The mausoleum had been built about one hundred years previously and stood on a slight slope that led to the woods

I had only visited it twice firstly when my mother died and then when my sister followed her

The stone had aged badly and little or no attempt had been made to clear the ivy which was almost covering the building

My father had considered the renovation of the mausoleum but his heart was not in it after my mother died

But he still visited it once a week on the Sabbath Day to be with her

I was asked to come but declined as the mausoleum was full of tiny albino spiders which terrified me

My late sister told me that when I was found as a baby my crib was infested with these creatures and a nurse had had to remove them from my mouth and hair before even bathing me

Whether or not the story was true is open to debate but it was a tale that I heard many times during my childhood years

But it was not the sole reason that I did not spend time in the mausoleum

The other reason was because of an incident that occurred in the woods shortly after my mother died

My friend Astrid who was the daughter of the vicar and her Swedish cousin had been collecting late summer flowers when all of a sudden they witnessed the movement of what seemed to be a very large black spider

The creature ran at speed along a nearby woodland path leaving my poor friend and her cousin in great distress

When they did eventually make it to the house their tale was rambling and incoherent and it took father a couple of hours to settle them both down

My father and his friend later searched the woods to see if they could locate whatever so frightened the girls but their visit was fruitless

Although I tried to keep an open mind about the incident I have to admit that the story spooked me and gave me a further excuse to avoid the mausoleum and the woods beyond