Dear Curtis

Thank you for your last letter. I am very glad to know that your mumps are much better and that Tommy is going so well at school. Give a hug to everybody from me.

I am writing you to announce that I am going back home. Mrs. Hightower is dead. If newspapers have not said a word about it, I am telling you: she was murdered. We found her in the attic, with her throat slit, it was horrible! We thought that she was sleeping in her room because since the murder of her husband her nerves had been suffering but there she was, and the most strange, with her wedding dress on and a hatchet in her hand. The Police has no idea of why she was dressed like that and where she got that hatchet from and why for, but they are still investigating. They have asked me lots of questions, you don't know how horrible it has been...Oh, if that door had not been opening and closing all the afternoon, James would not have come up and discovered the corpse.

The funeral has been lovely, most of the town has been here and many relations of Mrs. Hightower from all around the country. She was buried by her husband's side. Her mother almost fainted. Mrs. Patecleaver is also very touched by the tragedy. She loved her sister-in-law a lot. Since Mrs. Hightower died, she is now the propietary of the house. She found the last will of the mistress. We all knew she was a very foresighted woman. The case is that she is planning to sell the house but I don't really think anyone is going to buy it after this. All the servants have resigned or are going to do it, as I am. How are we going to work here? The curse was real, brother. People die in here. I've been hearing voices for a long time but this...this is too much.

Reverend Bloodmere wanted to exorcise the house. He headed to the attic after the mistress funeral, having examined all the house, and do you know what happened? He never went down. We came into the attic to look for him and we found him dead too. He had no blood but his expression was of pure terror. The doctor has no idea of what could have killed him because there were no wounds but he commented, and we all agree on that, that he died of fear. Why else would a dead man have that expression? That can only mean that the ghosts that haunt the house want lives and I am not going to give them mine. God bless that poor man's soul! I am sure that what killed Mrs. Hightower killed him too.

Sorry, this is not a good thing to tell in a letter but I am too nervous. I have not slept in two days and I hear voices from the attic but not even for a million dollars would I lay a foot on it. Everyone here is very scared and I am no exception. I feel like I will not feel safe until I find myself back to Boston. I don't know what has the doctor given to Mrs. Patecleaver to make her be so calm that I have even seen her smile, but I need some.

I promise that I will try to forget all this nightmare when we see each other.

Loves you,

Cindy