Selección Terror: Noche de Difuntos

Museum Catalog Note "Noche de difuntos" by Clark Carrados is a mystery-thriller centered on the reading of eccentric millionaire Hyram W. Koldicutt's will. Ten heirs gather at his mansion—including his sister Helen, relatives Robert and Lila Zane, Millie Koldicutt, and others, plus two unrelated beneficiaries, Bat Bludin and Marion Ford. Lawyer Jermyn Simmons reads a startling testament: Koldicutt claims he has been murdered and warns heirs they will inherit only if they survive, threatening death "according to their circumstances" unless they renounce the money. The will distributes varying amounts—Helen receives one million dollars, others four hundred thousand, with smaller bequests to loyal servants and the mysterious Bludin and Ford. When heirs proceed to bury Koldicutt as instructed, they discover his coffin empty. The disappearance of both body and mayordomo Elphins launches an investigation among the assembled group, setting the stage for the promised supernatural horror.