Squire Toby's Will

Squire Toby's Will

The narrative unfolds in a decaying estate known as Gylingden Hall, once home to the notorious Squire Toby Marston, whose death leaves behind a legacy of debt and animosity between his two sons, Scroope and Charles. The brothers, each with distinct personalities and grievances, are thrust into a bitter feud over their father's will, which disinherits Scroope of the family estate, Gylingden, and bequeaths it to Charles. This division exacerbates their already fraught relationship, leading to a series of legal battles that deepen their mutual hatred. As time passes, Charles suffers a debilitating injury from a fall while hunting, which confines him to a solitary life at Gylingden Hall. His once vibrant spirit is dampened, and he becomes increasingly haunted by dreams and visions of his deceased father, who seems to demand reparation for past grievances, particularly concerning Scroope. The presence of a strange bulldog, which Charles adopts, adds to the eerie atmosphere, as the dog exhibits unsettling behavior that mirrors the spectral visitations from his father. Charles's mental state deteriorates, plagued by nightmares and a growing paranoia about Scroope's threats. He discovers a hidden deed that could strip him of his inheritance, intensifying his anxiety. In a moment of desperation, he resolves to destroy the document, succumbing to the guilt of his actions and the fear of his brother's vengeance. The tension culminates in a series of supernatural occurrences within the hall, as the spirits of both Toby and Scroope seem to haunt Charles, culminating in a feverish breakdown. In a tragic turn, Charles takes his own life, leaving behind a legacy of unresolved conflict and familial strife. The story concludes with the lingering presence of the estate's dark history, as the once-grand Gylingden Hall becomes a symbol of the Marston family's tragic downfall, haunted by the ghosts of its past.

By Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu · First published 1860 · Genre: Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Drama · 15,281 words

First lines

Many persons accustomed to travel the old York and London road, in the days of stagecoaches, will remember passing, in the afternoon, say, of an autumn day, in their journey to the capital, about three miles south of the town of Applebury, and a mile and a half before you reach the old Angel Inn, a large black-and-white house, as those old-fashioned cagework habitations are termed, dilapidated and weather-stained, with broad lattice windows glimmering all over in the evening sun with little diamond panes, and thrown into relief by a dense background of ancient elms. A wide avenue, now overgrown like a churchyard with grass and weeds, and flanked by double rows of the same dark trees, old and gigantic, with here and there a gap in their solemn files, and sometimes a fallen tree lying across on the avenue, leads up to the hall-door.

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Squire Toby's Will is listed on Textopian as a novella by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu, dated 1860 CE.

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Gothic Fiction · Short Story · Irish Literature · 19th Century Literature · Supernatural Fiction · Mystery · Thriller · Horror · Ghost Story · Psychological Thriller · Dark Fantasy · Literary Fiction

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