Their cat leads them to a crevice near an altar, where a breeze can be felt. In the night, the narrator hears the scuttling of rats, but Norrys does not. The next night, the narrator and a local named Norrys spend the night in the sub-cellar, from where the rats seem to come from. Additionally, all of the rat traps are sprung, but with no rat remains. He wakes to the sounds of rats behind the walls and sees his wall tapestries rippling with motion. They set traps for rats anyways, and the narrator has weird dreams about "demonic swineherds" and rats. The cats seem restless, but the narrator can find no signs of mice.
The narrator soon learns that his English predecessor had one day murdered everyone in the castle, and then fled to America to start a new life. From local reports, he learns that his ancestors were cultish fiends and that the castle has historically had a rat problem. The narrator (an American) returns to his ancestral castle in England. He eventually discovers an abandoned underground pantry, originally stocked with some exotic livestock. When a castle is renovated, the new owner keeps hearing rats behind the walls. The restoration had been a stupendous task, for little had remained of the deserted pile but a shell-like ruin yet because it had been the seat of my ancestors I let no expense deter me.
On July 16th, 1923, I moved into Exham Priory after the last workman had finished his labours. Written 1923.08, published in Weird Tales 1924.03 (after being rejected by Argosy All-Story Weekly).
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