Book excerpt: "The Ghostly Rental" is a brilliantly written ghost story with a twist and many allusions. A 22-year-old takes up his studies in Cambridge. One day, he takes a shortcut home, sees a mysterious, gloomy mansion, and thinks this house must be haunted. He meets an older man, Captain Diamond, and discovers his tragic secret. When the older man falls ill, the boy is to visit the haunted house on his behalf of him. Will he meet the ghost there?