The I recently came across a collection of old letters at an estate sale in Edinburgh, Scotland.

They were tucked away in a weathered trunk, marked simply with the name C.E. Brady.

At first glance, I thought that they might be just routine correspondence from a different era.

But as I began to read, I realized these letters

told a very haunting story, and I thought the Let's Read audience might appreciate this chilling

tale captured in these letters. I've transcribed them here exactly as I found them, and leaving

it up to you to decide if there are simply the remnants of history, or maybe something more sinister.

As I said, what follows is a series of letters, exchanged between several authors during the

spring and summer of 1891. They provide us with an insight into the life and times of one Charles

E. Brady, a world-renowned big game hunter from Scotland,

as well as those of his assistant, Jack Thompson.

And they read as follows.

Government House, Livingston, North Rhodesia, the 20th of April 1891.

Sir, in service of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, it is with great respect for your extraordinary

reputation that I take up my pen to write to you.

Your feats in the wild places of Africa are the stuff of fable, and your name is spoken with

admiration in the halls of both London and the colonies.

It is, therefore, to you that I must turn in a matter of utmost urgency and peril.

Reports have reached me of grave disturbances in the Luangwa Valley.

A beast of no ordinary description has wrought havoc upon the local settlements,

destroying crops, maiming livestock, and lamentably, causing

injury and loss of life among the native population. Those who have survived its wrath

...