At the end of the first year after The Mansion of Dreadful Night was released, the suicides started. Most of them were women. Quite often the young (or not so young) women who played The Mansion had no dowry and were destined never to marry. Having nothing to lose, they bet on the game. It wasn’t clear if they killed themselves because they lost it, or because they had won the Prize and were afraid of losing their benefits. Nor were the suicides the only events linked to The Mansion. When a young, penniless baron received a mysterious heirloom that made him a millionaire, people whispered that the game was responsible. The same happened with an unknown painter, who in the course of a fortnight skyrocketed to fame by producing an impressive piece of art. Then there was the Regency scandal, in which an anonymous clerk was promoted to the highest ranks because of a “drift” on some international speculation. In short, every reversal of fortune seemingly had something to do with Bencivenga’s masterpiece. Meanwhile in Milan and in Rome people would throw themselves beneath trains, jump from bridges, or simply walk off into the countryside, never to be seen again. Ties to the Mansion were never proved, however. Yet the rumor was so persistent that the police opened an enquiry. Bencivenga was questioned again. He seemed sincerely shocked that these deaths were being traced back to his game. The public believed that this was just an act. But some insinuated that the success of The Mansion had gone beyond what its creator had intended.