0:01

The

0:22

King's House by Bram Stoker

0:26

When the time for his examination drew

0:28

near, Malcolm Malcolmson made up

0:30

his mind to go somewhere to

0:32

read by himself. He

0:34

feared the attractions of the seaside, and

0:37

also he feared completely rural isolation

0:39

for of old he knew its

0:41

charms, and so he

0:44

determined to find some unpretentious little

0:46

town where there would be nothing

0:48

to distract him. He

0:51

refrained from asking suggestions from any of

0:53

his friends, for he argued that each

0:55

would recommend some place of which he

0:58

had knowledge and where he had already

1:00

acquaintances. As Malcolmson

1:02

wished to avoid friends, he had no

1:05

wish to encumber himself with the attention

1:07

of friends' friends, and so he

1:09

determined to look out for a place for

1:11

himself. He packed a portmanteau

1:13

with some clothes and all the books he

1:16

required, and then took ticket for the first

1:18

name on the local timetable which he did

1:20

not know. When

1:23

at the end of the three-hour journey

1:25

he alighted at Benchurch, he

1:27

felt satisfied that he had so

1:29

far obliterated his tracks as to

1:31

be sure of having a peaceful

1:33

opportunity of pursuing his studies. He

1:36

went straight to the one inn which the sleepy

1:38

little place contained and put up for the night.

1:42

Benchurch was a market town, and once

1:44

in three weeks was crowded to excess,

1:47

but for the remainder of the twenty-one

1:49

days it was as attractive as a

1:51

desert. Malcolmson

1:53

looked around the day after his arrival

1:56

to try to find quarters more isolated

1:58

than even so quiet an inn. The

2:00

good traveler afford it. There

2:02

was only one place the took his fancy.

2:05

And. It's certainly satisfied his wildest

2:07

ideas regarding quiet. In

2:09

fact, quiet was not the proper word to

2:11

apply to it. Desolation was

2:14

the only term conveying any

2:16

suitable idea of it's isolation.

2:19

It was an old rambling has

2:21

he built house of the Jacobean

2:23

style with heavy gables in windows

2:25

unusually small and set higher than

2:27

was customary and such as his.

2:30

And. Was surrounded with a high brick

2:32

wall. Massively build. Indeed, on

2:34

examination A looked more like a

2:37

fortified house than an ordinary dwelling.

2:40

But. All these things pleased Malcolm Sin. Here

2:42

he thought is the very spot I've

2:44

been looking for and if I can

2:46

only get opportunity of using his I

2:49

shall be happy. He's.

2:51

Joy was increased when he realized

2:53

beyond doubt that it was not

2:55

at present inhabited. From. The

2:57

post office he got the name of the agent.

2:59

It was rarely surprised at the application to rent

3:02

a part of the old house. Mister.

3:04

Cancers the local lawyer an agent

3:06

was a gene yellow gentlemen and

3:08

frankly confessed is delighted anyone being

3:11

willing to live in the house.

3:13

To. Tell you the truth said he eats.

3:16

I should be only too happy on

3:18

behalf of the owners to let anyone

3:20

have the house rent free for a

3:22

term of years, if only to accustomed

3:24

to people here to see it inhibited

3:26

that has been so long. M T

3:28

Some kind of absurd prejudice is grown

3:30

up about agents. This can be best

3:32

put down by his occupation. If.

3:35

Only he added with a sly glance

3:37

at Malcolm since by a scholar like

3:39

yourself, it once it's quiet for a

3:42

time. Malcolm. Some

3:44

sort. It needless to ask the agent

3:46

about the absurd prejudice. He. Knew

3:48

he get more information if issued

3:50

requires on that subject from other

3:53

causes. He. Paid his three

3:55

months rent, got a receipt, and

3:57

the name of an old woman who would

3:59

probably undertake do for him, and came away

4:01

with the keys in his pocket. He

4:04

then went to the landlady of the inn.

4:06

It was a cheerful and most kindly person,

4:08

and asked her advice as to such stores

4:11

and provisions as he would be likely to

4:13

require. She threw up her hands

4:15

in amazement when he told her where he was

4:17

going to settle himself. "'Not

4:19

the judge's house,' she said,

4:21

and grew pale as she spoke. He

4:24

explained the locality of the house, saying that

4:26

he didn't know its name. When

4:29

he had finished, she answered, "'Ah, sure

4:31

enough, sure enough, the very place. It

4:34

is the judge's house, sure enough.'" He

4:37

asked her to tell him about the place, why

4:39

so called, and what there was against it. She

4:43

told him that it was so called

4:45

locally because it had been many years

4:47

before how long she couldn't say, as

4:49

she was herself from another part of

4:51

the country. But she thought it

4:53

must have been a hundred years or more. The

4:56

abode of a judge, who was held

4:58

in great terror on account of his

5:01

harsh sentences and his hostility to prisoners

5:03

of the sizes. As

5:05

to what there was against the house itself,

5:08

she couldn't tell. She had

5:10

often asked, but no one could inform her,

5:13

but there was a general feeling that there

5:15

was something. And

5:18

for her own part, she wouldn't take

5:20

all the money in Drinkwater's bank and

5:22

stay in the house an hour by

5:24

herself. Then she apologized

5:26

to Malcomson for her disturbing talk.

5:29

"'It's too bad of me, sir, and you and

5:31

a young gentleman, too, if you'll pardon me,

5:33

saying it, gonna live there all

5:35

alone. If you were my boy,

5:37

and you'll excuse me for saying it, you

5:40

wouldn't sleep there a night, not

5:42

if I had to go there myself and pull the big

5:44

alarm bellows on the roof.'" The

5:47

good creature was so manifestly in

5:49

earnest and was so kindly in

5:51

her intentions that Malcomson,

5:53

although amused, was touched. He

5:56

told her kindly how much he appreciated

5:58

her interest in him. and added, But

6:01

my dear Mrs. with him, indeed you

6:03

need not be concerned about me. A

6:06

man who is reading for the

6:08

mathematical tripos is too much to

6:10

think of to be disturbed by

6:12

any of these mysterious somethings. And

6:15

his work is of too exact and

6:17

prosaic a kind, to allow of his

6:20

having any corner in his mind for

6:22

mysteries of any kind. All

6:25

progressions, permutations and combinations,

6:28

and elliptic functions have

6:30

sufficient mysteries for me.

6:34

Mrs. with him kindly undertook to see after

6:36

his commissions, and he went himself

6:38

to look for the old woman who had been recommended

6:40

to him. When he

6:42

returned to the judge's house with her, after

6:44

an interval of a couple of hours, he

6:47

found Mrs. with him herself waiting with

6:49

several men and boys carrying parcels, and

6:51

an upholsterer's man with a bed and

6:53

a cart, for he said, though tables

6:55

and chairs might be all very well,

6:57

a bed that hadn't been aired for

6:59

may have fifty years was not proper

7:01

for young bones to lie on. She

7:04

was evidently curious to see the inside of

7:07

the house, and though manifestly

7:09

so afraid of the somethings, that

7:11

at the slightest sound she clutched on

7:14

to Malcomson, whom she never left for

7:16

a moment, went over the whole place.

7:20

After his examination of the house, Malcomson

7:22

decided to take up his abode in

7:24

the great dining-room, which was big enough

7:26

to serve for all his requirements, and

7:29

Mrs. with him, with the aid of

7:31

the charwoman, Mrs. Dempster, proceeded to arrange

7:34

matters. When the

7:36

hampers were brought in and unpacked, Malcomson

7:39

saw that with much kind forethought

7:41

she had sent from her own

7:43

kitchen sufficient provisions to last for

7:45

a few days. Before

7:48

going, she expressed all sorts

7:50

of kind wishes, and at

7:52

the door turned and said, and

7:54

perhaps as the room is big

7:56

and drafty it might be well to have one

7:59

of those big screens. put round your bed

8:01

at night. Though, I choose to tell, I

8:03

would die myself if I were to be

8:05

so shut in with all kinds of things

8:08

to put their heads round the sides

8:10

or over the top and look

8:12

on me." The image

8:15

which he had called up was too

8:17

much for her nerves, and she fled

8:19

incontinently. Mrs.

8:22

Dempster sniffed in a superior

8:24

manner as the landlady disappeared,

8:26

and remarked it for her own part, she wasn't afraid

8:28

of all the bogies in the kingdom. I'll

8:31

tell you what it is, sir, she said. Bogies

8:34

is all kinds and sorts of

8:36

things, except bogies. Rats

8:38

and mice and beetles and creaky doors

8:40

and loose slates and broken panes and

8:42

stiff drawer handles that stay out when

8:44

you pull them and then fall down

8:46

in the middle of the night. Look

8:49

at the wainscot of the room, it's old,

8:51

hundreds of years old. Do you think

8:54

there's no rats and beetles there? Can't

8:56

you imagine, sir, that you won't see none

8:58

of them? Rats is bogies,

9:00

I tell you, and bogies is rats, and

9:02

don't you get to think anything else?" Mrs.

9:06

Dempster said Malcomson gravely, making her a

9:08

polite bow. "'You know more than a

9:10

senior wrangler, and let me say that

9:13

as a mark of esteem for your

9:15

indubitable soundness of head and heart, I

9:17

shall, when I go, give you possession

9:19

of this house and let you stay

9:21

here by yourself for the last two

9:23

months of my tendency, for four

9:26

weeks will serve my purpose.' "'Thank

9:28

you kindly, sir,' she answered, but I couldn't

9:31

sleep away from home at night. I'm

9:33

in Greenhouse Charity, and if I slept away

9:35

from my rooms I should lose all I

9:37

have got to live on. The

9:39

rules is very strict, and there's too many

9:41

watching for a vacancy for me to run

9:44

any risks in the matter. Only

9:46

for that, sir, I'd gladly come here and attend

9:48

on you altogether during your stay.' My

9:51

good woman said Malcomson hastily, I

9:53

have come here on purpose to

9:55

obtain solitude, and believe me that

9:58

I am grateful to the late

10:00

Greenhouse." for having so organized his

10:02

admirable charity, whatever it is,

10:04

that I am perforce denied the opportunity

10:07

of suffering from such a form of

10:09

temptation. St. Anthony himself

10:11

could not be more rigid on the

10:13

point." The old

10:15

woman laughed harshly. "'Aye, you young gentleman,'

10:18

she said. "'You don't care for noughts,

10:20

and be like you'll get all the

10:22

solitude you want here.' She

10:25

set to work with her cleaning, and

10:27

by nightfall, when Malcolmson returned from

10:29

his walk, he always had one of his

10:31

books to study as he walked. He

10:34

found the room swept and tidied, a fire

10:37

burning in the old hearth, the

10:39

lamp lit, and the table spread

10:41

for supper with Mrs. Witherm's excellent

10:43

fare. "'This is comfort indeed,'

10:45

he said, as he rubbed his

10:47

hands. When he

10:50

had finished his supper and lifted the

10:52

tray to the other end of the

10:54

great oak dining-table, he got out his

10:56

books again. Fresh wood

10:58

on the fire trimmed his lamp and

11:00

set himself down to a spell of

11:02

real hard work. He

11:04

went on without pause till about eleven o'clock,

11:06

when he knocked off for a bit to

11:08

fix his fire and lamp, and to make

11:10

himself a cup of tea. He

11:13

had always been a tea-drinker, and during

11:15

his college life had sat late at

11:17

work and taken tea late. The

11:19

rest was a great luxury to him, and

11:22

he enjoyed it with a sense of

11:24

delicious voluptuous ease. The

11:26

renewed fire leaped and sparkled, and

11:28

through quaint shadows through the great

11:30

old room, and as he

11:32

sipped his hot tea, he reveled in the

11:35

sense of isolation from his kind. Then

11:38

it was that

11:41

he began to notice for the first

11:43

time what a

11:45

noise the rats were making. He

11:50

thought, they cannot have been at it all the time I was

11:52

reading. Had they been, I must

11:54

have noticed it. Presently,

11:56

when the noise increased, he

11:59

satisfied himself. that it really was new.

12:02

It was evident that at first the rats had

12:04

been frightened at the presence of a stranger, and

12:07

the light of the fire in the lamp. But

12:09

that as the time went on they

12:12

had grown bolder, and were now

12:14

disporting themselves as was their wont. How

12:17

busy they were! And

12:19

hark to the strange noises! Up

12:22

and down behind the old wainscot,

12:25

over the ceiling, and under the floor

12:27

they raced, and gnawed, and

12:29

scratched. Malcolmson

12:32

smiled to himself as he recalled to mind

12:34

the saying of Mrs. Dempster, "'Bogies

12:36

is rats, and rats is

12:38

bogies.'" The tea

12:41

began to have its effect of

12:43

intellectual and nervous stimulus. He

12:45

saw with joy another long spell of work to

12:47

be done before the night was passed, and

12:50

in the sense of security which it

12:52

gave him, he allowed himself the luxury

12:54

of a good look around the room.

12:58

He took his lamp in one

13:00

hand, and went all around, wondering

13:02

that so quaint and beautiful an

13:04

old house had been so long

13:06

neglected. The carving

13:08

of the oak on the panels of the

13:10

wainscot was fine, and on

13:12

and round the doors and windows it

13:14

was beautiful and of rare merit. There

13:17

were some old pictures on the walls, but

13:19

they were coated so thick with dust and

13:21

dirt that he could not distinguish any detail

13:23

of them, though he held his lamp as

13:26

high as he could over his head. Here

13:29

and there as he went round he saw some

13:31

crack or hole blocked for a moment by the

13:33

face of a rat with its

13:36

bright eyes glittering in the light, but

13:38

in an instant it was gone and

13:40

a squeak and a scamper followed. The

13:45

thing that most struck him, however, was

13:48

the rope of the great alarm bell on

13:51

the roof, which hung down in

13:53

a corner of the room on the right-hand side

13:55

of the fireplace. He

13:57

pulled up close to the hearth a great

14:00

high-backed carved oak chair,

14:03

and sat down to his last cup of tea.

14:06

So when this was done, he made up

14:08

the fire and went back to his work, sitting

14:11

at the corner of the table having

14:13

the fire to his left. For

14:16

a little while the rats disturbed him

14:19

somewhat with their perpetual scampering, but

14:21

he got accustomed to the noise as one does

14:23

to the ticking of a clock or

14:26

to the roar of moving water, and

14:28

he became so immersed in his work

14:30

that everything in the world except the

14:32

problem which he was trying to solve,

14:35

passed away from him. He

14:38

suddenly looked up, his problem still

14:41

unsolved, and there was

14:43

in the air that sense of the

14:45

hour before the dawn which is so

14:47

dread to doubtful life. The

14:49

noise of the rats had ceased. He

14:52

did seem to him that it must have

14:54

ceased but lately, and that it was

14:56

the certain cessation which had disturbed him.

15:00

The fire had fallen low, but

15:02

still it threw out a deep red glow.

15:06

As he looked, he started

15:09

in spite of his sang-fra. There

15:13

on the great high-backed carved oak

15:15

chair by the right side of

15:17

the fireplace sat an

15:19

enormous rat, steadily

15:21

glaring at him with baleful eyes.

15:25

He made a motion to it as though to hunt it

15:27

away, but it did not stir. Then

15:30

he made the motion of throwing something. Still

15:33

it did not stir, but showed

15:35

its great white teeth angrily and

15:38

its cruel eyes shone in the

15:41

lamplight with an added vindictiveness. disappeared

16:00

in the darkness beyond the range of

16:03

the green-shaded lamp. Instantly,

16:05

strange to say, the noisy

16:07

scampering of the rats in

16:10

the wainscot began

16:12

again. By this

16:14

time Malcomson's mind was quite off the

16:16

problem, and as a shrill

16:18

cock-crow outside told him of the approach

16:20

of mourning, he went to bed and

16:22

to sleep. He slept

16:25

so sound that he was not even waked

16:27

by Mrs. Dempster coming into make-up his room.

16:30

It was only when she had tidied up the

16:32

place and got his breakfast ready, and tapped on

16:34

the screen which closed in his bed, that he

16:36

woke. He was a little

16:38

tired still after his night's hard work, but

16:40

a strong cup of tea soon freshened him up, and

16:43

taking his book, he went out for

16:45

his morning walk, bringing with him a

16:47

few sandwiches lest he should not care

16:49

to return till dinner-time. He

16:52

found a quiet walk between high elms

16:54

some way outside the town, and

16:56

here he spent the greater part of the

16:58

day studying his Laplace. On

17:01

his return he looked in to see Mrs.

17:03

Whitham and to thank her for her kindness.

17:06

When she saw him coming through the diamond-paned

17:09

bay window of her sanctum, she came out

17:11

to meet him and asked him in. She

17:14

looked at him searchingly and shook her head as

17:16

she said it, "'You must

17:18

not overdo it, sir. You're

17:21

paler this morning than you should be. Too

17:23

late hours and too hard work on the

17:25

brain isn't good for any man. But

17:28

tell me, sir, how did you pass the night? Well,

17:30

I hope.' "'But my heart, sir,

17:32

I was glad when Mrs. Dempster told me this

17:34

morning that you were all right in sleeping sound

17:36

when she went in.' "'Oh,

17:38

I was all right,' he answered, smilingly.

17:41

Some things didn't worry me as yet. Only

17:44

the rats and they had a circus, I tell you,

17:46

all over the place. There was one

17:48

wicked-looking old devil that sat up on my own

17:51

chair by the fire and wouldn't go till I

17:53

took the poker to him. And then he ran

17:55

up the rope of the alarm bell and got

17:57

to somewhere up the wall of the ceiling." I

18:00

couldn't see where it was so dark. Mercy

18:02

on us!" said Mrs. with him. "'An

18:05

old devil, and sitting on the chair

18:07

by the fireside. Take care, sir, take

18:09

care.' There's many a

18:11

true word spoken in jest." "'How

18:14

do you mean? Pon my word I don't understand.

18:17

An old devil. The old

18:19

devil, perhaps. There, sir, you needn't laugh.'

18:21

For Malcomson had broken into a

18:23

hearty peal. You young folks

18:26

thinks it easy to laugh at things that

18:28

makes older ones shudder. "'Never mind,

18:30

sir, never mind. Please, God, you laugh

18:32

all the time. It's what I wish

18:34

you, myself.' And the

18:36

good lady beamed all over in sympathy

18:38

with his enjoyment, as fear's gone for

18:40

a moment. "'Oh, forgive

18:42

me,' said Malcomson presently. Don't think be

18:44

rude, but the idea was too much

18:46

for me. That the old

18:48

devil himself was on the chair last night.'

18:52

And at the thought he laughed again. Then he

18:55

went home to dinner. This

18:57

evening the scampering of the rats

18:59

began earlier. Indeed, it

19:02

had been going on before his arrival,

19:04

and only ceased whilst his presence by

19:06

its freshness disturbed him. After

19:09

dinner he sat by the fire for a while and

19:11

had a smoke, and then, having

19:13

cleared his table, began to work

19:15

as before. Tonight

19:18

the rats disturbed him more than they

19:20

had done on the previous night. How

19:23

they scampered up and down

19:25

and under and over. How

19:28

they squeaked and

19:30

scratched and gnawed.

19:33

How they, getting bolder by

19:35

degrees, came to the

19:37

mouths of their holes, into

19:39

the chinks and cracks and crannies

19:41

in the wainscoting, till their

19:44

eyes shone like

19:46

tiny lamps as the firelight

19:48

rose and fell. But

19:51

to him, now doubtless accustomed to them,

19:54

the eyes were not wicked. Only

19:56

their playfulness touched him. Sometimes

19:59

The boldest. The the made Sally's out

20:01

on the floor or along the moldings

20:03

of the wainscott. Now

20:05

and again. As they disturbed him,

20:07

malcolm son made a sound to

20:09

frighten them, smiting the table with

20:11

his hand or giving a fists

20:13

so that they fled straight away

20:15

to their hose. And.

20:18

So the early part of the night wore

20:20

on. And despite the noise,

20:22

malcolm son got more and more immersed in

20:24

his work. All

20:26

at once he stopped. As

20:28

on the previous night. Being. Overcome

20:31

by a sudden sense of

20:33

silence. Is there

20:35

was not the faintest sound of know.

20:38

Or. Scratch. Or. Squeak.

20:42

The silence. Was.

20:44

As of the grave. Be.

20:46

Remembered the odd occurrence of the

20:48

previous night, and instinctively. He

20:50

looked at the chair standing close by the

20:52

fireside. And. Then a very

20:55

odd sensation through through him. There.

20:59

On the great old hi backed

21:01

carved oak chair beside the spot.

21:05

The same enormous route. Steadily.

21:08

Glaring at him with baleful eyes,

21:11

Instinctively. Took the nearest thing

21:13

to his hand, a book of logarithms,

21:15

and slung it at it. The

21:17

book was badly aimed and the

21:19

rat did not stir so Again,

21:21

The poker performance of the previous

21:23

night was repeated and again the

21:25

rats being closely pursued. Flared.

21:28

Up the rope of the alarm bell. Strangely.

21:31

To the departure of this rat

21:33

was instantly followed by the renewal

21:35

of the noise made by the

21:37

general rat community. On.

21:39

This occasion as on the previous one,

21:42

Malcolm Son could not see it. What

21:44

part of the room the rat disappeared

21:46

for the green shade of Islam left

21:48

the upper part of the room and

21:51

darkness. And. The fire had burned

21:53

low. And looking at

21:55

his watch. he found it

21:57

was close on midnight and not sorry for the

21:59

do of ertismond, he

22:01

made up his fire and made himself his nightly

22:03

pot of tea. He

22:06

had got through a good spell of work and

22:08

thought himself entitled to a cigarette, and

22:10

so he sat on the great carved

22:12

oak chair before the fire and enjoyed

22:15

it. Whilst

22:17

smoking he began to think that

22:19

he would like to know where the rat disappeared

22:21

to, for he had certain

22:24

ideas for the morrow not entirely

22:26

disconnected with a rat. Finally

22:29

he lit another lamp and placed it so

22:32

that it would shine well into the right-hand

22:34

corner of the wall by the fireplace. Then

22:37

he got all the books he had with him and

22:40

placed them handies a throw at the vermin.

22:43

Finally he lifted the rope of the alarm-bell

22:46

and placed the end of it on the

22:48

table, fixing the extreme end under the lamp.

22:51

As he handled it, he couldn't

22:54

help noticing how pliable it

22:56

was, especially for so strong

22:58

a rope and one not in use. You

23:01

could hang a man with it, he thought to himself.

23:05

When his preparations were made he looked around

23:07

and said complacently, Then, my

23:09

friend, I think we shall learn something

23:12

of you at this time. He

23:15

began his work again, and

23:17

though, as before, somewhat disturbed at

23:19

first by the noise of rats

23:21

soon lost himself in his propositions

23:23

and problems. Then

23:26

he was called to his immediate

23:28

surroundings. Suddenly, this time, it might

23:31

not have been the sudden silence

23:33

only which took his attention. There

23:36

was a slight movement of the rope and

23:39

the lamp moved. Without

23:41

stirring he looked to see if his pile of

23:43

books was within range, and then he

23:45

cast his eye along the rope. As

23:49

he looked he saw the great rat

23:51

drop from the rope on the oak

23:53

armchair and sit there, glaring

23:56

at him. He raised

23:58

a book in his right hand and taking careful Aime

24:00

flung it at the Rat. The

24:02

latter, with a quick movement, sprang aside

24:04

and dodged the missile. He

24:06

then took another book and the third and flung

24:09

them one after another at the Rat, but

24:11

each time unsuccessfully. At

24:14

last, as he stood with the book poised

24:16

in his hand to throw, the

24:19

Rat squeaked and seemed afraid. This

24:22

made Malcomson more than ever eager to

24:24

strike, and the book flew and struck

24:27

the Rat a resounding blow. It

24:29

gave a terrified squeak, and

24:32

turning on his pursuer a look of

24:34

terrible malevolence, ran up the

24:36

chair back and made a great jump to

24:38

the rope of the alarm bell, and ran

24:40

up it like lightning. The

24:43

lamp rocked under the sudden strain, but it was

24:45

a heavy one and did not topple over. Malcomson

24:49

kept his eyes on the Rat, and

24:51

saw it by the light of the second lamp

24:53

leap to a moulding of the wainscot, and

24:55

disappear through a hole in one of

24:58

the great pictures which hung on the

25:00

wall, obscured and invisible through its coating

25:02

of dirt and dust. I

25:05

shall look up my friend's habitation in the

25:07

morning, said the student, as he went over

25:09

to collect his books. The

25:11

third picture from the fireplace. I

25:13

shall not forget. He

25:15

picked up the books one by one, commenting

25:17

on them as he lifted them. No

25:20

nixceptions, he does not mind, nor

25:23

cycloidal oscillations, nor

25:25

the principia, nor

25:27

quaternions, nor thermodynamics.

25:31

Now for the book that fetched him,

25:34

Malcomson took it up and looked at it. As

25:37

he did so he started, and

25:39

the sudden pallor overspread his face. He

25:42

looked round uneasily and shivered

25:44

slightly as he murmured to himself,

25:47

The Bible my mother gave me. He

25:52

sat down to work again, and the

25:54

rats in the wainscot renewed their gambles.

25:57

It did not disturb him, however. Somehow

26:00

their presence gave him a sense

26:02

of companionship, but he

26:04

couldn't attend to his work, for after

26:06

striving to master the subject on which

26:08

he was engaged, gave it up in

26:11

despair, and went to bed

26:13

as the first streak of dawn stole

26:15

in through the eastern window. He

26:17

slept heavily but uneasily, and

26:20

dreamed much. And

26:22

when Mrs. Dempster woke him late in the

26:24

morning, he seemed ill at ease, and

26:27

for a few minutes did not seem to realise

26:29

exactly where he was. His

26:31

first request rather surprised the

26:33

servant. Mrs. Dempster, where

26:35

am I today? I

26:37

wish you would get the steps and

26:39

dust, or wash those pictures, especially

26:42

that one, the third from

26:44

the fireplace. I want to see what

26:46

they are. Late in

26:48

the afternoon, Malcolmson worked at his books in

26:50

the shaded walk, and the cheerfulness of the

26:53

previous day came back to him as the

26:55

day wore on, and he found

26:57

that his reading was progressing well. He

27:01

had worked out, to a satisfactory

27:03

conclusion, all the problems which had as

27:05

yet baffled him, and it

27:07

was in a state of jubilation that he paid

27:09

a visit to Mrs. Witherm at the Good Traveller.

27:12

He found a stranger in the cosy

27:14

sitting-room with the landlady, who

27:16

was introduced to him as Dr. Thornhill. She

27:19

was not quite at ease, and

27:21

this, combined with the doctors plunging

27:23

at once into a series of

27:25

questions, made Malcolmson come to the

27:27

conclusion that his presence was not

27:29

an accident. So without preliminary

27:31

he said, Dr. Thornhill, I shall with

27:34

pleasure answer you any question you may

27:36

choose to ask me, if

27:38

you will answer me one question

27:40

first. The doctor

27:43

seemed surprised, but he smiled and answered

27:45

at once. Done! What is it?

27:48

Did Mrs. Witherm ask you to come here and

27:50

see me and advise me? Dr.

27:52

Thornhill for a moment was taken aback,

27:55

and Mrs. Witherm got fiery red and

27:57

turned away, but the doctor was

27:59

a frank and rare. lady-man, and he

28:01

answered at once and openly, "'She

28:03

did, but she didn't intend you to

28:06

know it. I suppose it was

28:08

my clumsy haste that made you suspect. She

28:11

told me that she didn't like the idea

28:13

of your being in that house, or by

28:15

yourself, and that she thought you

28:17

took too much strong tea. In fact,

28:19

she wants me to advise you, if

28:21

possible, to give up the tea, and

28:23

the very late hours. I

28:26

was a keen student in my time, so I

28:28

suppose I may take the liberty of a college

28:30

man, and without offence, advise you

28:32

not quite as a stranger.'" Malcolmson

28:36

with a bright smile held out his

28:38

hand. "'Shake,' as they say in America,"

28:40

he said, "'I must thank you for

28:42

your kindness, and Mrs. Witham, too, and

28:44

your kindness deserves a return on my

28:46

part. I promise to take

28:49

no more strong tea. No

28:51

tea at all till you tell me. And

28:53

I shall go to bed tonight at one

28:55

o'clock at latest. Will that do?" "'Capital,'

28:58

said the doctor. "'Now, tell us

29:00

all that you noticed in the old house.'

29:03

And so Malcolmson then and there

29:05

told in minute detail all

29:08

that had happened in the last two nights. He

29:11

was interrupted every now and then

29:13

by some exclamation from Mrs. Witham

29:15

till finally, when he told of

29:18

the episode of the Bible, the

29:20

landlady's pent-up emotions found vent in

29:22

a shriek, and it was

29:24

not till a stiff glass of brandy and

29:26

water had been administered that she grew composed

29:28

again. Dr. Thornhill

29:31

listened with a face of growing gravity,

29:33

and when the narrative was complete and

29:35

Mrs. Witham had been restored, he asked,

29:38

"'The rat always went up

29:40

the rope of the alarm bell—always.'

29:42

"'I suppose you know,'

29:45

said the doctor, after a pause,

29:47

"'what the rope is.' "'No.'

29:50

"'It is,' said the doctor, slowly,

29:53

the very rope which the hangman

29:55

used for all the victims of

29:57

the judge's judicial rancour." Here

30:00

he was interrupted by another scream from Mrs.

30:02

Witherm, and steps had to be taken for

30:04

her recovery. Malcolmson,

30:06

having looked at his watch and found

30:09

that it was close to his dinner

30:11

hour, had gone home before her complete

30:13

recovery. When Mrs. Witherm

30:15

was herself again, she almost

30:18

assailed the doctor with angry questions as

30:20

to what he meant by putting such

30:22

horrible ideas into the poor young man's

30:24

mind. He has quite enough there

30:26

already to upset him, he added. Dr.

30:29

Thornhill replied, My dear madam, I

30:31

had a distinct purpose in it.

30:34

I wanted to draw his attention to the bell-rope

30:36

and to fix it there. It

30:39

may be that he is in a highly

30:41

overwrought state, and has been studying too much,

30:43

although I am bound to say that he

30:46

seems as sound and healthy a young man,

30:48

mentally and bodily, as

30:50

I ever saw. But then, the

30:53

rats, and that suggestion of the

30:55

devil, the doctor shook his head

30:58

and went on. I would have

31:00

offered to go and stay the first night with him,

31:02

but that I felt sure it would have been a

31:04

cause of offence. He may

31:06

get in the night some strange fright

31:08

or hallucination, and if he does, I

31:11

want him to pull that rope. All

31:14

alone, as he is, it will give us

31:16

warning, and we may reach him in time

31:18

to be of service. I

31:20

shall be sitting up pretty late tonight, and shall

31:22

keep my ears open. Do

31:24

not be alarmed if Benchurch gets a

31:27

surprise before morning. Oh, Doctor,

31:29

what do you mean? What do you mean?

31:32

I mean this, that possibly, nay,

31:34

more probably, we shall

31:36

hear the great alarm bell from the

31:38

judge's house tonight. And

31:40

the doctor made about as effective an exit as

31:43

could be thought of. When

31:45

Malcomson arrived home, he found that it

31:47

was a little after his usual time,

31:50

and Mrs. Dempster had gone away. The

31:53

rules of Greenhouse Charity were not to

31:55

be neglected. He

31:57

was glad to see that the place was bright and

31:59

tidy. the cheerful fire and a

32:01

well-trimmed lamp. The evening

32:03

was colder than might have been expected

32:06

in April, and a heavy

32:08

wind was blowing with such rapidly increasing

32:10

strength that there was every promise of

32:12

a storm during the night. For

32:15

a few minutes after his entrance the

32:17

noise of the rats ceased, but

32:19

so soon as they became accustomed to

32:21

his presence they began again. He

32:24

was glad to hear them, for he felt

32:26

once more the feeling of companionship in their

32:29

noise, and his mind ran

32:31

back to the strange fact that

32:33

they only ceased to manifest themselves when

32:36

the other, the great rat

32:38

with the baleful eyes, came upon the

32:40

scene. The

32:42

reading lamp only was lit, and

32:44

its green shade kept the ceiling and the

32:47

upper part of the room in darkness, so

32:49

that the cheerful light from the hearth spreading

32:51

over the floor and shining on the white

32:53

cloth laid over the end of the table

32:56

was warm and cheery. Malcomson

32:58

sat down to his dinner with a

33:00

good appetite and a buoyant spirit. After

33:03

his dinner and a cigarette he sat

33:05

steadily down to work, determined not

33:08

to let anything disturb him, for he

33:10

remembered his promise to the doctor and

33:12

made up his mind to make the

33:14

best of the time at his disposal.

33:17

For an hour or so he worked all

33:19

right, and then his thoughts began

33:21

to wander from his books. The

33:25

actual circumstances around him, the

33:28

calls on his physical attention and

33:30

his nervous susceptibility

33:33

were not to be denied. By

33:36

this time the wind had

33:38

become a gale, and the gale

33:40

a storm. The

33:43

old house, solid though it was,

33:46

seemed to shake to its foundations,

33:49

and the storm roared and

33:51

raged through its many chimneys

33:53

and its queer old gables,

33:55

producing strange unearthly sounds in

33:57

the empty rooms and corridors.

34:00

Even the great alarm bell on the

34:02

roof must have felt the force of

34:04

the wind, for the rope rose and

34:06

fell slightly, as though the bell were

34:09

moved a little from time to time,

34:11

and the limber rope fell on the

34:13

oak floor with a hard

34:15

and hollow sound. As

34:19

Malcomson listened to it, he

34:21

bethought himself of the doctor's words. That

34:24

is the rope which the hangman used

34:27

for the victims of the judge's judicial

34:29

rancour, and he went

34:31

over to the corner of the fireplace and took

34:33

it in his hand to look at it. There

34:36

seemed a sort of deadly interest

34:39

in it, and as

34:41

he stood there, he lost

34:43

himself for a moment in speculation

34:45

as to who these victims were,

34:48

and a grim wish of the judge

34:50

to have such a ghastly relic ever

34:52

under his eyes. As

34:55

he stood there, the swaying of the

34:57

bell on the roof still lifted the rope

34:59

now and again, but presently

35:01

there came a new sensation, a

35:04

sort of tremor in the rope, as

35:08

though something was moving along it. Looking

35:12

up instinctively, Malcomson saw

35:14

the great rat coming

35:16

slowly down towards him, appearing

35:19

at him steadily. He dropped

35:21

the rope, started back with

35:24

a muttered curse, and the rat,

35:26

turning, ran up the rope

35:28

again and disappeared, and at the same

35:30

instant Malcomson became conscious that

35:33

the noise of the rats which

35:35

had ceased for a while began

35:38

again. At

35:40

him thinking, and it occurred to

35:42

him that he had not investigated the lair

35:44

of the rat or looked at

35:46

the pictures as he had intended, he lit

35:50

the other lamp without the shade, and

35:52

holding it up went and stood

35:54

opposite the third picture from the

35:56

fireplace on the right-hand side, where

35:59

he had seen the seen the rat disappear on

36:01

the previous night. At

36:04

the first glance he started back so

36:06

suddenly that he almost dropped the lamp

36:09

and a deadly pallor overspread his face.

36:12

His knees shook and heavy droops

36:14

of sweat came on his forehead and

36:16

he trembled like an aspen. But

36:19

he was young and plucky and

36:21

pulled himself together, and after the

36:23

pause of a few seconds stepped forward

36:25

again, raised the lamp, and

36:28

examined the picture which had been dusted and

36:30

washed, and now stood

36:33

out clearly. It

36:36

was of a judge, dressed in his

36:38

robes of scarlet and ermine, his

36:41

face was strong and merciless,

36:44

evil, crafty and

36:46

vindictive, with a sensual

36:48

mouth, hooked nose of ruddy colour

36:50

and shaped like the beak of

36:52

a bird of prey. The

36:55

rest of the face was of a

36:57

cadaverous colour, the eyes

37:00

were of peculiar brilliance and

37:03

with a terribly malignant expression. As

37:06

he looked at them, Malcomson

37:08

grew cold, for

37:11

he saw there the very

37:14

counterpart of the eyes of

37:16

the great rat. The

37:18

lamp almost fell from his hand, he

37:20

saw the rat with its baleful eyes

37:22

peering out through the hole in the

37:24

corner of the picture, and noted the

37:27

sudden cessation of the noise of the

37:29

other rats. However, he pulled

37:31

himself together and went on with his

37:33

examination of the picture. The

37:36

judge was seated in a

37:38

great high-backed carved oak chair,

37:41

on the right-hand side of a

37:43

great stone fireplace, where in the

37:46

corner a rope hung

37:48

down from the ceiling, its

37:50

end-line coiled on the floor. With

37:53

a feeling of something like horror, Malcomson

37:56

recognised the scene of the

37:58

room as its stood, and

38:01

gazed around him in an awestruck manner

38:03

as though he expected to find some

38:06

strange presence behind him. Then

38:10

he looked over to the corner of the fireplace,

38:13

and with a loud cry he let the

38:15

lab fall from his hand. There,

38:20

in the judge's armchair, with

38:22

the rope hanging behind, sat

38:25

the rat with the judge's

38:27

baleful eyes, now intensified, and

38:30

with a fiendish leer, save

38:33

for the howling of the storm

38:35

without. There was

38:37

silence. The fallen

38:40

lamp recalled Malcomson to himself.

38:43

Fortunately, it was of metal,

38:45

and so the oil was not spilt. However,

38:48

the practical need of attending to it

38:50

settled at once his nervous apprehensions. When

38:53

he had turned it out, he wiped his

38:55

brow and thought for a moment, This

38:58

will not do, he said to himself. If

39:00

I go on like this, I shall become

39:02

a crazy fool. This must stop.

39:05

I promised the doctor I would not take tea.

39:07

Faith! He was pretty right. My

39:10

nerves must have been getting into a queer state.

39:13

Funny, I didn't notice it. I never

39:15

felt better in my life. However, it's

39:17

all right now, and I shall

39:19

not be such a fool again. Then

39:22

he mixed himself a good stiff glass

39:24

of brandy and water and resolutely sat

39:27

down to his work. It

39:30

was nearly an hour when he looked

39:32

up from his book, disturbed by the

39:34

sudden stillness. Without the

39:36

wind howled and roared louder than ever,

39:38

and the rain drove in sheets against

39:41

the windows, beating like hail on the

39:43

glass. But within,

39:45

there was no sound whatever, save

39:48

the echo of the wind as it

39:50

roared in the great chimney, and

39:52

now and then a hiss as a few

39:54

raindrops found their way down the chimney in

39:56

a lull of the storm. The

40:00

fire had fallen low and had

40:02

ceased to flame, though it threw out

40:04

a red glow. Malcolmson

40:07

listened attentively and presently

40:10

heard a thin squeaking noise,

40:12

very faint. It

40:14

came from the corner of the room where the

40:17

rope hung down, and he thought

40:19

it was the creaking of the rope

40:21

on the floor as the swaying

40:23

of the bell raised and lowered it. Coming

40:26

up, however, he saw in the

40:28

dim light the great

40:30

rat clinging to the rope and

40:33

gnawing it. The rope

40:35

was already nearly gnawed through. He

40:38

could see the lighter color where the strands were

40:40

laid bare. As he

40:42

looked, the job was completed and the

40:44

severed end of the rope fell, clattering

40:46

on the oaken floor, whilst for an

40:49

instant the great rat remained like a

40:51

knob or tassel at the end of

40:53

the rope, which now began to sway

40:55

to and fro. Malcolmson

40:58

felt for a moment another pang of

41:01

terror as he thought that now the

41:03

possibility of calling the outer world to

41:05

his assistance was cut off, but

41:07

an intense anger took its place, and seizing

41:09

the book he was reading he hurled it

41:11

at the rat. The blow

41:14

was well aimed, but before

41:16

the missile could reach him the rat

41:18

dropped off and struck the floor with

41:20

a soft thud. Malcolmson

41:22

instantly rushed over towards him, but he darted

41:24

away and disappeared in the darkness of the

41:27

shadows of the room. Malcolmson

41:31

felt that his work was over for the

41:33

night and determined then and there to vary

41:35

the monotony of the proceedings by a hunt

41:37

for the rat and took off

41:39

the green shade of the lamp so as

41:42

to ensure a wider spreading light. As

41:45

he did so, the gloom of the upper part

41:47

of the room was relieved, and

41:49

in the new flood of light, great

41:51

by comparison with the previous darkness, the

41:54

pictures on the wall stood out boldly.

41:58

From where he stood Malcolmson saw the light. saw

42:00

right opposite to him the third picture

42:02

on the wall from the right of

42:04

the fireplace. He rubbed

42:06

his eyes in surprise, and then

42:08

a great fear began

42:10

to come upon him. In

42:14

the center of the picture was

42:17

a great irregular patch of brown

42:19

canvas, as fresh as when it

42:21

was stretched on the frame. The

42:23

background was as before, with chair and

42:26

chimney corner and rope, but

42:29

the figure of the judge had disappeared. Malcolmson

42:33

almost in a chill of horror turned

42:36

slowly round, and then he began to

42:38

shake and tremble like a man in

42:40

a palsy. His strength

42:42

seemed to have left him, and he

42:44

was incapable of action or movement, hardly

42:46

even of thought he could only see

42:48

and hear. There,

42:53

on the great high-backed

42:56

carved oak chair, hit

43:00

the judge in his

43:03

robes of scarlet and ermine,

43:05

with his baleful eyes glaring

43:08

vindictively, smile of triumph

43:10

on the resolute, cruel mouth

43:12

as he lifted with his

43:14

hands a black cab.

43:18

Malcolmson felt as if the blood was running

43:21

from his heart as one does in moments

43:23

of prolonged suspense. There was

43:25

a singing in his ears. Without,

43:27

he could hear the roar and

43:29

howl of the tempest, and through

43:31

it, swept on the storm, came

43:33

the striking of midnight by the

43:36

great chimes in the market-place. He

43:38

stood for a space of time that seemed

43:40

to him endless, still as

43:43

a statue, and with wide

43:45

open horror struck eyes, breathless.

43:48

As the clock struck, so

43:51

the smile of triumph on

43:53

the judge's face intensified, and

43:56

at the last stroke of midnight, he

43:59

placed the ball. black cap on his head.

44:02

Slowly and deliberately

44:05

the judge rose from his chair and

44:08

picked up the piece of rope of the

44:10

alarm bell which lay on the floor, drew

44:13

it through his hands, as

44:15

if he enjoyed its touch, and

44:18

then, deliberately began to

44:20

knot one end of it, fashioning

44:23

it into a noose. This

44:26

he tightened and tested with his foot, pulling

44:29

hard at it till he was satisfied, and

44:32

then making a running noose of it which

44:34

he held in his hand. Then

44:37

he began to move along the

44:39

table on the opposite side to

44:41

Malcolmson, keeping his eyes on him

44:43

until he had passed him, when,

44:46

with a quick movement, he

44:48

stood in front of the door. Malcolmson

44:50

then began to feel that

44:52

he was trapped and tried to think of

44:55

what he should do. There was some fascination

44:57

in the judge's eyes which he never

44:59

took off him, and he had perforced

45:01

to look. He saw the

45:03

judge approach, still keeping between him

45:05

and the door, and raised the

45:07

noose and throw it towards him,

45:09

as if to entangle him. With

45:12

a great effort he made a quick movement

45:14

to one side and saw the rope fall

45:16

beside him, and heard it strike the oaken

45:18

door. Again the judge raised

45:21

the noose and tried to ensnare

45:23

him, ever keeping his baleful eyes

45:25

fixed on him, and each time

45:27

by a mighty effort the student

45:29

just managed to evade it. So

45:33

this went on for many times,

45:35

the judge seeming never discouraged nor

45:37

discomposed at failure, but playing as

45:39

a cat does with a mouse.

45:42

At last, in despair which had reached

45:44

its climax, Malcolmson cast a quick glance

45:47

round him. The lamp seemed

45:49

to have blazed up and there was a fairly good

45:51

light in the room. At

45:54

the many rat-holes and in the

45:56

chinks and crannies of the wainscotch

45:58

he saw the rat's eyes. And

46:01

this aspect, that was purely physical,

46:03

gave him a gleam of comfort.

46:06

He looked around and saw that the rope of

46:08

the great alarm bell was laden with rats. Every

46:11

inch of it was covered with them, and

46:13

more and more were pouring through the small

46:15

circular hole in the ceiling whence it emerged,

46:17

so that with their weight the bell was

46:20

beginning to sway. Hark!

46:23

It had swayed till the clapper had touched

46:25

the bell. The sound was a

46:27

tiny one, but the bell was only

46:29

beginning to sway, and it would increase.

46:32

At the sound the judge, who had

46:34

been keeping his eyes fixed on Malcomson,

46:36

looked up, and the scowl

46:38

of diabolical anger overspread his face.

46:42

His eyes fairly glowed like hot coals, and

46:44

he stamped his foot with a sound that

46:46

seemed to make the house shake. A

46:49

dreadful peal of thunder broke overhead

46:51

as he raised the rope again,

46:54

whilst the rats kept running up and

46:56

down the rope as though working against time.

47:00

Instead of throwing it, he drew close

47:02

to his victim and held open the

47:04

noose as he approached. As

47:06

he came closer there seemed something

47:08

paralyzing in his very presence, and

47:11

Malcomson stood rigid as a corpse.

47:14

He felt the judge's icy fingers touch his

47:16

throat as he adjusted the rope. The

47:19

noose tightened. Tightened.

47:22

Then the judge, taking the rigid form

47:25

of the student in his arms, carried

47:27

him over and placed him standing in

47:29

the oak chair and stepping up beside

47:31

him, put his hand up and caught

47:34

the end of the swaying rope of

47:36

the alarm bell. As he

47:38

raised his hand the rats flared, squeaking,

47:40

and disappeared through the hole in the

47:43

ceiling. Taking the

47:45

end of the noose which was round

47:47

Malcomson's neck, he tied it to the

47:49

hanging rope bell and then

47:51

descending, pulled

47:53

away the chair. When

47:57

the alarm bell of the judge's house began to sound

47:59

a crash, he was Crowds soon assembled. Lights

48:02

and torches of various kinds appeared,

48:04

and soon a silent crowd was

48:06

hurrying to the spot. They

48:08

knocked loudly at the door, but

48:10

there was no reply. Then they

48:13

burst in the door and poured into

48:15

the great dining-room, the doctor at the

48:17

head. There, at

48:20

the end of the rope of the great alarm

48:22

bell, hung the body

48:24

of the student, and on

48:26

the face of the judge in the picture was

48:29

a malignant smile. So

48:54

that was the judge's house

48:56

by Abraham Bram

48:58

Stoker, who was born on November

49:00

8, 1847 in

49:02

Clontaff Dublin, Ireland. He

49:05

was the third of seven children born to Abraham

49:07

Stoker, who named his son. That

49:09

must have been confusing in a house. And

49:13

Charlotte Matilda Blake Thornley Stoker, she had a

49:15

lot of names. Stoker

49:17

spent much of his early childhood bedridden due

49:19

to an unknown illness during which

49:21

he entertained himself with stories and books. Despite

49:24

his illness, he eventually made a full

49:26

recovery and went to study at Trinity

49:28

College Dublin, where he excelled in athletics

49:30

and graduated with honors in mathematics. But

49:33

he didn't expect either of those if you didn't know them. After

49:36

graduation, Stoker pursued a career in the

49:38

civil service while also working as a

49:41

freelance journalist and theatre critic. His

49:43

passion for writing led him to become the manager

49:46

of the Lyceum Theatre in London. He

49:48

actually worked for Sheridan LaFana,

49:51

who was involved with the theatre scene in Dublin

49:53

at the time. LaFana was

49:55

a generation before, so we get kind of

49:57

Carmilla coming out, the vampire story Carmilla. I

50:00

won't say 1847, I haven't looked it up top of my

50:02

head. I made the mistake of

50:05

quoting the fall of Constantinople off top of

50:07

my head as 1485, when

50:09

in fact it's 1453. What

50:12

I was confusing was the Battle of Bosworth in

50:14

1485, I think, which now

50:16

I'm kind of anxious now, but oh no,

50:18

am I right? But there are

50:20

probably only 1400 dates that I

50:23

know in it with any familiarity,

50:25

and I got both of those wrong. Got

50:28

the numbers maybe right, but the thing that

50:30

happened then wrong. Anyway, so Lofano,

50:32

1847, I want to

50:35

say Carmilla, but Lofano considered

50:37

the best ghost storywriter of

50:39

his generation in the mid-19th

50:41

century, much lauded later, particularly by

50:43

M.R. James. But

50:46

let's go back to Bram Stoker. So Bram was

50:48

a younger man working for Lofano at one point.

50:52

Must have been familiar with Lofano's stories. I think that's

50:54

something to bear in mind when thinking about this story.

50:57

So after we've already done that, he

51:00

then ended up working as manager for the

51:02

Lyceum Theatre in London, where he met and

51:04

formed a close friendship with the renowned actor

51:06

Sir Henry Irving. Stoker's

51:09

association with Irving greatly influenced his literary

51:11

career and provided inspiration for some of

51:13

his most famous works. Although

51:17

Stoker wrote numerous novels, short stories and

51:19

non-fictions works, one of which we've just

51:21

done, not non-fiction but short story, he's

51:24

best known for his gothic horror masterpiece

51:26

Dracula published in 1897. We

51:29

know Dracula. If you haven't heard it, listen to

51:31

my version of it on this channel. Go on.

51:34

I say that, you know, I want to be open-hearted

51:36

and generous. I go, yeah, listen to anybody's, but no,

51:38

listen to mine. Please listen to mine. Because if you

51:40

listen to mine, I get paid some advertising

51:43

revenue from it. And

51:45

that's the truth. So it's on YouTube.

51:48

It's not on the podcast. It's too long

51:50

to be on the podcast. So

51:53

it's become a staple of English literature,

51:55

although it was considered, you know, worthless

51:57

genre fiction in its day. We

52:00

know about Dracula. Despite the success

52:02

of Dracula, Stoker struggled financially throughout much

52:04

of his life. I don't think he made

52:06

much money from Dracula to be honest, although

52:09

many people have made more since. He continued

52:11

to write prolifically producing several more novels

52:13

and short stories, but none achieved the

52:15

same level of success as his iconic

52:17

vampire tale. He passed away in April

52:19

20th, 1912

52:21

in London at the age of 64. Oh dear, I'm 63 in 10

52:23

days. While

52:25

he did not leave to see the full extent

52:28

of Dracula's enduring legacy, he didn't. His

52:30

creation has since become one of the most

52:32

iconic and influential figures in popular culture, inspiring

52:35

countless adaptation sequels and

52:37

reimaginings in literature, theater

52:39

film and television. Bram Stoker's contribution

52:42

to the horror genre and his enduring

52:44

legacy as the creator of all the

52:46

literature's most iconic monsters continued

52:48

to be celebrated. Let's say something about

52:50

the judge's house. This came out

52:52

in 1881, so predates Dracula. You can

52:54

see in the, you can see some

52:56

Dracula-like features, of course, in the judge.

52:58

He's kind of got hypnotic eyes. Big

53:01

thing in fact. He's not a vampire. He's got hypn- he's this

53:04

malevolent, malignant male

53:07

power. I wonder if how Stoker got on with

53:09

his dad just being a bit Freudian there. Just

53:11

a bit psychoanalytical there. How did he get

53:13

on with his dad? I

53:16

don't know. Somebody will know. I've read

53:18

his biography if I have it so

53:20

low. You know, I do recall reading

53:22

a Stoker biography, but phew. 25,

53:27

30 years ago. So I can't remember anything

53:29

about it. And that's

53:31

what happens when you read books. It's actually pointless reading

53:33

them because you forget them and you might as well

53:35

not have read them. So

53:37

save yourself some time. Watch TV

53:39

instead. So.

53:43

Yeah, judge's house. So the

53:45

Dracula figure, yeah. You see that. I

53:50

thought it was relatively- it was

53:52

almost comic. It felt Dickensian in

53:54

some ways. Would

53:57

the, you know, Mrs. Withers, the- the

54:00

landlady is looking out for him and Mrs.

54:03

Dempster is charlady and

54:06

they're decent ladies and

54:10

also being warned is

54:12

Dracula like you know when he's in the castle

54:14

and they're telling him the local peasants are going

54:16

like these are the local peasants aren't they? And

54:19

they're like oh don't go there mate, here have

54:21

us crucifix. At least nobody gave this fellow a

54:23

crucifix but they were very worried about him. So

54:26

I thought that was resonance. Now the

54:28

reference to tea, now in

54:31

this modern day when we are

54:33

used to perhaps far stronger substances

54:36

tea does not, tea seems very tame,

54:38

even seems tamer than coffee but

54:41

when caffeine drinks like tea

54:43

and coffee came to Europe

54:46

they were like drugs and

54:49

they weren't illegal but they like there was coffee housing people go oh

54:51

yeah I'm going to get my hit of coffee and

54:54

even tea so this is where I want to

54:56

reference Lefano. Have

54:58

you heard sharing Lefano's great story Green

55:01

Tea? It's all about a guy who

55:03

goes off his head drinking tea no

55:05

spoilers. It's

55:07

a bit more to the story than that to be

55:10

honest. So if you wanted to go

55:12

and listen to it yes I've narrated that so go and

55:14

listen to it on this channel and want

55:16

to be open hearted and say yeah go and listen

55:18

to something, no don't listen to mine

55:20

for the reason aforementioned I get

55:23

some cash. Not much but

55:25

it's all better than and I've got to pay for things

55:29

like dog bones

55:32

and sandwiches

55:36

for people. Yes I

55:38

did I bought a lot of sandwiches for people yesterday. So

55:42

yeah go and listen to my Greek version of Green Tea

55:45

by Joseph Sherry Lefano. Then

55:48

the other thing is Lefano

55:51

wrote a story called Justice

55:54

Harbottle, Mr

55:56

Justice Harbottle given his proper title. So

56:02

it. So. Basically this

56:04

guy use is quoting

56:06

and references that strange

56:08

strange disturbances in Angus

56:10

street. By. The Far no

56:12

I don't see that reference as a haunted

56:15

house story. That and if you haven't heard

56:17

it, please go and listen to my narration

56:19

of it on this channel and not gonna

56:22

give you any of that openhearted of discover,

56:24

listen to them And done. So.

56:26

This is a guy who and.

56:30

Sky. Who is published a lot of books.

56:32

I've actually bottom his books versions of all

56:34

stories and he illustrates how many comments on

56:36

them. So Zebra A lover of graphic stuff,

56:38

Mr. Grant. Keller. My M grant

56:41

calamine, you know, and I've messed up.

56:43

talked about him before and. But

56:45

sir the he has a and article

56:48

talking about this Nice as a judge's

56:50

stories. A masterpiece. I'm not sure it

56:52

is, I think it's It's neat as

56:54

they say to is an Americanism. It's.

56:56

It's it's neat In both American

56:59

and British census. Oh are

57:01

in the modern and the old fashioned sense

57:03

of neat. That's neat in nothin.

57:05

It's actually really well constructed. It you know

57:07

how it runs, is great. This know extraneous

57:09

stuff are you're going to cut something you

57:11

wouldn't. It. Make sense. As.

57:14

You wouldn't cut anything because it's nothing

57:16

obviously the need cut. from the story

57:18

to very efficient story a meter, Everything

57:20

the senate is necessary and he possibly

57:22

could have done away with the char

57:24

lady or the I think. okay. So.

57:27

Wouldn't cut it might cut

57:29

the the in woman. Cost.

57:32

All of that could have been done by the Charlie Day.

57:34

All. Her you know looking out from could have been

57:36

sorted by the charlie to she may have had. A

57:39

friend do is they took to you know

57:41

the could have done it without adding extra

57:43

correctness. Butter. And made it

57:45

basically. Volcanic is

57:48

so. basically. Malcolm. Son

57:50

Malcolm Malcolm said great nine. Am.

57:52

And. The. Charlie

57:55

Mrs. Dumpster. And. The

57:57

doctor. And. a judge the

58:00

rat as well potentially as the fifth though he

58:02

doesn't get many lines. So

58:04

yeah so you could have done it I suppose you could

58:06

have done it but I'm not knocking him because I think

58:08

it was it's a well done story honestly I really think

58:10

it is this is a guy who's a professional writer and

58:12

you can tell this is what he does for a living

58:14

it's very a thing. As I said

58:17

I thought it was a slightly comic to start off with

58:19

the all those rats dancing

58:21

what were the rats doing? I've

58:24

digressed I was talking about Grant Kellamare's

58:27

view and he says it's like um

58:32

uh stranger's servants in our industry I

58:35

don't see that Mr Justice Harbottle potentially

58:37

Mr Justice Harbottle came out in

58:39

1953 um it's about

58:43

malignant judge months uh you know a

58:46

Georgian hanging judge who's

58:48

very nasty um and

58:50

haunts people in the house so yeah you can

58:53

see that's definitely and also I think what Kellamare

58:55

didn't say is green tea definitely somebody who is

58:57

having these almost drug

58:59

dreams related to tea because I think

59:02

the dancing rats he's like a

59:04

drug dream isn't it it's a bit like

59:06

the image that came to my mind was

59:08

Disney's Fantasia with all those things all those

59:10

sprites dancing you know the little creatures dancing

59:13

uh so like you

59:15

know that's it's the tea

59:18

keep off the tea keep off the tea

59:20

not green tea yes the wharners told us

59:22

about this this is probably black tea black

59:25

tea as well keep off it funnily

59:27

enough um on instagram I was you know as

59:29

you do somebody tried to sell me something this

59:31

company and it's like the two the tea you

59:34

drink which I drink I've just had one I

59:36

probably have another soon is tea

59:38

dust and you look at it it just

59:40

looks like tea so it's the sweepings of

59:42

the tea factory floor but listen

59:44

there's a lot of sweepings because most people drink tea

59:47

dust so the real good stuff but they're maybe throwing

59:49

it out the good stuff like nobody

59:51

wants this throw it out just keep the dust

59:53

keep the stuff that's gone on the floor sweep

59:55

it up put it in your little

59:58

brush thing um Dustpan,

1:00:00

that's the word and we'll have that

1:00:02

but the good tea throw it out.

1:00:05

Well these people don't throw it out,

1:00:07

they sell you the good tea in

1:00:09

proper leaves and you steep them. However

1:00:12

it's very expensive so

1:00:14

like I'm probably stick to tea

1:00:17

dust. But I've been warned

1:00:19

about it now by two authors so two

1:00:21

authors who I respect so maybe I should

1:00:23

take it seriously and cut down on the

1:00:25

tea. So

1:00:28

yeah so we can see

1:00:30

that lots

1:00:33

of judges in, I do

1:00:36

a bit of research on these stories and

1:00:39

I look on the internet as you

1:00:41

do, read introductions to

1:00:43

books, usually if there's a

1:00:45

collection of the books I'll read the introduction so it gives

1:00:47

me something sensible to say about it. I

1:00:49

also use chatgpt, don't be upset. My

1:00:54

view on AI out there is

1:00:56

it's a useful tool. Don't try and write a

1:00:58

story with it, it's crap. It

1:01:01

writes trash. I

1:01:05

have played around with if you listen

1:01:07

to my Space Casket story my own

1:01:09

on YouTube I used

1:01:12

an AI female American voice there which is pretty

1:01:14

good. People are going oh she's got a pleasant

1:01:16

voice, who is she? She's a robot. So

1:01:19

11 Labs can clone fantastic

1:01:21

AI voices. Don't be worried.

1:01:24

There are channels out there that narrate whole

1:01:26

books like this. There's nobody

1:01:28

doing it. It's

1:01:31

done by Romanians. I don't

1:01:33

know if it is done by Romanians but

1:01:35

it's done by people who don't speak English

1:01:37

as their native language anyway. I just picked

1:01:39

randomly on Romanians and I do apologize probably

1:01:41

because I was thinking about Bram Stoker and

1:01:43

somewhere in there Transylvania was lurking which

1:01:46

is a beautiful country. I've been twice a

1:01:48

beautiful part of a country. Beautiful. You've never

1:01:51

been to Transylvania. Go to Transylvania. It's gorgeous.

1:01:55

Anyway, so yeah,

1:01:57

so the cloning, their whole. channels,

1:02:00

YouTube channels and most of the audience

1:02:02

absolutely don't mind this. When they

1:02:05

get a word they don't know they just mispronounce it

1:02:07

but then so do I. Now actually I look them

1:02:09

up 80% of

1:02:12

the time. Sometimes if I'm in mid flow

1:02:14

I don't but mainly if

1:02:16

I'm coming across a difficult word I

1:02:18

will look it up because you can get

1:02:20

guides on the internet to pronounce words. So

1:02:24

I use that. So 11

1:02:26

labs, voice cloning, just

1:02:29

and then you know if you

1:02:31

want to, this is for all

1:02:34

those people who aren't listening now but

1:02:36

they want to leave nasty comments, leave it for

1:02:38

the robot. The robot doesn't care. You

1:02:40

know I thought your mic didn't have a bottom end.

1:02:43

Yeah all right robot doesn't care. I

1:02:45

think you're you overact. Yeah robot

1:02:48

doesn't care anyway. Somebody

1:02:50

said to me you just need to let this go

1:02:52

Tony right. You just let it go, let it go.

1:02:54

Okay I'm calm. Yes

1:02:56

so no I don't mind bollocks

1:02:59

to it. These people,

1:03:01

these robot, people want that. People buy

1:03:04

trash food don't they? If they

1:03:06

can't afford expensive

1:03:08

food they've got some justification

1:03:10

for buying trash food. Why

1:03:12

if you if you are happy listening to an AI

1:03:15

voice it just shows you can listen to me

1:03:17

for free on YouTube or

1:03:20

you rate yourself don't you mate? No

1:03:22

I don't mean that or you

1:03:24

know horror babble or bite-eyes

1:03:27

audio or Jasper Lestrange or you know

1:03:29

somebody talented you can listen to them

1:03:31

for free or you can listen to

1:03:33

an AI voice. Now if you choose

1:03:36

to listen to an AI voice that

1:03:38

actually that doesn't say you're poor it just says you've

1:03:40

got no taste but many

1:03:42

people have no taste. So there

1:03:44

you go. So AI voices I'm

1:03:46

alright about it. AI

1:03:49

writing I think is still crap.

1:03:51

I'm being I'm using some words there aren't I?

1:03:55

Sub-par. AI

1:03:57

writing is sub-par and And

1:04:00

whereas I think their voices are getting really

1:04:02

good, I think A.I. art,

1:04:04

particularly mid-journey, is terrific. So

1:04:10

it's the same deal about

1:04:13

artists as it's

1:04:15

about voice narrators. Somebody said to

1:04:17

me, you wouldn't like it if somebody was taking your...

1:04:20

Do you know, one has to accept that one

1:04:22

is bespoke. And

1:04:24

if people want you, they'll come to you or

1:04:26

they want the kind of stuff you're doing, they'll

1:04:28

come to you. But if they're happy with kind

1:04:32

of none, you know, it's like... People

1:04:36

shop with all these, you know, Wish

1:04:38

and Temer, this stuff that comes from

1:04:41

China, no disrespect to any

1:04:43

race, nationality or anything like that. But

1:04:45

the stuff that comes through this thing

1:04:47

is rubbish and it breaks

1:04:49

and it's cheap and it's low quality now also.

1:04:52

If you're poor, what can you do? Maybe that's

1:04:54

right for you. You know, and I've been poor.

1:04:58

I'm relatively poor still, but I'm not as poor as I

1:05:01

have been and I'm not as poor as some people, I

1:05:03

know that. So you

1:05:06

have to, don't you? You have to. But

1:05:10

that's what it's like. So if you want a proper artist,

1:05:12

you're going to go to a proper artist. But

1:05:15

the A.I. is coming and I

1:05:17

don't hate it. I

1:05:20

kind of think, well, if it's useful,

1:05:22

it's like... And

1:05:24

I've said this before and people disagree with me, but you know.

1:05:27

So for example, I'm using now

1:05:30

a microphone. I'm not recording

1:05:33

it on a wax disk and

1:05:35

I'm not going into the street shouting, you

1:05:38

know? I'm using technology

1:05:40

that... I'm using technology.

1:05:43

And when you... If you

1:05:45

are... I'm not an artist, but

1:05:47

if I was an artist and I was using various

1:05:49

programs to draw, to

1:05:52

Photoshop, to edit, what

1:05:55

is the difference really? What

1:05:57

is the difference? You say a person is behind it. But

1:06:00

the person has to put work

1:06:02

in. The voices are easy because you just feed Sherlock

1:06:04

Holmes and out you get. But

1:06:07

with the AI art for example and

1:06:09

with the AI writing, you have to

1:06:11

craft prompts. You have to kind of

1:06:13

learn how to put in what you want to get out

1:06:15

what you want. It's not as simple as just going, oh

1:06:18

give me this and out it comes. There's a lot of

1:06:20

the stuff at first pass isn't any good. So you do

1:06:22

have to iterate it and you do have to learn how

1:06:24

to use the technology. Now, I know a lot of people

1:06:26

are going to fall out with me on

1:06:28

this one, but I'm

1:06:31

being honest, you know, that's what I think. So

1:06:35

anyway, there

1:06:39

we are. I've kind of blown myself out of the water there. I don't

1:06:41

know what to say now. Whoa, you may

1:06:43

be pleased about that. Yeah,

1:06:46

so it's a neat little story. It's a

1:06:48

horror story because he ends up hanged. But

1:06:50

I almost felt that the build-up was a

1:06:53

mismatch. I'm not massively frightened of rats. There

1:06:56

was the gothic element, the gothic house. It's very

1:06:58

gothic, isn't it? The gothic house, the gothic building

1:07:00

is the judge. It's the curse.

1:07:03

That's gothic. It was kind of

1:07:05

rats pop up. I've been doing all rat

1:07:07

stories over the past six months. Rats in

1:07:09

the walls. I nearly

1:07:11

did the Burial of the Rats. Burial with

1:07:14

the rats. Burial of the Rats

1:07:16

by Bram

1:07:18

Stoker, but I chose this one. I've read

1:07:20

it before. I think it's all right. Some

1:07:24

people love it, but I think

1:07:26

it's all right. I think there's a mismatch

1:07:28

between the atmosphere, which I didn't find massively

1:07:31

terrifying and the

1:07:35

end, which is fairly bleak. A

1:07:38

murder. It's fairly bleak. A

1:07:42

lot of the old stories, particularly,

1:07:44

you know, they get away with it, you

1:07:46

know, that, oh, particularly somebody like E.F. Benson.

1:07:49

In many cases, the narrator,

1:07:53

the protagonist gets away with it and

1:07:55

so he's changed forever, shocked, horrified, etc.

1:07:57

But gets away with it. It's light. This

1:08:00

is some poor devil got

1:08:02

hung by a judge. Not

1:08:06

the only one, of course. So

1:08:09

let's, I said, where I came in

1:08:11

with this, was talking about Chad GPT, I said to

1:08:13

Chad GPT, do you

1:08:15

have any more to add, talking to Chad GPT,

1:08:17

about judges in horror stories or films? Could you

1:08:19

list notable ones, and it gives me some good

1:08:21

ones? Judge Claude Frollo from

1:08:23

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We've already

1:08:26

talked about Justice Harbottle in Lofano, the

1:08:29

novel by Victor Hugo, yeah. Judge

1:08:31

Turpin in Sweeney Todd, the demon

1:08:33

bomber of Fleet Street. Musical by

1:08:36

Stephen Sondheim. Judge Turpin

1:08:38

is a villainous character who abuses his authority.

1:08:40

That's the classic trope, isn't it? Judge

1:08:43

Holden, Blood Meridian, novel by

1:08:45

Cormac McCarthy, God, Blood Meridian

1:08:48

was a brilliant, but massively harrowing

1:08:51

read. And

1:08:53

it goes for a lot of Cormac McCarthy stuff. No

1:08:57

Country for Old Man's great. The

1:09:00

Road, oh, yeah, I

1:09:02

just wanna, I just, oh, yeah, I don't wanna live

1:09:04

in that world. Anyway, going on

1:09:06

with Judges. Reminds me of

1:09:08

The Private Eye, don't know if you ever, it's

1:09:11

a British satirical thing, which I used to read more than

1:09:13

I do. And it would do lists like this, and then

1:09:15

there'll be a little, as

1:09:18

if from the editor, that's enough Judges, Ed. It'd

1:09:22

be in the brackets, you know.

1:09:24

So anyway, so Judge Hopkins, Witchfinder

1:09:26

General, film directed by Michael Reeves,

1:09:29

played by Vincent

1:09:32

Price, of course, in an

1:09:34

absolutely camp and over-the-top performance. So

1:09:38

Judges, more Judges, come on, you want

1:09:40

more Judges, don't you? Judge Reaper, this

1:09:43

is what Judge E. P. T. thinks,

1:09:45

the Frightness film directed by Peter Jackson.

1:09:47

In this horror comedy, Judge Jonathan Lydecker,

1:09:49

also known as the Grim Reaper, is

1:09:52

a former serial killer. Baa.

1:09:56

I'm not sure that's right. Judge Blacker, the

1:09:58

Devil's Film Directed by... Ken Russell in

1:10:00

the sixties and seventies seventies when I was grown

1:10:02

up and I was. Aspiring.

1:10:06

Can. Have on T. Drip.

1:10:10

Milks up an. Ice

1:10:13

like Ken Russell. Also because them.

1:10:16

When. Your teenage boy knows those areas.

1:10:18

It's different now. It

1:10:20

does your son forms of things,

1:10:22

but I'm. That. They showed.

1:10:25

Ladies with the tops of. I'm

1:10:28

not sure about the bottoms of but. And. That

1:10:30

was massively intriguing. And am I had a

1:10:32

fascination with episode voice? I never knew why.

1:10:34

I never knew why. When I was little

1:10:36

I was like I just signed. this is

1:10:39

something about that. Something. About

1:10:41

that it draws my attention don't know

1:10:43

why and then I found out it

1:10:45

wasn't diana. Or. Genetics

1:10:47

or something. Anyway, there we. ah that's enough.

1:10:49

Your.is definitely in of judges I think now.

1:10:52

A But as you can see the figure

1:10:54

of the evil Judge. M

1:10:56

has a. Place.

1:10:58

In Literature and in his story. So Bram

1:11:01

Stoker as The Judges House I thought it

1:11:03

was. Fine as it

1:11:05

was okay of it was fun. I

1:11:08

didn't find a scary. But to hope

1:11:10

you enjoyed it. More. Said Oh

1:11:12

by the way, if you hate having

1:11:14

ads Michael Jackson become a patron. He

1:11:17

become a patron. You get. Advance

1:11:19

accessed all the stories. No.

1:11:22

Ads. You can listen to them in

1:11:24

a Patreon app. And

1:11:27

eat. I've got a link to the library and

1:11:29

I kind of every known to gonna upload old

1:11:31

a new ones is still got hundreds in it

1:11:33

and you can download them and you can listen

1:11:35

to this. No ads at all right? back to

1:11:37

the beginning of it and them. So

1:11:40

yeah, consider that. Consider. Becoming passion.

1:11:42

I think you have to pay. Five.

1:11:45

Dollars a month space cheaper than audible. And

1:11:48

basically you know. Okay,

1:11:50

I don't do the range of books Audible does

1:11:52

but set of got enough to keep you going.

1:11:55

Anywhere, That we, I think about Patreon. Five dollars

1:11:57

a month. It's a bargain. Know

1:11:59

once?