" Mornin'." "Taxi?" " That's right." " American?" " How d'you figure it out?" "Your clothes don't fit proper!" " Maybe you can recommend a tailor." " Too much responsibility." "Tailoring's personal." "You here on holiday?" "Sorte." "I'm going to the Witley place." "You're not." " Something wrong?" " Nothing wrong." " Can you tell me how to get there?" " No." "Sorry, mate." " I wonder if you could help me." " Possibly." "I'm anxious to get to the Witley place." "Sorry." "I can't help you." "Can you help me?" "Excuse me." "This man following me." "He's asking for the Witley place." "Here he comes." "Hello." "Is there any place around here where I can rent an automobile?" "No." "Bicycle, maybe." "Where are you going?" " The Witley place." " You're wasting your time." " How d'you figure that?" " The Witley place!" "He wants to go to the Witley place!" "Anything wrong with wanting to go there?" " Is there anything wrong with that?" " Well, is there?" " Bicycle shop's down the street." " "ls there?" he asks!" " Hello." " Something you want?" "I'd like to rent a bicycle for a few days." "Where would you be riding it?" "I'll pay for it in advance." " I asked where you'd be going." " To the Witley place." " I'd need a bicycle, wouldn't I?" " Yes." "And more than that." "You'll not be using one of mine." "Why?" "You've got loads." "I don't see anybody waiting." " No bicycles for rent." " What about the motor?" "I've nothing for rent." "What will it cost to get to the Witley place?" "More than anything you have to offer." "Why?" "What's the matter with everybody in this town?" "Nothing's the matter." "Here." "Just what's that supposed to mean?" "It means the only way you can get to the Witley house from here is on your own two feet." "Hello?" "Hello?" "How do you do?" "There was no answer so I took the liberty of entering." "The signs clearly say to keep out." "You must have seen them." "Oh, yes." "I saw them." "By what right have you entered this house?" " I've come to visit the Witleys." " Oh?" "I am Nahum Witley." "Well, sir, actually it's Susan I came to visit." "Susan?" "My daughter's not receiving visitors." "I must ask you to leave." " This the way you treat your guests?" " Guests?" "Guests are invited." " I don't remember inviting you." " Oh, I have been invited." "By Mrs Witley." ""Stephen Reinhart"." "You are Stephen Reinhart?" "Uh, yeah." "That's right." "My daughter did mention your name." "She met you in America at university?" " We were in the same science class." " Science!" "It would disturb Mrs Witley to see you." "Again, I must ask you to leave." " It isn't her I've come to see." " Quite impossible." "I will have Merwyn take you to the village." "Steve!" "Susan will ask you to stay." "But for reasons I cannot go into," "I must insist you tell her that you have to leave at once." "Merwyn!" "Get the car." "Steve!" "Susan!" " You look great!" " I thought you'd never get here." " It's only been a month." " Is that all?" " Father, this is Stephen Reinhart." " I know." " I must speak to you alone, Susan." " I'll take him to meet Mother." "It's forbidden for your mother to have visitors." "Only for a minute." "Mother's been waiting to meet Steve." "I had no idea you lived in a house so, uh... sumptuous." "This is my great-grandfather, Elias Witley." "He built this house over 150 years ago." "This next one?" "It's my grandfather, Corbin Witley." "Oh?" "What did he do?" "He went insane." "We must get rid of him, Merwyn." "He must not stay." "Steve, you must understand about Mother." "She's not well." "Mother?" "Come in and close the door." "Mother, this is Stephen Reinhart." "We have been expecting you." "I'm, uh..." "I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Mrs Witley." "It will pass." "You are a welcome guest in this house, Mr Reinhart." " Thank you." " My husband will protest." " But I shall speak to him." "Susan?" " Yes?" "I would like to speak to Stephen alone." "Yes, Mother." "Please, sit down." "I am glad that you have come at this time." "Merwyn!" "Merwyn, are you all right?" "Yes, sir." "I'm going to need your help." "You can trust me, sir." " About what, Mrs Witley?" " Come here." "Closer." "That box, Mr Reinhart, there." "Open it." " It's an earring." " Yes." "It's an earring." "Take it out of the box." "Examine it." " Looks like gold." " Yes." "It's gold." "But its importance doesn't lie in the metal it is made of." " I'm afraid I don't understand." " Why should you?" "You probably think this whole house is obsessed with mystery." "I tell you, that single earring you are holding is surrounded by mystery." "It..." "It belonged to my maid, Helga." "She was a nice simple girl and completely devoted to me." "Well, about a month ago, she went down with some terrible disease." "I begged her to go to the doctor in Arkham." " Did she go?" " No." "No, I don't think she did." "Chains for devils!" "Whatever it was, she seemed to be overcome by... by something, well..." "Well, it almost seemed like self-loathing." "She took to wearing a veil as if to hide herself from prying eyes." "Why, um..." "Why is the earring so important?" "About a fortnight ago, she came here to see me." "She was crying." "She said she was... she was frightened of what was happening to her." " What was happening to her?" " I don't know." "I'm not sure." "Anyway, she left, and she dropped that earring." "Stephen, I haven't seen her since." "Well, perhaps Mr Witley knows." "My husband says he knows nothing." "Stephen, it's because of all these things that I had to be sure of you." "You are my one hope for Susan." "Take her away from here as soon as you can." "Tomorrow." "The next day." "You must promise me." "My husband may not allow me to speak to you again." "I must have your promise now." " What did you talk about?" " What?" "Oh!" "You." "I want you to know, I have the parental blessing." "Well, half of it, anyway." " My room's supposed to be down here." " I'll show you." "This is the room." "I'll have Merwyn bring up your case." "Susan, how long has your mother been like that?" "Ill, you mean?" "Well, that and the uh, darkened room, shaded bed." "Not long." "She's been worse the past few days." "And the doctor's forbidden her to have any visitors?" "No, she hasn't seen a doctor." "Father wants to look after her himself." " And what about Helga?" " Helga?" "Why all these questions?" "Your mother's very concerned about her." "She's disappeared." "Susan, what's going on here?" "I don't know, Steve." "What else did you and Mother talk about?" "Come here." "Your mother did ask whether my intentions were honourable." " Are they, Steve?" " What do you think?" "You shouldn't have invited Reinhart here." "You're a difficult woman, Letitia." "No." "Not difficult." "Only afraid." "Oh, so that's it, huh?" "The sins of the fathers, huh?" "Well, let me warn you, nothing is going to deter me from my purpose." " Yes, that's what Corbin said." " He's dead, Letitia." "He's been dead for a long time." "If there was evil, it's buried with him." "All that remains of Corbin is a few harmless objects in the cellar." " No!" "You know how light pains me!" " Why persist in this delusion?" "Please, Nahum, close the curtains." "Please." "I wonder if you realise how like Corbin you've become." "There's no similarity whatsoever." "I've uttered no incantations." "Neither have I cried out to any of the other so-called... creatures of evil." " It's only your methods that differ." " And do you know why?" "Because I don't believe in it." "I never have believed in it." "It is you who would perpetuate these blasphemies, these absurdities." "Nahum, I saw your father change from an upright God-fearing man into an old man possessed of the devil." "Whatever happened to my father will not happen to me." "It's already happening." "I could see it happening to you, Letitia, not to me." "It's happening to all of us." "There's evidence of it all around us." "There is nothing to do with Corbin Witley." "Corbin was invoking the dark powers when he died." "Now, his call is being answered." "So that is why you sent for Stephen Reinhart." "I sent for him to take Susan away." " What have you told him?" " Nothing." " Are you sure?" " I don't need to tell him anything." " He can see for himself." " I don't want him here." " One way or another, he must leave." " He is a guest here, Nahum." "I will not have him interfering." "Would you prefer that I went into the town and showed myself?" "The once beautiful Letitia Witley." "Very well." "A day, perhaps, but no more." "Then he must leave." "Well, perhaps by then you will have seen the truth." "The truth?" "The truth is that I see the future, and all that I've planned will fill it with a richness we've never known." "Yes, that is what you see." "All that I can see is horror." "Horror!" "I'm sorry, sir." "This is a very large room." "Big enough for a king's banquet." "There used to be many parties here in my great-grandfather's time." " But none since?" " None that I remember." " Why not?" " I don't know." "Perhaps the name of Witley no longer commands the affection and respect it once did." "Is that why no one in the village would drive me out here?" " You had to walk all that way?" " Mm." "The villagers have no use for us, Mr Reinhart." "The feeling is mutual." " Merwyn." " Yes?" "Has Mrs Witley had her dinner?" "I placed a tray before her, but she didn't want it." "I'll take her up something a little later, Father." "What was that?" "Uh, Mr Witley, I um... noticed a strange blackened area on the way to the house." "What happened there?" " There was a fire, Steve." " A fire?" " Why do you say it like that?" " Well, did you see it?" "No, but Father did." " Why are you so curious?" " Everything is dead in the area." "Nothing grows." "I touched a branch and it fell to ashes." "My daughter had already told you." "There was a fire." "But, Mr Witley, no fire leaves a place like that." "Father's never allowed me to go on the heath." " Why not?" " I don't know." "After the fire, some villagers disappeared there." "No one's ever explained what happened." "I think, Susan, you're inclined to exaggerate." "I would suggest that you both..." "Merwyn!" " What's the matter with him?" " This has happened before." " But he's unconscious." " It's perfectly all right." "I know exactly what to do." "Susan." "Come on, Steve." "Steve." "Mother?" "I've brought your dinner." "It's your favourite." " Take it away." " You must eat." "Sh." "Quiet, child." "Listen." " What is it?" " Sh!" "Quiet." "Yes." "Yes!" " Steve!" " What's wrong, honey?" " I saw something outside the window." " What?" "Who?" "I don't know, but something was staring at me." "Are you sure you weren't imagining it?" " Oh, I don't know." "It's this house!" " What about this house, Susan?" "There's something in it, something smothering." " I'm taking you away." " I wish I could..." " Tonight!" " I can't." " Why?" " I can't leave Mother how she is." "First she couldn't stand the light." "Now she won't eat." "It was your mother who made me promise to take you away." " I want to go." " We're leaving right away." " It's impossible." " Tomorrow morning, then." "I'm afraid she won't be any better in the morning." "Oh, Steve." "I wish I knew what to do." " Steve!" " What?" "The window!" " Nothing." "It's your imagination." " I'm not imagining it." "We'll discuss it tomorrow." "Now, you have to get some rest." "Oh, Steve." "I love you." "And I love you." "Everything's gonna be all right." "It came from downstairs." " Where does this go?" " It leads to Merwyn's room." " Father!" " You shouldn't come here." "But the screaming and the noise." "It's Merwyn." "He's dead." "It was terrible." "Please go back to your rooms." "Nobody can do anything to help now." "Now, wait a minute." "What's this all about?" "How did he die?" " He's been ill for a long time." " Where's the body?" " That's none of your business." " I think it is my business." " No, Steve..." " You don't realise what's happened." "This is my house." "I ask you to allow me to run my own affairs my own way." " But a man is dead!" " Steve!" " Get dressed." "We're gonna leave now." " I can't leave now, Steve." "Please don't make trouble." "Good night." "Good night." " Yes?" " Is the doctor in?" " Did you have an appointment?" " No, but I'd like to speak to him." " Is it an emergency?" " It's important that I speak to him." "Come inside." "This way." " You wanted to speak to me?" " Dr Henderson?" "Steve Reinhart." "I had to talk to you." "Nobody in the village recommended me, I'm sure." " I found you in the phone book." " I've been out of practice for some time." "I didn't come to see you in your professional capacity." "I..." "Something funny's happening." "The family I'm staying with may be involved." " Why come to me?" "Oh, drink?" " No, thanks." "It's a little early." "I thought someone objective could help me, give me some information." " About what?" " About the people I'm staying with." "Why was everyone frightened when I said where I was going?" "Frightened?" "You're talking about the Witley place." "Only "Witley" could bring out that reaction." " Can you tell me why?" " Sorry, I can't tell you anything." "An old man died out there last night." "I don't give one damn what happened there, neither does this village." "You're scared." "You're a doctor, don't you have pride in what you are?" " I may have seen a murder." " Murder?" " That's right." " I'm sorry, I can't help." "Go away." "You too." "What's happened here?" "Why is there that fear when "Witley" is mentioned?" "Miss Bailey." "Will you show Mr Reinhart to the door?" "You asked the doctor about the Witley place." "Can you tell me anything about it, anything about the Witleys?" "Only this." "Dr Henderson was a good doctor, a wonderful man." "Corbin Witley died in Dr Henderson's arms." "Dr Henderson returned from that visit and he's never been the same." " What did Corbin Witley die from?" " It's never spoken of." "On the death certificate it said cerebral haemorrhage, but there was no autopsy because there was no funeral, and I'll tell you why." "With the exception of Dr Henderson, no one in the village saw the body." "I've said enough." "I've said more than I ought." "Mother?" "Mother, please let me in." " Susan, dear." " I heard her moving about." " Mother, please open this door." " It's all right." "I'll talk to her." " I've tried to..." " I know, dear." "Now, you go along." "I'll talk to her." "Letitia, I must speak to you." "It's very important." "Letitia!" "But no one ever goes to the greenhouse at night." "If there was no one inside, why was there a light?" " A light?" " The entire greenhouse... the only word I can think of is glowed." "I've seen a glow like that before, in a radiation lab." "I don't understand." "What were you doing outside last night?" " I was watching your father." " Father?" " What was he doing?" " Burying Merwyn." " Something else has happened, too." " What?" "I was attacked on the heath." "I'm sure it was Helga." "Oh, Steve." "What's happening?" " Why is the greenhouse locked?" " It never has been before." " Well, it is now." " Well, it shouldn't be." " Have you been in it lately?" " Not since I've been back." "Come on." "Letitia, now listen to me." "It's very important." "I should have done this before." "I'm going to take you to the village, to see the doctor." "Letitia." "How long have these windows been whitewashed?" " They've always been whitewashed." " There." " I've never seen that lock before." " Is there any other way in?" "Steve, I don't think we should." "The answer to what's going on may be inside." "We've got to get in." "I know a way." "When I was a child, I'd hide from Merwyn when Mother sent him for me." "I used to get in somewhere here." "Here it is." " I see it, but I don't believe it." " How could plants grow like this?" "It's fantastic!" "Yeah." "How can this happen?" " What was that?" " I don't know." "Remember the cry we heard at dinner last night?" "I heard one just like it this morning." "What's in there?" "It used to be a potting shed." "Oh, come on, Steve!" "It's dark in there, except for a kind of glow." "Oh, Steve!" "Please come away!" "We can't." "There's something going on that's affecting all your family." "We shouldn't." "If Father finds out he'll be furious." "Let him." "We're not leaving with questions unanswered." "Stay here." "No." " I'm coming with you." " OK." "Come on." " What is it?" " Those flickering colours." "It must be some kind of energy." "Uranium!" "This room is being exposed to some form of radiation." "It's horrible." "It looks like a zoo in hell." "Oh, come on, Steve!" "Come on!" "It's all right!" "A menagerie of horrors." "What were they?" "Genetic mutations, probably caused by radiation." "It's a scientific fact that exposure to radioactive energy can change characteristics of living things." "It's what happened to these plants, to those creatures." "The scent in here." "It's so sweet." "It's sickening." "It's the effect of decay." " Steve, what is it?" " There's something down here." "This stone's like the ones in the potting shed." "What is it, Steve?" "I don't know." "I've never seen anything like it before." "I wonder if it's an element." "It's giving off heat!" "Looks like it's been cut away from some larger stone." "There's one under every plant." "This is the answer." "No doubt about it." " The stones?" " Yeah." "They make everything in here grow this way?" "Yeah, and in there, too." "Oh, but Steve!" "If it does this to plants..." "Exactly, if it affects plants this way after hours and days of exposure, what would it do to a human being?" "Mother and Helga." "They worked in here." "Merwyn must have come in contact with these stones, or the larger one from which they were cut!" "I wonder where the larger stone could be." "I don't know." "In the cellar, perhaps." " The cellar!" " There are many rooms down there." "Come on." " You all right?" " Yes." "Letitia." "Letitia!" "That's the door." " You stay here." " You won't find the way." " I will." "Now, go upstairs." " Oh, Steve." "Be careful." "Don't worry." "Where's Reinhart?" "I've been looking for him." " What happened?" "Where have you been?" " The greenhouse." " I put a lock on." " I knew another way in." " You had no right." " Why have you kept it a secret?" " Was Reinhart with you?" " Yes." " Is he still there?" " No." "Where is he?" "Where is he?" " You're hurting me!" " Tell me where he is." " He's in the cellar." " The cellar!" " Father!" " Stay there!" "Get out of this room." "I said, get out." "No." "Not until you listen to what I have to say." " I'm in no mood for words!" " Would you prefer death?" " Don't threaten me." " Everything in this house will die." "Get rid of that stone and the smaller ones, or this house will become like the burned-out area, those monstrosities." " You don't know what you're saying." " It destroyed Merwyn." "You want it to destroy your wife, Susan, destroy you?" " No." " Listen to that humming sound." "Look at the way it glows." " It's only a stone." "It's harmless." " You don't believe that, Mr Witley." "You know what it can do." "You know Mrs Witley needs a doctor!" "Susan." "Are you all right?" " Susan!" " Oh, Steve." "What happened?" "It's all right." "I got you now." "Susan, are you all right?" " What happened to your mother?" " I don't know." "I heard her smashing things." "I tried to get her to come out." "And then the door burst open and I screamed." "I don't remember anything after that." "Can you get up now?" " I think so." " Come on." " Are you OK?" " I'll be all right." "I must find Letitia." " I must help." " No." "Come on." "Letitia!" "Letitia!" "Come on." "Letitia!" "Let's try this way." "Letitia!" "Father?" "It's only the wind." "Come on." "Letitia." "Steve!" "No!" "Reinhart, get my daughter out of here." "Please take Susan away." "The evil that Corbin created has finally come to root here." "I refused to listen to her entreaties." "Now Letitia's paid with her life for Corbin's blasphemies." "And my own, too." "Mr Witley, blasphemy had nothing to do with it." "In my heart, I must have known that she was right." "It is as she said." "A curse is set upon this house." "How could I have been so blind as not to know that stone was sent from the other side by the hand of Corbin, reaching out from beyond the grave?" " A curse?" " What do you know of this house?" " Or the people who've lived in it?" " The stone was not sent by anyone." "It's easy for you to say that, but you didn't see it that Sunday morning, screaming out of the heavens to crash and bury itself in the heath." "It fell from the sky!" "Then it was a meteorite." "I thought it was a gift from Heaven." "The people from the village came to see, but they wouldn't come near it." "They knew because the fear of Corbin was still in them." "The next morning, the heath was covered with a lush vegetation that should never have grown there." "Why did you bring it into the house?" "Why?" "Because I thought, as Corbin knew I would..." "I thought I'd found a way to turn the wasteland into a place of beauty." "Great vineyards, gardens." "That was my dream." "I thought the name of Witley would mean something once again, and Corbin's iniquities would be atoned for." "Everyone he came in contact with was touched by it." "Father, please come back into the house." "Susan!" "Stephen, will you take Susan away, please?" "What about you?" "I will stay here to destroy this monstrous thing." "If you go near it, there can only be one result, and you know what it is." "You seem to forget this is my home." "I live here." "And I, like my father and his father before him, was born here." "I'm an old man and if I'm to die," " I will die here." " I'm not leaving without you, Father." "Susan, there's nothing we can do." "Let's go." "Something dreadful's going to happen." "Now, please!" "Susan, go with Stephen." "Go away!" "Go away!" "Come on." "Let's go and pack." "Helga!" "That'll do." "Come on." " Father!" " Stay here." "Mr Witley!" "Susan!" "Get back!" "Come on." "Get over there." "When I say run, head for the door." "Go ahead." "No!" "Come on!" " Run, Susan!" "Run!" " Steve!" "Susan!" "Susan!" "Hold on!" "Oh, Steve." "We're going and we're not gonna look back." "I don't understand, Steve." "Why did all this have to happen?" "I don't think it had to happen." "In scientific hands, your father's discovery could have been beneficial." "He used it to fight the only way he knew, for his house and the Witley name." "It was his choice and he made it." "Come on, let's get outta here."