THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES (CHAP7 )THE GUEST

Today we present Chapter 7, "The Guest," of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables.  The ancient Pyncheon House is gripped by frantic, trembling preparation as Hepzibah undertakes an heroic test of sentiment.  Racking her nerves to create a beautiful meal from a musty, antique cookery book for an unnamed arrival.  Hepzibah's emotional state is terrifyingly volatile.  As she meticulously positions the table to catch both shadow and sun for her visitor, the suspense is drawn out by the guest's reluctant, pausing footstep, which causes Phœbe to feel as if a ghost were coming into the room.  This chapter offers deep insight into the nature of the newcomer; Hawthorne notes that an individual of this temper can be pricked more acutely through his sense of the beautiful and harmonious than through his heart, suggesting that this extreme aesthetic need might have even eaten out or filed away his affections had his life been different.  Don't miss the dramatic unveiling of the figure who has been awaited for so long, whose presence promises to either restore or ruin the house's fragile tranquility. CREDITS Narration & Production: Gizelle Erickson Executive Producer: Jon Hagadorn Music and Sound Effects: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music" Music by Dmitry Taras from Pixabay Thanks to The_Mountain "Horror Piano Darkness" Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay Thanks to freesound_community "Shop Door Bell" Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay