Martin's Close

Synopsis

The story is presented as a report of a trial in the year 1684, before Judge Jeffreys. Squire Martin has been accused of murdering a young girl named Ann Clark, who he had an one-sided romance with. The prosecution presents a case that Martin murdered Ann Clark, because she ruined a good marriage proposal for him. During the trial, an event is described in which Martin acted in a guilty manner when confronted with a possible apparition of the girl. In the end, Martin is found guilty of the crime, despite his attempt to have the case dismissed on a legal technicality, and is sentenced to death.