Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

I got to see her mor e and mor e, w hich simply spar ked my cur iosity and
imagination fur ther.
Sometime later , I found out his name; he being the ow ner of the house that is. His
name was Henr y Chilter n and he was a tall, br oad-shoulder ed man, r ough ar ound
the face w ith chiselled featur es. Ar ound the age of for ty-five, I believe.
Now I know you'r e thinking: How did we get to this part? Well, I'll tell you. While
studying at the univer sity, a job opening came up in the local new spaper , the East
London Press, for a housekeeper in Stepney Manor. I knew it was the same house,
as this was the only house of its pr odigious natur e in the ar ea. My fr iends at
univer sity called me mad ? said I'd be lucky if I ever got out of the house alive,
consider ing all the old stor ies sur r ounding it. They mocked, but their subsequent
quietness r eeked of genuine concer n.
When fir st ar r iving at the house, I was even mor e aw estr uck at the sheer beauty
of the ar chitectur e. I delicately tr od the black-and-w hite tiled path leading to the
door. Being on the inside was differ ent, almost eer ie.
The fr ont door opened w ith a lar ge clunk and cr eak. He addr essed me by my full
name.
"Rose. Rose Emer son, I believe?"
"Yes, sir." I said.
"Please, come in. My name is Henr y Chilter n."
"Nice to meet you, Mr Chilter n."
"No, please, call me Henr y. Come, I'll show you to your quar ter s -"
"Quar ter s, Sir ? - I mean, Mr Chilter n." I said, taken aback.
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