Haunted Houses in Malta A

This unit can be worked on individually or with a partner.

If you work on your own you will need to alternate as instructed between this page entitled Haunted Houses in Malta A and the page entitled  Haunted Houses in Malta B which you can access by clicking on the first green button below  .

If you work with a partner:  one of you should work on Haunted Houses In Malta A and the other on Haunted Houses in Malta B. You will help each other complete all the activities below.

Activity 1

What does 'Haunted' mean to you? (Check out the meaning, etymology and translation of the word by selecting 'Haunted' and browsing through the Multidict options)

You can also check these synonyms: apparition, bogey, familiar spirit, ghost, materialization, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, spectre, spirit, spook, sprite, vision, wraith.

Do you know of any Haunted places? Tell your partner about them.

Activity 2

On your own: Go to Haunted Houses in Malta B by clicking on the Green button below and read the text in Activity 1. Then come back to this page and complete the following interactive exercise  below by choosing one of the alernatives given in the drop down menu. 

With a partner: Ask questions to your partner and they will help you choose the right option to fill the gaps from the drop down menu.

Activity 3

On your own: Read the text below and then go to Activity 3 of Haunted Houses in Malta B (Green Button below) and attempt to fill in the blanks.

With a partner: Read the text below. You will be asked questions about it from by your partner. Make sure you understand the text and are able to help without giving the answer.

Verdala Palace
Grand Master De Verdalle left this palace for posterity and it was to be later connected with the story of the Blue Lady.
She was a young woman, a niece of Grand Master De Rohan for whom a suitor not to her liking had been chosen. Tired of being rejected by the lady in question, he imprisoned her in her room. One day she decided to escape through the window, only to fall out of it to her death. She was then seen roaming the building wearing a blue dress, the same dress she was said to have been wearing when she died. Between 1915 and 1919, Field Marshal Lord Methuen was governor of Malta. He was housing a guest – a certain Howard Jones – in the room, which had belonged to the Blue Lady. One day he asked the governor who the lady in blue, whom he always saw reflected in the mirror when he was dressing, was.

Another weird manifestation, which may or may not be connected to the Blue Lady but which also occurred at Verdala Palace during Lord Methuen’s years of government occurred when the bishop of London was visiting the island. He failed to turn up on time for a dinner held in his honour much to the annoyance of the Governor who was a “stickler for time”.

He turned up half an hour late. He explained that the reason for his tardiness was that he had “supernatural trouble” when his door opened by itself when he was about to leave, only to shut in his face, preventing him from going out. He was kept inside the room for half an hour and it was only when he recited the prayers of exorcism that it became possible for him to leave the room.

Activity 4

On your own: Go to Haunted Houses in Malta B and read the story Fort St Angelo in Activity 4. Then try to put the paragraphs in this activity in the right order.

With a partner: Give your partner time to read the story Fort St Angelo in Haunted Houses in Malta B and then ask your partner to help you make sense of this story

Activity 5

On your own: Read the text below entitled Dolphin House Then go to Haunted Houses in Malta B and try to put the paragraphs in the Activity 5 in the right order.

With a partner: Read the text entitled Dolphin House below and then help your partner understand and reorder the jumbled up story in Activity 5 of Haunted Houses in Malta B.

Dolphin House
It was during the time of the British rule in Malta when two drunken sailors were walking along the streets of Valetta, when upon reaching City Gate, they were accosted by a beautiful woman wearing the traditional Maltese costume, the għonnella. She asked them if they could accompany her home. Even though they didn’t feel like walking much, they assented partly because they felt fascinated by the beautiful lady. They followed her and when they reached the house in St Ursola Street, she asked them if they could help her inside as she had left the key inside.

The soldiers were bewildered by such a request but nonetheless decided to help out the mysterious lady. After some time one of the naval men managed to clamber inside where he found the key. When he managed to open the door for the lady and his friend, the lady took off her għonnella to reveal beautiful black locks. When she started to light the house, the splendour and richness of the house left them gaping. Now that they were in the company of a beautiful lady and in a magnificent setting, they felt more relaxed. However, as time drew nigh, they felt more weary and left the house. One of the sailors realised he had left a very expensive silver cigarette case inside the house and they decided they would call again on the morrow to get it. The next day they were shocked to find the same house in a very dilapidated state. They were told by one of the neighbours that the house was said to be haunted and that sometimes they could see the house lit from outside.

Mario Cordina 2019

Updated LF 2025