Sentence:  They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a <WSD>ghastly</WSD> rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Horrifyingly shocking.