In the caves of Merlin

Issued with portable lamps, we followed our guide into the labyrinth of Chislehurst Caves, in a nondescript suburb of London on the south side of the Thames. We were the only visitors in the party, and that added to the spookiness and excitement of the occasion. Some people, explained our guide, believed the chalk caves were haunted and the voices of children had been heard laughing and crying. Others swore they had seen a hunchbacked old crone. Roman soldiers had been sighted and a lady in a long blue gown had been seen floating from the center of a haunted pool. In some respects, the ordinariness of the vicinity beyond the caves enhanced the mysteries we could imagine within.