The
Ballymoor residence
327 Hollywood drive, Santa Barbara |
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As
a wedding present for Julia, Mason Capwell offers her, at the beginning of 1992,
nothing less than a new home, the Ballymoor residence. Situated in a remote
district of Santa Barbara, the house is a magnificent building with a very rich
decoration, nevertheless very far from the habits of Julia's life. First
disappointment for her : besides its very stiff style, the residence was bought
by Mason with its staff, which turns out irremovable and particularly
inhospitable. There are a sinister butler, Dreyfuss Hannibal, an authoritarian
housekeeper, Mrs. Sturm, a completely incapable cook, Bitty, and a guard to make
you shiver, Antonio Ronovich.
Once the front door crossed, we reach the big lounge by a small dark corridor. Everything here, from the carpets with floral pattern, glass chandeliers, silver candlesticks or precious vases, remind that Ballymoor is before all a wealthy place which is not aimed at everyone.
In the lounge, two big sofas face each other, opening the space on a few steps which give access to the kitchen, between two curtains.
At the bottom of the room, a desk, a fireplace, and a big wooden staircase which allows to rise on the second floor.
Of the immense second floor, we know especially Julia and Mason's bedroom. Spacious, it is as much richly decorated as the lounge. Numerous chests of drawers, consoles and other sofas fill the room, around a bed of a strangely modest size. On the marble fireplace thrones a painting, Abigail Beckwithe's portrait, the former owner of the house. At least seemingly, because Abigail did not die and always haunts the residence, trying to frighten its new occupants to scare them off, as Julia and Mason will discover it later.
We also see Samantha's bedroom, with more cheerful and colored colors.
We discover afterward Dr. Micah DeAngelis' former study which, by means of a removable partition, hides an access towards a secret room of the house, presumably a staircase leading to the floors.
Finally, it is the last floor which we discover at summer 1992, when it is revealed that Abigail and her granddaughter Aurora lived in Ballymoor during all these months, without the knowledge of Julia and Mason, in this last floor apparently hidden of the house. Only the domestics knew about their presence. Aurora's bedroom hides besides a removable partition giving onto a secret staircase joining the ground floor and the garden.
After Abigail's death, Julia and Mason will offer to Micah and Aurora to stay to live alone in Ballymoor. We discover then Micah's bedroom, with green and yellow colors.
Julia et Mason, as for them, will settle down in the Capwell villa, a safer place and less subject to mysteries and supernatural than Ballymoor...