Halloween Countdown 2024, Day 4

Because we mentioned The Castle of Otranto yesterday, let’s show some love for the dark reimagining of Walpole’s novel by Clara Reeve, The Old English Baron (1778). Reeve called it Otranto’s “literary offspring.”

Read it here.

Quote: …he thought he saw a glimmering light upon a staircase before him. “If,” said he, “this apartment is haunted, I will use my endeavours to discover the cause of it; and if the spirit appears visibly, I will speak to it.”

He was preparing to descend the staircase, when he heard several knocks at the door by which he first entered the room; and, stepping backward, the door was clapped to with great violence. Again fear attacked him, but he resisted it, and boldly cried out, “Who is there?”

Frontispiece illustration to the 1778 edition of The Old English Baron, depicting frightened people encountering a suit of armor (that appears to be threatening them).ALT
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 04, 2024 04:34
No comments have been added yet.