Books with title The Haunted Tunnel

Is there no explanation of the mystery of The Haunted Hotel? Is The Haunted Hotel the tale of a haunting -- or the tale of a crime? The ghost of Lord Montberry haunts the Palace Hotel in Venice --- or does it? Montberry's beautiful-yet-terrifying wife, the Countess Narona, and her erstwhile brother are the center of the terror that fills the Palace Hotel. Are their malefactions at the root of the haunting -- or is there something darker, something much more unknowable at work? (Jacketless library hardcover.)

Shortly after breaking off his engagement to Agnes Lockwood in order to marry the Countess Narona, Lord Montbarry dies of bronchitis. A dilapidated Venetian palace, in which the two had settled following a tour of the continent, is renovated into a fashionable hotel. The ghost of Montbarry soon begins to haunt the hotel arising suspicion that his death may not have been entirely the result of natural causes. One of Wilkie Collin’s shorter novels, “The Haunted Hotel” is a chilling Victorian ghost story.

“In this story, as the chief character is internally melodramatic, the story itself ceases to be merely melodramatic, and partakes of true drama.” — T. S. Eliot.Like Poe before him and Conan Doyle after, Wilkie Collins shifted easily from rational domains to the “superrational.” Like them, he is famed for original contributions to “ratiocinative” (detective) literature, but often preferred to indulge his occult predilection — a lifelong indulgence. His first published story, “The Last Stage Coachmen” (1843), was a supernatural allegory of trains; perhaps his last lucid effort (before ill health and opium drained his powers) was this short novel, The Haunted Hotel.Collins’ methods and themes, developed and elaborated in his earlier, massive novels, are streamlined and concentrated here into a tight novelette. The same relentless pace and narrative power, the same attention to plot and backdrop detail that distinguish The Moonstone and The Woman in White are evident here, as is the obsession with destiny and the willful struggle against it.Collins’ much-loved Venice provides the scenery and fatal beauty, the grim waterways and palaces the author will haunt with mysterious women, grotesques, and bloody conspiracies. The Countess Narona is one of Collins’ cosmopolitan enchantresses; she acts, but as the tool of her doom. T. S. Eliot wrote, “The principal character, the fatal woman, is herself obsessed by the idea of fatality; her motives are melodramatic; she therefore compels the coincidences to occur, feeling that she is compelled to compel them.” Collins relieves the tension with some wry characterizations and ironies; the theatrics are sustained. Indeed, theatrical motifs figure heavily, Collins himself being much involved with the stage at that period.The Haunted Hotel appears to be loosely based on a case from the annals of French crime; the scene, scenery, players and conflicts, and especially the horror, come straight from Collins’ overstimulated, no doubt overwrought, most certainly haunted imagination.

ATAC Briefing for Agents Frank and Joe Hardy: Special Paranormal Operation MISSION: Investigate possible supernatural disturbances at the Undercliff House of Detention, formerly an insane asylum in the 1800s. LOCATION: Juvenile detention center in Glastonbury, CT. POTENTIAL VICTIMS: Many of the inmates appear to be dying from pure terror! SUSPECTS: Lara Renner claims to be a psychic with a direct line to the spirit behind the hauntings, but perhaps her motives are more down-to-earth. Then there's the cafeteria worker with a major grudge. Or could it be the culprits are truly ghosts?

Once a promising military intelligence officer and high-functioning heroin addict, Danny Katz now uses his gifts as a linguist and computer programmer in his work as a private investigator. His drug habit ultimately derailed his earlier career, but now he is clean-and self-employed. In short, Katz is used to his fair share of suffering and all too familiar with Stockholm's seedy underbelly. When his former drug dealer, Ramón, dies from an apparent overdose and Ramón's girlfriend, Jenny, disappears without a trace, Katz suspects that something is amiss. He decides to investigate, enlisting the help of prosecutor Eva Westin (another ex-junkie from his past) to find the missing young woman. It isn't long before the line between Katz's current and former lives begins to blur, raising many questions about his own troubled youth. Katz's inquiries lead him to the darkest corners of Stockholm's black market, including its porn industry, and he quickly finds his old addiction threatening to reassert its grip on his life. It also becomes clear that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him from discovering the answers to his questions. Will Katz be able to master his personal demons and discover the truth behind Ramón's death and Jenny's disappearance before the city's netherworld once again claims him as its own?

The Haunted Hotel is a sort of ghost story-come-mystery. The tale opens in England, where a wild-eyed Countess Narona visits Doctor Wybrow in a state of distress, convinced that she is going mad. Her husband-to-be, Lord Montbarry has jilted his kind-hearted fiancé, Agnes for her. The Countess is convinced that Agnes will somehow bring about her downfall.

The Claybourne Academy of Excellence is a boarding school that is known for churning out geniuses. Its alumni write theorems and poems for presidential inaugurations. They discover cures and galaxies. Though the nature of their expertise spans every element of human existence, the one thing the alumni have in common is that they are the best. Nobody questions the school’s methods except Lydia Boswell. She’s looking for answers, but her soul is at stake.

In the year 1860, the reputation of Doctor Wybrow as a London physician reached its highest point. It was reported on good authority that he was in receipt of one of the largest incomes derived from the practice of medicine in modern times.One afternoon, towards the close of the London season, the Doctor had just taken his luncheon after a specially hard morning's work in his consulting-room, and with a formidable list of visits to patients at their own houses to fill up the rest of his day—when the servant announced that a lady wished to speak to him.'Who is she?' the Doctor asked. 'A stranger?''Yes, sir.''I see no strangers out of consulting-hours. Tell her what the hours are, and send her away.''I have told her, sir.''Well?''And she won't go.''Won't go?' The Doctor smiled as he repeated the words. He was a humourist in his way; and there was an absurd side to the situation which rather amused him. 'Has this obstinate lady given you her name?' he inquired.'No, sir. She refused to give any name—she said she wouldn't keep you five minutes, and the matter was too important to wait till to-morrow. There she is in the consulting-room; and how to get her out again is more than I know.'Doctor Wybrow considered for a moment. His knowledge of women (professionally speaking) rested on the ripe experience of more than thirty years; he had met with them in all their varieties—especially the variety which knows nothing of the value of time, and never hesitates at sheltering itself behind the privileges of its sex. A glance at his watch informed him that he must soon begin his rounds among the patients who were waiting for him at their own houses. He decided forthwith on taking the only wise course that was open under the circumstances. In other words, he decided on taking to flight.'Is the carriage at the door?' he asked.'Yes, sir.''Very well. Open the house-door for me without making any noise, and leave the lady in undisturbed possession of the consulting-room. When she gets tired of waiting, you know what to tell her. If she asks when I am expected to return, say that I dine at my club, and spend the evening at the theatre. Now then, softly, Thomas! If your shoes creak, I am a lost man.'He noiselessly led the way into the hall, followed by the servant on tip-toe.Did the lady in the consulting-room suspect him? or did Thomas's shoes creak, and was her sense of hearing unusually keen? Whatever the explanation may be, the event that actually happened was beyond all doubt. Exactly as Doctor Wybrow passed his consulting-room, the door opened—the lady appeared on the threshold—and laid her hand on his arm.'I entreat you, sir, not to go away without letting me speak to you first.'The accent was foreign; the tone was low and firm. Her fingers closed gently, and yet resolutely, on the Doctor's arm.