ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three supernatural stories that trace Margery Lawrence's use of haunted objects. "The Haunted Saucepan", first published in The Tatler on 1 December 1922, describes the evil influence of a murderess who continues to inhabit an otherwise comfortable apartment in central London. The invasion of the supernatural through the possession of a cursed object resurfaces in "The Crystal Snuff-box," originally published as "The Mystery of the Crystal Snuff-box" in Nash's Pall Mall in June 1929. Like the homicidal femme fatale of "The Haunted Saucepan," the story concerns the return of a vengeful, sexually predatory witch who battles a modern English heroine over the soul of the latter's fiancé. In a similar vein, "The Mask of Sacrifice", originally published as "The Mask" in the 30 November 1923 issue of The Tatler, concerns the unraveling of a newly married couple's relationship in the presence of a cursed Indian sacrificial mask that had been recently purchased and brought into couple's home.
