I found there was one other storm-stayed traveller in the wee house, an old family butler, whose name I discovered was Jeremiah Anklebone. He had been on a visit to relations in the North, and had been caught in the snow like myself. We were both thankful to find such a warm, cosy6 shanty7 on such an inclement8 evening, and, to use a Scots term, we foregathered at the ingle inside.
He asked me if I knew much about spirits, to which I replied that I had just had a glass, but he at once explained that although not averse9 to toddy, he alluded10 to spirits of another nature, viz., ghosts, banshees, boggards, and the like.
I told him I had frequently been in so-called haunted places in various countries, but had never seen or heard anything[8] except owls11, bats, rats, or mice.
He ventured the remark I had often heard before, that I could not be receptive, and I told him I was thankful that I was not.
He was a fine old fellow, an ideal family butler, and doubtless the recipient12 of many family secrets. He had big mutton-chop whiskers and a bald head, and looked as if he had served turtle soup all his life; but it was not soup he was soaked with—he seemed fairly saturated13 with spook lore14. He informed me, quite calmly, that he was gifted with the remarkable15 faculty16 of seeing apparitions17, demons18, etc.
I could not help remarking that it seemed a very unpleasant faculty to possess, but he quite differed with me, and got as warm as his toddy on the subject. I shall not in a hurry forget that wild evening in the Highland inn before that blazing fire, or the wonderful narrations19 I heard from Butler Anklebone. Space precludes20 me from putting down here all the marvels21 he revealed to me.
It seemed all his life—he was 62—he had been gasping22 like a fish on a river’s bank to get into a really well-haunted house, but had utterly23 failed till he took the post of head butler at Lausdree Castle, which he informed me was but a short distance from St Andrews. He gave me a most tremendous description of the old castle, and from his account it seemed to be the asylum24 and gathering25 place of all the bogies in Britain and elsewhere. Congregated26 together there were the Ice Maid, the Brown Lady, a headless man, a cauld lad, a black maiden28, the Flaming Ghost, the Wandering Monk29, a ghost called Silky, auld27 Martha, a radiant bay, an iron knight30, a creeping ghost, jumping Jock, old No-legs, Great Eyes, a talking dog, the Corbie Craw, a floating head, a dead hand, bleeding footprints, and many other curious creatures far too numerous to mention.
The Castle, he said, was full of uncouth31 and most peculiar32 sights and sounds, including rappings, hammerings, shrieks33, groans35, crashings, wailings, and the like.
“What a remarkable place,” I said to Mr Butler Anklebone, “and how do you account for so many spectres in so limited an area?”
[9]
“Oh! there is no time or space for them,” he said, “they are earth-bound spirits, and can go from one part of the globe to another in a second; but they have their favourite haunts and meeting places just as we folks have, and Lausdree seems to appeal to their varied36 tastes.”
He then went on to tell me some details of the Haunted Castle. “There are supposed to be,” he said, “beneath the Castle splendid old apartments, dungeons38, winding39 passages, and cellars; but history states that any of those persons who tried to investigate these mysteries returned no more, so the entrances were walled up and are now completely lost sight of.
“There is a built-up chamber41, but no one durst open it, the penalty being total blindness or death, and such cases are on record. There is also a coffin42 room shaped exactly like its name; but one of the queerest places at Lausdree is a small apartment with a weird43 light of its own. At night this room can be seen from the old garden, showing a pale, uncanny, phosphorescent glow.
“Mr Snaggers—that’s the footman—and I unlocked the door and examined the place carefully. There is a table, a sofa, and a few old chairs therein, and an all-pervading sickly light equally diffused44. The furniture throws no shadows whatever. The room seemed very chilly45, and there was a feeling as if all one’s vitality46 was being sucked out of one’s body, and drawing one’s breath caused pain. Snaggers felt the same. No one could live long in that eerie47 apartment. I know we were glad to lock it up again.
“Then there is a spiral stair, called ‘Meg’s Leg.’ I don’t know the legend, but almost every night one hears her leg stumping48 up these steps.”
“What a creepy place it must be, to be sure,” I murmured, gravely.
“Yes!” said Anklebone, “and I tell you sir, Snaggers and I generally arranged to go up to bed together; one always felt there was something coming up the stairs behind one. When a person stopped, it stopped also, and one could hear it breathing and panting, but nothing was to be seen. Snaggers said one night when the candle went out he saw monstrous49 red eyes, but[10] I saw nothing then. The creeping creature I only saw twice, it was like an enormous toad50 on spider’s legs. They say it has a human head and face, but I only saw its back. Some folks say it is alive and not a ghost, and that it hides somewhere in the cellars, but we never could get a trace of it. One night I was going down to the service room when my way was barred by a ghastly, tall figure, with great holes where eyes should have been, so I just shut my eyes and rushed through it downstairs. When I got down, I found all my clothes were covered with a vile51, sickly-smelling sticky sort of oil, and I had to destroy them all.”
“Go on, please,” I said, “you astonish me vastly.”
“Yes,” he said slowly, “it’s all very queer. Lausdree is haunted and no mistake. Snaggers and I shared the same room. One night a great blood-stained hand and arm came round the corner of the bed curtain and tried to grab me. It was dead ice-cold too. Then a thing, an invisible thing, used to patter into the room, puffing52 and groaning53, and get under the bed and heave it up, but we looked and there was never anything there, and the door locked too. We saw a great black corkscrew thing one night fall from the ceiling on to the floor and disappear, and then there was a mighty54 rush along the passage. Outside the door a great crash, a yell, and a groan34 dying away far below. There was a humorous spirit also, the Iron Knight. We called him ‘Uncle.’ He was up to tricks. We didn’t mind him. When the fat cook was sitting down to a meal, he’d pull back her chair, and down she would come with a rare crash. If any of the maids upset a tray of tea-things, or fell downstairs with the kettle, or knocked over the great urn40, they used to say—‘Oh! That’s Uncle again!’”
I told him (Mr Anklebone) that I was delighted there was a touch of comedy in such a gruesome place, as I preferred comedians55 to ghosts any day. One thing I learnt from his story, and that was, that if he was head butler at Lausdree Castle, the head ghost was Sir Guy Ravelstocke, whose portrait still hung in the old picture gallery. The Castle dated back to Norman times, but about 1457 it fell into the hands of this Sir Guy Ravelstocke, who had been educated at the “Stadium[11] Generale,” or University of Saint Andrews. He and his two friends, Geoffrey De Beaumanoir and Roger Le Courville, held high revel56 and carnival57 in the old halls of Lausdree, and were the terror of the whole countryside. Sir Guy was a dissolute fellow, a gambler, and everything else bad. The neighbours alleged58 that he had sold himself to Old Nick. He would spill blood as if it was water, and he and his white steed, “Nogo,” were well known all over Fife and the Lothians. He was held to be a free-booter, a wizard and a warlock, a highwayman, a pirate, and a general desperado. He had slain59 many men in mortal combat, and was found invulnerable.
“He must have been a sort of Michael Scott of Balwearie,” I remarked.
“He must have been a holy terror,” said the butler. “I’ve seen him often, exactly like his portrait in the picture gallery. I’ve seen him in his old-world dress with his sword hanging at his side, sometimes on his white horse and sometimes on foot.
“There were always terrible knockings, shrieks, and crashes before he appeared, and all our dogs showed the greatest terror. I slept in an old four-poster bed, and he used to draw aside the curtain and glare at me constantly. He nearly always was accompanied by the spectre of a negro carrying his head under his arm. Sir Guy was a great traveller in foreign lands, and, I have been told, used to bring back all sorts of curious animals and insects with him. Perhaps that great toad thing I saw was one of the creatures. I’ve heard toads60 live for ages.”
I said I believed that was quite true.
“I found a queer place one day,” said Anklebone. “I was going up the turret61 staircase, and found some of the steps moved back. I got Mr Snaggers and Darkgood, the gardener, and we tugged62 them out. We called the master, and then we found narrow steps going down to a locked door. We forced it open, and got into a stone chamber. There were skulls63 and bones all over the place. Most of them belonged to animals, but there was a horrible thing on the floor, a sort of mummified vampire65 bat, with huge teeth and enormous outstretched wings, like thick parchment, and four legs. Perhaps it was a regular[12] vampire. They fanned folks to sleep with their great wings, and then sucked their blood dry. We cleared out the room, and buried all the things in a wood.
“Now,” said Anklebone, “I will tell you the end of Sir Guy Ravelstocke. He brought back with him from them foreign parts a nigger servant, and they called him the ‘Apostle.’ Well, one night,” continued Anklebone, “he and his chums were dining, and full of wine, and the ‘A—Postal’ offended them somehow, and Sir Guy stabbed him. Then they chained his hands and feet together, took him to the dungeon37, and filled his mouth, nose, and ears full of clay and left him. That is the nigger ghost I saw always with Sir Guy—the murdered negro.
“About two years after, Sir Guy and his friends were in the same room drinking when there came a great hammering at the Castle door. Sir Guy drew his sword, flung open the door, and plunged66 out into the darkness. A few moments passed then his friends rushed out on hearing wild unearthly shrieks, but there was no Sir Guy to be seen, he had totally disappeared, and was never heard of or seen in life again. We found his remains67 three years ago, but I will tell you of that directly. One day Snaggers and I had gone to St Andrews to buy things. We were just at the end of South Street when a horseman dashed past us at full gallop68. ‘Heavens,’ said Snaggers, ‘it’s Sir Guy as I live.’ He went bang into the big iron gates at the Cathedral. When we came up the great gates were locked, and there was Sir Guy leaning up against the west gable scowling69 at us, but the white horse had gone, and he melted away as we looked. I saw him again with the negro at Magus Muir, and alone one dark night in North Street.
“I was alone one evening in the room below the banquet hall at Lausdree and heard a pattering on the table. On looking up I saw a stain in the ceiling, and drops of blood were dropping down on the table and the floor. The room above was the very place where the negro was stabbed. Next morning we went into the room where I saw the blood drip, and there was the mark of a bloody70 hand on the table, but no stain on the roof.
“Now for the discovery. I had often dreamed about an old overgrown well there was in the gardens, and felt very suspicious[13] of what might be therein. Then the gardener and the woodman told me they had frequently seen the awful spectre of Sir Guy and the ‘Apostle’ hovering71 round about the thicket72 that enclosed what was known as the haunted well, and then vanish in the brushwood without disturbing it. I felt sure that there lay the mystery of Sir Guy Ravelstocke. This idea was soon after confirmed by a curious occurrence. One morning Snaggers was dusting an old oil painting over the huge mantelpiece, and above the weeping stone in the great hall, when somehow or other he contrived73 to touch a secret spring and the painting flew back, open in its frame, and revealed a chamber beyond.
“We sent for master, and got down by some steps into the room. Such a queer place! It was octagonal in shape, and there had been either a great fire or an explosion there. The vaulted74 stone roof and floor were all blackened and cracked, and the fireplace and wood-panelling were all burnt and charred76.”
“Perhaps the chapel,” I remarked.
“That is what master said,” replied the butler, “and there were remains of burnt tapestry77, charred wood, and documents all over the stone floor. Master got one piece of burnt paper with faded writing on it in some foreign tongue. The odd thing was the big picture. The eyes were sort of convex-like, and two holes were bored in the pupil of each of its eyes, so that anyone standing78 up on top of the stone stairs could see all that took place in the great hall below, and hear also.
“Master took the piece of parchment and managed to make out a few words. They were—‘I am sure that Ravelstocke lies in the old Prior’s Well, with the dead nigger servant we placed there. I would not go near that spot for my life. Heaven grant it may not come for me, I must leave the place.’ That was all he could decipher on the burnt paper.
“‘We must explore that Prior’s Well (evidently that is its name) to-morrow morning,’ said our master. We were all up at dawn, and got all the men available to cut down the shrubs79, bushes, and the undergrowth round the well, the growth of ages. When the well was exposed it looked very like the holy well at St Andrews, only it had been very finely carved and ornamented[14] at one time. The entrance was a Norman archway, and the remains of an oak door still hung there. We found a shallow bath shaped pool of muddy water inside, and a lot of broken stones and bits of old statues and glass. At the far end was a large square opening a few feet above the pool of water. We, of course, made for this, and found there was a cell beyond. The whole well on one side was riven and rent, either by lightning or the effects of an earthquake shock. If that ancient well could have spoken it would have told us as queer tales as St Rule’s Tower at St Andrews. There was a most curious, overpowering, sickening odour inside the place, like a vault75 or charnel house.”
I remarked that I knew no smells worse than acetylene gas or the awful smell I unearthed80 when digging, long ago, opposite the St Andrews Cathedral.
“Well,” said Anklebone, “I can’t imagine a worse odour than there was beside that Prior’s Well. It turned us all so faint. We had to get some brandy. We got into the far cell, and there were two skeleton bodies on the flagged floor. One was a blanched81 skeleton as far as the neck, but the skull64 was well preserved, and matted black hair still clung on it and round the jaws82. All the teeth were in their place. Some rings had fallen from the bony fingers, and a sword, all eaten away by rust83, lay beside the skeleton. The other was like a mummified ape, of a dark oak colour, the nails on the fingers and toes being quite perfect. Chains, also almost worn away, hung round the feet and hands.
“‘Good Heavens,’ said master, ‘it is Sir Guy Ravelstocke and the murdered Apostle!’ There was no doubt of that whatever. We had them removed and buried at once. The mystery was solved after all these long years.
“The nigger had been placed there, but the mystery of Sir Guy was inexplicable84. Who came for him that night when he rushed out of the door of Lausdree Castle, centuries ago, with his sword, and who carried him to his doom85 in the Friar’s Well? No one can answer that terrible question now. Oh! that the old well could speak and reveal its secret.”
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1
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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shanty
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| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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inclement
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| adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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narrations
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| 叙述事情的经过，故事( narration的名词复数 ) | |
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precludes
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| v.阻止( preclude的第三人称单数 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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45
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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48
stumping
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| 僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说 | |
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49
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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50
toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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51
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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52
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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53
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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comedians
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| n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 ) | |
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revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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57
carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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65
vampire
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| n.吸血鬼 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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67
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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68
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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69
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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70
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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71
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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72
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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73
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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74
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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75
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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76
charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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77
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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78
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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79
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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80
unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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81
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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82
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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83
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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84
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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85
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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