Discuss the first, second and third appearance of the ghost.

The first encounter between the ghost and Mr Otis shows that it had not turned out according to our expectations regarding how a ghost story would be. Mr Otis was not at all frightened by the ghost, dealing with him in a matter-of-fact manner. On the other hand, the ghost drawn from stereotypical representations of how a ghost should be but the ghost ends up getting flummoxed by Mr Otis' nonchalance. Mr Otis was quite calm and his pulse was not at all feverish as the strange noise continued and he heard footsteps. As the ghost appeared right in front of him in all his supernatural paraphernalia, with great composure Mr Otis suggested a bottle of Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It was for the ghost to oil his chains. The ghost stood motionless in natural indignation and dashed the bottle violently on the floor. The ghost had been caught off-guard by such a calm demeanour in the face of such an encounter with an apparition. It shows the Mr Otis had a nature that was unperturbed by such occurrences while the ghost ended up getting befuddled.

The Ghost had paused for a moment at the corner of the passage that led to Washington's room. As the clock struck one, he decided it was time to scare the latter and began chuckling to himself. As soon as he turned the corner, a piteous wail of terror escaped from his throat and fell back, hiding his blanched face in his long, bony hands. In front of him was standing a horrible spectre, motionless like a carved image and nightmarish like the dream of a madman. Its head was bald and burnished, face round, fat and white and hideous laughter seemed to have writhed its features into an eternal grin. Rays of scarlet light streamed from its eyes, the mouth was a wide well of fire and he was a swathed in a hideous garment like the Ghost's own. On its breast was a placard with strange writing in antique characters, it seemed to be a scroll recording some wild sins and with its right hand, it bore a falchion of gleaming steel. The ghost had never seen a ghost before and it was extremely scared. As soon as he bestowed a second hasty glance at the awful phantom, he fled back to his room tripping up in his long winding sheet as he sped down the corridor. He finally dropped the rusty dagger in the Minister's jack-boots. In the privacy of his own apartment, he flung himself down on  a small pallet-bed and hid his face under the clothes. It took him some time to revive himself and then he was determined to parley with the other ghost in daylight. As dawn came, he returned to the spot where he had seen the phantom feeling that two ghosts were better than one and with the aid of his new friend, he might possibly frighten the twins. On reaching the spot, his eyes met with another terrible sight because the light seemed to have faded from the hollow eyes of the spectre. The falchion had fallen from its hand and it was leaning against the wall in a strained and uncomfortable attitude. The Ghost rushed forward and seized it in his arms, when to his horror the head slipped off and rolled on the floor. The body slumped and he found himself clasping a white bed-curtain with a sweeping-brush, a kitchen cleaver and a hollow turnip lying at his feet. Confused at this transformation, he read the plaque which conveyed to him that he had been fooled. He had been tricked and outsmarted, the family knew that there was only one ghost who indulged himself by impersonating other ghosts.