Dear Stella
Dear Stella,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am sorry about leaving so abruptly, but I was called away on urgent work. I have been sent to Crythin Gifford by Mr. Bentley to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow, I also need to sort though all of her legal documents. Mrs. Drablow lived in a strange little house called Eel Marsh House. To get out to the house you must cross the Nine Lives Causeway, it is only accessible during low tide, otherwise it is covered by water, and impassable. The house is very strange, all on it’s own on a small island separated from the rest of the main land. At first I thought it to be quite beautiful but it has a scary if not dark side to it. Even Mrs. Drablow was a bit strange, she lives alone and no one from the village will speak of her.
When I arrived Mr. Daily, the local landowner, took me to the Gifford Arms where I have been staying. I went to the funeral of Mrs. Drablow, on the way there I saw some school children and they had strange white pasty faces. When I arrived I noticed that there were very few people there. There was a woman in black clothes with a pasty white face, which I saw on the way back to the village and again on Eel Marsh Island. After the funeral of I went to Eel Marsh house, to start work.
Mr. Keckwick took me across the causeway on a horse and trap. When we arrived at Eel Marsh House Keckwick left me and said he would return at five to collect me. I looked around the island; there is an old graveyard with some ruins of a small abbey. The names on the gravestones were all undecipherable because they were covered with various fungi’s. While looking around the graveyard I saw the mysterious Woman in Black, a cold feeling came over me like nothing I had ever felt before, but before I could approach her she ducked away under a headstone and disappeared. I don’t think you should worry about me I’m fine and I’m not worried about her. She was probably a figment of my imagination; the marsh mist was quite dense.
After that went in to the house and I started work opening all the windows, to get some light. I searched thought the rooms to see what was in side the house. It has an old musty smell, all the furniture is old, and made of strong wood. It was about four, so I decided I would walk back to Crythin Gifford, Keckwick wouldn’t be back until five and the exercise would be good for me. As I started to walk along the causeway I noticed that it was getting darker and darker and the mist was drawing in, the sea mist was thick and salty.
The further I got from the house the better I felt, but soon I couldn’t see it any more because of the mist. I thought about turning back but I would soon meet Keckwick and he could take me the rest of the way. The mist was soon playing tricks on my sight and hearing, I could hear a pony and trap coming a long the road to the causeway, and it went silent. I then heard noises of screaming like someone was drowning, I thought this was my imagination, I didn’t know how far it was to the other side of the causeway and the water was rising fast so I decided to turn back and head for the house. When I got back I was very worried and I was shaking.
I sat down in one of the old musty chairs and had a drink, I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke someone was knocking on the door, when I opened it I saw Keckwick and the pony and trap. They were normal, still alive; it must have been my imagination about him drowning. He apologized for not coming to pick me up but he was unable to because of the sea mist, I was unlucky.
I hope that everything in London is fine. There is no need for you to come down to Crythin Gifford, because I should be returning soon, I will go back to Eel Marsh House today and stay for a couple of days to finish all the work and send anything important back to Mr. Bentley. Hope to see you very soon.
Yours Lovingly,
Arthur
