"You may go anywhere in the castle that you want, except where the doors are locked. But of course you would not want to go there anyway. There is a reason that everything is done this way. If you saw things with my eyes and knew what I know, perhaps you would understand this better." I said I was sure that the Count was right. He said "We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. We do things in a different way, and many things here will seem strange to you. Indeed, you have told me about many strange things that have happened to you already, so I know that you understand a bit about what else you might find."

This led to a long conversation. I could see that the Count wanted to talk, perhaps just because he was in the mood. So I asked him many questions about things that had happened to me, or things that I had noticed. Sometimes he changed the subject, or avoided it by pretending not to understand. But mostly he answered everything I asked honestly and without trying to hide the truth. As time went on, I became a bit bolder, so I asked him about some of the strange things that had happened the night before. For instance, why did the coachman go to the places where he had seen the blue flames? The Count explained that people believed that on a certain night of the year, last night, in fact, all evil spirits are set free to do what they want. At this time, a blue flame appears over any place where treasure has been hidden.