Who constructed this staircase remains a mystery. Skeptics argue that it is naturally the only remnant of a house, the rest of which has rotted away. However, the uncanny sight of a staircase in the midst of the wood, covered in moss and ivy, apparently leading to nowhere, has captured the imaginations – and sometimes the nightmares – of innumerable passers-by. Children sometimes dare each other to go up the stairs on the full moon. Most of the time, they come down healthily terrified; once in a very great while, they come down different. Sometimes it is a new name or a new way of presenting themselves; sometimes it is the sudden emergence of magical powers. Still other times, nobody can place what has changed, only that something has.