Gustav Meyrink

“ In the centre of the cellar there lies an iron plate. Whosoever ventures to lift it may look into a black and narrow shaft with slippery sides. Cold and sheer it runs down into the heart of the earth. ”

“ Then the shadows of the Sins and Lusts slip through the cracks in the doors and the crevices in the walls into the open air—slink into the vast and hearkening night. The sleeping animals scent them and start and whimper. ”

“ The people of the town are weary from their day's work, which they call duty, and so they seek to replenish their forces through sleep, in order to be able to destroy the happiness and prosperity of their fellow brethren—in order to plan new murders in the newest, freshest sunshine. ”

“ From the first floor to the attic it is inhabited by discontented and unhappy people. Whosoever enters it is at once seized by a feeling of disquietude, of dismay, and mental torment. It is a dark and sinister structure, buried almost up to its belly in the earth of the unpaved hill. ”

“ And so nobody has ever found out whither this shaft goes.
Should you, however, be possessed of clear eyes, you will be able to see without light. You will be able to see even in the darkness, when everybody else is sleeping. ”