"You ask me to explain why i'm afraid" "Of a draft of cool air... why i shiver more than others" "When i enter a cold room... why i seem sick and scared when the chill of evening" "Creeps through the heat of a mild autumn day." "There are those who say i respond to cold" "Like some do a bad smell." "And i'm the last to deny the impression." "What i'll do is to relate the most horrible circumstance" "I've ever experienced" "And leave it to you to judge whether or not this forms" "A suitable explanation of my strange behavior." "It is a mistake to fancy that horror is associated" "Inextricably with darkness, silence and solitude." "I found it in the glare of a mid-Afternoon," "In the dark canyons that lace the malibu coast" "And in the teeming midst of faded and backwater estates." "A big house built by big dreams" "That have long gone to real-Life shit," "A hollow palace now forced to rent rooms." " This only-In-L.A. Boarding house" "Was run by a long-Ago trophy-Wife landlady," "Her autistic daughter and two fellow borders" "Whose stay here was simply a brief sojourn" "Of respectability on their way to the streets." "The place was a four-Story mansion" "Of cheap plaster and cheaper roof tile," "Dating apparently from the mid-'80s" "And fitted with multi-Levels and split-Levels" "Whose stained and sullied splendor argued a descent" "From high levels of plentiful cash and credit" "And a new marriage." "The result 20 years later stunk of a messy divorce." "At least the air was clean.." "...and there was no one to see how far i've fallen." "In the spring i had secured" "Some dreary and unprofitable rewrite work" "For some gutter-Scum production company." "After that went bad" " Likely because i told the producer" "What i really thought of his work... charlie baxter." "Mrs. Hayward." " That's right." " ..." "And being unable to pay any substantial rent..." " Keep going around." " Okay." " ...i began drifting from one cheap apartment to another" "Until i was down to looking for a room." "I had hoped to find someplace where i could push through my writer's block" " And finish my own great screenplay." " Was it easy to find?" "But right then, i needed a place that was cheap... please, come on in." "...but clean and quiet." "Nice place." "In the rooms, large and lofty" "And decorated with schizophrenic taste" "And ridiculous kitsch," "There lingered a depressing mustiness" "And a hint of obscure..." "something." "Something i couldn't quite place at that moment." "It's so big." "Hard to keep up with just myself and my daughter." "Still, you've done wonders." " I like the animals." " Aren't they precious?" "They wandered onto the property one day." "First the goats, then the sheep." "You're trying to get them to eat some of that tall grass." "That was the hope." "I'm a little brittle" "To be weed whacking the property." " Have to, you know." " Wild fires, right?" "That's right." "Big fine if you don't." "Well, maybe i can help you there." "You wield a mean whacker, charlie?" "I love the floors." "The wood was not exactly special," "But the floors were clean." "If you don't require a certain meal," "I'd appreciate the notice so i don't over-Prepare." "The family room is a common room." "We do have satellite." "Wow." "Satellite." "I date the guy at the local radio shack." "He gives me the programs for free." " Great." " Anything we can do to make ends meet." " It all helps." " Exactly." "You understand." "You are in the business." "Uh, what about laundry?" "It's $10 extra per load," "And i don't do anything exotic." "Pockets have to be clear." "Is that understood?" "There's a laundromat in malibu if that's too steep." "Sounds reasonable." " I think so." "The tour continued." "As it turned out, the linen change was tolerably regular" "And the hot water not too often cold or turned off," "So that i came to regard it" "As at least a bearable place to hunker down" "Until i might really live again." "You will share this bathroom." "Don't go up there, all right?" "And if you need more towels," "They're right in here, okay?" "And, well, here's your room." "As for mrs." "Hayward," "She didn't annoy me with the gossip" "Or with criticisms of excessive electric use in my third-Floor room." "Yeah, that's great." " Do you need some help or" " No no no, i'm okay." " Okay, great." " Thank you." " Are you sure you don't want me to" " No no no." "Thank you." "And my fellow lodgers were" "As quiet and uncommunicative as one might desire... being mostly down-On-Their-Luck industry types" "A little above the coarsest and crudest grade" "Of studio producer or director." "Only the din of goats baaa-Ing" "Below my window proved a serious annoyance." "I'd been there two days" "When the first odd incident occurred." "One morning at about 7:00," "I heard something spill on the floor kind of a splattering sound," "And became suddenly aware that i'd been smelling" "The pungent odor of something foul for a while." "The wall was wet," "Like condensation... and cool" "Unnaturally cool." "A chill reached deep to my bones." "I hadn't met either of my fellow lodgers" "As they kept odd hours" "And one never seemed to leave his or her room." "If they took meals, it was at probably at first call," "Since i was finding myself just making it" "Before the kitchen closed." "I knew the neighbor to my left was" "A man named arnold deltoid." "Mrs. Hayward said deltoid had been an animator at disney" "During the studio's golden age back in the '50s... there's something leaking in my room from- ...before everything became digital," "Before he got forcibly retired." "Now he was holed up here," " Desperately trying to learn software..." " Hello?" "...that would allow him to earn a living in the 21st century." "The other lodger was a mystery." "Mrs. Hayward had deflected all my questions," "Which just jacked up my curiosity." "The lodger never left the room, as far as i knew." "Mrs. Hayward delivered three squares to him daily." "A couple times i heard what sounded like a cough." "Something like an air conditioner going full blast." "But more..." " outside by side of the house." "Anxious to alert mrs." "Hayward" "About what was going on in the room at the end of the hall," "And, to be honest," "To learn a little more about this mystery lodger pushed by my curiosity," "I hurried outside to find the landlady." " Oh!" " Jeez!" "Oh, good morning, Charlie." "Had breakfast yet?" "It ends in 10 minutes." "Yeah, thanks, mrs." "Hayward, i'll get right on that." "There's been a little accident." "Not to worry, charlie." "We're taking care of it right now." "Sorry if it disturbed you." "Oh!" "Jeez!" "Hi." "It's getting worse." "What?" " The doctor's accidents." "What kind of accidents?" "Spills, broken bottles." "I only hear it." "Never actually seen the doctor" "Or the inside of his... room." "Must pay a healthy rent to get" "That kind of service." "What's rent money to a doctor, anyway?" "Exactly." "Why would a doctor rent a room?" "Don't know and frankly, don't care." "It's none of my business." "The doctor was already here before i arrived." " Mrs. Hayward ever talk about him?" " Nope." "I don't even know if it's a him or a her." "She said you were a screenwriter?" "Yeah, i used to say that... but not now." "What are you now?" "Wannabe." "At least you're honest." "You'll get used to it." "What's the story on the girl?" "Autistic," "But it seems to come and go." "Autism doesn't come and go." "The eggs seem a little runny today." "Hey." "Leaving?" " Charlie." " That's right." "And you're Estella." "Char-Lee." "Char-Leee." "The doctor spilled some chemicals." "The odor will be gone shortly." "I can dig up some deodorizer for you." " No, it's fine." " I'm so sorry." "The doctor has been ill, yet the work continues," "So there are accidents." "He works in his room?" "The doctor is bedbound now." "Well, wouldn't the doctor be better off" "In a hospital?" "Well, yes, but the doctor won't hear of it." "The doctor keeps saying that's where people go to die." "The doctor believes in an experimental treatment" "Quite radical, self-Administered around the clock." "The doctor's room has to be has to be kept" "Below 55â° at all times." "What's the treatment?" "I only know that it involves keeping" "The temperature low and injections." "Many injections." "The doctor was a famous neurosurgeon at u.C.L.A." "The doctor is doing it alone?" "The doctor allows estella to assist, no one else." "Estella?" "But she's autistic." "That's right." "Mrs. Hayward disappeared and all was quiet again." "I returned to my room." "The liquid had ceased to drip." "I heard the landlady's" "Heavy footsteps on the floor above me," "Along with her issuing commands" "To her mostly autistic daughter." "A daughter i found to have a certain fascination and appeal." "Hmm." "Autistic hottie." "Would that be an oxymoron?" "Suddenly i was aware of a feeling i had long missed." "I was drawn to the page." "Estella fascinated me." "She was like a dream that one couldn't quite touch." "Damn that autism." "Stop." " Stop!" " I'm sorry." "I" "Char-Lee." "Charl-Ee." " I-I" " I- I like the sound." "Char-Lee." "I like it too... coming from you." "Estella!" "I need you, honey!" "Stay away from my daughter, mr." "Baxter." "We may be desperate, but not everything" " Or otherwise." "I didn't mean anything." " Like hell you didn't." " Look" "Maybe i don't do the background checking i should" "And i know the type that needs what i got," "But you are way out of line." " Please, mrs." "Hayward" " I want you out of here in an hour." "You've got one hour before i call the police." " Is that clear to you?" " Yes." "I'm sorry, mrs." "Hayward." "Estella's autism interested me." "I" "It's the way that sometimes she's affected and sometimes" "Thanks to dr." "Shockner." "You've got one hour." "Dr. Shockner i had never heard," "Except for certain sounds like an air-Conditioner mechanism" "And what sounded like a pump." "I wondered for a moment about what strange illness" "This doctor might have, and whether shockner's stubborn refusal" "Of outside aid were the result of a rather insane eccentricity." "There is, i reflected," "An infinite amount of madness in the mind" "Of a once powerful and wealthy person" "Who has fallen down in the world." "I might never have met dr." "Shockner" "Except for the heart attack that suddenly struck me" "That afternoon as i prepared to vacate my room." "I knew i was in trouble," "And i knew there was no time to waste." "My brain was frying." "My chest was exploding." "I realized i was having a stroke" " As a companion to my heart failure." "I remember thinking how surreal it all was." "I think, but i can't be positive," "That i heard humming as i saw the white light of heaven." "Or was it the glow from the furnaces of hell?" "In that moment it didn't matter." "Charlie baxter had found his moment of grace" "And it was scored by the most beautiful humming" "He had ever heard." "After a moment, i could hear" "What i think was the sound of a footfall," "Then there came an opening of the door in front of me." "A rush of cool air greeted me," "And though the day was one of the hottest of that summer i shivered." "I now saw a table of bottles and machines and syringes" "Which mrs." "Hayward had mentioned." "This was the laboratory of the doctor." "Dr. Shockner most certainly was" "A person of education, taste and wealth." "Then a figure appeared over me." "The figure was short but exquisitely proportioned" "And wore a somewhat formal rodeo drive wardrobe" "Of perfect cut and fit." "Nevertheless," "As i saw dr." "Shockner in that blast of cool air," "I felt a repugnance" "Which nothing in the doctor's look could justify." "Only shockner's flat alabaster complexion" "And coldness of touch could have explained what i was feeling." "And even these things should have been explained away," "But my logic wouldn't." "It couldn't." "And my fear cut right through the pain of dying." "My repugnance was soon forgotten" "As i was swallowed into a peaceful blackness." "Honestly, despite my irrational fear," "I should have been in admiration" "Of the surgeon's great skill." "What are you now?" "Stay away from my daughter, mr." "Baxter." "Who am i?" "The doctor clearly understood my need" "And administered treatment with a master's touch," "All the while reassuring me in a finely modulated" "Though oddly dead and toneless voice" "That the doctor was the sworn enemy of death." "And horrors aside," "My life was saved." "When i awoke nine hours later," "I found myself in my room... with dr." "Shockner." "Doctor." "I liked your script... especially about the mad doctor." "It's just a script." "It's true." "I am considered quite mad by most... especially other doctors." "Well... i'll vouch for you." "How does it end, your script?" "I don't know." "Have any ideas?" "Any ideas?" "I am one of those with a cold, clinical mind." "No sentimentality." "Sounds like an agent." "Do you mind getting ideas from others?" "Not when they've saved my life." "All right then." "I think your villain needs more history." "The doctor's not a villain." "Really?" "It reads that way to me." "Misunderstood." "Anyway, it's just a first draft." "There's room for change then?" "For the story of this mad doctor" "To go in another direction?" "Sure." "Rewrites." "Fun." "What did you have in mind, doctor?" "As i was saying," "The doctor needs more history." "Say this doctor," "Who was brilliant beyond words," "Was suddenly stricken with a rare fatal disease." "She couldn't accept impending death so" ""She"?" "My mad doctor is male." "Did i say "she"?" "I'm sorry." "I meant "he."" "But i like the sex change." " Do you?" " Very much." "As i said, she couldn't accept death." "She was a great surgeon," "A brilliant surgeon." "She was a life-Giver when there was no hope." "She had the skills and the talents of god." "So she was... big into her ego and... she couldn't accept" "Not being able to save her own life," "Her own worthy life, when she had saved" "So many less valuable," "My own included." "In a sense, yes." "I like it." "So this brilliant doctor had to save herself." "She knew she could do it before time was out." "She soon had sunk her fortune" "And lost all her friends" "In a year of bizarre experiments" "Devoted to cheating death." "Something of the benevolent fanatic" "Seemed to reside within her," "And she rambled on almost garrulously." "Evidently she found the society of a well-Born," "Well-Educated woman a rare novelty" "In this shallow world called malibu," "And was moved to memories of better days" "At grand universities and world-Renowned medical clinics." "Her voice, if queer," "Was at least soothing." "She sought to distract my mind from my own brush with death" "By speaking of her theories and experiments." "And i remember her tactfully consoling me" "About my weak heart" "By insisting that will and consciousness" "Are stronger than organic life itself," "So that if a body is essentially healthy" "Except in the area of disease," "And that the healthy organs and bone and tissue" "Are carefully preserved," "It may, through scientific enhancement," "Retain a kind of animation" "Despite the most serious impairments, defects," "Or even absences of major organs." "She might, she half-Joked," "Some day teach me to live" "Or at least to possess some kind of conscious existence" "Without any heart at all." "What?" "No heart at all?" "You mean... with an artificial heart" "Or some kind of a machine?" "No." "Without any pump." "But that's impossible, isn't it?" "Defying the laws of physics" "Or god or something." "Or something, yes." "That would be it." "Is this too much for your screenplay?" "I don't know if the audience can suspend their disbelief." "I'm not sure i can." "I know the studios wouldn't." "Really?" "I wasn't aware that "night of the living dead" was a documentary." "Tell me all of it." "I'm sorry i interrupted." "For her part, she was afflicted" "With a complication of diseases" "Requiring a very exact regimen," "Which included constant cold." "It was then i noticed the temperature in my room." "It was cold." "I noticed the air conditioner in my room going full power." "Funny, i hadn't noticed it before." "She said any marked rise in temperature might," "If prolonged, affect her fatally;" "And the coldness of her room" "Some 55â° or 56â° fahrenheit" " Her air conditioner had additional batteries and an air-Cleaning pump." "That was the sound i had heard in my own room." "Are you all right?" "I just need to rest... in my room." "Am i all right?" "You mean, should you go to the hospital?" "Yes." "Only if you want to die." "Then i'm okay?" "For real?" "You're fine." "Just rest." "Stay in bed." "Do not let the sunlight in." "I'll come to see you in the afternoon." "Okay." "You're the doctor." "I mean it, charlie." "Do not leave this room." "All right," "But mrs." "Hayward is gonna be pissed." "She evicted me." "I've addressed it." "You're free to stay until you're fully recovered." "How did you do that?" "I just reminded her" "Of the high cost of liability lawsuits." "Good night, charlie." "Good night." "Thank you." "Oh, it's my pleasure." "Nice to have a companion." "Relieved of my heart failure" "In an incredibly short time," "I fell asleep," "A disciple and devotee of the gifted recluse." "Come in." "How do you feel?" "I've been better, that's for sure." "Thanks for letting me stay." "Glad to have you." "The doctor said that you'll be weak for a few more weeks." "I feel like i've been run over by a truck." "She said to make sure that you have plenty of rest," "That you eat a good meal." "She made this herself." "Yeah, rest." "Rest" " Rest and, uh, food." "Yeah." "The... doctor- Doctor knows." "Yeah, the doctor knows." "Doctor knows." "Doctor knows." "That" " That's right." "Yes, the doctor knows." "Thanks." "Well, if there's anything you want, let us know." " Come on, estella." " Oh yeah, mama, yeah." "I can" " I can- I can, uh" "I can feed him, yeah." "'Cause-'Cause- Yeah, he" " He must eat." "Yeah, and i can" " I can- I can feed him, yeah." "All right." "Slowly." "Mr. Baxter's system may not be quite right yet." "Oh yeah, mama, i" " I know, i know." "I" " I know what to do." "I know what to do." "I know." "I know." "I" " Yeah." " I'll be back in a bit to see on you." "What's on the menu?" "It smells." "What is that smell?" "Uh, yeah." "Uh, the, uh... doctor's, uh, yeah, recipe." "Yeah." "You mean the doctor's a gourmet cook too?" "Yeah." "Let's take a look." "Mmm." "Hospital food." "Oh oh oh no." "Oh no." "Oh no." "Yeah, you must" "You must drink it all." " Yeah, uh uh, drink it all." " Mmm." " Yeah." " I can't." "No." "Please?" "Let's try some of the paste first" "Then i'll chase it with a sip." "What do you say?" "Okay, here you go." "Yeah." "I'll take the spoon." "All right." "Okay." "Okay." "I'm sorry, but that's nasty." "Aaaaaaah." "I can't." "Y" " Y-Y-You must." "You must, or" " Or you'll- You'll get sicker" "Sicker, char-Lee, char-Lee." "Yeah, sicker." "Sicker, char-Lee." "Okay." "Okay." "You answer one of my questions," "I'll take a bite and then a sip." "Okay?" "I ask a question." "Okay?" "And then you answer" "And then i take a bite." " Okay?" " It's a game show!" "All right, a game show!" " Yeah, okay." "A game show, yeah." " That's right." "Estella, as best she could" "And colored by her deeply inner state of reality," "Answered my questions." "What i pieced together was shockner came to live" "In the house two years earlier." "Though low on funds," "The doctor paid for "special services"" "Which involved installing the custom air conditioning" "And the running of errands to purchase her needs." "She was a quiet if odd tenant," "But she paid well and on time." "Everything was good" "Until one day last august." "The horror of horrors came" "With surprising suddenness." "On that hot summer day," "The air conditioner broke down," "So that within minutes the doctor's room" "Had warmed to above 55â°." "Estella and her mother were outside." "Dr. Shockner staggered down the stairs." "Mrs. Hayward worked desperately to help her up," "But she instead pleaded for ice." "Mrs. Hayward did as she was told," "Running into the kitchen to get all the ice in the freezer." "It was then that estella found" "Something on the floor." "The good doctor's index finger." "It had rotted and fallen off in the struggle." "As estella continued her tale," "It's creepy horror was beyond belief." "Estella took the finger out to the garden and buried it there." "She said she did it because a new one would grow" "And she would surprise the doctor with her crop." "Drink." "One more question." "Those cuts on your neck," " There." " Uh, the... the doctor." "Yeah, the doctor." "The doctor." "Why did she do it?" "Yeah, uh, mama made her." "Yeah, mama made her." "Yeah." "Made her?" "How?" "Uh, mama said" "Uh, mama said if-If" "If she didn't fix me" "Yeah, if she didn't fix me," "That" " Uh, that-That" "That she'd tell on her." "The fixing," "She did good?" "Yeah, uh, uh," "Mama wants more fixing, yeah." "Mama wants more fixing." "Yeah, she wants more fixing." " But-But" " But the" " But" " But what?" "Uh, but the, uh" "The doctor- The doctor says it's, uh" "It's-It's too dangerous." "Yeah, it's just too- It's too dangerous." "It's too dangerous." "Yeah." "So the fixing stopped?" "Yeah." "No no." "Mama's said- Mama said that" "That" " That" "That if-If" "If the fixing didn't keep on, then" "Then she would... she would destroy her machine and-And" "And that she would- She would burn in hell." "Yeah, burn in hell." "Burn in hell." "Yeah, let her just burn in hell." "And that she knew what she was." "Yeah." "And that's what she said." "Yeah, that's what she- She was very mad." "She was" " She very mad." "Yeah, uh-Huh." " Yeah, she was mad when she said that." " So is she still fixing?" "Yeah... oh yeah." "My compliments to the chef." "Pick up the tray, estella." "Let's go." "I" " I" " I" "I liked the question-Answer game." " Estella!" " Yeah, okay." "You" " You okay?" "I heard you were sick." "Did the doctor treat you?" "It's not right." "It's not fair." "I was promised." "I paid my... deposit." " Deposit for what?" " I was patient." " It was my turn." " Turn for what?" "The doctor's method!" "You" "Look... i kept her preserved" "Down in the storage room," "In the freezer." "She's there, waiting." "I'm not involved." "I paid" "Every last penny i had" "To mrs." "Hayward and the doctor to bring her back!" " Bring who back?" " My wife." " Wife?" " Yes, my wife!" "She lived here with me... before i killed her." "I was drunk." "We weren't getting along." "I killed her." "I stabbed her to death." "But i loved her." "I still do." "And i miss her" "And i want her back." "But she's dead." "She's frozen... in mrs." "Hayward's freezer." "Deltoid spun a tale" "More horrible with each sentence." "He and his wife had moved in six months ago." "Their lives had taken a deep, dark dive." "There was blaming and fighting." "There was liquor." "Then it all blew up one night" "And deltoid took his drawing pen" "And drove it into his wife's throat." "He ran to mrs." "Hayward" "And wanted her to call the police." "To his surprise, mrs." "Hayward offered" "An entirely different course of action." "If deltoid would pay her double his rent" "And keep his mouth shut," "She would see if the doctor would bring his wife back to life." "She explained to this desperate and distraught man" "That the doctor had done this once before" "And she had great skill." "Mrs. Hayward said this to a broken man," "A man that was easy prey for her wild scheme." "So bolstered by this hope of undoing his heinous atrocity," "She and deltoid put his wife in the freezer," "Beside the other frozen meat." "She told deltoid he had to be patient," "That the doctor would get to his wife in time." "She would be next." "What do i do?" "Hope." "Hope?" "Hope." "Now there's a good word." "No one ever saw arnold deltoid alive again." "When he came to be missed- And this would take weeks" "Estella would find him" "Lying in the freezer with his dead wife." "He slit his wrists" "And wrapped his bloody paws around his loving wife." "There was an increasing and unexplained atmosphere" "Of evil and horror that seemed to rise around the hayward house." "The whole house, as i've said," "Had a musty odor." "But the smell this day was worse." "And in spite of all the deodorizer and incense," "And the pungent cleaning chemicals," "It would be a smell that would never be masked." "Fiendish things were in the air." "So strong was the pungent presence of evil" "That believers would be reaching wildly" "For the beads of their rosaries." "A less adventuresome soul would have long fled," "Screaming and mad-Eyed." "There was no sound within the great house," "Except a nameless sort of slow, thick dripping." "The sounds were of utter turmoil." "And above the clattering and slamming of odd voices," "I heard a woman praying in a desperate plea." "It was the doctor." "We could hear a wild thrashing" "Within the doctor's room" "And a hysterical voice croaking," ""The cold." "The cold."" "Her air conditioning failed." "She needs help!" "Listen to her!" "It's a pity." "As i tried to walk," "I was suddenly aware of how warm it was in the hall." "It made me dizzy and weak" "And sick to my stomach." "I needed the cold." "The doctor's rage and fear," "Swelling to grotesque proportions," "Seemed likely to shatter what remained of her failing physique." "And once a spasm caused her to clap her hands" "To her eyes to shield them... or keep them from falling out." "She groped her way down the hall toward me" "As if blind for the first time." "The doctor's stench was over-Powering." "It was so strong as to suck the oxygen" "Out of the air." "I felt suffocated and smothered by it." "Against all my screaming instincts," "I reached out to this poor woman." "As the minutes passed" "I observed with regret that my new friend" "Was indeed slowly, but unmistakably" "Loosing ground physically." "The livid aspect of her being was intensified." "Her voice became more hollow and indistinct." "Her graceful motions were less perfectly coordinated." "And her mind and will" "Displayed less resilience and initiative." "Do i disgust you?" " No." " She was aware of this sad change" "And little by little her expression and conversation" "Both took on a gruesome irony which restored in me... not exactly." "...something of the subtle repulsion" "I had originally felt." "Mmm." "It's the smell." "Now that you mention it." "I was beautiful." "I can see that." "It's... it's time for" "For you to take your meds." "You have a choice, charlie." "A choice?" "A choice." "One i did not have." "Tell me about my choice... and yours." "I listened, addicted to her every word." "She told of secret researches" "And almost ghastly results." "It seems that she did not scorn the incantations" "Of the witches and the black arts" "With regard to life and death," "Since she believed these cryptic arts" "Contained rare psychological stimuli" "Which might conceivably have healing effects" "On the nervous system in which organic life had died." "I was moved by her account of the aged dr." "Torres of valencia, spain," "Who had shared his earlier experiments" "And nursed dr." "Shockner through a great illness 18 years before," "And where her present disorders began." "...beyond my time... no sooner had dr." "Torres save his colleague" "That he himself died a grim death in a fire." "The doctor made it whisperingly clear" "Though not in detail" "That the methods torres used to heal" "Had extraordinary involving techniques" "And processes not welcomed" "By the conservative world of modern medicine." " Mrs. Hayward!" "Help!" " ...for her to call the paramedics." " As i listened at the door..." " We need help!" "...i could hear the landlady humming like a crazy loon." "We need help!" "A kind of growing horror seemed to possess her." "Charlie!" "She talked about death incessantly," "But laughed hollowly" "At such things as burial or funeral arrangements." "You need help." "You need help." "Let me call the paramedics." "There was some bitter irony in those matters." "All in all, she became a disconcerting" " And even gruesome companion." " Please." "Yet my gratitude for her saving my life" "Made it impossible to abandon her." "Okay." "But first, i need to write something." "Okay, take- Take your tablet now." "She had wrapped the scarf in a way" "That her eyes were hidden from my view." "I never saw her eyes again." "The first thing i noticed" "Was the coldness of the room was gone." "The second thing i noticed was it was quiet." "The air had been turned off." "What was, or had been," "On the bed i can't and dare not say here." "It was hideous and it would haunt me forever." "A claw-Like finger pointed me to the tablet." "Something was scrawled in pen," "In an awful, frantic handwriting on a piece of paper" "Hideously smeared with oozing rot" "As though by the very claw that traced" "The hurried last words." "It was the utter end of dr." "Shockner." ""The end is here." "No more the smell of ammonia" "And the desperate need of unusually cool air." "It's growing warmer every minute" "And the tissues can't last." "There was and is" "A gradual, inevitable deterioration." "Dr. Torres knew this." "He couldn't stand what he had created in me." "For you see," "I died that time, 127 years ago."" ""Now it passes to you, charlie." "The secrets." "How far would you go" "To remain among the living?"" "You asked me to explain" "Why i'm afraid of a draft of cool air," "Why i shiver more than others when i enter a cold room," "Why i seem sick and scared when the chill of evening" "Creeps through the heat of a mild autumn day." "There are those who say i respond to cold" "Like some do to a bad smell," "And i'm the last to deny the impression." "More and more i feel drawn to the coolness." "More and more i fear i will need the cool air." "A haunting reminder of my vulnerability." "What i will do is to relate the most horrible circumstances" "I have ever experienced" "And leave it to you to judge whether or not" "This forms a suitable explanation of my weirdness" "And my recent movie success." "It was a circumstance that broke my writer's block." "It made me understand" "I had to die to live again."