― Elie Weisel
Esther
I understand why houses become haunted...and people too.
If you have a house that's old enough and big enough children discover nooks and crannies where cobwebs of the past collect and souls are caught in their nets.
It also happens inside us down the blind alleys of the spirit where memories of childhood still haunt us...
So yes, I accept the spectrum of deathless images of terror captured inside us.
I say this as a preamble to an uncanny tale that unfolded in broad daylight on the university campus.
It occurred after one of my lectures when one of my students approached and asked if we could talk. I suggested the college coffee house and as we walked, she talked.
Her name was Esther Rabin and she was a very striking girl of mixed Jewish and Muslim heritage. She knew of my interest in old houses and suggested I might be interested in exploring the history of the house her family had inherited.
I knew her family was well off and politically connected but apart from that I was disinclined to take on her project because the house itself was not that remarkable.
It was a staid Victorian built around 1850 in the Rosedale area of Toronto and was typical of homes of the wealthy.
I didn't want a vanity project that would result in a bound book for the family bookshelf or coffee table but she was insistent I hear her out, so we so we sat in the coffee house and I listened to her concerns and tried to keep an open mind.
She began with a half-apology sensing my state of mind.
"Look Professor Bloom, I know on the surface the house isn't particularly noteworthy in terms of its architecture but it does have a unique history and I can tell you from being in it, there's something not right―I'm not sure how to describe it other than to say it feels unearthly."
I raised an eyebrow. "What is it about the house that makes you feel uncomfortable?"
"Well, for one thing it was owned by a man named Reinhardt Bühler, who was the son of Joseph Bühler, who was secretary of state for the Nazi-controlled General Government in Kraków during the Second World War."
"So the connection to the Nazis makes you feel uncomfortable?" I probed.
"Yes, of course, there's that, but there's also enigmatic aspects of the house that are quite unsettling―secret panels containing arcane documents and a wall safe discovered in the den that cannot be opened. Oh, and there's references to two rooms that don't exist in the house nor are indicated on the architectural floor plans or house survey."
"I see. How may I ask did your family come to inherit this house? It seems an odd provenance."
Esther grew very solemn when I raised the question. I was about to tell her she needn't talk about the matter when she simply whispered, "They stole some valuable art treasures that belonged to my family that weren't recovered after the war. My father sued and was awarded a substantial cash settlement along with this house."
"Why would the Bühler family own a house in Toronto? That seems strange."
"It's one of many strange things my family has never been able to resolve―that's why I wanted you to look into the matter, Professor Blume. My father is quite wealthy and will pay you whatever you charge, but he thinks there might be other high crimes that have escaped justice and perhaps some of the evidence can be found in the house."
"I'll gather my team and we'll take a look―that's all I can promise. Is there anything else that you can think of that might be relevant?"
"Yes, there is something that particularly disturbed me," she whispered. "Behind one of the panels we found an official government document that looked like a briefing report of some kind. It was very upsetting."
What exactly did this document state?"
"It referred to plans the Nazis were undertaking. It was in a form of short hand code but I recognized one chilling phrase, The Final Solution and it was paired with another program they were pursuing called Alternative Three."
I recognized the final solution phrase to mean the Nazi goal of ending the Jewish 'problem' as they saw it by mass genocide, but Alternative Three? That was a phrase I had never heard before but it seemed ominous, nonetheless.
I made arrangements with Hannah for my team to visit the house on the Saturday and to make a preliminary assessment.
Frankly I could see why Hannah was disturbed and the whole business upset me.
There are some scars on the human soul that can't be erased and some stains that simply won't fade into the mists of history.