
On the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest, a cold October wind rattles the leaves around the Holt farmstead. Inside the low‑ceilinged hall, the hearth finally awakens, throwing golden light over the gathered family as they chant the ancient Feast of Sah’m, invoking the protective fire of All‑Hallow‑E’en. Across the hill, a marble tower glints under the moon, its turrets seeming to belong to another realm, where Sir Bertram Morven reads a romantic Persian tale in solitary splendor. The scene balances rustic comfort with an uncanny, otherworldly presence.
As the flames crackle, a hooded figure slips silently toward the glowing window, its motives hidden in the night’s shadows. The villagers feel a chill that suggests an unseen visitor from the world of spirits, a reminder that even the warmest hearth cannot fully banish the mysteries of the season. Listeners are drawn into a tale where family tradition, whispered legends, and a looming, spectral presence intertwine, promising both wonder and unease.
Language
en
Duration
~24 minutes (23K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Heather Clark, Carla Foust, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2011-02-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

Best remembered for the 1883 narrative poem Myra's Well: A Tale of All-Hallow-E'en, this little-documented 19th-century writer left behind a compact but intriguing body of work that also includes a substantial biography of Civil War leader John A. Logan.
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