Bri Fidelity’s Reviews > Ghosts I Have Seen > Status Update

A medley of Ghosts Tweedale Has Seen™:

• A satyr! Invisibly following a nobleman around Nice.

• A gigantic - wingless - angel hovering beatifically over Lourdes, 'wrapped entirely in cloudy grey'.

• 'An elemental of a malignant type, and of grotesque form,' in a hotel room in Austria: a greyish-green, 'frog-like head' with 'bright yellow eyes'.

• For an encore: a dozen tiny ape-like imps playing leapfrog.

'Again I was confronted by the mirror problem. I had become certain that it must remain covered. If I looked into its surface I knew I would see something horrible. Something kept whispering to me, "Never mind how you look, never mind if your bodice is all awry, or your skirt all askew, or your hair all bulging out on one side. [...] Keep the mirror covered and when you come up to bed keep your back to the wall."'

'What can one do when paying a visit if one is ushered into a bedroom by one's hostess which one instantly knows to be "unhealthful"? [...] "I think you will be comfortable here, my dear," said my kind hostess, and I thanked her with a sinking heart as she went away[.]

'The very first thing I did was to throw a towel over the face of the mirror on the dressing-table. Then I investigated every nook and corner.'

'Chapter XIII: I Commit Murder.'

'There is a wine of happiness in tranquil daybreak[.]'

'Sure enough, about an hour earlier this time, the unknown, unseen visitor began his ascent of my staircase. I cannot describe my feelings during those moments of waiting for 'it' to pass. I can only say they were intensely unpleasant, and I hope I may never again have to confess myself to be a wretched coward. A burglar would at that moment have appeared to me in the guise of a dear friend.'

'The figure moved softly round the room; it made no sound whatever, and as it came to each sleeper it bent down, as if closely scrutinizing each face. It occurred to me that it was looking for someone. I began to dread the moment when the search was over, and the figure would turn its face towards me.'

'When I was once more alone with Madame Blavatsky[,] I asked her if all she had done was pure trickery.

'"Not all, but most of it," she unblushingly replied, "but now I will give you something lovely and real."

'For a moment or two she was silent, covering her eyes with her hand, then a sound caught my ear. I can only describe what I heard as fairy music, exquisitely dainty and original.'

'The next morning I met Valori, alone[.] After a little trivial conversation I said, "By the way, who is that brown man, dressed like a Satyr, who has been with you lately?"

'I watched Valori's face as I put the question, and as I saw the change that came over it I felt very sorry and ashamed of having spoken. He looked so utterly dejected and miserable.

'"You also?" he muttered, then fell to silence.'

Tall tale from Nice! A certain Prince Valori is constantly followed by a man dressed as a satyr, and only Violet can see him:

'Lowering her voice, she said, "Why, how interesting! Don't you know that is his 'Familiar' who is constantly in attendance upon him. People say they became attached whilst he was attending a 'Sabbath' in the Vosges, and he can't get rid of it[.] The clairvoyantes here all know about it[.]'