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"To give you a root idea, however, it is held in the Sigsand MS. that a child 'stillborn' is 'Snatyched back bye thee Haggs. This is crude; but may yet contain an elemental truth. Yet, before I make this clearer, let me tell you a thought that has often been made.
When I saw that it was properly alight, I got all the men together, by the pile of things in the center of the room, and took their pipes from them; for, as the Sigsand MS. has it: 'Theyre must noe lyght come from wythin the barryier. And I was going to make sure. "I got my tape measure then, and measured out a circle thirty-three feet in diameter, and immediately chalked it out.
I have always tried to think so; but it is impossible to ignore the sense of repulsion that I felt when the unseen Woman went past me. This repulsion carries forward the idea suggested in the Sigsand MS., that a stillborn child is thus, because its ego or spirit has been snatched back by the 'Hags. In other words, by certain of the Monstrosities of the Outer Circle.
It was a queer idea, I know, and probably was not my own, but came to me from the Outside. You see, the wind had come from that part of the room where the ring lay. I thought a lot about it. Then the shape the inside of a pentacle. It had no 'mounts, and without mounts, as the Sigsand MS. has it: 'Thee mownts wych are thee Five Hills of safetie.
I got the idea from the Sigsand MS., written, so far as I can make out, in the 14th century. At first, naturally, I imagined it was just an expression of the superstition of his time; and it was not until a year later that it occurred to me to test his 'Defense, which I did, as I've just said, in that horrible Black Veil business. You know how that turned out.
There is, of course, the possibility of the Unknown Last Line of the Saaamaaa Ritual being uttered; but it is too uncertain to count upon, and the danger is too hideous; and even then it has no power to protect for more than 'maybee fyve beats of the harte, as the Sigsand has it.
"You would say that the birth must have occurred in that house; and in this way, one might suppose that the house to have become en rapport, if I can use the word in that way, with the Forces that produced the tragedy?" "Yes," replied Carnacki. "This is, supposing we take the suggestion of the Sigsand MS., to account for the phenomenon." "There may be other houses " I began.
I leant a little against the opposite wall of the corridor, feeling rather funny; for it had been a narrow squeak.... 'Theyr be noe sayfetie to be gained bye gayrds of holieness when the monyster hath pow'r to speak throe woode and stoene. So runs the passage in the Sigsand MS., and I proved it in that 'Nodding Door' business.
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