THE ATTIC

(Above): Steps leading to the attic.

The attic in the mansion is accessed at the end of the hall on the fourth floor, which is directly under the roof and Widow's Walk. It isn't a typical attic filled with cobwebs and creeping rodents, but rather a light and airy place with well-ordered boxes, covered furniture and bric-a-brac located on one end. The floors are of highly polished hardwood, laid with a long Oriental carpet down the center walkway.

(Above): Stove in the attic.

The other side of the attic, which is located up a few steps from the entrance doorway, is a vast, unoccupied space. A rounded carpet holds a solitary antique chair with a high back and thick armrests. Above is a window that goes across the breadth of the ceiling, revealing sunlight in good weather and clouds, rain and snow in bad. The design of the ceiling window was ingenious, sprung from the mind of John Larkin for the top and final level of his extraordinary home. There are also porthole windows on either side of the attic, which give views of the mist rolling in from the ocean and the automated beacon sweeping across the estate from the Banshee Point Lighthouse.

(Above): View of the skylight in the attic.

The mansion of the attic is the setting for several dramatic scenes in the Collective Obsessions Saga. Molly Larkin takes refuge in it's environs after a mental breakdown (The Advent), Patrick Larkin retreats to it's confines and later takes his own life in the rafters (Quixotic Crossings), and Angela Page sequesters herself in the attic to contemplate her future after a serious medical diagnosis (Hearts Desires). It is also where Megan Larkin finds a treasure trove of Colm Sullivan's artwork with the help of her pet cat Kiki nearly seventy-five years after Colm's death (Megan's Legacy).

Please Note: The images displayed above are actually from Gifford McGraw House (California) via the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (Daniella Thompson, 2007) and remain their sole copyright.

Images referenced to the Collective Obsessions Saga provided inspiration to the author's imagination but remain fictional in context.