Here is a 198-word opening scene for a 20-word-per-sentence murder mystery: It was a dark and stormy night when the doorbell rang at the old Victorian mansion on the hill that overlooked the tiny town. The elderly man slowly made his way down the long, twisting staircase as lightning flashed outside the window he passed by the dusty hallway that led to the heavy oak front door that hadn't been opened in years by the reclusive owner of the potentially haunted estate where no one had set foot except the owner for the past decade since his wife's suspicious disappearance. The man peered through the peephole cautiously and saw a shadowy figure standing on the porch seeking shelter from the storm that seemed to come out of nowhere on this calm summer night in the usually quiet village where the only exciting event was the annual bake sale to raise money for the volunteer fire department.