Read Online Mr Scarletti's Ghost by Linda Stratmann - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Linda Stratmann
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sensation, and would have liked to escape Mrs Gaskin’s hands and clasp the thing before it was gone, but Mrs Gaskin had a firm, almost bruising grip on her fingers, and any attempt Mina might have made to break free would have caused some disquiet.
After a few moments, there was another period of near silence, and then the bell behind the curtain began to ring, followed by the rattle of the tambourine. Whatever was in the alcove was extremely lively, and there were either two hands or two entities, since the ringing and the rattling started to sound together until the noise resembled nothing more than the jangling music of the minstrel bands on the marine parade. If this was an example of the music of the spirits, thought Mina, then heaven promised to be a very clamorous and unmelodic place.
All then fell quiet again apart from the sound of panting breath and little gasps from the ladies, then they heard the scratch of a pencil moving on paper. There was another long silence followed by a sudden muffled thud, suggesting that the table behind the curtain had fallen or been knocked over, which caused loud exclamations from the company. Mina longed for a swift movement and a sudden blaze of gaslight, but no one stirred.
The period of silence that followed lasted for a minute or two, and Mina began to wonder if the séance was over. Professor Gaskin must have thought so too, for he was just starting to rise from his chair and say something when he was stopped by the sound of Miss Eustace crying out. Soft moans began to issue from the lips of the medium, and above her head, where her hands could not have reached even had they been free, there appeared a little dancing light. It was not enough to illuminate the room, but very sharp and clear to see, and it hovered above her like a fairy sprite. Another light soon joined it, and then the two danced together about the room, moving about each other, never more than a few feet apart, until first one, and then the other went out.
It was such a pretty display that, strange and unaccountable as it was, no one could be afraid of it, and there was a little sorrowful sigh when the lights vanished. Mina was mystified. These were like no lights she had ever seen; they had neither the yellow flicker of a candle or a spill, nor the sizzling flare of a match, but each was a single bright constant point and they had just appeared without any sign of having been ignited by something else. A professor of chemistry might, though Mina, be able to explain the phenomenon, but then a professor of chemistry was in the room and believed he saw disembodied spirits.
Miss Eustace, who had fallen into a brief silence, began to breathe very heavily and rapidly, with little gasping sounds and groans. Everyone took this as a signal that another marvel was to follow, and there were little murmurs of anticipation and the sound of people shifting in their seats. Mina felt sure that all the onlookers were leaning forward and craning their necks. They were not disappointed, for high above Miss Eustace’s head a brightly glowing form began to issue from between the curtains, which parted in the centre just enough to allow it to intrude into the room. There was an exclamation from the audience, and Mina sensed that what they were seeing was a new exhibition that no one, quite possibly even the Gaskins, had expected.
The apparition was hovering about six feet from the ground, and as it pushed forward it grew in both size and brilliance, and began to adopt a familiar shape, until it became apparent to everyone that they were seeing a pair of hands, palm to palm in an attitude of prayer, only so far above the floor that they could not be attached to any living thing. The vision remained still for a while, and Mina hoped that it might perform some act appropriate to a pair of hands, or do anything other than remain stiff as a statue’s but it seemed that the hands were simply being offered as an object of
After a few moments, there was another period of near silence, and then the bell behind the curtain began to ring, followed by the rattle of the tambourine. Whatever was in the alcove was extremely lively, and there were either two hands or two entities, since the ringing and the rattling started to sound together until the noise resembled nothing more than the jangling music of the minstrel bands on the marine parade. If this was an example of the music of the spirits, thought Mina, then heaven promised to be a very clamorous and unmelodic place.
All then fell quiet again apart from the sound of panting breath and little gasps from the ladies, then they heard the scratch of a pencil moving on paper. There was another long silence followed by a sudden muffled thud, suggesting that the table behind the curtain had fallen or been knocked over, which caused loud exclamations from the company. Mina longed for a swift movement and a sudden blaze of gaslight, but no one stirred.
The period of silence that followed lasted for a minute or two, and Mina began to wonder if the séance was over. Professor Gaskin must have thought so too, for he was just starting to rise from his chair and say something when he was stopped by the sound of Miss Eustace crying out. Soft moans began to issue from the lips of the medium, and above her head, where her hands could not have reached even had they been free, there appeared a little dancing light. It was not enough to illuminate the room, but very sharp and clear to see, and it hovered above her like a fairy sprite. Another light soon joined it, and then the two danced together about the room, moving about each other, never more than a few feet apart, until first one, and then the other went out.
It was such a pretty display that, strange and unaccountable as it was, no one could be afraid of it, and there was a little sorrowful sigh when the lights vanished. Mina was mystified. These were like no lights she had ever seen; they had neither the yellow flicker of a candle or a spill, nor the sizzling flare of a match, but each was a single bright constant point and they had just appeared without any sign of having been ignited by something else. A professor of chemistry might, though Mina, be able to explain the phenomenon, but then a professor of chemistry was in the room and believed he saw disembodied spirits.
Miss Eustace, who had fallen into a brief silence, began to breathe very heavily and rapidly, with little gasping sounds and groans. Everyone took this as a signal that another marvel was to follow, and there were little murmurs of anticipation and the sound of people shifting in their seats. Mina felt sure that all the onlookers were leaning forward and craning their necks. They were not disappointed, for high above Miss Eustace’s head a brightly glowing form began to issue from between the curtains, which parted in the centre just enough to allow it to intrude into the room. There was an exclamation from the audience, and Mina sensed that what they were seeing was a new exhibition that no one, quite possibly even the Gaskins, had expected.
The apparition was hovering about six feet from the ground, and as it pushed forward it grew in both size and brilliance, and began to adopt a familiar shape, until it became apparent to everyone that they were seeing a pair of hands, palm to palm in an attitude of prayer, only so far above the floor that they could not be attached to any living thing. The vision remained still for a while, and Mina hoped that it might perform some act appropriate to a pair of hands, or do anything other than remain stiff as a statue’s but it seemed that the hands were simply being offered as an object of
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