"D'you mean you actually saw what you took to be a ghost?" "I did see a ghost, ma'am; not a doubt of it! She walked up and down that room in there, wringing her hands all the time -- I'd heard the expression, ma'am, but I'd never seen anyone do it." "Did anything else happen?" "At last she went over to the window, and there seemed no curtains there anymore, nothing but just an opening into the darkness. I saw her bend over -- I'd tell myself maybe that it was all a dream -- argue with myself, ma'am, for I'm a sensible woman. And then all at once I'd hear that rustle again! I'd try not to open my eyes, but somehow I felt I must see what was happening. So I'd look at last -- and there she'd be! Walking up and down, walking up and down, her face -- oh, ma'am, her face staringlike most 'orrible -- and wringing her hands. Then she'd go over to the window, lean out, and disappear, down into the black water!" In a calmer tone Pegler added: "The moat used to be much bigger and deeper than it is now, ma'am -- so they all say."

Author Biography

Marie Adelaide Elizabeth Rayner Lowndes (n'e Belloc;1868 - 1947) was a prolific English novelist. Active from 1898 until her death, she had a literary reputation for combining exciting incidents with psychological interest. Three of her works were adapted for the screen: The Lodger (1913 novel; numerous film adaptations), Letty Lynton (1931 novel; 1932 film adaptation) and The Story of Ivy (1927 novel; 1947 film adaptation). Additionally, The Lodger was adapted as a 1940 radio drama and 1960 opera.