Page 7 - The Devil's Arsonist

Chapter 1

The House That Ran Out of Luck

Bishop Edwin Sandys (c1519-1588)

“There is an ancient house in the village in which I live, of which it is said by the more
superstitious among us, that its first owner, then Bishop of London, used up all the luck in the
world. So much so that all who have ever lived within its walls, have suffered grave
misfortune; it bringing upon them everything that is bad: financial ruin, murderous assaults,
ghostly apparitions, family tragedy and death. It was in this very house that I first plied my
trade; and whose soul I searched; finding that only evil dwelled therein. It is a place, where
the Devil’s Arsonist did once knock.” Dr. William Gilderiche, Architectural Historian

Where shall I begin my murderous tale? At the beginning? But that is now almost five
centuries past; in a time when ‘Bloody Mary’ ruled the land of my birth; a queen who sent
many an innocent soul to heaven in the fires of her Catholic faith. I do digress; and I am
becoming guilty of starting at the beginning; which is not where I should speak of all that I
have to tell. I must begin at the end; to the time, when I first realised who I really was. My
life in its incarnation as William Gilderiche, was to all appearances ordinary; with the
exception of possessing a name of the greatest rarity. On the death of my parents and I myself
being an only child, with none of my own or possessed of a wife to bear any offspring, I
believe that I am the only person in England, perhaps even the world that has such a name.