Michael Lander walked down Main Street of Arnsville, Massachusetts. He stopped at a bakery and bought a bagel for his breakfast then hurried on to the antique book store where he worked.
"The Bookfinder" specialized in very old books. Michael went inside and walked up to the counter.
"Hello, Mark,” he said.
"Michael! How are you today?"
"I'm fine. Anything new come in today?"
"As a matter of fact, I just got in a box of old books. The new owners of a house in Boston are renovating and donated a wooden chest full of books to the Salvation Army store. A contact I have there called me and I bought them and had them sent here. I haven't even looked through them yet. You can have a look if you like, they're in the back,” said Mark.
"Thanks. I'll check them out."
Michael carefully removed each book and examined it. Most of them were old copies of novels that were popular back in the late 1800s. Mold had damaged a lot of the books.
At the bottom of the box Michael found a larger book that had no title printed on the cover or the spine. It was old but in decent shape. He opened the cover and read the title page.
Beware the touch of pen and ink
for whence they lead
through time and path
no truthful wish or heartfelt need
can bring them back to thought alone
and calm the waves so deep inside
that dealt the blows that hurt so deep
the ones both loved and still unknown
There was no author or date of publication. He turned to the next page and found that it was also blank. He flipped through the rest of the pages and found them all blank.
He showed the book to Mark.
"This is the strangest thing I've ever seen. This book has no words in it. Only a title page,” said Michael.
Mark looked through the book.
"Someone paid a lot of money for this leather cover. Maybe they were going to write in it like a journal."
"That would be a very expensive journal. What do you make of the poem on the title page?" asked Michael.
"Makes no sense to me but then I've never been much into poetry."
"I know this sounds strange but can I borrow this book for a few days. I want to examine it more carefully,” said Michael
"Of course."
"Do you know the address where the book was found?"
"I'll call my contact at the Salvation Army and see if he knows,” said Mark.
"Thanks, maybe we can learn something if we can find out the history of the place it was found,” said Michael.
After work Michael put the strange book in his backpack and walked back to his car and drove home.
Before going to bed he picked up the book and read the title page over and over. It had to mean something. He couldn't make any sense of it and put the book aside and went to sleep.
The next day he stopped by the unemployment office and checked the job boards. As usual there was nothing he was interested in. His degree in Anthropology had left him high and dry. He went to the book store to see if Mark had learned any more about the book.
"I wrote the address down that he gave me. It's by the computer,” said Mark.
Michael sat down at the computer and did a search on the address but came up with nothing.
"Do you need me for the rest of the day?" asked Michael.
"No, it's been slow today. Why?"
"I want to drive down to Boston and check out this address."
"Wow, you really are interested in that book. That's a two hour drive."
"I know but my curiosity has got the best of me on this one,” said Michael.
"All right. Have a safe trip."
Other than the traffic when he reached Boston the trip was pleasant. He stopped for lunch at a sandwich shop then tracked down the address. It was a large estate in an old section of town. He parked outside and pressed the intercom button on the gate.
"Hello, my name is Michael. I was hoping to talk to the owners about the history of this house."
"Wait there. I'll ask them,” a voice said.
In a few minutes the gates opened.
"You can come inside."
Michael walked up the driveway. The yard was enormous and well designed. Some gardeners were working on the front part of the yard. The house was a large three story stone building. He could tell by the architecture that it was built in the nineteenth century.
He touched the doorbell and waited until someone answered.
"I'm Michael,” he told the doorman.
"Come in, she will see you in the library in a few moments."
The doorman led him to the library and left.
While he waited Michael looked at the vast quantity of books in the library. It was an amazing collection.
Michael turned when the door opened. A young woman walked in.
"Hello,” she said.
"I'm Michael Lander. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about the history of this house."
"I'm Mandy Littleton. Miranda, actually, but everyone calls me Mandy. I'll tell you what I can but my parents, Derek and Marjorie, know more about it than I do. They're out of town for a few months. I know that it used to be a Gentlemen's club years ago, and a spa. Why are you so curious about the house?" she asked.
"You donated a box of old books that were found in the house. Those books ended up in the book store where I work in Arnsville, The Bookfinder. One of those books was very strange. It only had a title page, the rest of the pages were blank, yet it was elegantly bound in an expensive leather cover. I thought that if I knew more about the history of this house it would give me some clues about the book. Let me show you a picture of the book."
Mandy examined the picture.
"How interesting. My parents just bought the house a few months ago and went through all the rooms and got rid of everything they didn't want,” said Mandy.
"The books were old and had obviously been in that box for many years. I would guess that they are over a hundred fifty years old. The book I mentioned to you isn't like the others. I'm not sure how old it is. It showed no signs of mold or mildew damage like the others."
"I never saw them,” she said.
"Do you know when this house was built?"
"I remember seeing a plaque on the wall. I can show you if you like,” said Mandy.
"Thank you, that would help."
She led him out the front door and around to the side of the house.
"You'll have to climb through those bushes to see it. It's low down near the ground,” she said.
Michael fought his way through the tall bushes and finally found the plaque.
The House Of Helmor
Built in 1807
A symbol was carved above the writing. It looked like an eagle with it's wings spread.
Michael took a picture of the plaque with his phone then made way back out through the bushes.
His shirt was torn and leaves were in his hair.
"Looks like the bushes got the best of you,” said Mandy.
She plucked the leaves out of his hair.
"That's why I stayed here,” she said.
"Wise choice. I found the plaque. The house was built in 1807. Have you ever heard the name Helmor?" he asked.
"No, but maybe my parents have. My father grew up in this area. Let me call him and ask him."
"You don't have to bother him. I can go to the library and see what I can find,” said Michael.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes. I've taken up enough of your time."
"I don't mind. Do you chase down antique books for a living?" she said.
"Actually I have a Masters degree in Anthropology. I just can't find a job that uses it. Books are just a hobby."
"My Mom was into that. She never got a degree in it but she read a lot of books about it."
"Mandy, thank you again for seeing me. It's been a pleasure,” said Michael.
"Here, let me give you my number. Call or text me if you find out anything interesting about the house. My parents would enjoy hearing about it."
He put her number in his pocket and walked back to his car. He took a picture with his phone of the house from outside the gate then drove back to Arnsville.
After getting a quick bite to eat he rushed to the library and looked up the name Helmor.
He found an article about the prominent men in Boston's history. It talked of a man named Joseph Helmor. He lived in Boston in the late eighteenth century. He made his fortune in banking and paid to have a mansion built for him on top of a hill where he could look out over the city.
"It must be the same house,” whispered Michael.
Joseph married Lillie Bernard, the daughter of a prominent land tycoon, and they had two children. The next page of the article Michael was reading had a picture of the four of them standing in the driveway of the mansion.
"That is it!" said Michael.
His enthusiasm turned to sadness as he continued reading.
Just three months after moving into the mansion both his children suffered an unknown illness and died. The doctors never figured out what the illness was. Lillie was devastated and died a month later. They said that she had lost the will to live. Joseph's health declined quickly and he spent a year in seclusion in the mansion before he died.
He had no heirs so the mansion became the property of the city.
The city sold it to a rich investor named Charles Morley in 1808. He was a bachelor and loved to host extravagant parties at the mansion. He collected rare artifacts from around the world and filled the mansion with them.
Ten years after he bought the mansion he became involved in some questionable business ventures and was arrested. He spent four years in prison. When he was released he sold the mansion to Byron Neely, a prominent business owner, and left Boston.
Byron lived in the mansion for just six months then died suddenly. They never determined the cause of his death.
The mansion was left to Jackie's son, Eric, who immediately sold it to Orson Parker, one of the wealthiest men in town. He lived in the house for less than two years then died suddenly.
His daughter, Penelope, was given the house but refused to live in it. She said it was cursed, and the rest of the town believed her. She tried to sell it but no one was interested. It sat unattended for the next twenty years.
Penelope finally sold the mansion to Abel and Janet Morton in 1843. They had three children when they moved into the house, one boy and two girls. Those in town that knew the history of the house warned them but they wouldn't listen.
Six years after they moved in their little boy died of unknown causes. Six months after that both their daughters died in their sleep. Janet refused to stay in the house any longer so they sold it to Jason Randall and left Boston.
"This is unbelievable! So much tragedy tied to one house. Maybe it really is cursed!" said Michael.
He continued to read the strange history of the mansion.
Jason didn't live in Boston and converted the mansion into a Gentlemen's club in 1849 and called it the Helmor House For Men. In the early 1900s it was converted into a spa for the wealthy. Jason maintained ownership until he died and it was passed on to his son Daniel in 1902.
It remained a spa until Daniel died in 1947. His daughter Agnus sold the spa to Andy Wheeler who converted it back into a house and moved in. Andy traveled a lot and was seldom home. He sold it in 1954 to Donald Orton.
The article Michael was reading was written in 1955 so it contained no more details about the mansion. He searched but couldn't find any other references to the house.
Michael wrote down a list of the occupants the article had mentioned:
Joseph & Lillie Helmor: 1807 - 1808. Three strange deaths.
Charles Morley: 1808 - 1822.
Byron Neely: 1822. One strange death.
Orson Parker: 1823 - 1824. One strange death.
Penelope Parker: 1824 - 1843. No occupants.
Abel & Janet Morton: 1843 - 1849. Three strange deaths.
Jason Randall (Club, Spa): 1849 - 1902.
Daniel Randall (Spa): 1902 - 1947.
Andy Wheeler: 1947 - 1954.
Donald Orton: 1954 - ?
Derek & Marjorie Littleton: 2010 - present.
The history of the mansion was intriguing but it shed no light on where the strange book came from or how long it had been in the house. Any of the occupants could have purchased the book.
Michael sent a text to Mandy with a picture of the book and asked her to see if her parents had ever seen the book before.
He went back to the mansion to talk to Mandy the next morning.
"Thanks for asking them about it. I did some research on the house and it's previous owners. There are some very strange things that have happened in this house. I can show you what I found if you're interested. It's pretty spooky so I understand if you don't want to hear it,” said Michael.
Michael let her read the history of the mansion from the article he had found then showed her the list of occupants of the house and the strange deaths that occurred.
"I'm sure the house isn't cursed. There must be an explanation for everything that happened,” said Michael.
"We could start with the original owner, Joseph Helmor. I read all I could about him in the library. We need to look someplace else,” said Michael.
"That's a great idea. When do you want to go?"
"Sounds great,” said Michael.
They arrived at the museum and were shown the pile of books that the museum had taken from the mansion.
"All these were crammed into one of the rooms downstairs. Some of the previous residents must have loved to read,” said Mandy.
It took a couple of hours to sort the books. They ended up with four hand written journals and one book about Boston in the early 1800s.
She returned in a few minutes with an empty box.
"That will make things easier. It will take a while to read through all these,” said Michael.