Book 3, Chapter 23: The Dead Hand

⁠​​​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​⁠The entry of Mr. Otway into my life inaugurated a long succession of disasters. The very first words that I heard him speak shattered the peace of a lifetime. Thenceforward, like the Ancient Mariner, I was haunted by a malign influence which seemed to exhale continuously from his ill-omened personality. And even now that he was dead that malignant spirit was not at rest. His very corpse, lying in