The Seventh Canonical

When her dear old aunt Fearn had to go into hospital, Teresa was delighted to look after her flat, which was in Whitechapel, London near where the Ripper murders took place. Teresa had a fascination for dark history; beheadings at the Tower of London; the terrible plight of women accused of witchcraft, and subjects of that unpleasant ilk. The Ripper stories certainly grabbed her attention. But while she was glad to have been born in modern times, her morbid curiosity was strangely about to be fulfilled.

When doing a Ripper Tour in Whitechapel, a local and regular event, Teresa gets to know a local character who lives in a tent on the streets. From appearances he had all the hallmarks of a lonely homeless man, but he spoke with an American accent and sometimes looked quite normal. In fact, he appeared to have financial means but was not above accepting charity.

However, Teresa makes a fatal mistake when she gives him a gift of a couple of pounds as it seemed to create a bond between them which is hard to break. In fact, he appeared to interpret her act of giving as an offering to the malevolent and mysterious force which he was apparently worshiping. Was he in fact a Satanist or a man with a sick mind? And why did he claim to have an intimate knowledge of Jack the Ripper?

One thing was certainly for sure, her life was now in some peril. Her humble gift of two pounds to him was interpreted as an offering and had opened a dark and terrible portal, giving her the dubious honour of being selected as a sacrifice! Naturally, this appalling idea was something she strongly resisted, but soon became witness to a series of weird events. Indeed, she was dumbstruck to personally observe a peculiar and frightening manifestation appear in her aunt's very own flat. It seemed that the demon was out to get her!

But the most worrying thing of all, was when she discovered that this force of darkness had already entered her aunt's life. In fact as a result, her aunt Fearn had perpetrated acts which were difficult to believe. And it was now threatening to influence Teresa's own mind. The entity seemed to have the power to remove the normal moral barriers which govern the conduct of ordinary people. It seemed to have the capacity to turn them into killers! But would Teresa ever cross that irreversible line and follow in her aunt's unfortunate footsteps? Perhaps running away to Portugal was the answer!

Dettagli