“‘No sense in wasting money on light we don’t need,’ said he, laughing unpleasantly.

“There followed what I can only describe as the most wretched meal of my life, the central features of which were a miserable-looking joint of tough and highly salted bacon, and a bottle of wine that tasted like vinegar, of which, Silas informed me with great self-satisfaction, he had been fortunate enough to purchase a whole case at ‘a quite remarkably low price’. It quickly became clear that I should learn nothing from him concerning my brother, and I began to regret that I had ever gone to Hill House at all. His only suggestion was that Simon might have gone to Italy, but when I enquired why he should think so, he replied only that ‘people do go there sometimes, you know’ and laughed unpleasantly at this feeble and inappropriate jest. As soon as the meal was ended, therefore, I began yawning ostentatiously. Silas reacted with alacrity to this cue and offered to show me to my room. Taking the candle from the table, he led the way up the dirty, uncarpeted staircase and along a dusty, crooked corridor. Everywhere the smell of damp and rot rose from the bare floorboards. Presently he stopped and opened a door.

“‘This is your room,’ said he, ushering me through the doorway.

“He lit the stump of a candle, which stood on a small table beside the bed, and turned to go. As he was closing the door, however, he put his head back in.

“‘There’s water in the jug,’ said he, indicating a large, dirty-looking ewer which stood on a lop-sided washstand at the side of the room. ‘If there’s not enough, you’ll find more through there,’ he added, nodding at a door in the shadows at the far side of the room.

“It was a dark and grim chamber in which to pass the night. Apart from the bed, table and washstand, the only furniture was a stained and rotten-looking chest of drawers. The stench of damp seemed even stronger in the bedroom than elsewhere in the house, and the wallpaper was hanging from the walls in sheets, yellowed and dirty and dotted all over with the black marks of mould. I was glad to climb into bed and pull the covers over my head. For a while I lay awake, listening to the sounds of small creatures scurrying about beneath the floor, but at length I fell asleep. Before I did so, I vowed to myself that I would never spend another night in that wretched house.

“Some hours later, I awoke suddenly. A pounding headache seemed to split my head asunder, my throat was hot and parched, and I felt desperately thirsty. I struck a match and lit the candle, surprising a dozen large spiders on the wall above my head. Whether my thirst was the result of the salty meat I had eaten, the foul wine, or something else, I had no idea. I knew only that I must have a drink of water. I climbed wearily from my bed, but found that, despite what Silas had told me, the jug was empty. Feeling a little annoyed at this, I took the candle across to the door he had indicated and attempted to open it. I had presumed it would open inwards, as the other door did, but as I turned the doorknob it swung away from me and, still half asleep, I stepped forward into the blackness beyond. Never in my life have such terror and confusion gripped my heart as at that moment. For in stepping from the rough wood of the bedroom floor, my bare foot found nothing whatever, but trod on empty air. I think I must have cried out, but I cannot be certain, for my memory of that terrible moment is exceedingly confused. The step I had taken had created a forward momentum I could not stop, and in a split second I was plunging into the black void and had dropped the candle, which blew out almost at once. Scarcely conscious of my own actions, I somehow twisted round as I fell, stretching my arms out blindly and desperately. Abruptly, my right arm hit the door frame, then the edge of the bedroom floor, which I gripped with all my might. I realize now that all this must have occupied the merest fraction of a second, but as I relive it now it draws out to great, horrific length.

“For a moment my fall was arrested, but it was only for the very briefest of moments, for the edge of the floor at the doorway was wet and slimy, and my fingers, which did not have a proper grip on anything, were slipping rapidly towards the edge. With a great effort I lunged upwards and forwards with my left hand, even as my right completely lost its grip. This time I was more successful. I had reached further into the room, past the slimy doorway, and my fingertips had found a narrow crack between two floorboards. I doubt it was a quarter of an inch wide, but it saved my life. Using this tiny finger-hold as a base, I managed to reach further with my right hand until that, too, had found a secure grip, and so, by slow degrees, I hauled myself to safety.

“For some time I lay on the floor of the bedroom, almost delirious, but presently I came to myself once more and determined to see the nature of the dark pit into which I had so nearly plummeted. I crept carefully to the edge once more and peered over, but could make out nothing whatever in the darkness. As I crouched there, eyes straining, I became conscious of a foul, mephitic vapour that seemed to rise from the pit before me, smothering and choking me with its stench. I was turning my head away in disgust, when a slight noise from below made me stop. It was a soft noise, like the lapping of water, but with an odd and unpleasant heaviness about it. There followed a splashing sound, then what I can only describe as scratching noises, which were quite horrible to hear. For a moment my heart seemed to stop beating and the blood ran cold in my veins. There was something in the pit below me, something which was moving quietly about in the darkness.

“Scarcely daring to breathe, I drew back from the edge of that foul hole, dressed as quickly as I could in the darkness and sat on the side of the bed to gather my thoughts. Then a slight noise set my jangled nerves on edge once more, and I quickly struck a match, but there was nothing to be seen save the dark open doorway, through which, I was convinced, Silas had intended that I should fall to my death. I could not rest while the door stood open like that, so, striking match after match to light my way, I leaned out into the void, managed to grip the panelling of the door, and pulled it shut.

“My supply of matches was by now almost exhausted. I had opened the curtains, but gained no more light, for the night was a dark one. Then it occurred to me that there might be a spare candle in the chest of drawers. I pulled each drawer out in turn, examining them by the light of the matches, but they were all quite empty. The top drawer was a very shallow one, and as I was pushing it back in, I could feel that there was something hampering it. I pulled it right out again and examined the recess behind it by the light of another match. It appeared there was some woollen article there. I reached in, freed it from the nail on which it was snagged and pulled it out. To my utter amazement, I recognized it at once. It was a striped woollen muffler, belonging to my brother, Simon. I knew I could not be mistaken, for my sister, Rachel, had knitted it for him herself and given it to him at Christmas. I had seen him wearing it in January, at the time of our engagement party. Clearly he had been at Hill House some time shortly after that, despite Silas’s claim that he had not seen him for years, and had stayed in the very room in which I now stood.

“As you will imagine, I was already extremely agitated and excited by my experiences, but this latest discovery almost drove reason from my mind. I threw my few belongings into my bag, together with Simon’s muffler, and crept from the house as quietly as I could, letting myself out of the front door. The first pale light of dawn was showing over the hill as I reached the road. Without pausing, or even considering what I was doing, I walked quickly down into Richmond and on to the railway station, caught an early train, and was back in town by seven o’clock. At nine I was at the door of Farrow and Redfearn’s office, seeking their advice, and they, as you see, have sent me on to you.”