by Hans De Roos
Next I tried going up the stairs leading to the portrait gallery. When I took hold of the handle to the big oak door, I was amazed to find it unlocked.
The sun shone in through the windows of the long gallery, and the portraits seemed to have a different aura about them than they did when I saw them at night, lit by the weak glow of a still young moon,171 and with the help of candlelight. Nevertheless, the images still had an effect on me. I suddenly started feeling rather sick, on the verge of breaking down. I took only a brief look at the paintings, even though it felt as if the stately portrait at the end of the hall was pulling me towards it with almost irresistible force. But I was determined not to let anything delay me until I had examined the castle as widely as I could.
On the opposite side of the gallery, two doors were standing wide open.
Fjallkonan #21 | 2 June 1900
THE DOOR ON THE LEFT LED TO A ROOM IN A LARGE, round tower with several windows, but there were no doors in this room other than the one from the portrait gallery. Next to this door was another open door in the side wall of the gallery, leading to a long series of rooms of various sizes; they all faced west, and I guessed that they made up a large part of the castle’s west wing. I had no time to examine these apartments more closely, but I judged by the look of things172 that there were no staircases leading to the other living areas in the building. I assumed that such a set of stairs was somewhere to be found, but the last door in this series of rooms—which probably lead to a hallway or exit—was securely locked, so I couldn’t open it.
All the rooms were furnished in the typical way of old castles, with furniture originating from different periods, but nothing in present-day style. Everything was old, faded and worn, though not rickety. I wanted to inspect the furniture more thoroughly later, as I didn’t have time to do so at that moment. Realizing I wouldn’t be able to get out this way, I hurried back to the portrait gallery. At its other end—the same side as the entrance—there was one more door. It was unlocked, and I entered a large, richly ornamented hall with three windows through which the sun shone in. Between the windows hung mirrors with black and gold frames,173 and the floor was painted in a grey and white rhombic pattern. Everything was in a style known to be fashionable among highborn people at the beginning of the century, with pink, blue, grey and white colors—all pale with age. Then I found another series of rooms, and I raced through them as if in a dream: I had grown ill now—I felt faint and unwell—so I hurried as fast as I could. These rooms have probably been deserted so long that the air in them may be unhealthy—especially at this time of year, when the sun’s warmth has not yet penetrated the thick walls. But it appeared as though these living quarters had been inhabited not too long ago. Most likely they had been ladies’ quarters; neither arrows nor other enemy fire could reach them, and the windows were larger and much higher than those in the rooms beneath.
After I had gone through several of the rooms, I found another door on the wall opposite the windows. I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. However, upon closer inspection, I saw that it was not locked; the wood was merely swollen.174 At last I managed to open it. I came to a dilapidated corridor, and through some loopholes in the walls I could look straight into the ravine lying east of the castle, where a river fell to form a waterfall. The rooms on the other side of the corridor were all securely locked, but when I reached the end of the corridor, I finally came upon a downwards staircase. It was narrow and steep, with small embrasures in its massive walls.
I was starting to feel better, as the air in the stairwell felt fresher and healthier, relieving me of my nausea. But at the same time, the implication of what I had seen last night and this morning became clearer to me: I had to get out of this prison as soon as possible.
The staircase led to another corridor, longer and even more dilapidated than the one before. I suspected that I was now standing in the north wing of the castle, which—more than the other parts of the castle—seemed designed for self-defence and resembled a fortress.175 At the end of this corridor I found a large iron-clad door. The key was in the lock, and I barely managed to turn it. When I came through the door I entered a rectangular room resembling a cellar. The walls and floor were constructed from unevenly carved rock and everything was covered in spider webs—it was evident that no one had been there for years. Light was falling through two windows, and between them were iron chains and screws, for which I could not determine the purpose. A set of stairs led up to one of the windows, so I rushed up the steps to see what I could find there.
Fjallkonan #29 | 26 July 1900
WHEN I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW, I SAW THAT I must have made countless detours on the way here to finally arrive at the building’s north side. The window was small, so I couldn’t see far to the right or left, but again I saw that we were near the ravine, with a misting waterfall below. I had often heard the rushing water in the silence of the night, but I didn’t think it was so close. From the main gate the bridge led over the cataract, but now it had been drawn up, so that the castle could not be entered this way. I now understood the function of the chains I had seen by the windows: they were used to pull up the bridge. I also realized that even if I were able to exit the entrance hall, I still would not be able to escape. Quickly, I went back down the steps and took a good look around the room. I saw that the tools for pulling up and lowering the bridge had recently been repaired and that fresh footprints had disturbed the dust on the floor. I surmised that the drawbridge was moved gradually, and that the people who operated it had to move about this room to do so. It was hard to believe that they had to go through all the corridors and suites I had passed through in order to access this room, so there had to be another exit nearby. Then I spotted another door opposite the one I had entered, but it was much smaller—barely head-high—and had no lock, only a simple handle, like the ones seen on old farms in England. The handle could be pressed down easily, but the door itself was rigid and heavy. When I pushed it open my face was met with a waft of foul odor, and I found four or five steps of a winding staircase leading down into murky darkness. Had I been less wrought-up, I no doubt would have hesitated to go down there, but all I could think of was forging ahead. I propped the door wide open with a log lying in a corner. Then I slowly went down the stairs …
At first I could see by the little light from the doorway, but soon stygian gloom took over, so that I had to reach ahead of me to find my way. It was a great distance between each step, which were so narrow that only one person could walk them at a time; it was as if I were descending into a deep well. Running my hand along the damp wall, I cautiously moved ahead. I must have gone down at least fifty steps and was beginning to think of turning back, but curiosity drove me forward; I wanted to find what must be hidden in this castle—as the Count’s words had implied—although I suspected that whatever it was, it must be something no honest man should go near! If this is the case, I must warn Mr. Hawkins, my employer, of the Count, who would undoubtedly be best kept exactly where he is.
Suddenly, it seemed something was behind me on the stairs! I heard nothing, nor did I see anything, but I felt that someone was right on my heels. My hair stood on end, and I felt shivers running down my spine. I couldn’t bear it, and so I turned to the side, backing up against the wall and placing one foot onto the lower step.
And just then I was attacked! Something—man or animal, I do not know—grabbed me. Not from behind, for then I would have been a dead man, but from the front and side, so that it was easier for me176 to defend myself.
Something enormously heavy weighed down on my left shoulder and started strangling me. I could feel a gaping snout touch my ear, cheek and mouth with its thick lips, releasing its rank breath. Then a leg—or something like it—was wrapping itself around my right foot, but luckily I had both hands free and could brace myself against the stair. I couldn’t get to my revolver, but I grabbed the arms that were coiling around my neck and found that, although very hairy, the
y were definitely human! I yanked at them with all my strength, but they wouldn’t give way. I felt something scratching at my neck, and it seemed as if my attacker was trying to get his lips to my throat. I had just grabbed his head with both hands when he suddenly released his grip and pushed me away, and I fell a great distance – – –
I don’t know how much time passed before I came to life again, but it took me awhile to get my head straight. I was lying on the ground in front of a narrow doorway, and behind me, in the darkness, I could see the staircase. Ahead of me was a long tunnel with some light coming from windows high up by the ceiling. Luckily I had landed on a soft dirt floor, so I was not badly hurt.
I considered the possibility that I might simply have panicked177—became dizzy and fell down the stairs, hitting the door I now lay in front of and smashing it open—and that everything else had just been my imagination … But why would my shirt and its collar be torn and my necktie be gone, while the rosary with the iron cross—which I carried in memory of the landlady I had stayed with—had pressed itself so tightly into my neck that it left bruises? There was also this burning sensation in my throat.
Suddenly it occurred to me that I would have to go back up the same way I had come, and the mere thought of it nearly killed me. It felt like I was stuck in a trap, so without thinking I continued my journey, half limping.178
When I came to the end of the corridor, it opened up into a windowless vault. Exiting the other side of it, I reached a round space with a dirt floor and three or four windows up high on the wall. The walls were constructed out of very large stones, and I guessed that I’d reached one of the deepest rooms of the castle. I could hear the waterfall better here than from anywhere else. The floor slanted downwards by the wall, like a trench.
I stood for a moment, finding my bearings. The windows were open and a breeze was blowing through the spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling. Even so, the air in the room was rancid. It didn’t take me long to discover where this stench was coming from.
At first I thought I was standing in a food cellar—it seemed as if heaps of produce were stockpiled along the walls. It also occurred to me that an exit should be nearby, to make it easier for the residents to access the room. I then noticed a kind of shutter or hatch on the wall right next to me. I managed to open it. When I saw I might get some air and light in the room, I looked deeper into the opening, but just as I leaned against the wall to peek through the hole in the stonework, two skulls rolled down—one pale and shiny, but the other one with hair and skin still sticking to it!
I was aghast by what I was seeing, even more so when I found that the trench by the wall was largely filled with human bones, moldy and half decomposed. I could see a ribcage still connected to a spine, arms and legs with their tendons still intact, and skulls with hollow eye sockets, all tangled together. The stench coming from this pile of horror—magnified by the increased airflow—was so putrid that I nearly flung myself out through the opening in the wall. Fortunately, I managed to remain composed enough not to do so; otherwise it would have been my very last step. Below the window was the abyss with its sharp cliffs and the sweeping waterfall!
I looked again to make sure: This was no exit for any living human. It was meant for the dead!
Panic struck me when I envisioned the trip back to my room. In my frustration I ran right across the heap of bones, rattling beneath my feet, while I hastened to the other end of the room. There was another door and I managed to open it.
What on earth would emerge from behind this door?
Hesitantly, I opened it—and slipped through.
I had come to some kind of church or temple, though there were barely any of the icons found in Christian churches.
The room was gloomy inside, with high-set bow windows. There were repulsive, half-primitive pictures on the walls, and I also detected strange symbols on the floor.179 I saw stone coffins, and towards the end of the room was an oversized sarcophagus made of yellow and multi-colored marble.
Suddenly I came across a doorway with a staircase behind it, leading upwards.
I hesitated before ascending, vividly recalling what had happened to me on the other staircase, but still I decided to proceed.
When I reached the top of the stairs I was standing on some kind of balcony; from there I could see down into an old, decrepit chapel. I realized that the room I’d just come up from functioned as an underground crypt and must be connected to this sanctuary, but I could find no way down from this platform to the chapel.180 What I did find, however, were stairs leading up from the balcony, and I decided to climb them. I could tell by the condition of the steps that they were used often. As I ascended the staircase, I saw sunbeams dancing on the wall above me, which greatly lifted my spirits: There was a window! I was so relieved that for a moment I forgot that it was still uncertain whether I would ever get back to my room. I leaned out of the window and looked around.
I saw that I was in the southwest corner of the castle, and from there I could see its east side, where my room was. And then I saw the windows I’d left open. If only I had wings, I would have flown there!
Fjallkonan #31 | 11 August 1900
SUDDENLY, I SAW SOMETHING ELSETHAT GAVE ME PAUSE.181
Along the wall beneath the window I was looking out from ran the ridge I had observed the night before. It seemed as though a shadow had been cast upon it in the night. Whether this shadow was caused by a human or not, I do not know, but it could only have come from this window, for there were no other doors or windows nearby to cast light.
I’d had more than enough on my mind in my attempts to escape the castle, and so I’d almost forgotten about the body of the young girl I’d seen not far from here. But then something happened to remind me.
I saw an elderly woman wearing peasant clothes suddenly appear between the bushes and the place where the corpse was lying. It was evident from her movements that she was trembling with fear, and upon reaching the body her lips parted as if to let out a scream. But instead she steadied herself and gestured to someone else, whom I couldn’t see, to come closer. I now saw that she was standing on a narrow path on the other side of the castle that led along the foot of the cliffs.
A group of people from the countryside—both men and women—came walking up the trail, the same apprehension in their demeanor. When they reached the elderly woman they crowded around her, and it was clear she was reporting something to them. I had no doubt what it was. The people spoke in low voices, but they were plainly upset. Then they all walked up to the dead girl. I could see everything: her pallid face in the sunshine, the wound in her throat, and the blood-stained clothes on her dead body.
Among these people was an old man who appeared to be in charge of the others; he seemed to tell them something that they were hesitant to obey. But they finally nodded their assent. A young man—who seemed even more grief-stricken than the rest—went into the bushes and fetched a limb from a mountain ash, which he handed to the old man. The elder then drove the branch into the corpse’s chest, mumbling a great many prayers, and then the crowd carried the body away.182
It was obvious that this ritual originated from ignorant superstition.183 I sat down and looked at my watch. It felt as though I had been wandering around the castle for a very long time, but now I saw that it had only been three hours. Though I had expected the day to be coming to an end, the sun was still high up in the sky.
I knew that I had to continue my tour. These stairs would lead to the upper part of the castle, and surely somewhere up there I would find its inhabitants. She had to be there, too—the glorious girl I had met, and then had seen once more—and she could not be alone: Somewhere there had to be handmaids, occupied rooms, and doors that could be passed through without hindrance, although, until now, I had only managed to find my way to the abandoned parts of the castle.
“Carry on,” I said to myself.
I ran up the stairs, which were no longer pitch dark, and soon I came up
on a sturdily built door. I was so jittery that I could hardly catch my breath. I suspected the door would be locked and that I would have to go back the same way I’d come—or else perish here.
The windows were somewhat farther off, so there was not much light and I had to feel for the lock. The keyhole was open; the door must have been fastened.
I felt light-headed and nearly keeled over, so I sat down at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall. I was exhausted, and I don’t know how long I sat there, when suddenly I thought I heard someone moving about. I straightened up and listened as closely as I could. Yes! I heard it again! It sounded as if someone was carefully unbolting the door.
Could it be? I jumped to my feet and stepped towards the door, discovering that it was indeed unlocked!184
I grabbed the penknife from my pocket and squeezed its strongest blade between the doorframe and the door until it opened.
A spacious hall with oak floors and wall tapestries spread out before me. There were also heavy, oldfangled chairs, like the ones in my bedroom. The blinds were half drawn, dimming the light.
Without making a sound I entered the room.
On the other side of the hall, two doors stood ajar.
I guessed that the door on the left would lead me towards my room and to that of the Count,185 but before I headed that way I wanted to make sure that no danger awaited me from behind the door on the right, so I tip-toed across the floor and peered inside. I soon realized that I was in the corner tower I had noticed earlier.186 It was a large, round space without a door, except for the one through which I entered the room. The windows had been partially bricked up; the rest were barred with iron grates. There was no decoration on the walls, save for the spiderwebs. A wooden fence ran along the wall, and between it and the masonry lay heaps much like the corn piles I’d seen in tillers’ barns. At first I thought this room might be used for grain storage, but this seemed highly unlikely as it was on the building’s fourth floor. Out of curiosity, I put my hand on one of the piles and felt hard, small, round objects that were cold to the touch. I took a handful and carried them to the window. I found it was something quite different from what I’d thought: they were gold pieces—dusty, old gold coins, as was evident by their weight and metallic sound.