Malpertuis: Story of an Extraordinary House by Jean Ray

Author:Jean Ray [Ray, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wakefield Press
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

“All this is just a nightmare!”

It was the ineffectual voice of reason seeking to make itself heard in the depths of my being; but it fell silent and did not repeat these words of consolation.

I was seated in the unlit kitchen; a guttering candle in the hearth of the dead fire cast shadows that flickered from corner to corner.

I could not say how it was that I had got there; at all events it was there that I regained what goes by the name of my “spirits.”

I called out, I cried aloud to all that had lived with me under that accursed roof. There was no response.

I was alone in Malpertuis. ALONE!!!

And then I had the incredible courage to set out on an exploratory tour through the nocturnal horror of that hellish house.

The ludicrous forms of Mathias, Uncle Dideloo, and the illformed Tchiek were no longer floating against the ceiling of the deserted shop.

I made my way to the Griboins’ lodge.

It was deserted.

I looked everywhere for Lampernisse; but he was no longer there.

Cousin Philarète’s room was empty, the Cormélon sisters’ rooms were empty, and the quarters set aside for Uncle Dideloo and his family were dark and deserted.

A bizarre curiosity took hold of me, compelling me to enter the dining room to see whether the repugnant remains of Doctor Sambucus were still there, but his chair was clean and tidy.

“A nightmare!” I repeated, holding aloft the wax-dripping candle as if it were a torch.

I let out a yell … of delight perhaps …

Aunt Sylvie was there, sitting in her chair, tranquil and erect.

“Aunt! Aunt!”

Her eyes were closed and my cry did not rouse her from her repose.

I drew close and placed my arm on her shoulder.

Her body slowly toppled over and fell to the floor with a thunderous crash.

It was not a human corpse but a statue of stone that had just shattered on the ground.

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