CARNACKI, THE GHOST FINDER
By William Hope Hodgson
1910, 1912
No. 1--THE GATEWAY OF THE MONSTER
In response to Carnacki's usual card of invitation to have dinner andlisten to a story, I arrived promptly at 427, Cheyne Walk, to find thethree others who were always invited to these happy little times, therebefore me. Five minutes later, Carnacki, Arkright, Jessop, Taylor, and Iwere all engaged in the "pleasant occupation" of dining.
"You've not been long away, this time," I remarked, as I finished mysoup; forgetting momentarily Carnacki's dislike of being asked even toskirt the borders of his story until such time as he was ready. Then hewould not stint words.
"That's all," he replied, with brevity; and I changed the subject,remarking that I had been buying a new gun, to which piece of news hegave an intelligent nod, and a smile which I think showed a genuinelygood-humored appreciation of my intentional changing of the conversation.
Later, when dinner was finished, Carnacki snugged himself comfortablydown in his big chair, along with his pipe, and began his story, withvery little circumlocution:--
"As Dodgson was remarking just now, I've only been away a short time, andfor a very good reason too--I've only been away a short distance. Theexact locality I am afraid I must not tell you; but it is less thantwenty miles from here; though, except for changing a name, that won'tspoil the story. And it is a story too! One of the most extraordinarythings ever I have run against.
"I received a letter a fortnight ago from a man I must call Anderson,asking for an appointment. I arranged a time, and when he came, I foundthat he wished me to investigate and see whether I could not clear up along-standing and well--too well--authenticated case of what he termed'haunting.' He gave me very full particulars, and, finally, as the caseseemed to present something unique, I decided to take it up.
"Two days later, I drove to the house late in the afternoon. I found it avery old place, standing quite alone in its own grounds. Anderson hadleft a letter with the butler, I found, pleading excuses for his absence,and leaving the whole house at my disposal for my investigations. Thebutler evidently knew the object of my visit, and I questioned him prettythoroughly during dinner, which I had in rather lonely state. He is anold and privileged servant, and had the history of the Grey Room exact indetail. From him I learned more particulars regarding two things thatAnderson had mentioned in but a casual manner. The first was that thedoor of the Grey Room would be heard in the dead of night to open, andslam heavily, and this even though the butler knew it was locked, and thekey on the bunch in his pantry. The second was that the bedclothes wouldalways be found torn off the bed, and hurled in a heap into a corner.
"But it was the door slamming that chiefly bothered the old butler. Manyand many a time, he told me, had he lain awake and just got shiveringwith fright, listening; for sometimes the door would be slammed timeafter time--thud! thud! thud!--so that sleep was impossible.
"From Anderson, I knew already that the room had a history extending backover a hundred and fifty years. Three people had been strangled in it--anancestor of his and his wife and child. This is authentic, as I had takenvery great pains to discover; so that you can imagine it was with afeeling I had a striking case to investigate that I went upstairs afterdinner to have a look at the Grey Room.
"Peter, the old butler, was in rather a state about my going, and assuredme with much solemnity that in all the twenty years of his service, noone had ever entered that room after nightfall. He begged me, in quite afatherly way, to wait till the morning, when there would be no danger,and then he could accompany me himself.
"Of course, I smiled a little at him, and told him not to bother. Iexplained that I should do no more than look 'round a bit, and, perhaps,affix a few seals. He need not fear; I was used to that sort of thing.But he shook his head when I said that.
"'There isn't many ghosts like ours, sir,' he assured me, with mournfulpride. And, by Jove! he was right, as you will see.
"I took a couple of candles, and Peter followed with his bunch of keys.He unlocked the door; but would not come inside with me. He was evidentlyin a fright, and he renewed his request that I would put off myexamination until daylight. Of course, I laughed at him again, and toldhim he could stand sentry at the door, and catch anything that came out.
"'It never comes outside, sir,' he said, in his funny, old, solemnmanner. Somehow, he managed to make me feel as if I were going to havethe 'creeps' right away. Anyway, it was one to him, you know.
"I left him there, and examined the room. It is a big apartment, and wellfurnished in the grand style, with a huge four-poster, which stands withits head to the end wall. There were two candles on the mantelpiece, andtwo on each of the three tables that were in the room. I lit the lot, andafter that, the room felt a little less inhumanly dreary; though, mindyou, it was quite fresh, and well kept in every way.
"After I had taken a good look 'round, I sealed lengths of baby ribbonacross the windows, along the walls, over the pictures, and over thefireplace and the wall closets. All the time, as I worked, the butlerstood just without the door, and I could not persuade him to enter;though I jested him a little, as I stretched the ribbons, and went hereand there about my work. Every now and again, he would say:--'You'llexcuse me, I'm sure, sir; but I do wish you would come out, sir. I'm fairin a quake for you.'
"I told him he need not wait; but he was loyal enough in his way to whathe considered his duty. He said he could not go away and leave me allalone there. He apologized; but made it very clear that I did not realizethe danger of the room; and I could see, generally, that he was in apretty frightened state. All the same, I had to make the room so that Ishould know if anything material entered it; so I asked him not to botherme, unless he really heard or saw something. He was beginning to get onmy nerves, and the 'feel' of the room was bad enough, without making itany nastier.
"For a time further, I worked, stretching ribbons across the floor, andsealing them, so that the merest touch would have broken them, wereanyone to venture into the room in the dark with the intention ofplaying the fool. All this had taken me far longer than I hadanticipated; and, suddenly, I heard a clock strike eleven. I had takenoff my coat soon after commencing work; now, however, as I hadpractically made an end of all that I intended to do, I walked across tothe settee, and picked it up. I was in the act of getting into it, whenthe old butler's voice (he had not said a word for the last hour) camesharp and frightened:--'Come out, sir, quick! There's something going tohappen!' Jove! but I jumped, and then, in the same moment, one of thecandles on the table to the left went out. Now whether it was the wind,or what, I do not know; but, just for a moment, I was enough startled tomake a run for the door; though I am glad to say that I pulled up, beforeI reached it. I simply could not bunk out, with the butler standingthere, after having, as it were, read him a sort of lesson on 'bein'brave, y'know.' So I just turned right 'round, picked up the two candlesoff the mantelpiece, and walked across to the table near the bed. Well, Isaw nothing. I blew out the candle that was still alight; then I went tothose on the two tables, and blew them out. Then, outside of the door,the old man called again:--'Oh! sir, do be told! Do be told!'
"'All right, Peter,' I said, and by Jove, my voice was not as steady asI should have liked! I made for the door, and had a bit of work not tostart running. I took some thundering long strides, as you can imagine.Near the door, I had a sudden feeling that there was a cold wind in theroom. It was almost as if the window had been suddenly opened a little.I got to the door, and the old butler gave back a step, in a sort ofinstinctive way. 'Collar the candles, Peter!' I said, pretty sharply,and shoved them into his hands. I turned, and caught the handle, andslamme
d the door shut, with a crash. Somehow, do you know, as I did so,I thought I felt something pull back on it; but it must have been onlyfancy. I turned the key in the lock, and then again, double-locking thedoor. I felt easier then, and set-to and sealed the door. In addition, Iput my card over the keyhole, and sealed it there; after which Ipocketed the key, and went downstairs--with Peter; who was nervous andsilent, leading the way. Poor old beggar! It had not struck me untilthat moment that he had been enduring a considerable strain during thelast two or three hours.
"About midnight, I went to bed. My room lay at the end of the corridorupon which opens the door of the Grey Room. I counted the doors betweenit and mine, and found that five rooms lay between. And I am sure you canunderstand that I was not sorry. Then, just as I was beginning toundress, an idea came to me, and I took my candle and sealing wax, andsealed the doors of all five rooms. If any door slammed in the night, Ishould know just which one.
"I returned to my room, locked the door, and went to bed. I was wakedsuddenly from a deep sleep by a loud crash somewhere out in the passage.I sat up in bed, and listened, but heard nothing. Then I lit my candle. Iwas in the very act of lighting it when there came the bang of a doorbeing violently slammed, along the corridor. I jumped out of bed, and gotmy revolver. I unlocked the door, and went out into the passage, holdingmy candle high, and keeping the pistol ready. Then a queer thinghappened. I could not go a step toward the Grey Room. You all know I amnot really a cowardly chap. I've gone into too many cases connected withghostly things, to be accused of that; but I tell you I funked it; simplyfunked it, just like any blessed kid. There was something precious unholyin the air that night. I ran back into my bedroom, and shut and lockedthe door. Then I sat on the bed all night, and listened to the dismalthudding of a door up the corridor. The sound seemed to echo through allthe house.
"Daylight came at last, and I washed and dressed. The door had notslammed for about an hour, and I was getting back my nerve again. I feltashamed of myself; though, in some ways it was silly; for when you'remeddling with that sort of thing, your nerve is bound to go, sometimes.And you just have to sit quiet and call yourself a coward until daylight.Sometimes it is more than just cowardice, I fancy. I believe at times itis something warning you, and fighting _for_ you. But, all the same, Ialways feel mean and miserable, after a time like that.
"When the day came properly, I opened my door, and, keeping my revolverhandy, went quietly along the passage. I had to pass the head of thestairs, along the way, and who should I see coming up, but the oldbutler, carrying a cup of coffee. He had merely tucked his nightshirtinto his trousers, and he had an old pair of carpet slippers on.
"'Hullo, Peter!' I said, feeling suddenly cheerful; for I was as glad asany lost child to have a live human being close to me. 'Where are you offto with the refreshments?'
"The old man gave a start, and slopped some of the coffee. He stared upat me, and I could see that he looked white and done-up. He came on upthe stairs, and held out the little tray to me. 'I'm very thankfulindeed, sir, to see you safe and well,' he said. 'I feared, one time, youmight risk going into the Grey Room, sir. I've lain awake all night, withthe sound of the Door. And when it came light, I thought I'd make you acup of coffee. I knew you would want to look at the seals, and somehow itseems safer if there's two, sir.'
"'Peter,' I said, 'you're a brick. This is very thoughtful of you.' And Idrank the coffee. 'Come along,' I told him, and handed him back the tray.'I'm going to have a look at what the Brutes have been up to. I simplyhadn't the pluck to in the night.'
"'I'm very thankful, sir,' he replied. 'Flesh and blood can do nothing,sir, against devils; and that's what's in the Grey Room after dark.'
"I examined the seals on all the doors, as I went along, and found themright; but when I got to the Grey Room, the seal was broken; though thecard, over the keyhole, was untouched. I ripped it off, and unlocked thedoor, and went in, rather cautiously, as you can imagine; but the wholeroom was empty of anything to frighten one, and there was heaps of light.I examined all my seals, and not a single one was disturbed. The oldbutler had followed me in, and, suddenly, he called out:--'Thebedclothes, sir!'
"I ran up to the bed, and looked over; and, surely, they were lying inthe corner to the left of the bed. Jove! you can imagine how queer Ifelt. Something _had_ been in the room. I stared for a while, from thebed, to the clothes on the floor. I had a feeling that I did not want totouch either. Old Peter, though, did not seem to be affected that way. Hewent over to the bed coverings, and was going to pick them up, as,doubtless, he had done every day these twenty years back; but I stoppedhim. I wanted nothing touched, until I had finished my examination. This,I must have spent a full hour over, and then I let Peter straighten upthe bed; after which we went out, and I locked the door; for the room wasgetting on my nerves.
"I had a short walk, and then breakfast; after which I felt more my ownman, and so returned to the Grey Room, and, with Peter's help, and one ofthe maids, I had everything taken out of the room, except the bed--eventhe very pictures. I examined the walls, floor and ceiling then, withprobe, hammer and magnifying glass; but found nothing suspicious. And Ican assure you, I began to realize, in very truth, that some incrediblething had been loose in the room during the past night. I sealed upeverything again, and went out, locking and sealing the door, as before.
"After dinner, Peter and I unpacked some of my stuff, and I fixed up mycamera and flashlight opposite to the door of the Grey Room, with astring from the trigger of the flashlight to the door. Then, you see, ifthe door were really opened, the flashlight would blare out, and therewould be, possibly, a very queer picture to examine in the morning. Thelast thing I did, before leaving, was to uncap the lens; and after that Iwent off to my bedroom, and to bed; for I intended to be up at midnight;and to ensure this, I set my little alarm to call me; also I left mycandle burning.
"The clock woke me at twelve, and I got up and into my dressing gown andslippers. I shoved my revolver into my right side-pocket, and opened mydoor. Then, I lit my darkroom lamp, and withdrew the slide, so that itwould give a clear light. I carried it up the corridor, about thirtyfeet, and put it down on the floor, with the open side away from me, sothat it would show me anything that might approach along the darkpassage. Then I went back, and sat in the doorway of my room, with myrevolver handy, staring up the passage toward the place where I knew mycamera stood outside the door of the Grey Room.
"I should think I had watched for about an hour and a half, when,suddenly, I heard a faint noise, away up the corridor. I was immediatelyconscious of a queer prickling sensation about the back of my head, andmy hands began to sweat a little. The following instant, the whole end ofthe passage flicked into sight in the abrupt glare of the flashlight.There came the succeeding darkness, and I peered nervously up thecorridor, listening tensely, and trying to find what lay beyond the faintglow of my dark-lamp, which now seemed ridiculously dim by contrast withthe tremendous blaze of the flash-power.... And then, as I stoopedforward, staring and listening, there came the crashing thud of the doorof the Grey Room. The sound seemed to fill the whole of the largecorridor, and go echoing hollowly through the house. I tell you, I felthorrible--as if my bones were water. Simply beastly. Jove! how I didstare, and how I listened. And then it came again--thud, thud, thud, andthen a silence that was almost worse than the noise of the door; for Ikept fancying that some awful thing was stealing upon me along thecorridor. And then, suddenly, my lamp was put out, and I could not see ayard before me. I realized all at once that I was doing a very sillything, sitting there, and I jumped up. Even as I did so, I _thought_ Iheard a sound in the passage, and quite _near_ me. I made one backwardspring into my room, and slammed and locked the door. I sat on my bed,and stared at the door. I had my revolver in my hand; but it seemed anabominably useless thing. I felt that there was something the other sideof that door. For some unknown reason I _knew_ it was pressed up againstthe door, and it was soft. That was just what I thought. Mostextrao
rdinary thing to think.
"Presently I got hold of myself a bit, and marked out a pentaclehurriedly with chalk on the polished floor; and there I sat in italmost until dawn. And all the time, away up the corridor, the door ofthe Grey Room thudded at solemn and horrid intervals. It was amiserable, brutal night.
"When the day began to break, the thudding of the door came gradually toan end, and, at last, I got hold of my courage, and went along thecorridor in the half light to cap the lens of my camera. I can tell you,it took some doing; but if I had not done so my photograph would havebeen spoilt, and I was tremendously keen to save it. I got back to myroom, and then set-to and rubbed out the five-pointed star in which I hadbeen sitting.
"Half an hour later there was a tap at my door. It was Peter with mycoffee. When I had drunk it, we both went along to the Grey Room. As wewent, I had a look at the seals on the other doors; but they wereuntouched. The seal on the door of the Grey Room was broken, as also wasthe string from the trigger of the flashlight; but the card over thekeyhole was still there. I ripped it off, and opened the door. Nothingunusual was to be seen until we came to the bed; then I saw that, as onthe previous day, the bedclothes had been torn off, and hurled into theleft-hand corner, exactly where I had seen them before. I felt veryqueer; but I did not forget to look at all the seals, only to find thatnot one had been broken.
"Then I turned and looked at old Peter, and he looked at me,nodding his head.
"'Let's get out of here!' I said. 'It's no place for any living human toenter, without proper protection.'
"We went out then, and I locked and sealed the door, again.
"After breakfast, I developed the negative; but it showed only the doorof the Grey Room, half opened. Then I left the house, as I wanted to getcertain matters and implements that might be necessary to life; perhapsto the spirit; for I intended to spend the coming night in the Grey Room.
"I got back in a cab, about half-past five, with my apparatus, and this,Peter and I carried up to the Grey Room, where I piled it carefully inthe center of the floor. When everything was in the room, including a catwhich I had brought, I locked and sealed the door, and went toward thebedroom, telling Peter I should not be down for dinner. He said, 'Yes,sir,' and went downstairs, thinking that I was going to turn in, whichwas what I wanted him to believe, as I knew he would have worried both meand himself, if he had known what I intended.
"But I merely got my camera and flashlight from my bedroom, and hurriedback to the Grey Room. I locked and sealed myself in, and set to work,for I had a lot to do before it got dark.
"First, I cleared away all the ribbons across the floor; then I carriedthe cat--still fastened in its basket--over toward the far wall, and leftit. I returned then to the center of the room, and measured out a spacetwenty-one feet in diameter, which I swept with a 'broom of hyssop.'About this, I drew a circle of chalk, taking care never to step over thecircle. Beyond this I smudged, with a bunch of garlic, a broad belt rightaround the chalked circle, and when this was complete, I took from amongmy stores in the center a small jar of a certain water. I broke away theparchment, and withdrew the stopper. Then, dipping my left forefinger inthe little jar, I went 'round the circle again, making upon the floor,just within the line of chalk, the Second Sign of the Saaamaaa Ritual,and joining each Sign most carefully with the left-handed crescent. I cantell you, I felt easier when this was done, and the 'water circle'complete. Then, I unpacked some more of the stuff that I had brought, andplaced a lighted candle in the 'valley' of each Crescent. After that, Idrew a Pentacle, so that each of the five points of the defensive startouched the chalk circle. In the five points of the star I placed fiveportions of the bread, each wrapped in linen, and in the five 'vales,'five opened jars of the water I had used to make the 'water circle.' Andnow I had my first protective barrier complete.
"Now, anyone, except you who know something of my methods ofinvestigation, might consider all this a piece of useless and foolishsuperstition; but you all remember the Black Veil case, in which Ibelieve my life was saved by a very similar form of protection, whilstAster, who sneered at it, and would not come inside, died. I got the ideafrom the Sigsand MS., written, so far as I can make out, in the 14thcentury. At first, naturally, I imagined it was just an expression ofthe superstition of his time; and it was not until a year later that itoccurred to me to test his 'Defense,' which I did, as I've just said, inthat horrible Black Veil business. You know how _that_ turned out. Later,I used it several times, and always I came through safe, until thatMoving Fur case. It was only a partial 'defense' therefore, and I nearlydied in the pentacle. After that I came across Professor Garder's'Experiments with a Medium.' When they surrounded the Medium with acurrent, in vacuum, he lost his power--almost as if it cut him off fromthe Immaterial. That made me think a lot; and that is how I came to makethe Electric Pentacle, which is a most marvelous 'Defense' againstcertain manifestations. I used the shape of the defensive star for thisprotection, because I have, personally, no doubt at all but that there issome extraordinary virtue in the old magic figure. Curious thing for aTwentieth Century man to admit, is it not? But, then, as you all know, Inever did, and never will, allow myself to be blinded by the little cheaplaughter. I ask questions, and keep my eyes open.
"In this last case I had little doubt that I had run up against asupernatural monster, and I meant to take every possible care; for thedanger is abominable.
"I turned-to now to fit the Electric Pentacle, setting it so that each ofits 'points' and 'vales' coincided exactly with the 'points' and 'vales'of the drawn pentagram upon the floor. Then I connected up the battery,and the next instant the pale blue glare from the intertwining vacuumtubes shone out.
"I glanced about me then, with something of a sigh of relief, andrealized suddenly that the dusk was upon me, for the window was grey andunfriendly. Then 'round at the big, empty room, over the double barrierof electric and candle light. I had an abrupt, extraordinary sense ofweirdness thrust upon me--in the air, you know; as it were, a sense ofsomething inhuman impending. The room was full of the stench of bruisedgarlic, a smell I hate.
"I turned now to the camera, and saw that it and the flashlight were inorder. Then I tested my revolver, carefully, though I had little thoughtthat it would be needed. Yet, to what extent materialization of anab-natural creature is possible, given favorable conditions, no one cansay; and I had no idea what horrible thing I was going to see, or feelthe presence of. I might, in the end, have to fight with a materializedmonster. I did not know, and could only be prepared. You see, I neverforgot that three other people had been strangled in the bed close to me,and the fierce slamming of the door I had heard myself. I had no doubtthat I was investigating a dangerous and ugly case.
"By this time, the night had come; though the room was very light withthe burning candles; and I found myself glancing behind me, constantly,and then all 'round the room. It was nervy work waiting for that thing tocome. Then, suddenly, I was aware of a little, cold wind sweeping overme, coming from behind. I gave one great nerve-thrill, and a pricklyfeeling went all over the back of my head. Then I hove myself 'round witha sort of stiff jerk, and stared straight against that queer wind. Itseemed to come from the corner of the room to the left of the bed--theplace where both times I had found the heap of tossed bedclothes. Yet, Icould see nothing unusual; no opening--nothing!...
"Abruptly, I was aware that the candles were all a-flicker in thatunnatural wind.... I believe I just squatted there and stared in ahorribly frightened, wooden way for some minutes. I shall never be ableto let you know how disgustingly horrible it was sitting in that vile,cold wind! And then, flick! flick! flick! all the candles 'round theouter barrier went out; and there was I, locked and sealed in that room,and with no light beyond the weakish blue glare of the Electric Pentacle.
"A time of abominable tenseness passed, and still that wind blew upon me;and then, suddenly, I knew that something stirred in the corner to theleft of the bed. I was made conscious of it, rather by
some inward,unused sense than by either sight or sound; for the pale, short-radiusglare of the Pentacle gave but a very poor light for seeing by. Yet, as Istared, something began slowly to grow upon my sight--a moving shadow, alittle darker than the surrounding shadows. I lost the thing amid thevagueness, and for a moment or two I glanced swiftly from side to side,with a fresh, new sense of impending danger. Then my attention wasdirected to the bed. All the covering's were being drawn steadily off,with a hateful, stealthy sort of motion. I heard the slow, draggingslither of the clothes; but I could see nothing of the thing that pulled.I was aware in a funny, subconscious, introspective fashion that the'creep' had come upon me; yet that I was cooler mentally than I had beenfor some minutes; sufficiently so to feel that my hands were sweatingcoldly, and to shift my revolver, half-consciously, whilst I rubbed myright hand dry upon my knee; though never, for an instant, taking my gazeor my attention from those moving clothes.
"The faint noises from the bed ceased once, and there was a most intensesilence, with only the sound of the blood beating in my head. Yet,immediately afterward, I heard again the slurring of the bedclothes beingdragged off the bed. In the midst of my nervous tension I remembered thecamera, and reached 'round for it; but without looking away from the bed.And then, you know, all in a moment, the whole of the bed coverings weretorn off with extraordinary violence, and I heard the flump they made asthey were hurled into the corner.
"There was a time of absolute quietness then for perhaps a couple ofminutes; and you can imagine how horrible I felt. The bedclothes had beenthrown with such savageness! And, then again, the brutal unnaturalness ofthe thing that had just been done before me!
"Abruptly, over by the door, I heard a faint noise--a sort of cricklingsound, and then a pitter or two upon the floor. A great nervous thrillswept over me, seeming to run up my spine and over the back of my head;for the seal that secured the door had just been broken. Something wasthere. I could not see the door; at least, I mean to say that it wasimpossible to say how much I actually saw, and how much my imaginationsupplied. I made it out, only as a continuation of the grey walls.... Andthen it seemed to me that something dark and indistinct moved and waveredthere among the shadows.
"Abruptly, I was aware that the door was opening, and with an effort Ireached again for my camera; but before I could aim it the door wasslammed with a terrific crash that filled the whole room with a sort ofhollow thunder. I jumped, like a frightened child. There seemed such apower behind the noise; as though a vast, wanton Force were 'out.' Canyou understand?
"The door was not touched again; but, directly afterward, I heard thebasket, in which the cat lay, creak. I tell you, I fairly pringled allalong my back. I knew that I was going to learn definitely whetherwhatever was abroad was dangerous to Life. From the cat there rosesuddenly a hideous caterwaul, that ceased abruptly; and then--too late--Isnapped off the flashlight. In the great glare, I saw that the basket hadbeen overturned, and the lid was wrenched open, with the cat lying halfin, and half out upon the floor. I saw nothing else, but I was full ofthe knowledge that I was in the presence of some Being or Thing that hadpower to destroy.
"During the next two or three minutes, there was an odd, noticeablequietness in the room, and you much remember I was half-blinded, for thetime, because of the flashlight; so that the whole place seemed to bepitchy dark just beyond the shine of the Pentacle. I tell you it was mosthorrible. I just knelt there in the star, and whirled 'round, trying tosee whether anything was coming at me.
"My power of sight came gradually, and I got a little hold of myself; andabruptly I saw the thing I was looking for, close to the 'water circle.'It was big and indistinct, and wavered curiously, as though the shadow ofa vast spider hung suspended in the air, just beyond the barrier. Itpassed swiftly 'round the circle, and seemed to probe ever toward me; butonly to draw back with extraordinary jerky movements, as might a livingperson if they touched the hot bar of a grate.
"'Round and 'round it moved, and 'round and 'round I turned. Then, justopposite to one of the Vales' in the pentacles, it seemed to pause, asthough preliminary to a tremendous effort. It retired almost beyond theglow of the vacuum light, and then came straight toward me, appearing togather form and solidity as it came. There seemed a vast, maligndetermination behind the movement, that must succeed. I was on my knees,and I jerked back, falling on to my left hand, and hip, in a wildendeavor to get back from the advancing thing. With my right hand I wasgrabbing madly for my revolver, which I had let slip. The brutal thingcame with one great sweep straight over the garlic and the 'watercircle,' almost to the vale of the pentacle. I believe I yelled. Then,just as suddenly as it had swept over, it seemed to be hurled back bysome mighty, invisible force.
"It must have been some moments before I realized that I was safe; andthen I got myself together in the middle of the pentacles, feelinghorribly gone and shaken, and glancing 'round and 'round the barrier; butthe thing had vanished. Yet, I had learnt something, for I knew now thatthe Grey Room was haunted by a monstrous hand.
"Suddenly, as I crouched there, I saw what had so nearly given themonster an opening through the barrier. In my movements within thepentacle I must have touched one of the jars of water; for just where thething had made its attack the jar that guarded the 'deep' of the 'vale'had been moved to one side, and this had left one of the 'five doorways'unguarded. I put it back, quickly, and felt almost safe again, for I hadfound the cause, and the 'defense' was still good. And I began to hopeagain that I should see the morning come in. When I saw that thing sonearly succeed, I had an awful, weak, overwhelming feeling that the'barriers' could never bring me safe through the night against such aForce. You can understand?
"For a long time I could not see the hand; but, presently, I thought Isaw, once or twice, an odd wavering, over among the shadows near thedoor. A little later, as though in a sudden fit of malignant rage, thedead body of the cat was picked up, and beaten with dull, sickening blowsagainst the solid floor. That made me feel rather queer.
"A minute afterward, the door was opened and slammed twice withtremendous force. The next instant the thing made one swift, vicious dartat me, from out of the shadows. Instinctively, I started sideways fromit, and so plucked my hand from upon the Electric Pentacle, where--for awickedly careless moment--I had placed it. The monster was hurled offfrom the neighborhood of the pentacles; though--owing to my inconceivablefoolishness--it had been enabled for a second time to pass the outerbarriers. I can tell you, I shook for a time, with sheer funk. I movedright to the center of the pentacles again, and knelt there, makingmyself as small and compact as possible.
"As I knelt, there came to me presently, a vague wonder at the two'accidents' which had so nearly allowed the brute to get at me. Was Ibeing _influenced_ to unconscious voluntary actions that endangered me?The thought took hold of me, and I watched my every movement. Abruptly, Istretched a tired leg, and knocked over one of the jars of water. Somewas spilled; but, because of my suspicious watchfulness, I had it uprightand back within the vale while yet some of the water remained. Even as Idid so, the vast, black, half-materialized hand beat up at me out of theshadows, and seemed to leap almost into my face; so nearly did itapproach; but for the third time it was thrown back by some altogetherenormous, overmastering force. Yet, apart from the dazed fright in whichit left me, I had for a moment that feeling of spiritual sickness, as ifsome delicate, beautiful, inward grace had suffered, which is felt onlyupon the too near approach of the ab-human, and is more dreadful, in astrange way, than any physical pain that can be suffered. I knew by thismore of the extent and closeness of the danger; and for a long time I wassimply cowed by the butt-headed brutality of that Force upon my spirit. Ican put it no other way.
"I knelt again in the center of the pentacles, watching myself with morefear, almost, than the monster; for I knew now that, unless I guardedmyself from every sudden impulse that came to me, I might simply work myown destruction. Do you see how horrible it all was?
"I
spent the rest of the night in a haze of sick fright, and so tensethat I could not make a single movement naturally. I was in such fearthat any desire for action that came to me might be prompted by theInfluence that I knew was at work on me. And outside of the barrier thatghastly thing went 'round and 'round, grabbing and grabbing in the air atme. Twice more was the body of the dead cat molested. The second time, Iheard every bone in its body scrunch and crack. And all the time thehorrible wind was blowing upon me from the corner of the room to the leftof the bed.
"Then, just as the first touch of dawn came into the sky, that unnaturalwind ceased, in a single moment; and I could see no sign of the hand. Thedawn came slowly, and presently the wan light filled all the room, andmade the pale glare of the Electric Pentacle look more unearthly. Yet, itwas not until the day had fully come, that I made any attempt to leavethe barrier, for I did not know but that there was some method abroad, inthe sudden stopping of that wind, to entice me from the pentacles.
"At last, when the dawn was strong and bright, I took one last look'round, and ran for the door. I got it unlocked, in a nervous and clumsyfashion, then locked it hurriedly, and went to my bedroom, where I lay onthe bed, and tried to steady my nerves. Peter came, presently, with thecoffee, and when I had drunk it, I told him I meant to have a sleep, as Ihad been up all night. He took the tray, and went out quietly, and afterI had locked my door I turned in properly, and at last got to sleep.
"I woke about midday, and after some lunch, went up to the Grey Room. Iswitched off the current from the Pentacle, which I had left on in myhurry; also, I removed the body of the cat. You can understand I did notwant anyone to see the poor brute. After that, I made a very carefulsearch of the corner where the bedclothes had been thrown. I made severalholes, and probed, and found nothing. Then it occurred to me to try withmy instrument under the skirting. I did so, and heard my wire ring onmetal. I turned the hook end that way, and fished for the thing. At thesecond go, I got it. It was a small object, and I took it to the window.I found it to be a curious ring, made of some greying material. Thecurious thing about it was that it was made in the form of a pentagon;that is, the same shape as the inside of the magic pentacle, but withoutthe 'mounts,' which form the points of the defensive star. It was freefrom all chasing or engraving.
"You will understand that I was excited, when I tell you that I felt sureI held in my hand the famous Luck Ring of the Anderson family; which,indeed, was of all things the one most intimately connected with thehistory of the haunting. This ring was handed on from father to sonthrough generations, and always--in obedience to some ancient familytradition--each son had to promise never to wear the ring. The ring, Imay say, was brought home by one of the Crusaders, under very peculiarcircumstances; but the story is too long to go into here.
"It appears that young Sir Hulbert, an ancestor of Anderson's, made abet, in drink, you know, that he would wear the ring that night. He didso, and in the morning his wife and child were found strangled in thebed, in the very room in which I stood. Many people, it would seem,thought young Sir Hulbert was guilty of having done the thing in drunkenanger; and he, in an attempt to prove his innocence, slept a second nightin the room. He also was strangled. Since then, as you may imagine, noone has ever spent a night in the Grey Room, until I did so. The ring hadbeen lost so long, that it had become almost a myth; and it was mostextraordinary to stand there, with the actual thing in my hand, as youcan understand.
"It was whilst I stood there, looking at the ring, that I got an idea.Supposing that it were, in a way, a doorway--You see what I mean? A sortof gap in the world-hedge. It was a queer idea, I know, and probably wasnot my own, but came to me from the Outside. You see, the wind had comefrom that part of the room where the ring lay. I thought a lot about it.Then the shape--the inside of a pentacle. It had no 'mounts,' and withoutmounts, as the Sigsand MS. has it:--'Thee mownts wych are thee Five Hillsof safetie. To lack is to gyve pow'r to thee daemon; and surelie tofayvor the Evill Thynge.' You see, the very shape of the ring wassignificant; and I determined to test it.
"I unmade the pentacle, for it must be made afresh _and around_ the oneto be protected. Then I went out and locked the door; after which I leftthe house, to get certain matters, for neither 'yarbs nor fyre nor waier'must be used a second time. I returned about seven thirty, and as soon asthe things I had brought had been carried up to the Grey Room, Idismissed Peter for the night, just as I had done the evening before.When he had gone downstairs, I let myself into the room, and locked andsealed the door. I went to the place in the center of the room where allthe stuff had been packed, and set to work with all my speed to constructa barrier about me and the ring.
"I do not remember whether I explained it to you. But I had reasonedthat, if the ring were in any way a 'medium of admission,' and it wereenclosed with me in the Electric Pentacle, it would be, to express itloosely, insulated. Do you see? The Force, which had visible expressionas a Hand, would have to stay beyond the Barrier which separates the Abfrom the Normal; for the 'gateway' would be removed from accessibility.
"As I was saying, I worked with all my speed to get the barrier completedabout me and the ring, for it was already later than I cared to be inthat room 'unprotected.' Also, I had a feeling that there would be a vasteffort made that night to regain the use of the ring. For I had thestrongest conviction that the ring was a necessity to materialization.You will see whether I was right.
"I completed the barriers in about an hour, and you can imagine somethingof the relief I felt when I felt the pale glare of the Electric Pentacleonce more all about me. From then, onward, for about two hours, I satquietly, facing the corner from which the wind came. About eleven o'clocka queer knowledge came that something was near to me; yet nothinghappened for a whole hour after that. Then, suddenly, I felt the cold,queer wind begin to blow upon me. To my astonishment, it seemed now tocome from behind me, and I whipped 'round, with a hideous quake of fear.The wind met me in the face. It was blowing up from the floor close tome. I stared down, in a sickening maze of new frights. What on earth hadI done now! The ring was there, close beside me, where I had put it.Suddenly, as I stared, bewildered, I was aware that there was somethingqueer about the ring--funny shadowy movements and convolutions. I lookedat them, stupidly. And then, abruptly, I knew that the wind was blowingup at me from the ring. A queer indistinct smoke became visible to me,seeming to pour upward through the ring, and mix with the moving shadows.Suddenly, I realized that I was in more than any mortal danger; for theconvoluting shadows about the ring were taking shape, and the death-handwas forming _within_ the Pentacle. My Goodness! do you realize it! I hadbrought the 'gateway' into the pentacles, and the brute was comingthrough--pouring into the material world, as gas might pour out from themouth of a pipe.
"I should think that I knelt for a moment in a sort of stunned fright.Then, with a mad, awkward movement, I snatched at the ring, intending tohurl it out of the Pentacle. Yet it eluded me, as though some invisible,living thing jerked it hither and thither. At last, I gripped it; yet,in the same instant, it was torn from my grasp with incredible and brutalforce. A great, black shadow covered it, and rose into the air, and cameat me. I saw that it was the Hand, vast and nearly perfect in form. Igave one crazy yell, and jumped over the Pentacle and the ring of burningcandles, and ran despairingly for the door. I fumbled idiotically andineffectually with the key, and all the time I stared, with a fear thatwas like insanity, toward the Barriers. The hand was plunging toward me;yet, even as it had been unable to pass into the Pentacle when the ringwas without, so, now that the ring was within, it had no power to passout. The monster was chained, as surely as any beast would be, werechains riveted upon it.
"Even then, I got a flash of this knowledge; but I was too utterly shakenwith fright, to reason; and the instant I managed to get the key turned,I sprang into the passage, and slammed the door with a crash. I lockedit, and got to my room somehow; for I was trembling so that I couldhardly stand, as you can imagine. I locked m
yself in, and managed to getthe candle lit; then I lay down on my bed, and kept quiet for an hour ortwo, and so I got steadied.
"I got a little sleep, later; but woke when Peter brought my coffee.When I had drunk it I felt altogether better, and took the old man alongwith me whilst I had a look into the Grey Room. I opened the door, andpeeped in. The candles were still burning, wan against the daylight; andbehind them was the pale, glowing star of the Electric Pentacle. Andthere, in the middle, was the ring ... the gateway of the monster, lyingdemure and ordinary.
"Nothing in the room was touched, and I knew that the brute had nevermanaged to cross the Pentacles. Then I went out, and locked the door.
"After a sleep of some hours, I left the house. I returned in theafternoon in a cab. I had with me an oxy-hydrogen jet, and twocylinders, containing the gases. I carried the things into the GreyRoom, and there, in the center of the Electric Pentacle, I erected thelittle furnace. Five minutes later the Luck Ring, once the 'luck,' butnow the 'bane,' of the Anderson family, was no more than a little solidsplash of hot metal."
Carnacki felt in his pocket, and pulled out something wrapped in tissuepaper. He passed it to me. I opened it, and found a small circle ofgreyish metal, something like lead, only harder and rather brighter.
"Well?" I asked, at length, after examining it and handing it 'round tothe others. "Did that stop the haunting?"
Carnacki nodded. "Yes," he said. "I slept three nights in the Grey Room,before I left. Old Peter nearly fainted when he knew that I meant to; butby the third night he seemed to realize that the house was just safe andordinary. And, you know, I believe, in his heart, he hardly approved."
Carnacki stood up and began to shake hands. "Out you go!" he said,genially. And presently we went, pondering, to our various homes.
Carnacki, the Ghost Finder Page 1