The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The narrator has a nightmare: He feels as if he must wake or die. He wakes but can’t remember the dream. He walks to the window where the moon is low in the night sky; Old Mrs. Hempstock walks back and forth, leaning on a stick.

In the morning, the narrator finds fresh clothes—a white shirt with long tails, knee pants, long tan stockings, and a jacket with a v-cut in the back—and puts them on. The shoes have buckles and are too big, so he carries them with him and gets lost in the upstairs halls, until the kitten finally leads him down a different hallway and he finds the kitchen.

Ginnie says Lettie is out obtaining items that will help get rid of Ursula once and for all. She says the narrator can wear the old-fashioned clothes outside because Old Mrs. Hempstock put a “glamour” on them so no one will notice them. The boy says he hates Ursula. Ginnie says the creature is just doing what such creatures do; she needs to return home, but she’s “headstrong.”

The narrator eats a delicious breakfast of porridge, honeycomb and cream, toast and blackberry jam, and the best cup of tea he’s ever had.