Elias stepped back onto Alderidge Lane, the fog entwining like living fritters around the gnarled trees, pressing close with unseen weight. The house impended at the road’s end, larger, darker, more alive than ever. Its windows lustered noiselessly, reflecting the pale light of the moon, twisting incredibly, as if apprehensive of every stir he made. Indeed from this distance, he felt the palpitation of its hunger threading into his casket,