Spooky Hollow: A Fleming Stone story

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Spooky Hollow by Carolyn Wells is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. Set in an opulent Vermont estate called Greatlarch, the story blends a locked-room premise with whispers of a haunting, as a wealthy aesthete, Homer Vincent, his niece Rosemary, and their household are swept into a sudden, baffling death and the mysterious disappearance of a visitor. The case ultimately draws the famed sleuth Fleming Stone, setting up a classic country-house investigation steeped in atmosphere and intrigue.

The opening of the novel lingers on New England scenes before ushering John Haydock—who gives the name Henry Johnson—into Greatlarch, a lavish French Renaissance–style chateau whose treasures enthrall him and its owner, Homer Vincent. Over dinner with Vincent and his sister Anne, talk turns to the estate’s tragic past, a marble mausoleum, and a “wild harp” said to haunt the grounds; afterward, Vincent precisely measures Anne’s sleeping draught, while Rosemary slips home late and glimpses her uncle opening a secret panel. By morning Francine, Anne’s maid, cannot rouse her; the flimsy bedroom door is forced, and Anne is found stabbed to death behind bed curtains in a room bolted from within. With the family reeling, the county doctor and sheriff arrive, joined by two detectives who note the missing weapon and the locked-room puzzle. Complicating matters, “Mr. Johnson” has vanished, his bed unused, prompting Vincent to recount the man’s intense nocturnal exploration of the house and the unresolved “business” that brought him there. The stage is set for a formal inquiry into the murder and the guest’s disappearance amid the eerie glamour of Greatlarch.