receding, and the rest of the face too long and narrow. The crown rose
to a kind of peak, the ears were pointed and set very low down and far
back. The mouth was very cruel and thin-lipped; the teeth were yellow
and uneven. There was no hair on the face, but that on the head was red
and matted. The eyes were obliquely set, pale blue, and full of an
expression so absolutely malignant that every atom of blood in my veins
seemed to congeal as I met their gaze. I could not clearly see the body
of the thing, as it was hazy and indistinct, but the impression I got of
it was that it was clad in some sort of tight-fitting, fantastic
garment. As the landing was in semi-darkness, and the face at all events
was most startlingly visible, I concluded it brought with it a light of
its own, though there was none of that lurid glow attached to it, which
I subsequently learned is almost inseparable from spirit phenomena seen
under similar conditions.

"For some seconds, I was too overcome with terror to move, but my
faculties at length reasserting themselves, I turned round and flew to
the other wing of the house with the utmost precipitation.

"One would have thought that after these experiences nothing would have
induced me to have run the risk of another such encounter, yet only a
few days after the incident of the head, I was again impelled by a
fascination I could not withstand to visit the same quarters. In sickly
anticipation of what my eyes would alight on, I stole to the foot of the
staircase and peeped cautiously up. To my infinite joy there was nothing
there but a bright patch of sunshine, that, in the most unusual fashion,
had forced its way through from one of the slits of windows near at
hand.

"After gazing at it long enough to assure myself it was only sunshine, I