The Haunted Palace

Ezra, come and sit down.

Nothing's going to happen on a night like this.

- Oh, drink up, man. - No. That's what he wants.

Can you not see that?

- But the storm-- - Damn the storm.

Come on, Micah. Come on and have a drink with us.

Micah!

Look!

Fetch our hats. Tell the others to wait. Quick, man!

Come on.

Do you believe me now, Micah Smith? Now that you've seen with your own eyes,

do you believe me when I tell you that's the home of Satan himself?

- Aye, aye. - Then come.

Somebody get hay! Make sure it's dry!

And bring some oil! Come on, let's go!

Yeah!

Kill the warlock!

Open this door! Open this door!

Curwen! Curwen!

Well?

- Where is she? - Who?

You know who. The Fitch girl. Do you deny she's here?

Certainly not. She visits us frequently. Don't you, miss Fitch?

- Don't you? - Yes.

- Of your own free will? - Yes.

- There now, Mr. Weeden-- - Just a moment.

- What's your name, girl? - Really, this is outrageous!

Quiet! Your name, child.

You see? He's taken her mind, her soul.

The good lord knows what else-- just like the others.

Well, what do we do about it? Let him go on with his black magic

or send him back to the hell he came from?

- Send him back! - Then let's be about it.

No, not the woman. Leave her be. She's been hexed.

It'll be right with us again when he's gone, Hester. You'll see!

Hester!

- Send him back to Hades! - Burn him!

- Back where he comes from! - Burn him! Burn him!

Have you anything to say, warlock? Only this...

as surely as the village of Arkham has risen up against me,

so shall I rise from the dead...

against the village of Arkham.

Each one of you!

Ezra Weeden, Micah Smith,

Benjamin West, Priam Willet,

Gideon Leach,

all of you and your children and your children's children

shall have just cause to regret the actions of this night.

For from this night onward,

you shall bear my curse.

Burn the devil. Burn him!

Hester!

"And travelers, now, within that valley,

"through the red-litten windows see

"vast forms, that move fantastically

to a discordant melody."

Whoa, horse.

There you are, ma'am. Careful!

Oh, thank you, Mr. Carmody. It was a most enjoyable trip.

- Aye. - Thank you.

It isn't often I get passengers for Arkham.

Begging you pardon, sir, did you say you were going to be staying here long?

Why do you ask? Well, Arkham is an evil place. The village is cursed.

Mr. Carmody, don't tell us you're superstitious.

Not at all. And I'm not a coward, either,

but you couldn't pay me to spend a night in this place.

Why not, Mr. Carmody? Ghosts? Spirits?

Well...perhaps.

I'm sorry, sir, but we don't happen to believe in the supernatural.

And I don't think you do, either. Good-bye.

- Good-bye, sir. - Good-bye.

And good luck.

Well, it looks cursed. I'll give it that.

- Where are the people? - I can't imagine.

Look. The "burning man." Isn't that quaint?

- Yes, very quaint. - Well, it is.

Now, where else would you find a tavern with a name like that?

We were trying to find a certain house here in town,

and we thought perhaps you could help us.

- Whose house is it? - Ours.

I know that sounds silly. It belonged to the Curwen family.

We inherited it.

- Curwen, you say? - Yes, that's right.

I don't know of any such house.

Well, all right. Thank you anyway.

Just a minute.

Why do you want to know about the Curwen place?

Because it belongs to us.

- Your name is Curwen? - No, our name is Ward.

Then...?

Joseph Curwen was my great-great-grandfather.

- So, can you tell us where the house is? - I can, but I won't.

That's what I like about you New Englanders--

You're so friendly. Come, Ann, we'll find it oursel--

Mr. Ward! Don't go there.

It isn't a house. It's a madman's palace as old as sin.

Palace? In America?

- Brought over stone by stone. - Brought over from where?

Europe somewhere. No one knows. No one wants to know.

But if you value your lives, don't go there.

Why not?

What Edgar-- Mr. Weeden means is that place is a ruin.

It hasn't been occupied in over 100 years.

Is that what you mean, Mr. Weeden?

- What a strange man. - Yes.

He has had a bit, but what he says is right.

Mr. Ward, Mrs. Ward, please...

do yourself a kindness. Go back to wherever you came from

and forget you ever heard about Arkham.

And what do you recommend I do with the deed?

- Just tear it up? - Yes.

Just tear up the deed to a palace I've inherited and forget all about it,

without so much as laying eyes on the property.

- Is that your advice? - It's more than advice, Mr. Ward.

Oh, come on, Ann.

Mr. Ward...

take the road out of town about a quarter of a mile.

At the post road, turn left past the cemetery.

You shouldn't have too much difficulty finding it. Here, I'll show you.

There's the Curwen palace over there on the cliff.

Well, we certainly want to thank you for being so nice, Mr...

Willet. I'm a doctor. My office is down the street, in case you need me.

I don't think we'll be staying very long, doctor.

Oh, you've decided that already?

It seems to have been decided for us.

Thank you, anyway. Come, Ann. Thank you.

What do you think?

It's him, right enough-- the devil himself.

- Nonsense. - And you helped him.

As I'd help any stranger.

He's no stranger, Dr. Willet, and you know it.

I don't know anything of the kind, and neither do you.

Are you blind? Or do you tell me you've never seen that face before?

Well, I'll admit there's a strong resemblance,

but that's a matter of heredity, not magic.

Call it what you will. One thing is certain...

Joseph Curwen has come back to Arkham.

- Why did you say that? - What?

That we wouldn't be staying long.

Well, do you want to stay in a town full of fools like that?

- I don't think Dr. Willet was a fool. - All right, so Dr. Willet wasn't a fool,

Charles...

- the poor thing. - Yes.

Well, let's get this over with.

Charles, it's you!

It's absolutely fantastic!

- Dear, is something wrong? - Hmm? Oh, no.

No. Let's see what the rest of this mausoleum looks like.

Kitchen's over there.

- Wait. - Hmm?

- That doesn't lead anywhere. This way. - How would you know that?

Oh, just a guess.

I'll let some light in here.

Good evening.

- Who are you? - My name is Simon.

- What are you doing here? - I'm the caretaker.

- I was preparing your room. - In the dark?

One becomes accustomed to the darkness here.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Ward, if I startled you, but I didn't know you'd be here so soon.

Well, just a minute. How is it you expected us at all?

Why, your attorney, Mr. Hutchinson, contacted me.

Since then, I've been preparing the palace for your arrival.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go fetch your bags.

No! No, that won't be necessary. We're not staying.

But where would you spend the night?

After all, Mr. Ward, this is your home. Get the bags.

Very well. Dinner will be served at 8:00, if that's convenient.

Thank you.

Charles, you don't really want to spend the night here?

No, no, of course not, but...

but the old fellow was right.

We have to spend the night someplace.

Don't we?

Quiet! Quiet I say!

Is it food you want?

- What's wrong with him tonight? - Not him, woman, it! It!

How many times must I tell you? It knows. That's what's wrong.

It knows who's come back to Arkham.

Charles, I'm all packed.

Charles, you ready?

- I have decided to stay. - What?

Just long enough to fix the place up.

With a little work, it could bring a good price.

- Don't you think? - I should imagine. I don't know.

I estimate two weeks, perhaps three, to get things started, anyway.

- Do you mind, Ann? - No, not exactly.

- I can't say it pleases me. - Well, then you go home.

Charles?

I'm sorry, Ann.

It's just that I... well, I...

I can't leave now until I...

Find out... some things.

Nightmarish, yes, but not a nightmare.

- They're quite real, I'm sorry to say. - But what are they, doctor?

Human beings. Very unfortunate human beings.

They were born mutated. You see, Mrs. Ward,

it requires an extraordinary combination of elements

to form a normal person. In their case, the combination was wrong.

They were gathered by Weeden, of course, for the purpose of frightening you away.

But why, doctor?