Dear diary,

The night was mixed. Again and again I stared at the screen, lurking to see if the ghost would appear again. The stench in my apartment seems to be getting more acrid. When I opened my window this morning, I was beset by a flock of flies. It is so disgusting. They are just everywhere , their buzzing is almost worse than the knocking. I have been trying to swat them for hours but they seem to be getting more and more.

I'm going to hang traps and buy one of those air filters. I'm starting to feel like I can't breathe in my own walls, the cold here seems to freeze me.

My research on my neighbor's occult store turned up nothing. He sells herbs and things like that. The site was surprisingly not "demonic" no pentagrams or black candles.

Again and again I wonder if I am hallucinating, the portrait is cursed, or my neighbor is trying to drive me insane. But what should he get out of it? What motivation could be behind it? I have hardly ever spoken a word to him. We don't live in a city where it would be necessary to kill someone to get a place to live. I have nothing in my home that is of such value that it would be worth driving me out.

The only thing left was for him to do it out of pure malice. Then again, he didn't seem that way. Yes, I thought he was strange, mainly his staring eyes, but did I trust him with such deeds?

But weren't they always the ones you didn't trust? I can't come up with a thought that satisfies me.

I have begun a list, started with the incidents. When, how and where they started. Everything falls on the day I bought this portrait at the flea market.

Still, I refuse to believe in a curse. It is easier for me to explain the ghostly apparition with a hallucination.

I think what tugs at my nerves the most is this helplessness. What can I do? Sell the painting? Move? Turn to a therapist? Confront my neighbor with my suspicions? Ask the property manager for a new handyman?

Every option seems hopeless to me. I feel hopeless.

The only thing I'm eagerly awaiting at the moment is my acquaintance's email with the transcript of the hiker's diary. I admit that I am tempted by the legend surrounding the ruined castle. Could the man in the portrait be a mass murderer of women? Is that why no one wanted to have anything to do with the painting? I dismissed the thought again. After all, there was a true-crime podcast or series about every crime case, no matter how bizarre. Surely someone would have jumped on it. Especially since the story was also very close to the fairy tale of Bluebeard to me.

I tried to find out more about the burned down castle, but again, no luck, even Wikipedia only notes its existence. However, my gut feeling is that I am on to something worthwhile. I'll wait for the mail before contacting any other sites.

Mixed in with the buzzing of the flies is some dull banging