The Invisible Man: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Early on the same Whit Monday morning, Mr. Hall and Mrs. Hall walk down to the cellar to do something related to “the specific gravity of their beer.” In the cellar, Mrs. Hall realizes she’s forgotten to bring a bottle of sarsaparilla from their room, and her husband goes back to get it for her. While fetching it, Hall is surprised to see that Griffin’s door is open. He is then even more surprised to see that the front door to the inn is unlatched. He finds Griffin’s room empty, and shouts down to tell Mrs. Hall that Griffin isn’t there. Mrs. Hall comes up, and declares that it is “most curious” that Griffin’s clothes are there, but he isn’t.

Moments later, Mrs. Hall hears the front door close and then a sneeze on the staircase. She goes into Griffin’s room, which is still empty, and touches the pillow. It is cold, which leads her to believe that Griffin has been gone an hour or more. Suddenly, all the bedclothes leap up and to the side, as if someone had flung them there. Griffin’s hat then flies straight into Mrs. Hall, hitting her in the face. More items jump up and around, and a chair aims right for Mrs. Hall while someone laughs in a voice that sounds just like Griffin’s.

Mrs. Hall runs out into Mr. Hall’s arms in the hallway, faint with fright. She declares that Griffin has put spirits in her furniture, and that they should lock him out and never let him come back to the inn. Mr. and Mrs. Hall send Millie to find the blacksmith, Mr. Sandy Wadgers. Wadgers comes over, and they discuss the situation at length. Suddenly, Griffin bursts from his room, wrapped up in his many garments. He goes into the parlor and slams the door behind him. After some hesitation, Hall knocks on the door, but Griffin replies: “Go the devil!”