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Christopher Gould Inner circle in special pants. 1029 Posts |
My grandfather was something of an odd old gentleman. I did not know too much about him. He was something of a mystery. Even though I frequently visited my grandmother, who was a very warm and jovial presence during my formative years, grandfather Theodore was something of a dark presence in what was a very normal setting. He was rarely at home, and when he was, he had very little time for us children, or anyone else for that matter. His retreat from the world was a permanently locked study, a room which we were strictly forbidden to enter. Here he would spend his time, deep in... well, no one ever asked. The strange think is, that on the very rare occasions when he did make an appearance, he seemed warm, open and totally normal. But his time with his family was brief as to be almost nonexistent. This contrast made him something of an enigma. The study was a perfect physical manifestation of the old man; an island of strangeness in a sea of normality. On the few occasions that I stayed the night at grandma's, and on the very few occasions that grandfather Theodore was at home too, my nights were fitful and full of uneasy wonder. It was clear that the old man never slept, as there was always muffled sound emanating from that strange, forbidden room. Clinking glass, the sound of muffled conversation, some sort of low chanting and other noises that I had no reference points for. Once, and only once, I managed to catch the briefest of glances into the old man's secret room. The circumstances that allowed this to happen are beyond my recall, as I was around four to five years old. To this day, I am not entirely sure of the fine division between reality and childhood imagination. So what do I remember? Plenty of brown wood and heavy crimson drapes - three oval portraits of the glowering, malevolent faces. A large round table containing objects that made no sense to me. A cat in a chair (although my grandparents never owned a pet all the time I new them). A strange painted image of two men in an arrangement of geometric shapes (in my infancy I understood these to be two Father Christmases!), books, ornaments on a mantle piece, all illuminated by a yellow light that was so weak that it did not seem to reach the walls. And.... oh yes, my grandfather stark naked on the floor before what I can only think of as a black swirling vortex. All of this was seen as a snapshot, a frozen image that pulsated and recorded itself in my agitated mind. It is there still, as detailed and as living as it it was the moment the image was first burnt onto my retina. I had never seen my grandmother run before, and would have though this feat beyond her. However it was indeed her, accompanied with a suitable exclamation to the deity, my steam-train of a grandmother who whisked me away from the door. We both fell to the floor in the living room. In that moment, I had been taken so conclusively from all that I have considered real that my head span and dark lights obscured my vision. Whisked away from this world with the same force as my grandmother had flung me from the door. Since then, reality has been a place of difficult access. The inferno had been three years after this. Three years to the very day. The fire had engulfed the house with such fury and decisiveness that barely nothing remained, nothing of the house, or of my grandparents. No one was able to provide a satisfying explanation for the event, other than the 'blast' (for it had been like a silent bomb) had it's origins in the old man's study. If the horror of the event itself was not enough for my perplexed parents, there were many strange rumors. But really, under the circumstances, what would you expect? there were rumors of a group of rather strange men in long coats and broad brimmed hats picking though the rubble, serious, intense; as if looking for something. there were stories of strange lights seen in the woods below the allotments. Stories of black openings in the sky and strange atmospheric disturbances on that night. One tale that did seem to bear verification was in someways the strangest of all; my grandfather had gone missing for several days before this event. This I know to be true though snatches of whispers and muffled conversations between may anxious parents. So it was something of a conjecture that he, or indeed my grandmother were actually in the house at the time. Bones and teeth were found in the ashes - but the coroner concluded that these belonged to three men and that the dental records did not match either of my grandparents. Obviously such traumatic events are difficult to erase and the whole affair was responsible for my mother's deteriorating mental state and for the eventual splitting up of my parents. Such things take their toll, and it took me many years to attempt to reconstruct my life. Just as I thought I had managed to gain some semblance of normality, the past came back to haunt me. A day before my twenty eighth birthday, I received a letter from the family lawyer. I went to the offices of the old solicitor (one can never be sure with the legal fraternity, so I will refer to him here by his initials). R.R. informed me that he had been contacted by an organisation that claimed to have had my grandfather as a member. Little was know of the organisation in question, however, I have learnt not to talk openly about them. R.R. said that he was legally bound to inform me of the contents of the letter, however, he warned me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to have nothing to do with them and that I was to burn the letter forthwith. I asked to see the letter and old R.R. reluctantly handed it over. It was with trembling hand that I read it's contents...... ....to be continued.
The Moon is now to be found in the constellation of Gemini:
https://www.geminiartifacts.com |
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necroloid Special user Kadar knows all and sees all of my 921 Posts |
Wonderful! very rare that something that I have read has made me want more!
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cirrus Inner circle his minions made 1751 Posts |
I love the premise this one sets up.
I really love it. Can I use this one for my diary effect? |
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Christopher Gould Inner circle in special pants. 1029 Posts |
Cirrus, you ARE joking right?
By the way folks, hate being a tease - er, no strike that - I *love* being a tease! You will need to know where to go for part two.......
The Moon is now to be found in the constellation of Gemini:
https://www.geminiartifacts.com |
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cirrus Inner circle his minions made 1751 Posts |
Yeah, I am.
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Christopher Gould Inner circle in special pants. 1029 Posts |
Fhew!
btw, scuze the typos, brain on fire!
The Moon is now to be found in the constellation of Gemini:
https://www.geminiartifacts.com |
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Godzilla Inner circle Tied & Untied Witches on 5316 Posts |
Christopher...Oct 31st can not get here soon enough !
"If you watch Godzilla backwards, it's about a big ass lizard who helps rebuild a half burnt-down city, then moonwalks back into the ocean"
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Gandalf the Wizard New user 90 Posts |
Fascinating. October 31! I hate having to wait so many days!
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afinemesh Inner circle Senseless gibberish that amounts to 2621 Posts |
36 and counting. . .
"I've always been mental, I'm sure of it" Boris Pocus
"Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny". . .Bruce Springsteen |
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KOTAH Inner circle 2289 Posts |
I am looking forward to reading the second part of this marvelous tale. Your clear and powerful writing has me captivated.
Kotah |
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Dr_J_Ayala Inner circle In search of Vlad Dracul and his 2169 Posts |
That was absolutely marvelous! I write a lot of my bizarre scripts in that same style and I am really drawn in by the premise - completely captivated! I cannot wait to read the rest of it, like many others, so to the line I go...
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Matthew St. Cyr Special user The Dark Woods of New England 793 Posts |
I'm right behind ya in line, Dr. J! Fantastic tale so far! Can't wait to read the rest!
The Wonder Lies In The Dark Between The Stars. . .
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Stephen Young Inner circle Thought Illusions 3933 Posts |
Please heed the warning of one who has travelled a similar path to yourself.
There are some things in this world that are beyond the comprehension of men. Opening this letter can only bring you into more danger than you are already in. I know I'm right when I say the men searching the burnt out remains of your grandfathers house never found what they were looking for. And now you openly declare that you have the letter. They will know. They always know. You will not rest easy at night for the rest of your days. But rest assured, should you open the letter, there will not be so many of those days left for you to endure. Your only hope is to search out the one who belongs to this letter (yes I choose my words carefully) before They find you. Hurry! A Friend |
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Paul Prater Elite user North Little Rock, AR 483 Posts |
I have seen the future. I have created the future. They are one and the same. Preach on brother Chris.
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Christopher Gould Inner circle in special pants. 1029 Posts |
Friday night, late....
The Moon is now to be found in the constellation of Gemini:
https://www.geminiartifacts.com |
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Voodini Inner circle 1783 Posts |
Looking forward to it...
Voodini - cold reading, past life regressions, remote viewing, Q&A, palm reading, bizarre & seance...
www.readerofminds.co.uk |
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
Man.
Oh, man. .....oh....man. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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Christopher Gould Inner circle in special pants. 1029 Posts |
Chapter two.
The envelope contained a scrap of paper on which were scribbled series of numbers. These I understood to represent a time and date. There was a second piece of paper on which was a crudely drawn map, and a scribble that I took to be an address. Finally, on the back of the map a signature had been scrawled; Cornelius G. This was all I found. I examined the scant evidence before me. The strange, rather unpleasantly textured envelope gave fewer clues than it's contents. The writing was elegant but agitated, as if it's author wanted to write fine poetry, but found himself writing from expedient panic. 'Was this all?' I asked. 'There was this too' RR held out his hand, within which was cradled a large golden medallion. It gave me a visceral shock causing me to recoil and drop the object to the floor. Even before I had really seen the thing, it must have registered unconsciously, causing this autonomous reaction. I bent to pick it up. Closer inspection did nothing to quieten down my sensitised nerves. For there, engraved in gold, was the image of the bearded gentleman, who I had mistook for Father Christmas all those years ago. There he was, staring back at me from his geometric surrounds with the same intensity and disapproving rage. There was no doubting it, this was the sigil I had seen on my grandfather's wall, the same mystic seal that my insane grandfather had prostrated himself before. Images came afresh to me from the forgotten corner of my mind... Of the design that had spun as if liquefied, twisted into the yawning vortex into which I fancied that the whole universe could be seen forming. Gathering these thoughts together brought me back to some semblance of normality. A strange notion occurred to me; that this mystic seal somehow formed a portal in the imagination, a portal to another dimension. That even touching it opened 'certain faculties' in the mind. Yet it was not complete, the bottom half was missing from the frame. This, I sensed reduced it's power, and made it yearn for completion. Was I the unwitting agent for such work? So what was the meaning of all of this? It does not take an agile mind too long to come to some sort of a conclusion. And one week later, conforming to the date on the map, I find myself, suitcase in hand, standing on the platform awaiting my train to B_________. The protestations of RR were still ringing in my ears as I stood looking at the railway tracks receding into the mist. Why was the old man so desperate that I should not follow the abstract instructions of the letter? Did he know something that I did not? Well, it matters not, for my mind is made up! Such a mystery as this cannot go unresolved. So here I find myself on a bitterly cold morning heading to... I truly know not where. I hope that I do not present this to you as if it were a jolly adventure, as it was nothing of the sort. I embarked upon my mission with some gravity and an encroaching sense of doom. In truth, the situation engendered a sense of unease that created phantoms, for from the moment of holding the amulet, I had a sense of being watched; of a presence behind me. Fleetingly at first, but more frequent and persistent as the day wore on. The journey on the main line was agreeably uneventful and my sense of unease began to recede somewhat. I even took to reading the newspaper that someone has deposited in the carriage. I had barely finished reading the obituary column before the train had deposited me in the rural village of S________. Here I had arranged to stay at the local inn for the night. The walk from the railway station to the inn was arduous and accompanied by the sense of dread I had felt earlier. Only this time it was felt more keenly and the long walk had lavished upon it enough time to develop a malignant, physical presence . Also this 'presence' was intent on acquainting itself more insistently with my imagination. I felt it there, its eyes looking down upon me. I sensed it's shape and size, it's location and even it's malicious intent. On several occasions I span on my heel to confront the shade. But each time, nothing… nothing but the gathering mist of an late autumn twilight. Of course it is easy for a over-sensitive imagination to project itself into the shifting forms of vapour… and this I admit to accomplishing with consummate ease. However, the thing that shred my nerves and caused me to break out into an uneasy jog was all too real. It will sound like nothing at all as I tell it to you, and I cannot find the words to convey the horror it produced…. But the thing breathed! It sort of... gasped behind me….close behind, so that I could feel it's cold, damp and rasping breath on the nape of my neck. By this time I was frozen with fear, and pointed resolutely to my intended destination, for I could not bring myself to turn. The light was failing by the time that I reached the village. Although the walk must have taken me less than fifteen minutes, it seems that time had expended. I watched the setting of the sun from the corner of my eye, fearing its departure and the potential horrors that could be unleashed in the resulting darkness. By the time I reached the village the excesses of my imagination had not only maintained the 'dread' (as I later came to call it) but had intensified it to the point where I felt it upon me; touching me with its vile limbs, riding my back like the devil was won't to do in those more curious biblical illustrations. Of course there was no physical presence, as I realised at the time Such an obvious fact was confirmed to me by the lack of reaction as I entered the Inn. However, this did little to abate my agitation. 'Mr Grab I assume?' the deep voice came to me from behind the concerned features of the innkeeper. The inherent normality of the voice, and the context from which it issued acted to dispel the phantoms on my mind, at least for the time being. 'I hope you do not mind me asking sir, but are you feeling alright? You look very pale, if you do not mind me saying sir. ' 'No… no, I am sorry, I am fine. I just managed to get myself a little lost on the path from the station to the Village, and the encroaching darkness put me into something of a panic. I am sure that a strong brandy will be all I need to put things right.' My attempt at normal conversation clearly did not impress the innkeeper as he continued to wear the same expression of concern like a fixed mask, only now he coloured it with a tint of curiosity and suspicion. 'Very well Sir, I will show you to you room, when you come down, I will have your brandy waiting'. I thanked the innkeeper as he led me to the tiny apartment in which was to be the theatre for my dreams that evening…..
The Moon is now to be found in the constellation of Gemini:
https://www.geminiartifacts.com |
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Stoltz Veteran user 400 Posts |
Bravo!
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KOTAH Inner circle 2289 Posts |
Thoroughly enjoyed every mezmerizingly magical word of it. THe most satisfying read this year.
Sincere thanks for sharing this, and congratulations sir. Kotah |
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