SPOILERS!!!
Thomas Winmore travels to Westmoreland as he has inherited a house from his aunt Lady Jane Winmore. Ralph Thirlston, who picks him up, tells him that nobody has lived on the property for decades because there are noises and appearances, and people are afraid. Thomas does not believe him, but when they go past the property on their way to see Mr Erle, who runs the estate, he sees some lights in the house and there is a man near the fence with a sword. Mr Thirlston does not stop and carries on despite Thomas's orders.
When he arrives at Mr Erle's farm, the man confirms that he has seen things there, and he wouldn't live in the house for anything. Thomas tells him that he will go and stay there, and Mr Erle leaves him, but he is certain that Thomas won't be able to stay the night. That night Thomas hears noises and then in one of the bedrooms, he sees some ghostly figures. One is a young woman, dressed in white like a bride, and then another woman appears, and he can see that her countenance is evil. Suddenly, he stoops over and sets fire to the young woman's dress and the girl burns.
Thomas leaves the room, scared, and he almost shoots Mr Erle's daughter when he shoots accidentally. Mr Erle and his wife have come to make sure he was okay. Thomas agrees to leave the house, and when they are at Mr Erle's, he begs him to tell him the story of the house.
Mr Erle tells him that years ago the old Mr Winmore married Lady Henrietta, a beautiful woman. They had a son, Graham, who they sent to Eton for their education. When Graham finished in Eton, the old Mr Winmore was very sick, and he was surprised that his mother was not with him. Lady Henrietta was elegant and planned to go to a party because a cousin of hers, who would be there, had promised a position for Graham, but Graham had other plans. He wanted to turn the property to its former glory, and he wanted to go into business, which would make him rich. His mother didn't like it, but she didn't argue. His father died, and Graham did as he said, and he was successful in his plans. Then he wrote to his mother, saying that he had married. Lady Henrietta was furious to learn that the woman he had married, Lilian, was a nobody.
Graham and Lilian visited and Lady Henrietta pretended to be kind and welcoming. They had been invited to a party, and Lilian wore the family jewels and a beautiful white dress. Graham told her to go to his mother's room, and he would stay outside to hear what his mother would say. Then Lady Henrietta set fire to Lilian's dress and she died. Graham was broken and buried the jewels, and for days he watched over his wife's corpse until he buried her. Mr Erle says that Lady Henrietta died, and Graham married again, and some years later he died. Since his death, many people have seen his ghost.
Thomas thinks that maybe if he found the jewels, the ghost would be able to rest in peace, and he eventually finds the jewels. He marries Grace Erle, but he decides not to live there, and for the following years nobody lives in the house either.
I loved this story, especially the explanation about the ghosts.
No comments:
Post a Comment