DEMETER LOG: Olgaren sees strange man aboard ship

LOG OF THE "DEMETER" Varna to Whitby

On 17 July, yesterday, one of the men, Olgaren, came to my cabin, and in an awestruck way confided to me that he thought there was a strange man aboard the ship. He said that in his watch he had been sheltering behind the deckhouse, as there was a rain storm, when he saw a tall, thin man, who was not like any of the crew, come up the companionway, and go along the deck forward and disappear. He followed cautiously, but when he got to bows found no one, and the hatchways were all closed. He was in a panic of superstitious fear, and I am afraid the panic may spread. To allay it, I shall today search the entire ship carefully from stem to stern.

Later in the day I got together the whole crew, and told them, as they evidently thought there was some one in the ship, we would search from stem to stern. First mate angry, said it was folly, and to yield to such foolish ideas would demoralise the men, said he would engage to keep them out of trouble with the handspike. I let him take the helm, while the rest began a thorough search, all keeping abreast, with lanterns. We left no corner unsearched. As there were only the big wooden boxes, there were no odd corners where a man could hide. Men much relieved when search over, and went back to work cheerfully. First mate scowled, but said nothing.

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[Most Significant]

“…he saw a tall, thin man, who was not like any of the crew, come up the companion-way, and go along the deck forward, and disappear. He followed cautiously, but when he got to bows found no one, and the hatchways were all closed.”

Although the captain said his men were all steady, it seems they were not immune to “superstitious fear”. For the first time, a crew member comes to the captain with something more substantial than a feeling of doom: he saw a strange man on the ship. The captain decides to search the ship. He also starts a new journal or log, noting the strange events before that day, even though the search turned up nothing. Perhaps the Count’s influence is finally starting to affect the captain.

[Most Significant]

“… the hatchways were all closed.”

This is the first hint that closed doors are no barrier to the Count, or other vampires, at night.