My Selection — The House of the Seven Gables
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most successful novels included The Scarlet Letter, The Blithedale Romance, and The House of the Seven Gables. It’s a story of a house with seven gables yes, but of a family that was cursed. The mysterious mansion enshrouds the curse of the Pyncheon family who was evilly hexed upon the death of Matthew Maule, the original owner of the land. But the wealthy and powerful Colonel Pyncheon took an interest in the Maule property and claimed it for himself, that it was a part of a section of land that government had given to him. Of course, untrue, but the Colonel had political connections and great influence, and when it came to ridding the town of witches, Matthew Maule became targeted and accused of witchcraft to die by hanging. Maule cursed the Colonel and his descendants as the noose lay around his neck. People were superstitious in New England from that era spreading the story that the mansion was built on top of a restless grave giving the ghost of Matthew Maule the right to haunt all the rooms in the mansion, as the book states.
When the mansion was completed, Colonel Pyncheon arranged a huge housewarming party. When the festive day arrived it seemed odd, that the colonel — who was known as a courteous gentlemen — was not in the front hall to greet his guests. Even the governor was stopped by the…
