Behind the veil of chapter 18 of The Lady in Flesh

Autumn 1898 at Concord State Normal School brings the first students to Sarvey Hall, where Appalachian stillness hangs heavy, books change overnight, and a sealed room awakens. As the ridge grows quiet and the halls begin to breathe, Rebecca Morgan becomes the first girl taken, her absence marked by ritual, whispers in the walls, and a bell that now calls without sound.

A grieving caretaker records the slow awakening of Concord’s halls, where folklore, faith, and a hungry bell reveal that the school itself has become a living body.

The creation of chapter 15 and the orphan bell