The Alchemist by H.P. Lovecraft

A nobleman living in a decaying feudal castle is haunted by an old family curse casted by a mysterious alchemist centuries before. All the men in the family line don't live past the age of thirty-two, and at the same time the protagonist approaches his mortal fate, his curiosity about the curse increases even more. Lovecraft unfolds the story until a dark and dramatic climax, characteristic of his early work.