A FACE IN DARK, a story written by Ruskin bond leaving a message comparing about human state of mind and paranormal activities in real life.

1. A FACE IN THE DARK
BY
RUSKIN BOND

2. About the author
• RUSKIN BOND, an Indian author of British descent, was born on 19th May,
1934, in Himachal Pradesh.
• Most of his writing has a strong influence from the social life of a hill stations
at the foothills of Himalayas where he spent his childhood.
• Bond is considered as an idol among Indian writers and was awarded the
Padma Shri for contribution to children’s literature.

3. Other notable works by ruskin bond
Room On The Roof
Bond wrote 'The Room on the
Roof' when he was just 17
years old which is a
masterpiece.
The Blue Umbrella
This story was adapted into a
Bollywood movie and the
story revolves around a little
girl who trades her leopard
claw pendant to acquire a blue
colored umbrella that makes
everybody jealous of her.
Rusty, The Boy From The
Hills
The novel was published in
2002 and shows a fascinating
transformation of Rusty from
his early childhood to his
early teens

5. The plot
• “A FACE IN THE DARK” is a strange story that describes two uncanny experiences of Mr. Oliver, a
teacher of an English Public School in Shimla.
• Mr. Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher, who dared to walk through the pine forest for a short cut after spending
an evening in Simla Bazaar.
• While returning back he saw a boy sitting alone on a rock weeping, and when he approached the boy to find
out the reason, he figured out he had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth just a smooth head with a school cap on it.
• Horrified, Mr. Oliver ran blindly and bumped into a watchman who enquires why was he running and then
Oliver saw watchman’s featureless face and suddenly the wind blew and put out the lamp.

6. Characters

7. My favorite character
• Mr. Oliver, an Anglo Indian school teacher was a bachelor who didn’t have a fanciful mind but he was a daring
person.
• Being a disciplinarian, he approached the boy to scold him as the students were not allowed to be outside the
campus after dark.
• Oliver is not only a courageous man but also a very practical person, as he carries a torch while he took the
route to the forest to return back to school.
MR OLIVER

8. Critical reviews
• By reading this story readers live the experiences of Mr. Oliver without getting too much into
unnecessary details.
• Readers say that he was a very courageous and practical man, but failed to keep himself calm
when he meet the boy with uncanny features.
• Readers concluded that Oliver, at the moment of crises loses all calm and runs to save his life
rather than being patient.

9. Your reviews
• This story is a philosophical exposition of how often a person gets scared and is consumed by
fear when he meets or encounters someone who is different and unfamiliar.
• Bond wanted people to develop a sense of patience and calm when dealing with people of diverse
appearances, behaviors or beliefs.
• The story also explains that isolation and disconnected living is unhealthy when it comes to
human beings and their society

10. References
• https://englicist.com/notes/a-face-in-the-dark
• https://fasrvc317.weebly.com/a-face-in-the-dark-by-ruskin-bond-full-story-
pdf.html
• https://www.litbug.com/2019/10/27/a-face-in-the-dark-by-ruskin-bond-summary-and-
analysis/
• https://www.worksheetsbuddy.com/a-face-in-the-dark-summary-in-english-by-
ruskin-bond/