 The weird circle. In this cave, by the restless sea, we are met to call from out the past stories, strange, and weird. Bellkeeper, hold the bell, so all may know we are gathered again in the weird circle. It was a dark house, dreary too. Shadows crept down the walls like loathsome vermin. The house was old and filled with memories of better days, like the man who lived there. He was old and gnarled and alone. He'd pass the lonely hours by sitting on the porch of his home, watching the boats sail up and down the river. He was happy living alone in that old house until one day a tall, three-rigged Brazilian schooner floated past his shores, casting a shadow on the banks of the river, a shadow over the old house, a shadow over the old man, a living shadow which crept into his mind. He wrote a letter to his young cousin, Madame Rene Sable, who was living in Paris, begging her to visit him. She read the letter over several times and took it to a friend of hers, a doctor, Dr. Perron, to ask his advice. She was young and in Paris, and she didn't believe in the old man. Come to me, Dr. Perron, because this letter worries me so. You've known my cousin, Gabriel Bouvet, for a long time, and he's not the sort of man given to hallucinations. He seems to be a very sound old man, but living alone the way he does... He's nonsense. Living alone has nothing to do with it. Well, suppose you'll read me the letter, Madame Sable? Of course. It all seems like so much poppycock. Listen. Be honored by a visit from you at your earliest convenience. Isn't that like him? Yes, very much. You'll find me a changed man, my dear. Changed because he has come. You don't know what I'm talking about, and so I must explain. I was crept into my home, a shadow which dominates me. You see what I mean, doctor? Well, read on, Rene. Right. He is a creature from a land of shadows, but I tell you he does live. He lives here with me, and I'm afraid of him. Oh, Rene, he will dominate all of mankind, just as mankind has dominated the animal kingdom. We will become his chaffel, his fruit and his slave, as the animals become ours. You see, doctor? Yes, indeed I do. I wonder... Rene, how soon can you pack and be ready to leave? In about two hours. Fine. I'll have the horse and buggy hitched and call for you then. I think we'd better go down to him as soon as possible. Doctor, surely you don't believe in this invisible creature? Surely, Rene, I don't doubt the wind, just because I can't see it. We'll be able to judge better after we have a talk with him. You better hurry home. I'm going right down to the stable. A long trip, doctor. I hope we don't frighten my cousin by coming at this hour. That's his house right over there, isn't it? Yes, right at the end of the road. Gloomy-looking old place. Very gloomy. It's so dark and so very old. Tell me, how long has Bouvet's wife been dead? About six years now. Did you notice any perceptible change in him after she died? Nothing exceptional, except he became quieter and drew into himself more, if that's possible. Well, here we are. Oh, there boy. Oh! And so the doctor and the old man's cousin, Rene's son, entered the old house, expecting to find a man weakened by illness, haggard with lack of sleep. But instead, Gabriel Bouvet was in high spirits as he conducted his guests into the house. He made a special pot of tea, and then as he passed the creed with sugar. Thank you, dear Rene. That brings no nervous. Fidget, fidget. Makes me nervous. You were talking about the Brazilian boat, Missable Bay. What has the boat to do with this unknown shadow? You don't know, then. Frankly, no. Well, here. Look at this book. Study of a scientific word. Open it. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, or I'd read it to you myself. 872. What is this to do with a shadow which you see? What are your friend adopted to read the second paragraph? Well, listen to this, Rene. São Paulo, Brazil. A contagious madness has spread throughout São Paulo. The victims claim they are being possessed by creatures of darkness who feed only on milk and water. Medical savants have been rushed to their aid. But that's in Brazil, cousin. I know, I know. That the Brazilian boat sailed by my door. It's possible for this, whatever it is, to have escaped from the boat. Well, many things possible, but this does seem a little improbable. But possession, that's talking of demons. This is a modern world. No one man can possess the power of ordering another's will. Oh, little you know, cousin. Well, perhaps I am a fool of a girl, but anybody. No, not anybody, Rene. Not me, for instance. I believe in hypnotics. That's possession of a kind. Dr. Messmer is nonsense. I don't believe in mesmerism. Well, I can prove it to you simply enough. How? If you're willing, we'll try a little experiment. You hypnotize? If you'll be a subject. Why, of course I will. That sounds like fun. Can I help in any way, doctor? Yes, just blow out the candle, all but one. Certainly. I'll leave the corner candle on. All right now, Rene, if you'll close your eyes. My eyes are closed. And try to sleep, sleep. Eh, candles are out, all but one. Now sleep, my dear, try to sleep. Doctor, listen. Listen to that. What? What, monsieur? It's in the room. I know it is. It's here, next to me, watching me. Can't you hear it crying, crying? This is madness. You don't believe me, do you? It's not the experiment at once. Listen. Listen. Cousin, please. What makes you think mankind is the final answer to life? Perhaps there is a higher form of life. A form of life which can possess us and then destroy us. Isn't that possible, doctor? Well, yes, anything is possible. And take my word for it. Humanity is lost unless we destroy it. Look. I always carry a knife with me, waiting for the time. I can destroy him. Listen. It's come for me. Come for possession of me. It's come. It's the hauler. The hauler. And it's come. Don't he ever wake up. He's been unconscious for over an hour. Well, it's best to let him sleep right now, my dear. This is an exhausting emotional strain for a man of his years. But what can we do? As soon as his heartbeat is normal, I'll take him back to the Paris hospital. You'll have to stay here for a few days and close the house. Just pack his belongings and bring them on to Paris as soon as you can. Anything you say, Dr. Power? Well, come, Renee. We must let him sleep. I'll prepare the coach for the return journey. And so they left him, lying on the old bed in his room. And the shadows on the walls cast purple shadows on his gnarled hands. And the hands clutched the air and thrashed the sheets as if the old man were fighting. Fighting a being, fighting a presence, fighting for possession of his own will. The old man's face was a mask of horror. And then the wind, that strange unholy wind, started to sneak in the room. It oozed through the door, the keyhole, and the window. It slid to the bedside. No. No. You're possessed, possessed and on. I know you watch me night and day. Night and day, night and day. But I'll get away from you. I've got to get away from you. I won't give in without a struggle. You have to give in because nobody believes you, believes you, believes you. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Watching you, watching you, watching you. Leave me alone. I'll never leave you alone, never, never, never. But I shall be free of you. You can't be free of me. I'm part of you. If I stay here. They'll call you mad. They'll call you mad. What if I leave the house? You'll die. I'll leave you here. You can't follow me. I'll go far away. So far, nobody will find me. Oh, I've got one hand on your heart, Bouvet, and one in the room. If you leave, your heart will be torn from you. Torn from your body, torn from your soul. Monsieur Boubet, is anything the matter? I heard him scream, too. Doctor, look at it. His face is dead white. Yes, Rene, you're quite right. I'll have to risk moving him now. I don't think we ought to leave him in this house any longer. But how can you travel alone with him? Well, I'll manage somehow. I'll carry him to the buggy. He can sleep as we drive along. I can manage somehow. That is, if you don't mind staying here alone. I don't mind, Doctor. I have no patience with superstitious nonsense. Here, my dear. Help me wrap him in this blanket. Of course, Doctor. Oh, there. That's fine. Now, hand me that other blanket over there. Here you are. That will keep him warm on the journey. I'll send the coats back from Paris tomorrow evening to pick you up. You ought to be able to leave here by then. Don't worry about me, Doctor Peron. I'll be all right. That's what she thought then. But even as the Doctor carried the old man out of the house to the carriage, a premonition of fear, a foreboding, reached out from the gathering shadows in the walls and left it trembling in weak. The Doctor placed the old man in the carriage. And then, that journey and the return to Paris started. They had traveled for about an hour. Beauvais awakened, sobbing out. You've taken me away. Away from my house, you fool. Beauvais, you must not excite yourself. Put your hands on my heart. He's pulling on it. He's pulling on it. Doctor, take me back before I die. No nonsense, Beauvais. You must get away from that place. Take me back. Take me back, Doctor. You don't understand. Beauvais, sit down. You think I'm mad, don't you? The whole exists. They exist, and I'll die if I don't return. Well, you try to rest, Monsieur. We're doing everything we can. Turn this carriage around, Doctor. Let me turn to the house. Beauvais, put those reins into the house. Let go of the reins, you fool, before you take us off the road. Turn the carriage around. I shall punch this knife into you. Beauvais, put that knife down. Put that knife down. That will teach you to win the bill with a hauler, Doctor. That will teach you. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Now, get out of this carriage, Doctor. But, Beauvais... Before I punch the dagger into your heart. Beauvais. Beauvais, you can't leave me here like this. I must leave you here. I must return to the house it wants to destroy him. But he doesn't exist, except in your own mind, Beauvais. He exists, and I'm going to him. Beauvais. Doctor. Doctor. Dad. I'm coming, Master. Yeah. I'm coming, Master. I'm coming to destroy you, just as I destroyed him. And so, Beauvais drove off in the rambling carriage, leaving the badly wounded doctor lying on the roadside, more dead than alive. Beauvais drove furiously through the night to a little shack about a half mile from his home. There was a sign on the shack, a sign reading Littow's expert lockmakers and iron workers. Beauvais pulled the carriage up in front of the door to the entrance of the shack. Mr. Littow! Mr. Littow! Who's calling at this... Oh, Sir Beauvais. What are you doing at this hour of the night? I'm doing? Yes, yes, doing, of course. I need your help. That's what. My help? What can a poor man like me do for a wealthy man like you? You can make a lot for me. I've got to lock the doors of my house securely. The front and back doors and the windows. All the windows in my house. I must be locked and bolted, Littow. Tonight? Yes, tonight, you fool, of course, tonight. But in Heaven's name, why? To lock him out. Out of my home, out of my life. You're doing an eternity. You're not feeling well? Come, Littow. Don't picker with me. Hurry, man. I'm prepared to pay any price you ask. Of course. It shall be as you say. If you'll only just give me time to get my instruments together. Of course, but hurry, Littow. Hurry. You see, Littow and the old man returned to the lonely old house by the river in the dead of the night. They crept into the house. They worked in the half darkness near the shadows. And that strange, unholy wind was quiet and didn't disturb them while they worked. Bouvet felt safe and free for a while. Only a while. And a girl slept upstairs. Slept undisturbed and quiet. The hours passed this way. Passed quietly. As the locksmith worked in the old man's mutter. Hurry, Littow. Hurry. It's almost morning. I'm hurrying as fast as I can. I'm almost done except for the windows in your cousin's room. Don't worry about her. I'll wake her up when the time comes. Finish that lock, man. Just two more nails will hold it in place. Good, good, good. Two more nails. Two more nails. There you are. Gabrielle, what are you doing here? Good morning, youngster. Good morning, my dear. But the doctor, the doctor was to take you. Away from my house. But he couldn't, Renée. Where is the doctor? In Paris. He's going to return this evening after my work is done. Yes. Yes. A job in life. Kill the whore. The doctor let you return alone? He had to let me. Because I wasn't alone. Who is this? I'm Shirley Town. Madame Michelle, the most famous lockmaker in the world. I don't understand all this. Naturally, my dear. Come along with me. Let's finish your work. Only two more locks to fix tonight. And I'll be able to lock them in and kill them. Kill them. Well, what are you staring at me for? Go ahead to my cousin's room and start to work. Of course, I'll start right away. Gabrielle. Gabrielle. Look at me, cousin. I'm looking at you, Renée. I see you. Are you lying to me? I should have lied to you. What did you do to the doctor? Nothing, nothing, Renée. That knife in your belt. What about that knife in your belt? I always carry a knife to protect me against the hauler. There's blood on that knife, Gabrielle. What did you do? Be quiet. Cousin, am I all gone? I can't let you go. What are you going to do to me? I've got to find you up. Prior to a chair until I've killed him. Don't you understand? Yes, I'm old, but I'm strong. Cousin's stronger than you. Oh, no, don't struggle against me. You heard nothing. Nothing, monsieur. Good luck to work. All right, I'm almost done. Come along, cousin. I'll have to tell you in the kitchen where you'll be out of harm's way until he's dead. Beauvais dragged his cousin to the kitchen and then taking a stout rope, tied her to the kitchen table by the sheer strength of a maniac. Tied her securely and then through a tablecloth over, smiling to himself. He left the kitchen and went to the upstairs room to watch LaTau finish the work of the night. Are you finished, Monsieur LaTau? Yes, yes, of course. Yes, I'm finished. Here. Hey, LaTau. 200 francs for one night's work. Good pay, isn't it? Very good pay, Monsieur Beauvais. Very good pay. Anything more I can do, sir? Have you locked the locks? All locked, secured, Monsieur. I'm glad. LaTau, what are you waiting for? Why don't you go home? I thought I ought to say good night to the other... There's no need to. I'll say good night for you. Listen. I hear nothing. Good night, Monsieur Beauvais. LaTau, may I caution you against one thing? Of course. Don't tell anybody of this work tonight. Do you understand? Don't tell anybody. Of course I understand. Good night. See you in the morning. Your locks can't lock me out. You... You again. I've been watching you when your lockmaker watching you and your locks are useless. Locks are useless, useless. But I can lock you in when I escape. Impossible, because I am with you constantly. And I'll destroy your hauler. With a knife? No. With fire and flame. I'll set the entire house on fire and leave you here. Leave you here and I'll escape. You can't escape. You're part of this house you said to yourself. Did I now? How interesting. How interesting. How very interesting. And you'll burn to death. You'll burn to death. And the world will be free of the hauler. Are you so sure, Beauvais? Are you so sure? I pour oil on the walls and on the rugs and on the floor. Where's the oil? In the kitchen closet. Yes, in the kitchen closet. That's where it is. Don't forget I'm part of it. Oh, no. He'll be destroyed by fire. And while the frantic distraught old man poured oil on the rugs and on the walls, the Tau walked slowly home, worrying about his old friend, Beauvais, worrying about the strangest actions he'd ever seen, worrying and trying to fit together the odd pieces of the puzzle in his mind. Halfway home, he heard a voice cry out. Somebody help. Help before it's too late. Who is it? Oh, but it's the doctor. In heaven's name, what has happened to you? Help me. Badly wounded. Here. Allow me to help you stand on your feet. There. There now. Oh, it's so weak. What's happened? The madman, Beauvais, I was trying to take him to a hospital and he stabbed me. Madman? I thought so. I just finished making two dozen sets of rocks for him and his house. Leto. Is Madame Sob still there? Yes. I thought I heard a cry out, but I wasn't sure. Well, we must get help to her immediately. That madman will do anything. Anything, Leto. Yeah, let me carry you, Mr. Put your arm over my shoulder if you can. We'll get help as soon as possible. Hurry. Hurry, Leto. Hurry, man. Yeah. Now I've poured oil over the entire house. Yes. The entire house. The curtains, the ceiling. Even the beds and walls and the chairs. Now for a match. Yes, for a match. For a match in the house we'll go up in flames. Flames. And you will be dead. Will I be dead? Will I? We need a match. We need a match. We must get a match in the kitchen. And the house will all be flames. Flames. And you will burn. Burn and die. There's a kitchen. Yeah. Yeah. Don't be nervous, Cousin. Don't be nervous. The work is almost done. Almost done. We'll be dead. The hall will be dead. Dead, yes. Yes, here's the match. I must start my flames on the top floor. The top floor. Don't follow me. I don't want you following me. I like to watch you. Up those stairs. Yes. Up the steps to the landing. Will you enjoy watching your own funeral pyre? Fire and flames. Fire and flames. I'm almost to the top now. Then I'll strike my match. And the flames will start. How do you intend to escape? Don't forget your own escape. Yes. I escape my escape. I must escape. I'll unlock the front door and run out. Just in time. And you'll be trapped. Trapped. Here we are. Now, hide the match. Hide the match. No. No, Beauvais. It's all right. You'll die here. Be careful of yourself. Be careful of yourself. I don't want any harm to come to you, Beauvais. Look. Look, the pyre has started. Look at the flames. Look at the walls and the shadows. Look at the flames. Now, now for the downstairs. I'm right beside you. Where you go, I go. No, no. You must stay here and die. Don't you understand? Then you will die. You will. Shout for the flames. Watch out for the flames. I must strike the match down here now. Light the canopy. Like that. How do you like that? How do you like those flames? How do you like those flames? Be careful of yourself, Beauvais. Be careful of yourself. Now, one last light here. And the job is done. And I'll wait and escape. At the last minute. And you'll be left. Beauvais, open up. Open up. They've come to rescue me. You see, Beauvais, they've come to rescue me. No, no. I won't open up. Hurry, flames. Hurry. Don't let them beat you to the job. I'm taking the girls in the back of the house. Take the door. Get the girl. Where is she? She's in the back of the house. Hurry, men. They're all starting to haul it to the left. Get it. Watch out, Beauvais. I've got the girl. Never leave you old friend. No, I wouldn't be free. Never free of me. Not just him. He's standing next to me. Always next to you. Always next to you. And you should die in the flames. Only if you die in the flames. Watch out, the house of trouble. Leave the place. The old wild-eyed man rushed into the pile of burning timber among his old belongings and perished there. He and the whore-la, perished there. All that remained of the man and the whore-la were scorched bones and two odd misshapen skulls. Two odd misshapen skulls. Remember that. For there were two skulls. Not one. In one page of the past, we have heard the famous story the whore-la. Bellkeeper, toll the bells.