aunted Suit of Armor

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

Lilliland Castle where the Baron lived had a great staircase in the main hall. On the landing of the staircase stood the suit of armor of the famous Black Knight. The suit of armor had stood in that location as long as the Baron could remember. The story goes that the suit of armor was kept in parts in a locked room in the attic of the castle. The Baron's great-grandfather had the suit of armor assembled by the castle's cabinetmaker.

One night at midnight the staff heard and saw the Black Knight move across the floor of the landing and go the steps.

The following morning the suit of armor was found at the foot of the grand staircase with slight damage but still in one piece. The staff was sure that it was the Black Knight coming back to haunt the castle.

Professor Hamblin, the Baron's chief advisor, was called in to investigate the mystery. How did the Black Knight in armor move across the landing and down to the bottom of the grand staircase? The Baron needed to know. The Professor examined all the parts of the armor and the wooden brace that the cabinetmaker constructed to hold up and display the suit of armor. The Professor looked up the history of the cabinetmaker and the wooden structure that held up the armor. The plans called for a wooden frame with small, unseen rollers on the boots to easily move the display as needed for cleaning. The holding bolts rusted and allowed the wheels on the boots to move forward as the floor was slightly uneven. Old castles are damp and many things made of metal rusted very quickly. The Professor concluded that the Black Knight's suit of armor was not haunted but moved due to the bolts rusting away.

The Baron was pleased that the Professor solved the mystery. The explanation was delivered to the staff. The local carpenter removed the wheels in the boots and added blocks of wood that would not move but would still allow a complete cleaning from time to time.

This made everyone happy in the castle. The original Black Knight was a brave warrior and statesman who will long be remembered in the history of Lilliland, but who is no longer in residency in the castle.