“On the night of which I am speaking, Stephen Elliott found himself, as he thought, looking through the glazed door. The moon was shining through the window, and he was gazing at a figure which lay in the bath.
His description of what he saw reminds me of what I once beheld myself in the famous vaults of St. Michan’s Church in Dublin, which possess the horrid property of preserving corpses from decay for centuries. A figure inexpressibly thin and pathetic, of a dusty leaden colour, enveloped in a shroud-like garment, the thin lips crooked into a faint and dreadful smile, the hands pressed tightly over the region of the heart.”

A young orphaned boy accepts an invitation from a distant cousin to come live with him. This cousin happens to be a Greek professor obsessed with pagan rituals who is extremely recluse and not known for his interactions with children. What a guy. Seems perfectly normal. Let’s all go live with him.

This story, while I do give it points for its creepiness fell flat for me. Something was off once I got to the end. I don’t know if it wasn’t long enough or maybe the stakes weren’t high enough for me. You’d think a twelve year old would be more afraid after seeing a decaying body, ghosts, and having something CLAW THROUGH HIS CLOTHES several times. I get the kid is inquisitive, but you’ve got more awareness than that at that age. That boy is lucky he didn’t get his heart eaten by Mr. Weirdo.

Rating: 3 Stars