I have to say that re-reading this as an adult is a much different and more wonderful experience than as a snot-nosed kid of 15. I was able to appreciate the nuances much more, enjoying just how established Mr. Crane could be as a realistic and sympathetic character, even if he was slightly foolish. 
 In other words, he felt real, I felt invested, and as any lover of horror knows, we must also feel superior to our victims before their inevitable and somewhat moralistic demise by supernatural or nefarious deeds. 
 Now, whether this was a mortal practical joke played on a lover of the fantastic and the horrible or whether this was actually a real-life ghost story, as the Dutch Wives would insist, is a matter for debate. 
 Either way, it was nice and ghoulish and ramped up perfectly to a thrown screaming head. :) 
 Quick tale, fascinating, and expertly described. :) And an eternal Halloween Treat. :)