Object 137
Liber CXLI.
Subject: An account of the late Philip Henry McCarthy.
Interviewee: Mr. William Henry “Bill” McCarthy.
Interviewer: Dr. Hannah Lea Wilson.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, and the offices of Mackenson Institute, Clarkston, Texas.
Date: November 6, 2023.
Dr. Wilson: “Mr. McCarthy, can you give me some background on your family, particularly Mr. Philip Henry McCarthy?”
Mr. McCarthy: “Yes ma’am, and please call me Bill. Philip Henry McCarthy was my paternal grandfather. He was born in 1953, in Poland, to Mr. Filip and Mrs. Aleksandra McCarthy. When my grandfather was seven, the family immigrated to the United States. They settled in the borough of Brooklyn, New York. My grandfather married my grandmother, Anna McCarthy, when he was about 21 or 22 years old.”
“I believe that Filip was a longshoreman or a dock worker at Red Hook in Brooklyn. I know for sure that my grandfather, Philip Henry, was. I admire them, but I was never cut out for that kind of work. I was fortunate enough to go to college and today I work as a freelance IT professional. I stay pretty busy, doing well. Married for seven years now. No children—yet.”
Dr. Wilson: “Very well, Bill. You can call me Hannah. How, as far as you can remember, was your grandfather’s family life?”
Mr. McCarthy: “The whole family was and still is staunchly Catholic. Grandfather would not hear of missing church for any reason, except illness, and you had to be pretty sick. I grew up in the church. We all did. I’m still very active in the church.”
“One thing that still stands out to me is how much my grandfather loved the holidays. He loved Thanksgiving and did a lot of the cooking. He also loved Christmas and couldn’t wait until the season rolled around. He loved putting up decorations and assembling the Christmas tree. He was the type of man who enjoyed singing in the choir and Christmas caroling. I’d say that he was a good father and grandfather. He had a happy family life before his collapse.”
Dr. Wilson: “What can you tell me about his collapse, as you call it?”
Mr. McCarthy: “It started with a note from Mr. Staples, the post office delivery man. Some of my grandfather’s kin had passed away in Poland. They had left my grandfather some property and he was required to pick it up at the post office.”
Dr. Wilson: “Do you know who sent the mail?”
Mr. McCarthy: “I don’t. No one in the family seems to know. My grandfather may have burned the paper with the return address on it.”
Dr. Wilson. “Okay, so far so good. I’m going to jot that down so we’ll remember it later. You’re doing well and I appreciate your time. So your grandfather picks up a package at the post office. What happened after this occurred? Moreover, what was in the package?”
Mr. McCarthy: “The package contained what I can only describe as ‘sundries.’ I remember some crystal salt and pepper shakers, a couple of antique folding knives, an antique brass candle holder, a cruet set with the bottles, and a porcelain doll. I’m positive there were more items, but that’s all I can remember. And, of course, there was the book.”
Dr. Wilson: “Would you say the package was primarily filled with antiques?”
Mr. McCarthy: “Yes.”
Dr. Wilson: “Let’s talk about the book. What can you tell me about it? You did see it before your grandfather’s collapse, did you not?”
Mr. McCarthy: “Oh yes. I’d estimate that it was about eight inches by five inches. It has a brown cover—leather, I believe. There are no words on the outside covers or on the spine. The spine is fairly worn though, so there may have been something written there at one time.”
“I’m sure, though I never got to sit down and read it, that the book was printed in English. In fact, it had to be, or grandfather wouldn’t have been able to read it. Again, I was never brave enough to read any of it, but I did see the number 141 on one of the inside pages. I believe it was hand-written. I don’t know about the actual contents of the book or whether it was hand-written or printed by a press. Your people would know more about that since you’re in possession of the damned thing. I mean the awful thing. Please excuse my foul language.”
Dr. Wilson: “Think nothing of it. Let’s backtrack and get back on the topic of your grandfather’s collapse. What happened to him?”
Mr. McCarthy: “What happened is that he came to possess that book and then he became obsessed with it. It was like it possessed him. He couldn’t put it down. Then he began to change.”
Dr. Wilson: “Change?”
Mr. McCarthy: “He was no longer Philip Henry McCarthy. All he did was read that book. He read it constantly and he became unresponsive to everything and everyone except that book. Almost immediately he stopped going to work. He never missed a day of work in his life, and then he just stopped going altogether. He stopped eating and then one evening he just went nuts.”
Dr. Wilson: “How so?”
Mr. McCarthy: “He had locked himself in his bedroom and been in there for days. Then one evening he stormed out and destroyed every religious picture on the walls and every cross. He took a rosary and burned it on the stove top along with some other religious writings, some tracts. I think he burned a Bible too. That’s why I think he maybe burned the return address from the package.”
“As if this wasn’t bad enough, he stripped himself naked and ran about the house. Then he went back into his room, defecated on the floor, and locked himself back into the bedroom. I assume he started to read the book again.”
Dr. Wilson: “Thank you for sharing this information. I know it’s uncomfortable. What happened next?”
Mr. McCarthy: “Well, grandmother was obviously beside herself. She wanted to have an exorcism performed, but you can’t just decide to perform one—there are channels you must go through. She knew this of course, so she went to the church—we go to Saint Mary’s Catholic Church—and got the pastor, Father Steven, to come to the house.”
“That was a bad idea. Father Steven knocked on the bedroom door and announced himself. Nothing happened at first, but then grandfather came storming out of the bedroom and throttled the priest right there in the living room. I guess that was the last straw. Father Steven or grandmother called 911 and the police arrived shortly thereafter.”
“Fortunately, the officer who responded was someone we went to church with, so he was pleasant and very concerned, but grandfather wouldn’t speak and he certainly wouldn’t come out of the room. When the policeman, Officer Flanning, threatened to kick the door open, grandfather burst through the window and landed on the street below.”
“He fell from the second floor, but he was uninjured. He fled from the scene, unclothed, with Officer Flanning in pursuit. He was pursued all the way to the dock where he leapt off and began to swim out into the harbor in the freezing water. Rescue boats and even a helicopter were called in to search for him, but he could not be located. His body was found seven days later. He had drowned.”
“I took the book home with me and locked it in my desk. The next day I mentioned it to Father Steven and he told me to hang onto it. Under no circumstances was I to open it. I didn’t.”
Dr. Wilson: “You didn’t open the book at any time?”
Mr. McCarthy: “I did not. I briefly saw the inside of it before grandfather became obsessed with it, but that’s it.”
Dr. Wilson: “Bill, I’m very sorry for your loss, and I assure you that the book will cause no further harm to anyone.”
Mr. McCarthy: “What is that book?”
Dr. Wilson: “One final question: How did you know to contact us?”
Mr. McCarthy: “Father Steven knows Father Michael in Clarkston, and he recommended your Institute as an organization that deals with this type of thing.”
Dr. Wilson: “Thank you for speaking with me. To answer your question, the book is an English translation of an original Arabic work called Book 141 or Liber CXLI. It’s thought to be hundreds of years old in its original form. It’s known to have certain undesirable effects on some readers. I assure you, it will never see the light of day again.”
Interviewer’s Comments: Mr. McCarthy does not appear to be under the influence of the book, despite being in possession of it for approximately ten days. According to his testimony, it was locked in his desk and he did not read it. The book has been designated as Object 137. It is currently sealed inside the vault at Mackenson Institute. Under no circumstances shall it be removed or examined except with the permission of the Director or the Head Librarian.
The End.
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