Story summary
The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural summary
- 8 min read
- 8 parts
- Audio soon
A rosebush shakes in a windless yard as Rebecca Flint waits for a niece who does not appear.
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The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 2 h 40 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 38,200 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1903by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural in short
The six stories share a pattern. A practical person comes into a house and meets something her common sense cannot account for. In each tale a secret, a wrong or a family pride lies under the surface.
What The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural is about
What would you do if a rosebush shook in a windless yard, and your hostess begged you not to pick its one red bloom? That moment comes early in the first tale, and it sets the mood for all six.
The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural was written by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, a New England author best known for her stories of village life. It gathers six ghost tales set in quiet towns, old houses and kitchens where women sew, bake and watch one another.
Who it’s for. You will love this book if you enjoy ghost stories told in sharp, plain dialogue, village secrets, old houses with a past, and strong-minded women facing fears nobody else will name.
The story in 8 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
Rebecca Flint comes for her niece and finds secrets
Rebecca Flint steps off a train at Porter's Falls with one purpose. She has come from Michigan to collect her dead sister's daughter, Agnes, and take her home.
On the ferry across the river, a curious woman listens to her plans. When Rebecca mentions Agnes, the woman starts and looks at her husband, who shakes his head in warning.
At the house of Agnes's father, his widow, Emeline Dent, greets her with a smile and cold blue eyes. By the door stands a rosebush with one red rose, and Mrs. Dent snaps at her guest not to pick it. Then the bush shakes hard, though the day is still. Mrs. Dent says she sees nothing at all.
Over two days Agnes never appears. Rebecca glimpses a shadow in a mirror and smells roses in the kitchen. Mrs. Dent has an answer for each event, but her explanations grow thinner and her face betrays her. Rebecca is a retired teacher who wants plain answers, and her stubbornness makes the house answer in its own way.
A practical mind meets a haunting, and the dread comes from a hostess who will not admit what Rebecca can plainly see.
- 2Start free to read
Three sisters watch a shadow grow on the wall
The second story opens in a house of mourning.
- 3Start free to read
Luella Miller wins every heart and drains every helper
The third tale is told by an old woman, Lydia Anderson, the only villager left who knew Luella Miller.
- 4Start free to read
The Gill sisters inherit a room that will not stay quiet
In the fourth story, Sophia and Amanda Gill inherit the old Ackley mansion from an aunt they never spoke to.
- 5Start free to read
The Townsends buy a bargain house beside an odd lot
The fifth story begins with a comic sort of pride.
- 6Start free to read
A coat carried upstairs and a child who cannot find her mother
The last story is a tale within a tale.
- 7Start free to read
What the stories say about women, money and guilt
Read together, the six tales share a cast.
- 8Start free to read
Plain talk, ordinary objects and a voice that does not explain
Freeman tells these stories in a plain, dry voice that never raises its tone.
Read all 8 key ideas, then the whole book
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Check yourself
Why does Lydia find Luella Miller frightening?
Right. “Luella is a figure of horror because she is gentle, and she harms through helplessness that others rush to serve.”Not quite. “Luella is a figure of horror because she is gentle, and she harms through helplessness that others rush to serve.”
What does David Townsend's bargain reveal about him?
Right. “David Townsend cannot let go of a bargain even as his mirrors crack.”Not quite. “David Townsend cannot let go of a bargain even as his mirrors crack.”
What allows the hauntings to continue across the stories?
Right. “The fear of being thought foolish keeps people silent, and silence lets the haunting continue.”Not quite. “The fear of being thought foolish keeps people silent, and silence lets the haunting continue.”
Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Rebecca Flint A stern retired teacher from Michigan who travels to Ford Village to bring her dead sister's daughter Agnes home.
- Emeline Dent The second wife of John Dent, a handsome, blue-eyed woman who denies everything strange in her tidy house.
- Caroline Glynn The thin, severe eldest sister who tries to keep the family from speaking about her brother Edward's death.
- Luella Miller A pretty, fragile woman who lets others do all her work and seems to bring misfortune to those who help her.
- Lydia Anderson The sharp-tongued old neighbour who tells the story of Luella Miller and swears she saw what she saw.
- Sophia Gill The firm elder sister who fights to keep her ancestral home and refuses to believe it is haunted.
- David Townsend A shrewd storekeeper from Townsend Centre who clings to a bargain house and insists nothing strange is happening.
- Mrs. Meserve A village gossip who finally tells the one story she has kept hidden, about a child ghost in East Wilmington.
How it ends (spoiler)
In the first tale, Rebecca learns by letter that the Slocums are all dead and that Agnes died a year earlier, so she was the one who haunted the house. In the second, Henry dies and a second shadow joins the first. Luella dies, her victims appear to help her, and her house burns. Sophia sees her aunt's face in the mirror and decides to sell. David Townsend recalls an old murder at the Blue Leopard. Mrs. Bird dies, led away by the child.
Famous lines
Oh, Caroline, there it is again! There it is again!
Rebecca Ann, The Shadows on the Wall. A frightened sister cries out as a shadow she has already seen night after night appears again.
I can’t find my mother.
The child ghost, The Lost Ghost. The only words the small ghost ever says, repeated to everyone she meets.
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Questions about The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural
What is The Wind in the Rose-Bush about?
It is a collection of six ghost stories set in New England towns and old houses. Each follows ordinary people who meet shadows, voices or vanishing objects, and who must face secrets in their families or homes.
What are the six stories in The Wind in the Rose-Bush?
They are The Wind in the Rose-Bush, The Shadows on the Wall, Luella Miller, The Southwest Bedroom, The Vacant Lot and The Lost Ghost. Each is a separate tale, so you can read them one at a time.
Who is Luella Miller?
Luella Miller is a beautiful, delicate woman in a small village who lets other people do all her work. The story is told by her neighbour Lydia Anderson, who watches those who help Luella grow weak.
Is The Wind in the Rose-Bush easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that matters: the language is plain and the stories are short, with lively dialogue that moves each scene along. Each tale can be read in a single sitting, and the village voices are clear and vivid.
What is the main message of these ghost stories?
Freeman suggests that hauntings grow where secrets, guilt and family pride are left unspoken. The ghosts come to homes where the living will not face the truth, and fear of seeming foolish keeps people silent.
Cite this page
“Summary of The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural: the key points in 7 minutes.” Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural-summary.
Library of Alexandria. (2026). Summary of The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural: the key points in 7 minutes. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural-summary
“Summary of The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural: the key points in 7 minutes.” Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural-summary.
@misc{the_wind_in_the_rose_bush_and_other_stories_of_the_supernatural_summary_2026,
title = {Summary of The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural: the key points in 7 minutes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural-summary}
}
Cite this edition
Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins. The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural.
Freeman, M. E. W. (2026). The wind in the rose-bush, and other stories of the supernatural. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural (Original work published 1903)
Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins. The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural.
@book{freeman2026wind,
author = {Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins},
title = {The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-wind-in-the-rose-bush-and-other-stories-of-the-supernatural},
note = {First published 1903}
}
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