Statement taken from ‘Madam Eversee’, a clairvoyant who claims was in contact with the late Belinda O’Brien, a member of the group of people who disappeared at Shining Cliff. We have printed her words here because some of was she says rings true, but mostly because we wanted to humour the dippy old mare.

At first everybody seemed so normal, the only strange thing about the weekend was the reason we were all brought together. It was a mystery to me but I have to admit the prospect of being left money or valuables in somebody's will seemed very appealing. When I set eyes on the vast estate owned by the late lady Cavanagh I became even more convinced I’d done the right thing in making the long train journey.

They were a mixed bunch from all walks of life. Strangely enough, Tarquin Goodbody was among them, still preaching about his unusual gift of communicating with people beyond the grave. Poor fellow - his claim that he spoke to my Gregory after his unfortunate accident suitably enforced the lie I’d told about his death. The fact that Vincent Keene who carried out the fateful (or should I say fatal?) deed for me was also among the unlikely group who came to the reading of the will made me very uneasy. Little did I know this would be the least of my worries.

When we arrived at the house there was nobody there to greet us. It seemed the young lady Cananagh was out riding, so we decided to have a look around the grounds of the beautiful estate.

We met the groom, a man called Taylor, on our travels, who seemed worried lady Cavanagh had been riding so long and was scouring the woodland for her. He came back to the house with us, and there she was already, but with a black eye and looking dishevelled. It seemed she had been thrown from her horse, and decided to take it out on the groom, shouting a torrent of abuse. Taylor promptly left to retrieve the horse.

Once she had calmed down we were introduced to her, and we used the opportunity to make our own introductions as well:

There was a doctor of the mind, a Dr. Stone, who seemed a nice jolly fellow. A strange quiet girl, Alice Grant, whom I found out later was actually one of his patients. Maud Martin, apparently a journalist, most admirably one of the first women in our new world to choose this profession. Henry Stephens, a man with a cheeky glint in his eye and a very, very loud gun. John Douglas, a dapper chap and ex-solider. There was a gentleman in uniform, William Baker, with weaponry strapped about his person. Some of the others seemed to mistrust him and he appeared obsessed about the Germans. Lord knows why he hated them so much but it put me quite on edge.

There was also Bradon Lancer, a private detective who looked ready for action. Professor of archaeology, Evelyn Todd, who seemed in need of funds to carry on her work. A strange gentleman, Uri Bender, apparently famous for his magic tricks, had the most curious accent. I could not place the country of origin and it seemed nether could he - nice enough fellow, though. Also there was a young lady called Dee Dee, who we later learned was a previous assistant and lover of the man, much to our (and his) surprise.

Joining the group as well was Stephen Vincent Evans, a gentleman who would have seemed quite normal if it wasn't for the fact he had a giant wooden cross hanging from rope around his neck. Apparently a Vampire killer (what a lark!), later he was affectionately referred to as ‘Buffy’ for strange reason.

Finally there was Jack Shannon, a handsome man who kept his profession a secret. I was hoping to get to know him further later on but we did not get a chance, what with the unusual events of the evening.

As time was pressing on we decided to sit down to the reading of the will, carried out by the solicitor, Mr. Jenrick. Unusual packages were handed to each of us. There was a disagreement between Vincent and Uri as Mr. Jenrick stated that a person called Ted Bowler was named in the will and nobody came forward. Vincent seemed to think this was Uri’s real name but Mr. Bender insisted it was not, so unfortunately he was left empty handed. I received a wooden box filled with a blue dust of some sort. Well, I was disappointed to say the least, as were the others because they received all sorts of apparently useless items as well.

Whilst lady Cavanagh was preparing the meal she suggested we explore the grounds. I would have left there and then had it not been so late, therefore I succumbed to the fact that I would miss my  train and be forced to stay the evening in the company of this strange group. Well, there was always the promising thought I may become more aquatinted with Mr Shannon!

We decided to explore the grounds further while dinner was being cooked. On our travels we came across Taylor running through the woodlands. When we stopped him his face was pale and he was shaking uncontrollably with fear. We managed to understand that he had seen a glowing shape rushing towards him down by the lake. He was terrified, and we suggested we go back to the place and assure him that nothing was there. As we approached the spot we heard a screaming from further down the path and we rushed - rather bravely, I thought - to see what it was.