The Woman in Black
Mrs Jennet Humfrye torments a new female visitor
*****
I. A New Visitor Arrives
Nobody had set foot inside Eel Marsh House for twenty years when Ms Claire Heoghan spontaneously decided to visit. A young teacher of English Literature at a school in her village, Claire was currently on holiday and she boarded the train with excited literary endeavour, happy that she would soon have a legendary story to tell her students. It was the end of the summer of 1967 and, with no more than a suitcase and a rucksack, she arrived and rented herself a room at an inn in the village of Crythin Gifford, where the legend of the Woman in Black had its origin.
That legend had been told in her home village when she had been a little girl, and she had always been curious to find out whether it was true. Once she arrived, she saw that there was no more direct access to the island where the legendary house was. The inn-keeper told her that the army had eliminated the road with detonators after the war to hinder all passage through land when the tide was low. It was whispered that this had been done at the request of the village council.
On the shore near the seabed where the road had been, the Royal Army had placed barbed wire and a "Keep out" sign. The official reason for banning all visitors was that there was an endemic bird species on the island that needed to be isolated and remain unfettered by human contact. Despite these deceitful statements Claire suspected that the real reason was that the legend about the Woman in Black was probably true.
On the day after her arrival, Claire was confronted with the impossibility of reaching Eel Marsh House. She wandered the muddy beaches for several hours until she discovered an old wooden rowboat hidden in the tall grass beside the beach and then waited until nightfall to row across.
Once it was dark and the tide was high enough, Claire finally managed to drag the heavy boat into the water. She was wearing an A-line skirt and a short-sleeved blouse, which guaranteed little protection against scrapes and bruises, but which also gave her better manoeuvrability.
As she didn't have any oars, she used a very long piece of driftwood to make her way ahead across the waters. She'd brought nothing with her except for some matches in the breast pocket of her blouse which, under unfortunate circumstances, she could easily spoil during this journey across the water.
The wind blew favourably and the tide was helpful, and finally, after about half an hour she reached the shore of the island where the legendary mansion was. The island seemed completely deserted. Nobody, not even the army seemed to have the will to guard it. In the sky, dense cloud formations covered the moon and it was pitch dark all around. Very much endowed with as much courage as imprudence, the beautiful, brave young woman set foot on land and began to walk towards the entrance of the old house.
There wasn't a lock nor was there a key needed to enter. The door screeched as she opened it and, once inside, she used her pocket matches to look ahead. After an initial inspection she lit two of the candles on the wall nearby. The entire house was very old and somewhat deteriorated, and even a bit dusty, but there wasn't a single spider's web anywhere and the house didn't show any signs of having been touched. Century-old paintings still covered the wall along the staircase and everywhere there were things to be seen which hadn't been moved for several decades.
With a candle in her hand, the brave young woman slowly crept up the stairs, the boards cracking under her feet, her curiosity superseding her fear. Once she was upstairs, she heard the sound of a music box which began to resound all through the empty house. She felt relieved that someone else were there too, and she called out several times but got no answer. With a knot in her throat, Claire made her way down the gangway and walked in the direction from where the music was coming.
Suddenly the music stopped, and she found herself in the middle of nowhere, not knowing where to go. She then caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors in the gangway and let out a loud shriek, for in the reflection there was something standing behind her: a woman dressed in black. Claire did not see the woman behind her when she turned away from the mirror but she frantically ran in any direction, finally hiding in a bedroom beside the gangway. Now she was terrified.
She lifted the covers of the bed and climbed inside, shivering and quivering, not paying any mind to the rancid smell of the covers. Her candle was out and on the floor, and the room all around her was shrouded in complete darkness. Now she knew it was real. The legend of Jennet Humfrye was not a legend; it was true.
Fearing for her life, she then began to hear different sounds, all of which seemed to come from all around the house. Somewhere in the house an out-of-tuned piano began to play what sounded like one of Chopin's waltzes, and then the music box played some old ballad. The wooden floor in the room began to crack all around the bed, until suddenly, all became silent.
And then, there she was: In front of the bed suddenly stood the spectre, the terrifying Woman in Black. Claire screamed at the top of her lungs, then fainted and fell into a deep sleep.
II. The Spectre Speaks
Claire woke up the next morning with sunrays in her eyes, and with gratitude acknowledged that she was still alive and breathing. She remembered the terrifying vision that had put her to sleep and immediately set out to leave the island for good. The adventure was over. It was indeed early and a very warm summer's day, but even in the daylight the house was very spooky. As Claire walked down the dark corridor she felt a cold wind blowing through it and was very relieved when she finally made it out of the house through the main entrance.
Once outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air and began to stroll around the bleak island, looking for the rowboat she had put to use the day before and intending to row back at any cost as soon as the tide came in. She walked all around the shore but she couldn't find the boat; the tide had taken it. How was she to leave the island now? Walking back across the muddy seabed was also not an option; she would certainly sink, get stuck and then drown when the tide rose anew.
Cursing herself for her imprudent visit, she continued to stroll around the island trying to come up with a new plan for her flight back to the village. She soon came upon a big puddle full of crystal-clear rainwater and she drank from it using her hands. She also found an apple tree and ate one of its few fruits. As she ate she was oblivious all the while to the fact that the dark female figure was glaring at her from far behind, standing among the trees in the distance.
Once she had finished eating, Claire walked until she came across a small graveyard and she shivered slightly as she saw Jennet Humfrye's tomb. As she continued to make her way through the forest she spotted something quite unexpected: a surly little girl who stood among the trees a few metres ahead. She was dressed in white and holding something in her enclosed hand. Startled by the sight, Claire stopped and remained speechless.
-Use this when she comes to you again. -The girl said seriously, and she gave Claire what she was holding.
It was a small stone, and a very common one. Claire looked back up to request an explanation but the girl had vanished. What did this all mean? Was she supposed to throw the stone at Jennet Humfrye now the next time she was frightened by her? It didn't make sense. She put the stone in her breast pocket with her matches and wandered around the island a little longer, and then finally went back inside the house, in search for anything she could use to float back to the opposite shore.
Once inside, she was immediately frightened by the sight of the Woman in Black, who was standing at the bottom of the staircase. She was a tall, well-proportioned slender woman dressed completely in black. Her face was still visible behind her black veil, and she was as pale as milk. Claire gasped violently at the terrifying sight, but this time she didn't scream. She extracted the stone from her breast pocket and showed it to the Woman in Black, not knowing what outcome to expect from this. The spectre didn't move, but to Claire's surprise, it began to speak.
The Woman in Black then articulated her sentences very slowly, her terrifying voice sounding something like a loud whisper.
-In the presence of the stone... I am obligated to speak... -said the woman.
-Are you Jennet Humfrye? -Claire asked timidly.
