and he assumes that she's on the run from the law. To Scythrop's surprise, Stella's thoughts of liberty and freedom are not unlike his own views.

When Scythrop and Stella discuss love, Stella comments that she would give her heart willingly for love, but that heart is hers as an individual. Scythrop soon finds himself falling in love with Stella as well as Marionetta and strives to keep them apart despite the fact that they both differ as though they were polar opposites. Nevertheless, he finds it difficult to choose between Marionetta, whose love flows in and out like the tide and adversely to his own, but whose mind may expand to philosophy after marriage, and Stella, whose uniform thoughts and similar interests are constant.

Answer: To enjoy the company of his friends before leaving the country

One day soon, the company at Nightmare Abbey is greeted with a visit from Mr. Cypress, a friend who has been planning to leave England for quite some time but did not want to depart without first saying his goodbyes to the Abbey and the friends within.

They chat over dinner and, filling a bumper of spirits each, drink to their unhappiness. While Mr. Cypress plans to head to Greece and Italy, Scythrop argues that he would not like to visit countries past hope of regeneration when England still holds the possibility for renewal and change.

The party continues to chat about philosophy, the words of Kant, literature, and the devil before they all consider why they are unhappy. This leads them to the conclusion that it's better to be unhappy together and they all lead into a song written by Mr. Cypress himself.

At the end of the night, he leaves the Abbey behind for Venice to search for his own idea of beauty.

Answer: Behind a bookcase

When Mr. Listless heads to the bathroom, he is stopped by Fatout who claims that a maid has seen a revenant spirit walking through a gallery in white with a bloody turban around its head. Mr. Listless passes this off, but can't help asking the others if they believe in spirits. Mr. Flosky believes that apparitions happen in a state of sleep while the Reverend Mr. Larynx claims that many religious figures saw ghosts. This talk progresses to more ghost stories in Europe from evil spirits to merry friar ghosts and their feasts. When the clock strikes midnight, Mr. Flosky sees the earlier-described ghost in the doorway and flees while Mrs. Hilary and Marionetta follow. Others fall off sofas, scream, and jump out windows in their panic (Mr. Toobad, afraid of the devil, ends up in the Abbey moat only to be saved by Mr. Asterias and his son in their mermaid net).

Mr. Glowry heads to Scythrop's tower to find the door locked, but before entering he holds his head to the door to hear a woman's voice and a loud rolling sound before he knocks. He asks Scythrop about the lady that was just in his room, but he is told that there is no lady, and upon searching he figures that there must be a secret panel. When Mr. Glowry asks if the woman was Marionetta (who he proclaims is his future wife), Stella emerges from a panel behind the bookcase and asks to hear the truth. When she begins to cry, Mr. Hilary goes in search of Marionetta for answers and everyone else arrives at Scythrop's tower in curiosity. When Mr. Toobad arrives he reveals that Stella, to his surprise, is his daughter, Celinda! When asked for an explanation, Celinda renounces her love for Scythrop because Marionetta has prior claim. Marionetta does the same because of Scythrop's secret. When everyone departs in this flurry, Scythrop has no choice but to sit pensively in his chair.

Answer: Neither

Scythrop is invited down for dinner but finds he is unable to move. When he is told that the party has been reduced, it is discovered that Mr. Listless feared quarrels during the day and ghosts at night (though the 'ghost' was just a servant sleepwalking in a white sheet and red turban); Reverend Mr. Larynx is also off on either a marrying or a burying. Mr. Toobad and Celinda departed as did the Hilarys and Marionetta causing Scythrop to realize he lost both of the women he loved. He asks for a bottle of port and a pistol, but his servant convinces him to dine first. Mr. Glowry speaks to his son about the predicament though Scythrop is convinced that suicide is the only answer since he can not renounce the love of one over the other. Mr. Glowry tells him that if he allows him a week, one will come back to him. Scythrop accepts this offer, but no longer.

The one week passes and Scythrop drinks to his last hours, even pushing back the time in anticipation that one of his loves will arrive in the carriage with his father. When Mr. Glowry returns, he comes alone, but he has two letters in his possession:
The first is from Celinda who states that she wishes for his happiness with Marionetta and that she was glad to have found a true transcendentalist, one who she would have the pleasure of subscribing to in the future.
The second is from Marionetta who wishes for them to remain friends and wishes him well. She also reveals that she will be taking the name of Marionetta Listless.

Scythrop tears the letters to pieces and his father suggests that in the future he should partake in finding love in one, not two women. Scythrop readily agrees and, it being past the time of his death, states that he now has a greater degree in misanthropy and hopes to make a good figure in the world.