January 23, 2025 • 21 mins
In this chilling double feature, journey into the eerie unknown with two spine-tingling tales: 1️⃣ The Stranger on the Train: A family vacationing in Transylvania finds their private rail car invaded by a mysterious, ghostly passenger. 2️⃣ The Old Plantation: When a young businessman inherits an abandoned plantation, he decides to spend the night alone. As darkness falls, he discovers that the place may not be as silent as it seems. Prepare yourself for a captivating blend of suspense, terror, and the supernatural. Perfect for late-night listening or sharing scares with friends!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
The train jerked to a halt in the foothills of Transylvania.
Inside one of the small compartments, Stephanie Archer looked nervously
out the window. I wonder what's the matter, she asked.
Her mother and brother, sitting across from her, both shrugged
their shoulders. I'm glad it's still daylight, Stephanie said, looking
(00:42):
out at the dense green forest around them. Scared of vampires,
her brother asked, oh sure, Stephanie answered sarcastically. Well, then
you won't mind if I read to you from Dracula,
will you? I thought it was fitting us riding through
(01:03):
Transylvania and all. Missus Archer sighed, really, Robert. Then the
slow grinding of the wheels against the track began again.
Soon the train had picked back up to its normal speed.
Stephanie settled back against the old velvet seat and relaxed.
(01:25):
Robert pulled a battered copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula from
his knapsack. Missus Archer went on reading her own novel.
The three of them had the train compartment, which could
sit six all to themselves. Robert began to read aloud.
There lay the count but looking as if his youth
(01:48):
had been half renewed, for his white hair and mustache
were changed to dark iron gray. The cheeks were fuller,
and the white skin seemed ruby red. Underneath. The mouth
was redder than ever, for on his lips were bits
(02:10):
of fresh blood, which trickled down from the corners of
his mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Oh
stop it, Robert, Stephanie interrupted. I'm just trying to set
the mood for our journey. Robert protested. Here we are
in the heart of vampire country. We might as well
(02:32):
enjoy it. Robert, stop reading aloud if it bothers your sister, Missus,
Archer insisted, We'll be meeting your father tomorrow. Thank goodness.
Then I'm turning both of you over to him. Robert
picked Dracula up again and started to read silently. Stephanie
gazed out the window. The train was climbing out of
(02:55):
a valley into the mountains. Listen to this, Robert exclaimed,
and started to read aloud again. It seemed as if
the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He
lay like a filthy leech. Mother, make him stop. I'll stop.
(03:17):
I'll stop. Robert said hastily. I didn't know you were
so sensitive, Stephanie. Just then the train came to another halt.
All three of them looked out to see where they were.
Quite a few people are getting on, Robert said, craning
his head out the window. I hope no one comes
(03:39):
in here, Stephanie said. But a minute later they heard
footsteps in the corridor, and the door to their compartment
slid open. A short, well dressed elderly man stuck his
head inside. May I join you. I'm afraid the other
compartments are full, of course, Missus Archer said, please come in.
(04:05):
The elderly man sat by the door beside Stephanie. My
name is doctor Moore. You are Americans, are you not? Yes,
that's right, I'm missus Rita Archer. This is my daughter,
Stephanie and my son Robert. The old man beamed a
smile at everyone. Very happy to meet you. The train
(04:30):
jerked forward and then began to pull out of the station.
Where do you, Missus Archer began to say to the doctor,
but she stopped as the compartment door slid open again.
A tall, middle aged man walked into the compartment. He
didn't say a word without hesitation. He walked to the
(04:52):
window and sat down on the other side of Stephanie.
Stephanie snuck a glance at the new man sitting by
aside her. She saw his black hair, his pale white skin,
and his red lips. They were red, those lips, ruby red.
(05:15):
Stephanie looked over at Robert, who met her gaze and
raised his eyebrows. The second stranger's presence invaded the entire compartment.
No one seemed to know what to say. Stephanie moved
over on the seat closer to the old doctor. It
suddenly seemed to her that the dark stranger's body was cold,
(05:40):
unnaturally cold. She started to shiver and couldn't stop. Robert,
could you get me a sweater? Eh? Sure, steph Robert
stood up to get a sweater from the overhead rack.
As he did, the copy of Dracula fell from his
lap on to the floor at the stranger's feet. Robert
(06:04):
bent over to pick it up, but the stranger already
held it in his bony hand. He gave it back
to Robert. There was a smirk on his face, and
his hard black eyes looked deep into Robert's. Robert sat
down again, forgetting about the sweater. Missus Archer handed over
(06:26):
her sweater to Stephanie. Then she said to the doctor,
it's always nice to have a doctor around. The old
doctor smiled kindly. Everyone settled back into an awkward silence.
The strange man sat perfectly still beside Stephanie. As the
light began to fade in the sky. His white face
(06:50):
took on a greater contrast to his black hair and
black suit. Stephanie cast quick glances at him as she
pretended to stare intently out the window. She couldn't get
those words from Dracula out of her mind. This man
was so strange, and they were in Transylvania. Robert, missus Archer,
(07:16):
said softly, could you switch on the light please, it's
getting difficult to read. As Robert reached up to flick
on the light switch, the doctor reached over and touched
his arm. Please, missus Archer, wait a few more minutes
with the light, if you don't mind. As a frequent
(07:36):
traveler through these parts, I can recommend watching the countryside.
Now it is twilight near sunset. The sky will be
full of beautiful colors for the next half hour. You
really shouldn't miss it. Of course, doctor missus Archer agreed.
(07:56):
Stephanie leaned her head against the seat back. If only
she could enjoy the country side, she thought, But with
that man so close to her. The train took a
sharp turn and every one was thrown to the right.
The stranger's body pressed against Stephanie. She tried to move away,
but her body was wedged between him and the doctor.
(08:20):
The train straightened its course, but the man didn't move
away from Stephanie. She turned to him. He was looking
deep into her eyes. Just as she felt herself about
to scream, he moved away from her. The train was
puffing to a slow stop in a small village. Suddenly, unbelievably,
(08:45):
the dark stranger got up and left the compartment as
quickly as he had entered it. They watched him as
he stepped on to the station platform and walked toward
a young woman who was waiting there. As the train
drew away from the station, they could see the two kissing.
Robert and Stephanie looked at each other and then started
(09:07):
to laugh hysterically. Missus Archer smiled as she rearranged her
things on the seat. The old doctor continued to smile
at everyone. You two are ridiculous, missus Archer said to
Stephanie and Robert, stop giggling. But then she laughed herself.
(09:29):
I think I'll go and wash up now, missus Archer said.
She stood up and turned around to reach for her
bag on the overhead rack. After she got it down,
she stopped to check her face in the mirror. In
the reflection behind her own face, she saw Stephanie sitting
alone on the opposite seat. Why where did the doctor,
(09:55):
she began to say, But when she turned around, the
doctor was still in his seat. How odd, missus Archer thought.
As the train plunged into another dark mountain tunnel, she
sat back down again. The shrill train whistle pierced through
the air. The rattle of the wheels on the tracks
(10:18):
echoed throughout the tunnel. No other sound could be heard
in the pitch blackness of the compartment. Three minutes later,
the train shot back out into the velvet blue twilight. Stephanie,
missus Archer, shrieked. Stephanie was slumped across the seat, her
(10:39):
head thrown back, Blood dribbled down from two small holes
in her neck. An unnatural smile played on her lips. Doctor,
she whispered, but the doctor was gone, and a full
moon shone brilliantly in the Transylvanian sky. Jonas Ellerby turned
(11:13):
his car into the plantation driveway at twilight. The long
path from the road to the house was lined with
giant cedar trees. Spanish moss drooped from their branches. The
grass along the driveway had long ago turned to weeds.
Now already the color of things was fading with delight.
(11:36):
The trees were more like silhouettes. Jonas felt the atmosphere
of the place surround him. He was from the north,
and this landscape was strange and new to him. The
driveway took a sudden, sharp turn, and the house appeared.
Jonas drew in his breath when he saw it. The
(11:57):
house was not what he had expected. He had gotten
his idea of southern plantations from Hollywood movies. Jonas stopped
the car and turned off the engine. He stared at
the great sweep of the house. Its long verandah stretched
out underneath tall white pillars. Window after window stared at
(12:19):
him like curious eyes. In one Jonas thought he saw
a light go out, but then he decided it must
have been a reflection. Jonas looked up to the second
story of the house. Something was wrong with it. The
rooms sagged at a crazy angle to one side, the
(12:39):
roof looked as though it had been blown on by
too many storms. And the color of the house was
not the blinding, bright whiteness of the plantations in the movies.
It was a dull, gray and almost rotten color. It
was a dying house, and Jonas was here to bury it.
(13:01):
Jonas represented the firm of Stanton and Stanton. The firm
represented the estate of mister Wigover, the former owner of
the house. The estate had gone into bankruptcy. Jonas had
come to make plans to tear down the old house
and sell off the land to a real estate dealer.
Even though people had warned him that the house had
(13:23):
a strange reputation, he had come this evening to spend
the night inside of it. Jonas got out of his
car and slammed the car door shut. He decided he
would explore the premises in the fading twilight. He followed
the stone path up to the house and then walked
up deteriorating steps on to the verandah. An old rocking
(13:47):
chair sat there, moving slightly in the evening breeze. Jonas
took the key he had been given and put it
into the front door lock. To his relief, the door opened.
As he stepped inside, Jonas was overwhelmed by the smell
of dampness and decay. The air seemed steeped in the
(14:09):
odor of age. He wondered how long it had been
since another human had stepped foot inside of this house.
He walked past the grand stairway which swept up to
the second story, and entered a sitting room full of dusty,
moldy furniture. His footsteps echoed on the bare floors as
he went room to room, the dining room, the ballroom,
(14:34):
the study, the kitchen. Just as he was making his
way back to the front door, Jonas passed a room
he hadn't entered before. He opened the door and peeked inside.
It was a small bedroom, sparsely decorated and neat. The
sheets and pillowcases were no longer fresh, but obviously clean,
(14:58):
and this room didn't have the damp smell to it.
Jonas stood and looked around the room for a moment.
Then he smiled and went to get his luggage from
the car. By the time he had unpacked his things
for the night and put them away. Twilight had faded
into night. Jonas knew the house had no electricity, but
(15:19):
he found a partially burned candle on the night stand
by the bed. As he fumbled for his matches in
the darkness, he heard a chorus of crickets begin their
shrill evening song. The candle blazed a light, and that
is when he first noticed the book. It was sitting
(15:40):
on the night stand, as if someone had laid it
out just for him. The title on the faded cover
was The Old Plantation. Jonas decided he might read it
later when he turned in for the night. Before that, though,
Jonas thought he would go out to the Verandah one
last time. As he walked out into the night air,
(16:04):
he sensed a change in the atmosphere. He no longer
felt just a few miles away from civilization. He felt isolated,
and there seemed to be a different sense of time
around the Old Plantation. The trees, with their drooping Spanish moss,
closed in around the house, and there were no other
(16:26):
sounds than the breathing of the trees in the dark
and the piercing song of the crickets. Jonas moved nervously
across the verandah. If he had known it would be
like this, he wouldn't have come out here. He felt
something on his face, and before he could brush it away,
the mosquito had drawn his blood. Jonas felt his temple
(16:49):
swelling with the bite, and he decided to go back
into the house. Back in the bedroom, Jonas climbed into bed.
He was shivering now. The candle on the night stand
was still burning. As he looked over at it, his
eyes fell upon the book and he picked it up.
(17:11):
As he settled himself into bed, Jonas opened the pages
to the first chapter. He read. This story is about
a young man, a Northerner, who comes to the South
on business. One night, he drives his car up to
an old Southern plantation. He decides to spend the night
(17:33):
in the old house, even though he is all alone there.
Jonas slammed the book shut and laid it back on
the night stand. He reached over and lit his pipe.
His hands were shaking now as he struck another match.
Then he lay back on the bed, taking long draws
on his pipe. He could not get the strange coincidence
(17:56):
of the book out of his mind. It made him nervous,
but it made him curious too. He reached over and
picked up the book again. In the story, the young
man has just turned in for the night after having
gone out on the verandah for a while. His face
(18:17):
is swollen from a mosquito bite he has gotten there.
He scratches the bite. Jonas caught himself scratching the bite
on his own face. His hands began to tremble so
badly that he couldn't hold the book still. He looked
up at the ceiling of the room. There was a
roach crawling high on the wall. He looked over to
(18:38):
the window. A pale moon was shining in the sky.
The chorus of crickets still came from the swamp. Jonas
was sweating. He wondered what the book was going to
tell next. He began to read once again. The young
man in the story sees a book by his bed stand.
(18:59):
The title of the book is The Old Plantation. He
picks it up and begins to read. As he reads
the first chapter, his face takes on a look of fear.
Then slowly a look of understanding comes over his face.
Jonas stopped reading again. He felt the skin crawling on
(19:22):
the back of his neck. What was it the man
in the story understood? And why didn't he understand? Jonas's
mind began to throb with terrible anxiety. He went back
to the book. The young man continues to read The
Old Plantation. The more he reads, the more frightened he becomes.
(19:45):
Finally he finishes the book. Then the young man lays
the book back down on the nightstand. He knows there
is nothing he can do. Nothing he can do but
wait eagerly. Eagerly, Jonas turned to the next page of
The Old Plantation. But the next page, and the next
(20:06):
page and the next page were blank. The rest of
the book was blank. Jonas put it back on the nightstand.
He lay there in his bed and waited. He was
shaking all over now, But what was he waiting for?
Suddenly Jonas was aware that the crickets had stopped, and
(20:30):
there was dead silence in the moonlight. The trees looked frozen, stiff.
Everything seemed to have stopped. Then Jonas heard a car
coming up the driveway toward the Old Plantation. He leaned
over and blew out the candle beside his bed. He
(20:51):
didn't know what to do, but wait so he waited
without moving, while he heard the engine stop and the
car door slam. He waited as he heard a key
being placed into the front door. He waited, trembling under
the covers while he listened to the footsteps going throughout
(21:12):
the house and then stopping in front of his bedroom. Then,
as the door knob turned and the door opened, Jonas
finally understood what he was waiting for. It was himself
standing in the doorway, looking at the clean little room.
On the night stand beside the bed, he saw a
(21:35):
partially burned candle and an old book. He smiled to himself,
thinking he might read the book after a walk on
the verandah
The train jerked to a halt in the foothills of Transylvania.
Inside one of the small compartments, Stephanie Archer looked nervously
out the window. I wonder what's the matter, she asked.
Her mother and brother, sitting across from her, both shrugged
their shoulders. I'm glad it's still daylight, Stephanie said, looking
(00:42):
out at the dense green forest around them. Scared of vampires,
her brother asked, oh sure, Stephanie answered sarcastically. Well, then
you won't mind if I read to you from Dracula,
will you? I thought it was fitting us riding through
(01:03):
Transylvania and all. Missus Archer sighed, really, Robert. Then the
slow grinding of the wheels against the track began again.
Soon the train had picked back up to its normal speed.
Stephanie settled back against the old velvet seat and relaxed.
(01:25):
Robert pulled a battered copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula from
his knapsack. Missus Archer went on reading her own novel.
The three of them had the train compartment, which could
sit six all to themselves. Robert began to read aloud.
There lay the count but looking as if his youth
(01:48):
had been half renewed, for his white hair and mustache
were changed to dark iron gray. The cheeks were fuller,
and the white skin seemed ruby red. Underneath. The mouth
was redder than ever, for on his lips were bits
(02:10):
of fresh blood, which trickled down from the corners of
his mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Oh
stop it, Robert, Stephanie interrupted. I'm just trying to set
the mood for our journey. Robert protested. Here we are
in the heart of vampire country. We might as well
(02:32):
enjoy it. Robert, stop reading aloud if it bothers your sister, Missus,
Archer insisted, We'll be meeting your father tomorrow. Thank goodness.
Then I'm turning both of you over to him. Robert
picked Dracula up again and started to read silently. Stephanie
gazed out the window. The train was climbing out of
(02:55):
a valley into the mountains. Listen to this, Robert exclaimed,
and started to read aloud again. It seemed as if
the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He
lay like a filthy leech. Mother, make him stop. I'll stop.
(03:17):
I'll stop. Robert said hastily. I didn't know you were
so sensitive, Stephanie. Just then the train came to another halt.
All three of them looked out to see where they were.
Quite a few people are getting on, Robert said, craning
his head out the window. I hope no one comes
(03:39):
in here, Stephanie said. But a minute later they heard
footsteps in the corridor, and the door to their compartment
slid open. A short, well dressed elderly man stuck his
head inside. May I join you. I'm afraid the other
compartments are full, of course, Missus Archer said, please come in.
(04:05):
The elderly man sat by the door beside Stephanie. My
name is doctor Moore. You are Americans, are you not? Yes,
that's right, I'm missus Rita Archer. This is my daughter,
Stephanie and my son Robert. The old man beamed a
smile at everyone. Very happy to meet you. The train
(04:30):
jerked forward and then began to pull out of the station.
Where do you, Missus Archer began to say to the doctor,
but she stopped as the compartment door slid open again.
A tall, middle aged man walked into the compartment. He
didn't say a word without hesitation. He walked to the
(04:52):
window and sat down on the other side of Stephanie.
Stephanie snuck a glance at the new man sitting by
aside her. She saw his black hair, his pale white skin,
and his red lips. They were red, those lips, ruby red.
(05:15):
Stephanie looked over at Robert, who met her gaze and
raised his eyebrows. The second stranger's presence invaded the entire compartment.
No one seemed to know what to say. Stephanie moved
over on the seat closer to the old doctor. It
suddenly seemed to her that the dark stranger's body was cold,
(05:40):
unnaturally cold. She started to shiver and couldn't stop. Robert,
could you get me a sweater? Eh? Sure, steph Robert
stood up to get a sweater from the overhead rack.
As he did, the copy of Dracula fell from his
lap on to the floor at the stranger's feet. Robert
(06:04):
bent over to pick it up, but the stranger already
held it in his bony hand. He gave it back
to Robert. There was a smirk on his face, and
his hard black eyes looked deep into Robert's. Robert sat
down again, forgetting about the sweater. Missus Archer handed over
(06:26):
her sweater to Stephanie. Then she said to the doctor,
it's always nice to have a doctor around. The old
doctor smiled kindly. Everyone settled back into an awkward silence.
The strange man sat perfectly still beside Stephanie. As the
light began to fade in the sky. His white face
(06:50):
took on a greater contrast to his black hair and
black suit. Stephanie cast quick glances at him as she
pretended to stare intently out the window. She couldn't get
those words from Dracula out of her mind. This man
was so strange, and they were in Transylvania. Robert, missus Archer,
(07:16):
said softly, could you switch on the light please, it's
getting difficult to read. As Robert reached up to flick
on the light switch, the doctor reached over and touched
his arm. Please, missus Archer, wait a few more minutes
with the light, if you don't mind. As a frequent
(07:36):
traveler through these parts, I can recommend watching the countryside.
Now it is twilight near sunset. The sky will be
full of beautiful colors for the next half hour. You
really shouldn't miss it. Of course, doctor missus Archer agreed.
(07:56):
Stephanie leaned her head against the seat back. If only
she could enjoy the country side, she thought, But with
that man so close to her. The train took a
sharp turn and every one was thrown to the right.
The stranger's body pressed against Stephanie. She tried to move away,
but her body was wedged between him and the doctor.
(08:20):
The train straightened its course, but the man didn't move
away from Stephanie. She turned to him. He was looking
deep into her eyes. Just as she felt herself about
to scream, he moved away from her. The train was
puffing to a slow stop in a small village. Suddenly, unbelievably,
(08:45):
the dark stranger got up and left the compartment as
quickly as he had entered it. They watched him as
he stepped on to the station platform and walked toward
a young woman who was waiting there. As the train
drew away from the station, they could see the two kissing.
Robert and Stephanie looked at each other and then started
(09:07):
to laugh hysterically. Missus Archer smiled as she rearranged her
things on the seat. The old doctor continued to smile
at everyone. You two are ridiculous, missus Archer said to
Stephanie and Robert, stop giggling. But then she laughed herself.
(09:29):
I think I'll go and wash up now, missus Archer said.
She stood up and turned around to reach for her
bag on the overhead rack. After she got it down,
she stopped to check her face in the mirror. In
the reflection behind her own face, she saw Stephanie sitting
alone on the opposite seat. Why where did the doctor,
(09:55):
she began to say, But when she turned around, the
doctor was still in his seat. How odd, missus Archer thought.
As the train plunged into another dark mountain tunnel, she
sat back down again. The shrill train whistle pierced through
the air. The rattle of the wheels on the tracks
(10:18):
echoed throughout the tunnel. No other sound could be heard
in the pitch blackness of the compartment. Three minutes later,
the train shot back out into the velvet blue twilight. Stephanie,
missus Archer, shrieked. Stephanie was slumped across the seat, her
(10:39):
head thrown back, Blood dribbled down from two small holes
in her neck. An unnatural smile played on her lips. Doctor,
she whispered, but the doctor was gone, and a full
moon shone brilliantly in the Transylvanian sky. Jonas Ellerby turned
(11:13):
his car into the plantation driveway at twilight. The long
path from the road to the house was lined with
giant cedar trees. Spanish moss drooped from their branches. The
grass along the driveway had long ago turned to weeds.
Now already the color of things was fading with delight.
(11:36):
The trees were more like silhouettes. Jonas felt the atmosphere
of the place surround him. He was from the north,
and this landscape was strange and new to him. The
driveway took a sudden, sharp turn, and the house appeared.
Jonas drew in his breath when he saw it. The
(11:57):
house was not what he had expected. He had gotten
his idea of southern plantations from Hollywood movies. Jonas stopped
the car and turned off the engine. He stared at
the great sweep of the house. Its long verandah stretched
out underneath tall white pillars. Window after window stared at
(12:19):
him like curious eyes. In one Jonas thought he saw
a light go out, but then he decided it must
have been a reflection. Jonas looked up to the second
story of the house. Something was wrong with it. The
rooms sagged at a crazy angle to one side, the
(12:39):
roof looked as though it had been blown on by
too many storms. And the color of the house was
not the blinding, bright whiteness of the plantations in the movies.
It was a dull, gray and almost rotten color. It
was a dying house, and Jonas was here to bury it.
(13:01):
Jonas represented the firm of Stanton and Stanton. The firm
represented the estate of mister Wigover, the former owner of
the house. The estate had gone into bankruptcy. Jonas had
come to make plans to tear down the old house
and sell off the land to a real estate dealer.
Even though people had warned him that the house had
(13:23):
a strange reputation, he had come this evening to spend
the night inside of it. Jonas got out of his
car and slammed the car door shut. He decided he
would explore the premises in the fading twilight. He followed
the stone path up to the house and then walked
up deteriorating steps on to the verandah. An old rocking
(13:47):
chair sat there, moving slightly in the evening breeze. Jonas
took the key he had been given and put it
into the front door lock. To his relief, the door opened.
As he stepped inside, Jonas was overwhelmed by the smell
of dampness and decay. The air seemed steeped in the
(14:09):
odor of age. He wondered how long it had been
since another human had stepped foot inside of this house.
He walked past the grand stairway which swept up to
the second story, and entered a sitting room full of dusty,
moldy furniture. His footsteps echoed on the bare floors as
he went room to room, the dining room, the ballroom,
(14:34):
the study, the kitchen. Just as he was making his
way back to the front door, Jonas passed a room
he hadn't entered before. He opened the door and peeked inside.
It was a small bedroom, sparsely decorated and neat. The
sheets and pillowcases were no longer fresh, but obviously clean,
(14:58):
and this room didn't have the damp smell to it.
Jonas stood and looked around the room for a moment.
Then he smiled and went to get his luggage from
the car. By the time he had unpacked his things
for the night and put them away. Twilight had faded
into night. Jonas knew the house had no electricity, but
(15:19):
he found a partially burned candle on the night stand
by the bed. As he fumbled for his matches in
the darkness, he heard a chorus of crickets begin their
shrill evening song. The candle blazed a light, and that
is when he first noticed the book. It was sitting
(15:40):
on the night stand, as if someone had laid it
out just for him. The title on the faded cover
was The Old Plantation. Jonas decided he might read it
later when he turned in for the night. Before that, though,
Jonas thought he would go out to the Verandah one
last time. As he walked out into the night air,
(16:04):
he sensed a change in the atmosphere. He no longer
felt just a few miles away from civilization. He felt isolated,
and there seemed to be a different sense of time
around the Old Plantation. The trees, with their drooping Spanish moss,
closed in around the house, and there were no other
(16:26):
sounds than the breathing of the trees in the dark
and the piercing song of the crickets. Jonas moved nervously
across the verandah. If he had known it would be
like this, he wouldn't have come out here. He felt
something on his face, and before he could brush it away,
the mosquito had drawn his blood. Jonas felt his temple
(16:49):
swelling with the bite, and he decided to go back
into the house. Back in the bedroom, Jonas climbed into bed.
He was shivering now. The candle on the night stand
was still burning. As he looked over at it, his
eyes fell upon the book and he picked it up.
(17:11):
As he settled himself into bed, Jonas opened the pages
to the first chapter. He read. This story is about
a young man, a Northerner, who comes to the South
on business. One night, he drives his car up to
an old Southern plantation. He decides to spend the night
(17:33):
in the old house, even though he is all alone there.
Jonas slammed the book shut and laid it back on
the night stand. He reached over and lit his pipe.
His hands were shaking now as he struck another match.
Then he lay back on the bed, taking long draws
on his pipe. He could not get the strange coincidence
(17:56):
of the book out of his mind. It made him nervous,
but it made him curious too. He reached over and
picked up the book again. In the story, the young
man has just turned in for the night after having
gone out on the verandah for a while. His face
(18:17):
is swollen from a mosquito bite he has gotten there.
He scratches the bite. Jonas caught himself scratching the bite
on his own face. His hands began to tremble so
badly that he couldn't hold the book still. He looked
up at the ceiling of the room. There was a
roach crawling high on the wall. He looked over to
(18:38):
the window. A pale moon was shining in the sky.
The chorus of crickets still came from the swamp. Jonas
was sweating. He wondered what the book was going to
tell next. He began to read once again. The young
man in the story sees a book by his bed stand.
(18:59):
The title of the book is The Old Plantation. He
picks it up and begins to read. As he reads
the first chapter, his face takes on a look of fear.
Then slowly a look of understanding comes over his face.
Jonas stopped reading again. He felt the skin crawling on
(19:22):
the back of his neck. What was it the man
in the story understood? And why didn't he understand? Jonas's
mind began to throb with terrible anxiety. He went back
to the book. The young man continues to read The
Old Plantation. The more he reads, the more frightened he becomes.
(19:45):
Finally he finishes the book. Then the young man lays
the book back down on the nightstand. He knows there
is nothing he can do. Nothing he can do but
wait eagerly. Eagerly, Jonas turned to the next page of
The Old Plantation. But the next page, and the next
(20:06):
page and the next page were blank. The rest of
the book was blank. Jonas put it back on the nightstand.
He lay there in his bed and waited. He was
shaking all over now, But what was he waiting for?
Suddenly Jonas was aware that the crickets had stopped, and
(20:30):
there was dead silence in the moonlight. The trees looked frozen, stiff.
Everything seemed to have stopped. Then Jonas heard a car
coming up the driveway toward the Old Plantation. He leaned
over and blew out the candle beside his bed. He
(20:51):
didn't know what to do, but wait so he waited
without moving, while he heard the engine stop and the
car door slam. He waited as he heard a key
being placed into the front door. He waited, trembling under
the covers while he listened to the footsteps going throughout
(21:12):
the house and then stopping in front of his bedroom. Then,
as the door knob turned and the door opened, Jonas
finally understood what he was waiting for. It was himself
standing in the doorway, looking at the clean little room.
On the night stand beside the bed, he saw a
(21:35):
partially burned candle and an old book. He smiled to himself,
thinking he might read the book after a walk on
the verandah
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