Watson is discovered as the doctor in charge of a retreat for convalescent officers, Hulstone Towers Northumberland, ancestral home of the Musgraves. Haunted by ghosts, the wailing of lost souls are heard on the lime walks. The Musgraves have opened their home to these patients, but it is a grim, cheerless place. Sexton, the doctor assisting Watson is stabbed by an unknown person and the clock in the tower strikes thirteen, an event local legends say proceeds the deaths of Musgrave. Watson decides to hurry back to London and consult with Holmes. Holmes returns with Watson to Musgrave manor, and his immediate impression is one of foreboding: 'Houses, like people, have definite personalities and this place is positively ghoulish!'