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The Judge's House by Bram Stoker Chapter 1

This is Malcolm Malcomson's last year at the University.

Now, the semester is over, and Malcolm must study for his final examination.

He has a big family, and the house is always noisy, so he cannot study at home.

He wants to go to a quiet place, and stay there alone for a month.

Why don't you go to our summer house at the seaside?

You will be alone there, his mother says.

But that place is not very quiet, and I have friends there.

I won't be alone, says Malcolm.

I will go to a quiet small town in the country, and rent a house.

I won't have any friends in a town like that.

That's a good idea, says his father, and we will not tell any of your friends about this.

They can't come and disturb you there.

The next day, Malcolm packs a suitcase with all his books, papers, and some clothes.

He goes to the train station and takes the first train to an unfamiliar town.

The town's name is Ben Church.

He doesn't know anything about this town.

He arrives there in the evening after a journey of three hours.

He spends the night at the town's only inn.

In the morning, he walks around in the small, quiet town and looks for an empty house.

He finds an old, big house.

It has an untidy garden in the front and a high wall around it.

This is the right house for me, he says to himself happily.

No one will disturb me here.

I can work very hard.

Then he goes to the shop across the street.

Does anyone live in that old house?

He asks the shopkeeper, pointing to the house.

No, no one lives in it.

It is always empty, answers the shopkeeper.

Oh, that's good, because I would like to rent it, Malcolm tells him.

Then the shopkeeper sends Malcolm to the town's lawyer, Mr. Canford.

He is also the agent for the house.

His office is near the inn.

Malcolm walks there and asks Mr. Canford about the house.

I am surprised because no one wants to rent that house.

People say strange things about it, says Mr. Canford.

But Malcolm has no interest in Canford's words.

He doesn't ask him about the strange things because he likes the house very much.

He rents the house and pays three months rent, and Canford gives him the keys.

Malcolm walks back to the inn and takes his suitcase.

He thanks the landlady, Mrs. Whittom.

Are you leaving the town, she asks him?

No, I will live in the old house across the shop.

It's in a quiet place, and I'm renting it for three months, Malcolm says.

The landlady's face becomes pale with fear, and she says, oh no, that's the judge's house.

Tell me about that house, please.

What is wrong with it?

I know one thing only.

It is the house of a very bad and cruel judge.

He is dead now, but his spirit is still there after a hundred years.

That's a very scary and dangerous house.

You must not stay there, the woman tells Malcolm.

Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Whittom.

I don't get scared easily, and I will be very busy.

I must work very hard.

I must read a lot of books, and I won't notice anything.

I can't worry about any stories about the house, says Malcolm.

I must go now and clean the place.

Oh, I know an old woman.

She cleans houses and offices.

Her name is Mrs. Dempster.

I can bring her to the house, says Mrs. Whittom.

Malcolm thanks Mrs. Whittom and says, that's great.

I can't clean that big house alone.

He arrives at the house.

It is very dark inside.

He goes into all the rooms and opens all the curtains.

There is a lot of dust everywhere.

There are white sheets over the furniture in every room.

He walks into the dining room.

He is a very big room with a large table in the middle.

There is a fireplace, too.

He decides to live in that room.

I don't need the other rooms.

This one is big enough, and I can work on that table, he says to himself.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Whittom arrives with the cleaning woman.

Mrs. Whittom is curious about the inside of the house.

She wants to see the rooms, but she is scared.

So, she looks into each one together with Malcolm.

Mr. Malcolmson, you need a new bed.

The beds in this house look very old, she says.

I will order a bed for you from my friend's shop.

They will deliver it in an hour.

Malcolm thanks Mrs. Whittom for her help again and walks her to the door.

Mrs. Whittom stops at the door and says,

I hope you do not hear any strange scary sounds at night, young man.

She seems very worried about Malcolm.

But her words make the cleaning woman smile.

I am never afraid of strange things.

I don't believe the stories about this house.

It is hundreds of years old, so there are many rats here.

They can make strange sounds at night.

Also, the door handles and drawer handles are very old.

They can fall down in the middle of the night.

It is normal to hear strange sounds here, the cleaning woman tells Malcolm.

You are right.

Those sounds don't scare me.

I need a quiet place to study, and this is just the right place, says Malcolm.

I will be alone all the time, and I will study hard.

The old woman laughs and says, you will definitely be alone here, young gentleman.

Don't worry.

Then she begins to work, and Malcolm goes out for a walk.

He takes one of his books with him.

He wants to sit in the park and read.

After a long walk, Malcolm comes back to the house.

The cleaning woman is gone.

He goes into the dining room, and he is very pleased.

The room looks very clean and tidy now.

There is a new bed near the window.

The fire is lit, and his supper is ready on the table.

Oh, this is a very comfortable life, he thinks with a smile on his face.

Then he lights a lamp because it is getting dark outside.

He puts some more wood on the fire and eats his supper.

After supper, he puts his books and papers on the table.

He begins to read.

He studies hard until eleven o 'clock.

I need a short break and some strong tea now, he says to himself.

He adds some wood to the fire and makes a pot of tea.

A few cups of tea can help me study until dawn, he says to himself.

He takes a sip from his cup and begins to read again.

Suddenly he hears a noise, and the noise gets louder and louder.

He looks around the room.

There are rats everywhere.

They are running up and down the walls, over the furniture,

and under the floorboards, scratching and squeaking.

The light from the lamp and the fire frighten the rats at first.

After some time, they are not afraid anymore.

Malcolm thinks.

Then he remembers Mrs. Demster's words about rats and smiles.

I am glad I am not afraid of rats.

He takes the lamp and walks around the room with it.

He looks at everything with the light from the lamp.

He looks at the old paintings on the walls, too.

There is a thick layer of dirt and dust on them, so he can't see them clearly.

In every crack and hole on the walls, he sees the face of a rat.

The rat's bright eyes glitter in the light from his lamp.

Suddenly he notices a rope hanging down in the corner on the right side of the fireplace.

Perhaps it is the rope of the great alarm bell on the roof, he says to himself.

And he sits in the high old wooden chair on the right side of the fire.

He drinks his last cup of tea.

Then he goes back to the table and continues to study.

He works until dawn.

It is not very dark outside now.

The room is very quiet.

He shuts his books and looks around.

The fire in the fireplace is very small and low.

But there are no rats around.

I don't need any more wood now.

I must go to bed and sleep for a few hours, he says to himself.

I will study again in the morning after breakfast.

Just then he notices something big sitting in the high wooden chair next to the fire.

It is an enormous rat.

It is looking at Malcolm with cruel eyes.

Malcolm throws a thick book toward the rat.

The rat doesn't even move.

It shows its big white teeth angrily.

Malcolm takes the iron fire poker and runs toward the rat with it.

The rat quickly jumps down on the floor with a loud squeak and runs up the rope.

It goes somewhere on the ceiling or up on the roof.

Suddenly all the other rats come out of the holes.

The room is filled with rats and their noise again.

Malcolm is very tired and sleepy now.

He doesn't pay attention to the rats anymore.

He doesn't even hear their noise.

He goes to bed and sleeps.

He wakes up hours later with Mrs. Dempster's voice at his door.

May I bring in your breakfast, sir?

She asks.

Yes, please.

Leave it on the table, Malcolm says.