#Tales From The Crypt The Man Who Was Death

[buttholes]

“So remember, boys and girls... safety first!” 

➤ tales from the crypt, s01e01. “the man who was death”

[dailyadventureprompts]

Dungeon: The Tithing House

For decades the gang of highwaymen known as the Gallerwood Outlaws were famed and feared for equal measure, melting out of the forest to rob merchants, nobles, even mages, before vanishing back into the trees. Even after their awful deaths at the hand of a bountyhunter some years ago folk still sing of their deeds, and of the secret hideaway in which they stored their ill gotten gains.

Adventure Hooks:

Folk have been saying that the ghosts of the Gallerwood outlaws have been stalking the roads near where their bodies were hanged, still looking for one last haul. The party are tasked with investigating rumours after a fearful carter was set upon by these spectres, losing something precious in the process. This provides the excellent framing for a first adventure as each member of the party can be invested in retrieving something different out of the carter's cargo giving them a reason to work in the same direction.

As they investigate, the party will discover that these ghosts are infact local toughs who have dressed up and painted themselves phosphorescent cave lichen in order to shake down passers by. After giving them a thrashing and a Scooby-Doo unmasking, the party can retrieve the stolen goods and return to the inn for celebratory drinking. In the dead of night one of the party awakens to a shadowy figure looming at the foot of their bed, spectral face illuminated by the ghoul-light that flickers in the bowl of their pipe. Evidently the story of the party's antics has spread, and it appears one of the real ghosts of the Gallerwood wants a word.

Frauds and phantoms aside,  entirely possible for the party to stumble across the dungeon while exploring the surrounding swampland, only realizing it served as a bandit hideout after stumbling into the remnants of their camp. 

Setup: The ghost introduces himself as the late Cullen Carver, once founding and now final member of the Gallerwood outlaws. Cullen has an offer for the party, and is willing to guide them to the cache kept by his fellow bandits if they will perform for him a last request. As Cullen explains it, neither he nor the other outlaw spirits will be able to rest so long as there is no end to their tale, and there can be no end so long as the mystery of their hidden treasure remains unsolved in the common imagination.

Cullen is in high spirits despite being dead, so the party should expect some gallows humour as the hanged man leads them through the swamp's hazards, eventually arriving at the outlaw's secret base: The Tithing House, a long abandoned temple of Erathis concealed within the depths of the wilderness that's become infested with all sorts of mire creatures since the thieves met their end.

Challenges & Complications:

The Outlaws kept their treasure in the temple's crypts, and to access these the part are going to need to venture through the gauntlet of dark chambers and traps the bandits set up to keep eachother's hands out of the cookie jar. Cullen can help with some of these, but the whole point of the traps was to keep his fellow thieves honest. The only other way into the vault is through a heavily reinforced door, the key to which is currently in the possession of the bountyhunter who hung the Gallerwoods from trees in the firstplace.

While the party has the pick of spoils, Cullen points out a particular chest kept apart from the rest and calls upon them to fulfill their end of the bargain. This chest was Cullen's nestegg, put aside from numerous heists and robberies to be delivered to his wife and children in the event of his death. With no surviving highwaymen to carry out the promise Cullen's REAL unfinished business comes to light. The party can keep their word, or they can snipe the treasure for themselves, earning the spectre's undying enmity and curse to boot.

To get out of the the Tithing House the party will need to face off with a demon of avarice.. but not in the traditional form of bossfight. He'll approach just as they're leaving the dungeon, taking the form of a plump old man with a grandfatherly smile who wears the spotless robes of an Erathian friar despite the flooded cemetery in which they stand. He is all calm words and politeness, congratulating them on making off with such a fine haul and urging them to never mind that silly old ghost and his wishes, banishing Cullen beneath a nearby grave so that they can talk cordially. The Smiling Friar explains that he had a deal with the highwaymen; feeding off the greed of their crimes in exchange for concealing their hideaway and passage through the forest. There's no reason the party couldn't renew the deal, become the new band of legendary thieves, save that they'll have to forsake their ghostly guide and his last act of charity. Should they turn him down the Smiling Friar will call up the dead of the cemetery to slaughter them, clearing the way for the next band of ambitious treasurehunters.

Art 1 Art 2

[horrorme]

Tales from the Crypt (The Man Who Was Death)

[norel-ravenclaw]

The Haunted Mansion

Ikepri AU - Part 1

Fandom: Ikemen Prince (otome game)

Featured characters: All 13 plus allusions to unknown new trio

Genre: Paranormal Tragic Romance

Rating: 14+

Word count: Part 1 - 3400

Description: Ikepri Haunted Mansion AU - The regional princes have had an awful time getting servants to stay at their grand manor. A young woman takes the job and quickly discovers why no one else applied. Despite the strange occurrences, she finds home and even love among them. But tragedy seeks to cut short the possibility of a happy ending. Be warned, this is a story for those who like a twisted sort of satisfaction.

WARNINGS: | lots of violent death, killing, and suicide (nothing too explicitly gory) | mxw | polyamory | yandere | toxic relationships | angst | dark goth vibes | seriously, only read this in a good headspace |

..............................................................

An axe swung, and an axe dropped.

A staircase, and a duel he never wanted to be fought.

A lantern dropped onto wood that had rotted.

A poisoned bottle, long forgotten.

A window, and a grave for two.

A chandelier, and a dagger for two.

A noose taken down before being used again.

...

This is the woeful tale of the haunted mansion.

..............................................................

Once upon a time, there was a grand, old castle.

This place was built ages ago on the outskirts of a small town, at the edge of the hills where nothing else could be built.

Here, at the edge of town, the once small cemetery grew larger over the centuries, eventually encroaching on the property of this magnificent estate. And so, one knows they are nearing the place when they start seeing tombstones. Once you enter Crypt Avenue, you've just about arrived.

Ancient legends tell of the great Lords of this château. A warmonger, a cold prince, a powerful soothsayer, and a terrifying genius. Each met with mysterious and violent ends.

With the passing of the last of the Von Obsidian heirs, the estate went up for sale. It was purchased by the wealthiest young lord of the region, one Mssr. Rhodolite. Its management was eventually passed to his second son, one Chavalier Michel.

He was a tactical genius and a warrior. And he claimed the entire region for himself, uniting it under his rule. He became a prince, and the grounds were soaked with blood.

167 of the deaths were particularly brutal, so the rumours went. Assassins and politicians that never left the grounds of the palace, men and women alike. The size of the cemetery grew.

But the years had warped all of the rumours such that no one knew for certain what had transpired.

Either way, the place left a haunting feeling in all who entered it. As it did with a lovely young woman named Emma.

The woman came to apply as a maid, responding to an ad in the paper. She was the only one to reply.

When she arrived at the imposing, elegant estate, she was greeted by a strict yet equally elegant man with a pair of glasses and a snake skin coat.

"Welcome. You have come to serve the young lords of this estate? The Princes de Rhodolite are the half-blood sons of my former employer." With a bittersweet smile he said, "You could say my soul is bound to this place because of them."

He invited her into the entry hall, where she gazed in awe upon treasures of centuries past. A grand chandelier, austere paintings of extraordinary lifelike quality, chalices, and suits of armour.

The butler left to make tea, and in the silence, distant gusts of wind sounded like voices hushedly whispering in a labyrinth of halls.

Then through the silence broke a steady sound - the tap of a cane.

However, the man that emerged from around the corner had his hands full with the tea set.

Miss Emma's first impression of him was much like the feeling of meeting a friendly dog wagging its tail. He was blonde and handsome, his nearly goofy grin tempered by the sharpness in his azure eyes.

"Ah! So you've really come to join us here? I'm so happy! You're so lovely, mademoiselle! My name is Rio, and I will take care of everything you need!"

She blushed and chuckled at his eagerness. "I am excited to be here in such a beautiful place," she said with a smile.

Beaming, he guided her to a room like an indoor garden. The most beautiful of flowers bloomed all around. Little wolfsbane and and hemlock and creeping vines. They chatted over tea and the blond gentleman seemed more enamoured with every word she said.

Partway through their cups, a brunette peeked in the doorway. His smile made his golden eyes narrow charmingly.

"So someone finally applied for the job, hm? I hope you can keep all of the beasts in line around here. It won't be easy."

She marveled a little at his grace as he swept into the room, leaning his arms on a vacant chair. "Beasts, monsieur?"

"I'm Leon. My brothers and I have a bit of a reputation, let's say." He offered a smirk that did indeed invoke the image of a grinning lion.

"So I've heard. Well, I hope that my work will be able to allow you all the time to be happy," she replied shyly.

His eyes widened, and he broke out into hearty laughter. "Ya know, I have little doubt of that, miss." Ruffling her hair, he laughed again before leaving the room in just as much a whirlwind as he'd come in on.

Rio chuckled fondly. "Master Leon is a good guy. I think you'll like him."

She smiled. "I do too."

When her cup was empty, the attendant - Mr. Noir - appeared and walked her to her room. They passed countless paintings, all from different eras. All with such lifelike faces, despite the many artists and styles.

As they turned a corner, a pair of red eyes suddenly appeared in her path, drawing a scream.

"Whoops, sorry there."

Beside the burgundy-eyed man was another blond, in full disapproving pout. "Jin! Don't go scaring people like that!"

Jin smirked. "What, did I startle you too, Evie?"

The shorter blond sniffed and looked back to her. "And who is this, Sariel? Don't tell me you of all people found a paramour?"

Emma squeaked a little, flushing red. Jin and Mr. Noir's smiles turned beastly.

"Oho, you sly devil. You finally stole someone's heart rather than their soul, did you?"

The butler chuckled, answering simply, "This is Miss Emma. She will be working here from tomorrow."

"Ah, a new maid, hm? Well, if you ever get lost, or get in trouble with ghosts, or just lonely, feel free to come find me. I'll make you forget all your troubles by morning~"

"Oh hush, you deviant! Now then, you." The imperious blond stepped squarely in front of her. "I am Yves Kloss. And I expect the best quality of service. No slacking off, you understand me?"

"Y-yes, sir. I'll do my best."

And with that he nodded and marched away, his amused older brother following behind leaving a wink to the new girl.

Her mind, however was still caught up on what Jin had mentioned. About ghosts?

Mr. Noir continued on, and the air seemed to chill after leaving the boisterous men behind. The candle light seemed dimmer, the windows fewer. Her mind wandered to old stories.

Nervous by the silence and oppressive atmosphere, she asked, "Did the old lord Obsidian really kill his own family in the dining hall?"

"It has always been a lively place," was the man's enigmatic answer.

She shivered, confused and concerned by his evasive answer. "It feels like there is so much tragedy around here."

"Just so. It is said that 987 poor souls are bound to the place. Many were the victims of the first five owners - the warlord from the far east, the cold prince, the mysterious soothsayer, and the trampling beast."

Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls.

"However, the rest of the spirits on the property actually belong to townspeople from the cemetery just beyond. Ancient spells and curses drew their wandering, earth-bound spirits across the burying fields to this castle to wander and moan."

The dark haired man stopped, his violet eyes glinting. "Rumour has it that every night for centuries, a ball is held by the captive spirits in the many ballrooms and dining halls."

She stared at him, her heart pounding, thudding nearly painfully in her chest. "Haha, my what imaginative rumours."

The devilish attendant chuckled darkly. "They are most intriguing, no? Good evening, miss. Rest well."

He walked away, leaving her alone, facing the door to her room. When a voice came from her other side, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Aww, did that mean old snake scare you with his ghost stories? Come here, I'll comfort you."

Her heart racing, she looked to see a man with pale grey hair leaned casually against the wall a few doors down. He smirked, slinking closer and holding out a hand.

"I'm Nokto. You look like you need some air."

"That might be nice," she confessed, tentatively taking his hand.

He smiled a fox's grin, his ruby eyes glinting in satisfaction. Pulling her close, he hooked her arm in his.

He led her down the hall and around a few turns until they reached a broader pass through with tall windows.

"It will be so nice having a woman around. You'll take good care of us, won't you?"

Despite his airs, Miss Emma looked to him and immediately saw a man masking loneliness. And so she smiled.

"Of course I will."

Surprised by her earnest reply, his smile turned somewhat softer. Through only for a moment.

He suddenly froze in place, his entire demeanor turning to ice in an instant. "Licht..."

Following his gaze, she looked to see a man silhouetted in the window up ahead. He too had silvery grey hair; a sort of exhausted tension was etched in his posture.

Nokto dropped her hand and moved as though to block her view. "Don't you dare do anything to him, you hear me? Don't talk to him, don't ask him questions, don't try to get to know him. You'll only send him deeper into hell. If you do anything to hurt him, I'll make your life hell."

Shocked and unnerved by his sudden change and threat, she nodded and bolted to run away from him.

However, the labyrinthine halls betrayed her, and within moments, she was lost. Rounding a corner trying to go back the way she'd come, she collided with someone.

"Oh dearie me, what have we here? A fair maiden throwing herself into my bosom, hm?"

Startled, she looked up to see the gleaming golden eyes of yet another noble man. Though she could tell that his mischief was of a different sort than of the man she'd just fled.

"Never fear, missy. I'll protect you from everything that stalks these halls - brutal beasts, vengeful spirits, lurking assassins. You just let Clavis take care of you, pet~"

With every word, his grin became more like the Cheshire cat's. Offering a forced laugh, she tried to back away.

Another man's voice interrupted her plans to escape.

"You there. Maid."

She caught a glimpse of the troublemaker's expression twist before looking back. A handsome man with an imposing aura glared at her from behind a desk in an elegant office. He stood, moving swiftly to the doorway with a hand on the sword at his hip.

"You will not humour their mischief," the blond ordered menacingly. "If you dare get in my way or keep us from our duties, I will not hesitate to remove your traitorous self from this estate."

Her heart pounded in her chest. "I-I wouldn't dream of-"

A flash of silver was her only warning of the sword coming to rest at her throat. "See that you don't. Our responsibility to this region far outweighs the importance of a careless simpleton's life."

Dizzy with fear and confusion, the woman's patience finally snapped. "Now see here! I can understand that you don't want a silly girl running around flirting and causing problems. But you have to right to assume who I am or to threaten my life! I came here to serve you, and that is what I am going to do. Good night!"

With this bold declaration, she turned on her heel and marching down the hall. She did not see the stunned expression on the face of the man called the Brutal Beast, but she did hear the raucous laughter of his younger brother.

As she hurried away, the sound became distorted and echoey the further away she got.

Heart racing, hopelessly lost, confused and discouraged, she stopped in the middle of yet another hall. The portrait of a trio of haughty looking women seemed to mock her, Clavis' distant laughter nearly seeming to come from it.

A quiet voice finally cut through the shadows encircling her heart.

"Hey, you alright?"

She turned around to see a tall man with red hair and sympathetic green eyes.

"Was Chev being an ass?"

Unsure of how to reply, she remained silent, and he chuckled sardonically. "That's a yes. I guess all of them were, huh?"

He slowly approached her, as though she were a frightened wild rabbit. Smiling, he placing a large hand on the top of her head.

"It's okay, I'll protect you. Come on, I'll help ya calm down, okay?"

Tired and ready to surrender, she simply nodded, following him to his room. The long journey and emotions caught up with her fully, and she ignored all protocol to sit on the edge of his bizarrely diagonal bed. He plopped down beside her and heaving a sigh.

"Say, I'm Luke."

"I'm Emma."

"Come 'ere. You can lean on my shoulder if ya like." She did instantly, and he chuckled. "You're gonna be fine. You'll see. I get the feeling you belong here."

...

The first birdsong of the dawn cut through the silence enough to rouse her. Miss Emma stirred slightly, nearly succumbing to sleep again as she awoke in the most comfortable and safe coziness she'd ever felt.

But the sight of a shock of red hair and sensation of strong arms around her finished the job.

With a gasp, she tried to sneak out of his embrace, but the movement woke him.

"Mm? Oh, hi. You okay?" he asked groggily.

Still trying to get her bearings, she blinked. Concerned, he propped himself on an elbow.

"Don't worry, I would never hurt you."

His gentle reassurance sent her heart racing. "What? Oh, I didn't mean... Didn't think that... No, I-I'm sorry. I just didn't mean to fall asleep."

He smiled, the pale rays of dawn painting the moment like a sepia watercolour. "You're not scared of me? Good. 'Cus it was really nice to hold you. Like a soft teddy bear."

And now, the last of sleep fled her. "R-right. Well. I should get going. I can't be late for Mssr. Noir."

Jumping up, she rushed to the door, suddenly pausing. "Thanks for taking care of me last night."

"No problem," he smiled.

And she rushed to find her room. Miraculously, she did. When she opened the door to see her new quarters, the first rays of dawn lit it such that the place did not seem so dark and imposing. Ah yes, this could the be start of something wonderful, she was at last convinced.

She donned her maid uniform and reported to Mr. Noir. The drills of her training began at once.

As she served the lords their breakfast (with the exception of Prince Chevalier, who rarely deigned to rise before ten am) the devil-like gaze of her master kept her back rigid, every move of her hands scrutinized.

Seeing her tension, Leon threw her a subtle wink, which gave her the boost needed to endure the first day of grueling training.

She followed Mr. Noir around through his duties. Waxing the floors, washing the linens and silks, cleaning the endless windows, dusting and dusting and dusting and dusting.

When it was time for supper to be prepared, she stood politely to the side while Mr. Noir approached two of the cooks.

What she was not prepared for was for him to pull a whip from under his coat, cracking it just shy of their backs. Their scream of shock was accompanied by hers.

She clapped her hands over her mouth, watching in horrified fascination as her master faced them down.

"Supper preparation was to have begun fifteen minutes ago," said the smiling devil.

"Ah! Y-yes, Monsieur! We're terribly sorry!"

"We lost track of the hour. It won't happen again!"

They swallowed hard as he caressed the long leather line. "See that it doesn't. Or I'll have you cleaning crypts rather than dishes."

Terrified, the men bowed several times as they hurried towards the kitchens.

Mr. Noir glanced back towards Miss Emma, his violet eyes glinting with dangerous mirth. He slowly approached her, still toying with the whip in his hands. She froze, holding his gaze nervously as he brought the handle to tilt up her chin.

"You needn't look so frightened," he teased. "Simply remember that I favour obedience, hm?"

She nodded a little frantically, and he chuckled. "Good girl~"

And so she dutifully fulfilled her responsibilities until the clock's hands teased towards twelve.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, she plodded through the halls towards her quarters. But, through the haze of her tired mind, a strange sound reached her consciousness.

The faintest echoes of voices and music drew her from her thoughts.

Stopping in her tracks, she listened, and determined that yes, she most definitely heard a party happening. Not recalling any news of this, she moved towards the sound in curiosity.

Traversing the winding halls, at last, the grand doors of one of the small ballrooms came into view. By then, she could hear the melody of a familiar old song and smell the feast the many partygoers were enjoying.

Just as she reached for the doorknob, the tap of a cane made her look over her shoulder.

When a voice came from her other side, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Now what is a little rabbit doing wandering my mansion so late?"

Into the hall stepped a handsome young man with one blood red eye and an eyepatch over the other.

His smile was alluring, too intense, yet intriguing.

Seeing her alarm, he grinned. "Aww, did that mean old snake scare you with his ghost stories? You look frightened out of your mind."

Remembering her manners, she hastily curtsied to him. "So you are the owner of the manor? You must be the eldest son then. It is a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur."

His expression shifted into something unreadable as he stepped closer. Almost too close.

"Welcome, little bunny. I'm ever so pleased you made it. Come, let me show you around your new home."

She nodded and started behind him, entirely forgetting the party she had come to investigate due to the absolute silence.

The steady tap of his cane resounded through the halls as he guided a short tour of the wing. At last they reached a balcony at the end of the hall.

He led her to the railing to lean against it. Smiling all the while, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I look forward to getting to know you better. As a token of goodwill from your new master, allow me to share with you my secret."

She held her breath in surprise as he removed his eyepatch. A beautiful blue added to his eclectic look. "Now that you know my secret, you can never leave~ Welcome home, my dear."

The sight of his gleaming blue eye began to swirl in her vision with the blood red. Gripping the railing in alarm, Emma suddenly felt her knees give out, just registering him catching her.

He smiled down at her as she passed out in his arms.

His step was lively as he carried her to her back to her room, laying her on the bed. He kissed her brow. "You belong to me now, little rabbit."

Smiling broadly, he left the room, locking it behind him.

The trampling beast was satisfied at long last.

To be continued.

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Riddlers with a s/o who really likes horror movies, old ones, news one, everything in between long as it's horror? Need to know who's ear I can talk off

"Riddlers and Horror Movies" Riddler party x Reader

Several of these riddlers share direct horror movie quirks with me have fun guessing which. Also listed favorite horror film(s).

TW: horror films, blood and gore descriptions, mentions of emotional self-harm

Gotham

He's the guy who is going to contradict and tell you every medical inaccuracy of the deaths and mechanics in the movies. Yes, of course there's suspension of disbelief but at some point things are just wrong.

Babe, that should be arterial blood but they're portraying venous blood consistency :(

If you don't mind him talking at length about how these things would actually go OR conversely how well the sfx portrayed real injuries, he is your horror movie buddy! None of it bothers him considering how many real life murder, suicide and accident victims he's had to perform autopsies on.

Cuddling with his gangly legs on the couch bundled up in a big blanket with you while the sounds of screams echo from the tv and fill the room. Huge smile. He especially old classics when you're in the mood. Black and white films and transatlantic accents... It sounds like a great night to him.

Favorite Horror Movies: Might be a surprise but he really loves "Freaks" from 1932. He will talk for a long time about how, even though many of the disabled actors were ostracized on set, the fact that they were present at all is significant. The ableist assholes get theirs in the end! He also has a lot of fondness for "Re-animator."

Btas

He's the one interested in the sfx rambles. What, you think he designed a video game and labyrinth for a theme park just because he's intelligent? He likes behind the scenes work. God help everyone if he and Scarecrow decided to get together to make a haunted house.

You ever see those huge animatronics in horror mazes, especially the huge end show pieces? That's where his interest goes.

Depending on how much you watch and express interest in that kind of thing, he genuinely might start making horror animatronics and programs. He has the know-how! His would be the realistic looking ones, especially for animals. Spooky but definitely based in forms you see in real life.

Well, beautiful, you might have helped him find a very profitable side gig. Everyone else might be sore at you for a while, though, given Edward scaring the fuck out of them with holograms and mechanics. Plus more team-ups with Scarecrow.

All this because you wanted to watch horror movies with him. His darling <3

Favorite horror movie: "The Thing" (1982) and while it's not his absolute favorite, he ends up enjoying "Willy's Wonderland" a lot for both the animatronics and video game nods.

60s

The old ones with little to no gore is fine! More modern hack and slashers might be a little too spooky for him :( definitely never show him "Hostel" or anything in that vein.

Truthfully, it's not the violence or the blood, he's seen that. It's the suffering that gets him. It all seems so pointless and needless. At least when he's attempting to cut batman into tiny pieces using a comically giant fan, there's a goal or point. In his mind, anyways.

Before dating you his idea of horror was "Dracula", "Frankenstein"... "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken".... Start with horror that has a more comedic or cheesy element- "Little Shop of Horrors" to "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil." "Creepshow" 1 and 2 from the 80s! If you ease him into it and don't go too extreme, he'll love watching horror movies with you.

Favorite Horror Movie: OKAY THIS IS CHEATING BECAUSE IT'S NOT A MOVIE BUT. He'd be a HUGE fan of the "Tales from the Crypt" show from the early 90s (that is almost impossible to find streaming rip my horror uncle The Cryptkeeper). Horror plus puns. He will always take a funny, morbid pun! Plus... man can appreciate a cackle. He also has several opinions about the original "Suspiria."

Zero Year

It has to have something of a decent story or he's not paying attention. Where is the BACKGROUND? Sidenote: if you get him into something like Bloodborne (I know, not a movie) with lots of lore, expect to not see him for a hot minute as he consumes all the information he can like a sponge.

He tends to favor psychological horror- Although, if it means spending time with you and gaining favor, he would watch most anything. Especially if there's the possibility of close physical affection... ANYWAYS. He's also the one who wants to watch a bunch of foreign language film horror such as "Les yeux sans visage" in original French.

Another thing is that he will watch things over and over and over again with you if you want. Part of it is the undiagnosed neurodivergency. Part of it is because you always catch new details when you watch things again. Him noticing something that you didn't and him getting to tell you and impressing you is a special kind of high. He will talk about movies for hours afterwards. "Jacob's Ladder" has been a several hours long dissection MULTIPLE TIMES.

Favorite Horror Movies: "Angel Heart" is his top all time favorite. If you haven't seen it, he will practically tie you up to watch it together- He also really enjoyed "The Lighthouse" and "Us."

Arkham

Similar to BTAS, he is also interested in the animatronics. His, however, would lean to body horror and sci-fi. Something about biology and machine blending together... it gets him kind of excited.

He will sit and work while watching you play something like Deadspace (sorry, a game again) for HOURS. Then he wants to watch the prequel movie with you. Also if you don't mind subtitles, he has this recommendation for "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" if you haven't seen it already. And if you haven't... You are in for an experience.

In short, this man is about the body horror. He likes other horror too, but that's his bread and butter. Sci-fi horror as well. Bonus when there is overlap. He's seen "Annihilation" at least twenty times and has the books dog-eared and rough from multiple reads somewhere in his belongings. Yes, they are ultimately different, but he's in love with the concept enough that to him he appreciates both.

He is going to scare you with animatronics he makes. Sometimes intentionally. Sometimes not. Have fun with that.

Favorite horror movies: Cronenberg period but he has a special fondness for "Videodrome" and "The Fly" (1986).

Telltale

Despite it being an excellent movie, he despises "Jacob's Ladder." It brings up too many unpleasant thoughts. Movies, especially horror, with medical experimentation are a trigger though he'll never say it out loud. You find this out as you discuss watching certain movies and see the connection between all of them.

That being said, the horror movies he likes have two themes: they have meaning/ a message or they involve transformation. The first is because anything too simple bores him. The second is totally absolutely NOT because of projection of his own trauma.

Show him "Get Out" and "Nope" and he gains a deep reverence for Jordan Peele as a writer and director. Intelligent, entertaining, and the perfect amount of horror mixed in. Kind of a fan, only you know, really.

80s version of "The Fly" makes him emotional and you probably only watch it once with him. He likes it a lot! Just... the slow transformation via a science accident is very relatable. Madness overtaking you.

Favorite horror movies: "An American Werewolf In London" it's a classic. Not to mention in his opinion one of the best transformation scenes in a movie.

2022/nashton

Ha... so here's the thing. He likes "Hostel" and movies like that with lots of violence and gore. He's even seen "Wolf Creek" and got some real excitement out of it. HOWEVER. Movies in that vein are a form of emotional self-harm for him. He likes them in the moment but they also usually trigger massive anxiety and depression episodes for him later on in the day/night.

Others like "Se7en" (I know it's a thriller not true horror), "Saw" and the like are usually okay. There's a distinctive difference that may only exist in his own mind, but the more you watch with him, the more you'll find out which movies are "safe" for him. Which is good! He does like horror movies, but as we know from the prequel comics, he's not always good at taking care of himself due to massive amounts of trauma.

He loves films that are gems that aren't super well known in the US when he can find them. Have you seen the Korean horror film "The Silenced"? No? You're in for a treat.

He likes movies that have a logic or puzzle to them. Complex mechanics and traps. A sick sense of justice dispensed.

Favorite horror movies: The "Saw" series. Also "The Collector." He sees the upside down shot with the reflective contacts and the spider allegories and his eyes dilate like a cat seeing it's favorite toy.

[dracophile]

Haunted Mansion Old vs. New

Saw The Haunted Mansion today at the theater. It's pretty good! They maybe have a few too many characters we don't get to know as well in favor of focusing on the main character (I get why, but tbh a lot of the others seemed to have more interesting backstories so I kind of wish they'd maybe combined one of them into the main character), but they had a lot of fun one liners, easter eggs, and good story. Everything makes relative sense

I say this in comparison to the 2003 movie we watched before to remind ourselves how that one went, and show it to my nephew who had never seen it. The new one is honestly a VAST improvement. Watching the old one just made me realize how dumb Eddie Murphy and his family was, especially the wife.

Like, Eddie Murphy was typical workaholic dad from your 90s to 2000s build, like Robin Williams in Hook or Jim Carey in Liar Liar. Kids are...Kids. But the wife? Woman gets a call from a creepy voice asking for only her to come view the house when she and her husband are both realtors? That should've been an immediate click of the phone, that is some serial killer shit. Puts up with her husband? Questionable. Like even he can't really justify why he keeps putting work first and like...that kind of takes away his motivation for everything too. But, house is creepy and covered in cobwebs with a cemetery in the back? Oh, but the architecture! Can't find find her husband and the "charming" master of the house keeps looking at her with googly eyes, telling her tragic tales from a hundred years ago like he was there, and remarking on his lost love? Red flags everywhere, but she still follows him to the attic!

The man has to come out and directly say he thinks she's the reincarnation of his lover and reveal he's a ghost before realizing something is wrong. And she's just kind of...blah. Her character is just "the lady to be fought over who is also a mother and a realtor".

Also, the story didn't make much sense as to why they had ghosts from all over the world and history in this one mansion, hand-waving it as being just a magnet for them--yet to be honest you only ever really see them in the graveyard, for like less than five minutes. The only ghosts used as characters are originals who are just a maid and a footman, none of the ones from the ride, and no other ghosts besides the butler work against the family. Instead you get a bunch of zombies in the crypt, I'm guessing because they worked so well in Pirates of the Caribbean. But because there are hardly any ghosts, you don't see a whole lot of allusions to the ride either besides the graveyard and the climax is a little lackluster, with the butler literally being dragged to hell after admitting he killed his master's lover because she wasn't good enough via a giant fire serpent that we never see in the ride. I mean, zombies weren't in the original Pirates ride, but they are at least explicitly zombie PIRATES and they work it into the setting fairly well. Explicitly showing heaven and hell at the end and moving on the ghosts was kind of jarring but also it's over really fast for being the supposed final boss. And begs the question why he never was taken before--the curse is never really explained. The new lays out why the ghosts are there, why they are trapped, and has a showdown between an army of ghosts and the protagonists, which works a lot. Looking at it compared to the new one, it's obvious they put a lot more thought into the 2023 version.

New one makes a lot more sense in the story, with them having just kept summoning ghosts trying to find one specific one, and accidentally summoning an evil spirit. The antagonist makes sense, the ghosts are front and center to the story, including just the shear number, the effects are nice, there's lots of visual easter eggs for fans and cameos, and death and the afterlife are prominent in the story while still being relatively inclusive and kid friendly (though some of the jokes are darker, I wouldn't say they were inappropriate. There is a lot of reference to murder though. Surprisingly no hanging bodies like the first though!). It falters a little here and there,including one part of the climax being a little eh for me, but I won't spoil it and it's still better than the 2003 one. I will say I wish they did more with the camera idea because I'm a sucker for Fatal Frame type scenarios and it felt like they dropped it too soon. Oh, but they made Madame Leota a Russian medium/spiritualist who catered to royalty and dressed like a noble rather than using "g*psy" a whole bunch and playing into that stereotype, so that was nice. Every blah moment is balanced with something I really like, so it's all pretty good.

I had no idea Jared Leto was playing the Hatbox Ghost, but you never actually see Leto himself so...eh. Not my first choice, but he does a good job with the voice, I will give him that...begrudgingly. Just hope he didn't do any method acting for this one.

Basically I think it's worth the watch if you want some family friendly ghost stuff and a popcorn flick with a decent amount of heart too it. Could it have been better? Well yeah, but so can most things. Maybe I'll do something more detailed another day but if you like Disney and like the haunted mansion ride, I don't think you'd be disappointed with this one.

[heroes-den]

Shrike felt her heart racing in her chest as she struggled against the chains holding her down. The cold stone of the altar against her bare skin did nothing to slow the sweat rolling down her forehead and chest as she heard the chanting growing louder. She needed to get out of here, and fast, before something terrible happened!

“Oh Dark One,” the lead cultist called out, stepping up to the altar with arms outstretched, staring beyond the girl to the statue she was bound before. “The time for your return is nigh—we gift this offering, to appease your desires, and welcome you into our world!”

Shit! Shrike wriggled more desperately against the chains—she as almost out of time! She needed help!

@ofdarkestdesires

Hex had been hired to investigate a series of disappearances that had been happening for a few ten-day by the local city who's guards couldn't be spared or weren't brave enough to venture outside the city walls. He had found a strange hooded man and after some 'aggressive negotiations' the man had divulged the meeting place under an ancient crypt a mile outside the city limits. Once there he had made short work of the guards and let the other captives free, but had heard the tell tale signs of creepy chanting and one he couldn't leave that unspoiled.

He crept around a stone obelisk and saw the scene unfold. The tiefling wasn't versed in magic, but he could see a bad ritual when he saw one. The barbarian hefted a Javeline and sent the sharp tip right into the chanting one's throat before leaping in and dealt with the rest. Hex had become a mass of muscle, rage and whirling death. Now it was over, the magic from the ritual dissipating and he turned to the bound woman.

[hostess-of-horror]

I'm having so many ideas and not enough energy to do or finish any of them AAAAAAAAAAAA-

Just so that I don't just wallow in my inability to get off my ass and do this shit, I'm going to type it all down!

1. The Haunted Mansion movie (done right!)

- This one is actually based on a slew of Discord convos between me and AJ (@sneklover). It was mostly just me ranting about how God awful Disney's live action remakes are getting and what I would've done if I were to make the iconic attraction a film or t.v. show.

- I have seen the original live action Haunted Mansion movie with Eddie Murphy but not the newest one, BUT MY POINT STILL STANDS! Both are literally the same thing where the story focuses more on the Foolish Mortals than the Happy Haunts and I do not like that.

- If I were to film a Haunted Mansion movie/show, I would make it an anthology horror movie. Think Tales From The Crypt or Creepshow but with Master Gracey telling the stories behind iconic characters such as the Hatbox Ghost, Constance Hatchaway, the two Dueling Ghosts in the ballroom, etc. At some point towards the end, Master Gracey would then tell his story, of how he inherited the mansion, was cursed as the Ghost Host by the mansion itself, and how he tried in vain to lift the curse.

- I remember telling my mom about my idea and, while she loved it, did say that Disney would not like it because they want to put out a more broad demographic. "They're not catering to us," she said (paraphrased). Which makes sense, I just jokingly mentioned to AJ how Disney wouldn't hire me for stuff like this lmao.

- My Haunted Mansion would be a love letter to the Gothic Horror genre and dark humor. An old Louisiana mansion that's haunted in more ways than one, its owner an unwilling slave on the brink of insanity, and all the tales of death kept within its walls. And these tales are nothing short of harrowing, as well as hilarious!

2. Vincent Price x Self-Insert Fanart

- I love this old man so fucking much I wanna kiss him I wanna dance with him I wanna cuddle with him I wanna slowly drive him into insanity so that I can see him smile lovingly at me I wanna be the harbinger of his downfall and his eternal bride aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- 🖤🖤🖤😩🙌🥴🥴🥴

- So yeah, pretty much what it says on the tin. I was inspired by the very talented @theboarsbride for the idea and Corman's The Masque of the Red Death, starring the Handsome Devil of Horror himself Vincent Price, and wanted to make an AU.

- Masque AU where Francesca (the main character) does give in to the dark side, but of her own volition, transforming into the Red Death. The Red Death is both a Reaper and a Resurrection - a purveyor of plagues and a damsel turned demon. A Bride in Blood...

- It's basically a sort of rewrite of the original ending and now it's sorta... 🌶️spoicy🌶️ so, um.... yea. smexy monster lady x human stuffs.

- ANYWAYS...!

3. Walt Disney's The Great Mouse OC

- I've been wanting to do something with the GMD fandom for a long while now, and I think a hypothetical OC from an hypothetical sequel fanfic would be a good introduction!

- So, in a nutshell: She's a mad scientist spider who is the new secondary villain of said sequel. She has no name as of yet, but she is mute (either from an injury or is simply nonverbal), extremely passionate about her grotesque experiments, and very, very lonely. Unlike Ratigan, the Greatest Criminal Mind, she is more somewhat spontaneous, preferring the tasks of stitching her family together over anything tactic. In other words, she's the brawns while Ratigan is the brains (and brawns). Her goal in villainy is to build and destroy - to build her long lost family and to destroy all of micedom.

- While she is the one who caused the whole case, the main focus on the story is mainly the ✨tension✨ between Basil and Ratigan. In other words, opening up old wounds... by resurrecting the dead!

- Yup, Sherlock Holmes: Furry Edition is now becoming a Gothic horror story. Heavily inspired by Little Nightmares II, Jack the Ripper, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the sequel is a tale of murder and madness, with a bloodcurdling case and a rivalry that won't stay dead.

- In this fanfic, I interpreted that Ratigan did die in GMD and so that he could be resurrected by my OC in the sequel! I also wanted to have Fidget resurrected but AJ doesn't like to think of her lil guy dead, so... Yeah, Ratigan is the Frankenstein's Monster and Phantom of the Opera of the plot. (POTO because I thought of the sequel's climax being set during an opera)

- Meanwhile, Basil and Dawson are having a Very Bad Time, with Basil constantly being haunted by the professor and Dawson mentally reliving his days at the regiment.

- Disney will never hire me.

[burningexeter]

Here's a fairly solid amount of all the different kinds of media that I think both can fit well in and could share the same universe as one of the greatest animated shows ever made Transformers Prime, along with a fan sequel I have in mind Transformers Skyfire, which you can both read and see below for yourself:

• Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock

• Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters' Reaper (TV Series)

• Robert Kirkman's Outcast (TV Series)

• Jami O'Brien's NOS4A2 (TV Series)

• Michael Dougherty's Trick r Treat & Krampus

• Mark Waters' The Spiderwick Chronicles

• Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver & Robert Zemeckis' Tales From The Crypt

— The Man Who Was Death

— And All Through The House

— Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone

— Only Sin Deep

— Lover Come Hack To Me

— The Thing From The Grave

— For Cryin' Out Loud

— Four-Sided Triangle

— Judy, You're Not Yourself Today

— Fitting Punishment

— Lower Berth

— Mute Witness To Murder

— Television Terror

— Abra Cadaver

— Top Billing

— Easel Kill Ya

— Deadline

— Yellow

— None But The Lonely Heart

— On A Deadman's Chest

— What's Cookin'

— The New Arrival

— Showdown

— King Of The Road

— Maniac At Large

— Split Personality

— Strung Along

— Death Of Some Salesman

— Forever Ambergris

— People Who Live In Brass Hearses

— Two For The Show

— Well Cooked Hams

— Came The Dawn

— Half-Way Horrible

— Till Death Do We Part

— Only Skin Deep

— The Assassin

— Staired In Horror

— Surprise Party

— You, Murderer

— Fatal Caper

— Escape

— Horror In The Night

— Cold War

— The Kidnapper

— Report From The Grave

and

— Confession

• Dan Angel & Billy Brown's R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series

— Every episode of the entire show except Red Eye, Poof De Fromage, Bad Egg, Mrs. Worthington and Lotsa Luck.

• Bede Blake & Robert Butler's Creeped Out

— Trolled

— A Boy Called Red

— Bravery Badge

— Shed No Fear

— The Traveller

— Side Show

— The Many Place

— The Unfortunate Five

— The Takedown

— Tilly Bone

and

— Splinta Claws

• Matthew Robbins' Batteries Not Included

• Bruce Timm, Giancarlo Volpe & Jim Krieg's Green Lantern: The Animated Series

• Dan Mandel & Chris Pearson's Dan Vs.

• Brad Bird's The Incredibles

• Dan Cross & David Hoge's Pair Of Kings

• Steven Spielberg's The Adventures Of Tintin

• Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (1999)

• John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China

• Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn

• Jordan Peele's Nope

• Rocksteady "Before Their Fall" Studios' Urban Chaos: Riot Response

• Istvan Zorkoczy's The Secret War (Love, Death & Robots)

• Neil Gaiman & Lenny Henry's Neverwhere (Mini-Series)

• LAIKA's Wildwood & The Night Gardener

• Jeffrey Boam & Carlton Cuse's The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr.

and finally, last but definitely not least —

• David Lowery's Pete's Dragon (2016)

[syn4k]

Dusty coffin

In Stratos, death is a thing that doesn't have a lot of ritual around it. Due to Joel not really being able to die, y'know, being immortal and all, usually the residents of Stratos keep to their own customs or go somewhere else for services.

Most go to nearby Sanctuary, or hire the residents of the Goblands to give a hasty burial, but one family sent their eldest daughter all the way to the Ancient Capital, for they had heard of the tales of the man who knew his history books backwards and forwards and lived amongst the dead.

It was noon when Pix heard soft footsteps behind him, and turned around to see a young woman perhaps 20 years of age standing there awkwardly. He stood up and dusted his jeans off. "Hello," he said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The woman opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, then looked at the crypt next to him. It was normal for visitors to drop by and ask questions about the crypt and the statue that towered above, but Pixl recognized the weight on her shoulders and the bags under her eyes.

"Ah," he said with a nod, understanding. "I can help with that, yes. Where do you live?"

"Stratos," the woman said. She kept her eyes on the ground. "We heard that you have some experience with- putting the dead to rest, burials and such."

Pix nodded. "It's not my usual line of work," he said slowly, "but I think I can work something out."

After he had excused himself to get a small bag from his crypt, the two walked back to Stratos together. It would have been faster to fly, but Pix preferred to go the way that his companion was obviously most familiar with.

As they walked, through small snippets of conversation he slowly figured out the nature of the family's situation: the woman's name was Minae, her family had resided in Stratos for a little over three years now, and her grandfather had passed only four days prior. The family did not know anyone who was experienced in this line of work, and they didn't know how to go about it themselves.

"That's fair," said Pix with a nod. "Death is a fragile subject, and even more difficult to work with."

Minae looked at him curiously. "You know a lot about death for someone who- forgive my assumption- does not look close to it at all."

Pix laughed at that. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he said. "I don't really like to share my age, because it's not a relevant topic most of the time, but trust me, I might be a smidge older than I look."

They walked through the streets of Lower Stratos and eventually ended up at a small but well-kept white stucco house near the far ends of the town. Minae knocked at the door and stepped back as an older woman with greying hair opened it, looked Pix up and down, and bowed as much as her back would allow, both hands pressed together.

"This is my mother," said Minae. "She doesn't speak much English," she added apologetically. "I can translate."

"It's not an issue," said Pix. "I only have one question to ask." Minae nodded. "Did your grandfather ever mention what he wished would be done with his body after his death?"

Minae exchanged a few words with her mother, who paused a bit before saying a couple words.

"She said he wants- wanted to be buried under a tree on the edge of the valley," she said, voice breaking a little. "It was his favorite spot to sit."

Minae's mother gestured them both inside. It was a small place but just as well-kept as the outside, and a man about the same age as the older woman sat in a rocking chair. He nodded at Pix, who nodded back.

Minae opened a door to the backyard and waved a small boy in. He was a bit too young to understand the gravity of what had happened, with his bright eyes and dirt smudged all over his knees, but he waved at Pix, who nodded back.

"Are you the death man?" he asked. He paused. "The man here for the death?"

"I am," said Pix.

"He's in this room," said the boy, pointing him down a hall. Minae followed, but the boy waved her off and said a couple words to her. She smiled at him. "He said I should probably take a break," she said. "He'll lead you from here."

"That's alright," said Pix, and the boy took his hand, leading him on towards the room at the end of the hall. He opened the door quietly.

"He sleeps," the boy said quietly, holding a finger to his lips. Pix nodded and walked in.

The room was small, but tidy and well-kept. A short dresser sat at one end, a decently-sized coffin in the other, and in the corner directly opposite the door there was a bed with the sheets covering the bed entirely. By the way the blankets lay, Pix could tell there was a body under it. The window was wide open, and a gentle breeze drifted in.

"His room," said the boy quietly. "Ba made him a death box." He pointed to the coffin. "Heavy. You probably cannot carry?"

Pix walked over to the coffin on the floor and knelt. It had obviously been constructed quickly, for the edges were unsanded and the wood was untreated, but vines and flowers were carved into the sides and along the edges of the top. Despite the hasty work, it was clearly made with care and made to last, and every joint fit together perfectly.

He lifted one edge experimentally to find that the coffin was lighter than he expected, but still had a decent heft to it. He nodded. "I will need some help carrying it."

The boy ran out, coming back in a short while later with Minae. "There's some people we know who agreed to carry the coffin," she said. "They can help."

"Thank goodness," muttered Pix, standing up. "I was beginning to worry I'd have to lift it myself."

Minae smiled briefly, then her face was back to its usual state. "Shall I get them?"

"In a minute," said Pix. "I'll need to get him in there." Minae nodded and backed out, closing the door behind her.

The man under the white sheet appeared to be in his late 70s or 80s, maybe even his 90s, and the sun-tanned wrinkles on his face and hands spoke of a long life spent in the sun. He looked very peaceful lying there on his back, and Pix hated to disturb him, but this had to be done.

It was an easier job than expected to get him into the coffin, and Pix tried his best to arrange him how he had been lying faceup on the bed. He stood up to close the coffin and noticed for the first time that the man's folded hands bore a simple gold wedding ring on one finger.

He had to pause a minute before closing the lid.

Walking outside, he nodded to Minae, who gestured for him to follow her outside. By now, the sun was high in the sky, and except for a couple dogs barking in the distance and boys shouting in the alleyway, the town was silent.

Minae led him to a nearby alleyway and waved a group of four over- all young men with broadset shoulders and strong builds, maybe loggers, maybe miners? They nodded at Pix, who inclined his head back.

"You came for the coffin?" one asked Minae. She nodded. "This the guy who's doing it?"

"I am," said Pix.

"His outfit looks like it should be in the grave itself," said another from the back. Minae winced and shot them what was surely a withering glare, but Pix just laughed. "That's fair," he said. "I do dress like an old man."

"Just dress like?" asked another boy skeptically.

"At least he knows how to joke," said the boy in the front. "So many deathkeepers are drier than the bones they put in the ground."

It was a struggle to get the coffin out of the house- none of the family was present for that except for Minae, whose eyes watered a little and who made no attempt to dry her tears. The boys all huffed as they got the coffin outside and into the nearby fields, towards a small collection of trees on the edge of the valley, including a towering oak flourishing green that Pix guessed was the tree mentioned earlier.

"There'll be another one of our guys here in a minute with a shovel," said one of the boys carrying the front of the coffin. "She has the dimensions already. She knows how far to dig and everything."

"That's good," said Pix.

"Yeah, wouldn't want any of the bits to be poking aboveground," said one of the boys in the back. Behind him, Minae sighed.

As it turned out, the girl with the shovel was already at the tree, with the same broadset shoulders and square jaw as the rest of the boys. She leaned against it, waving as they approached.

"Ello," she said gruffly. "You took too long. I already dug the hole." Indeed she had. A few feet in front of the tree was a rectangular hole of a good width and depth, and the boys all counted down together as they lifted it in, with Minae hovering nearby and the girl giving directions.

"You're the one they found, right?" she asked Pix, who nodded. "You get to cover it, then," she said, stepping aside.

Pix hesitated, and she continued. "It's a thing we do here where the person who touched the body last is the one to cover it up," she said. "They might not be satisfied anyways, and might rise in the night to be buried again properly, and nobody wants to go through all that again, especially since the person in question usually ends up breaking the coffin."

Pix nodded and grabbed the shovel, filling in the rest of the hole as he went. It was silent except for the gravelly rustle of the shovel in dirt, and incredibly warm, so that he had to wipe off his forehead three times before he was done.

"Thank you," said Minae.

"Of course," he said.

"We've already got a coin pouch ready," she said as the pallbearers and the burial girl walked off, one holding the shovel over their shoulder. "Fourty pieces, I think?"

"There's no need," said Pix, leaning against the tree. "I'm serious. You don't need to pay."

"But for the work you did," started Minae uncertainly.

"If there's a ceremony afterwards, I can handle with that too," said Pix. "No payment needed. The peace it gives both the dead and their families is payment enough."

"The ceremony is only for family, sorry," said Minae, shaking her head. "But unless you're absolutely sure-"

"I'm sure," said Pix. "No payment."

"I'll mention you in the ceremony later," said Minae, walking forwards and bowing her head. "Pix of the Ancient Capital, respecter of the dead."

"It is an honor," said Pixl solemnly.

Minae nodded, and as she turned around and ran to catch up with her friends, Pix knelt to bury a small copper coin with a candle etched on both sides a little ways under the ground. He'd forgotten to put it into the coffin, but this worked just as well. He stood and dusted off his hands.

As golden hour came, the gently striated rays of the sun alighted on a man with his simple purple wings taking to the sky.

[fantomcomics]

What's Out This Week? 10/18

Y'all coming to our Furry Nite event this weekend??

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 - Patrick Horvath

Don’t. Murder. The locals.

This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm décor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.

So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.

Cyberpunk 2077: XOXO #1 - Bartosz Sztybor & Jakub Rebelka

Beneath the skin, flesh, and cyberware lies a beating heart--and only two things can stop a heart from beating: love and death. It's gang on gang violence as the Maelstroms target the Moxes for an ambush. Is a bloodbath underway or could this be love at first sight?

BRZRKR #1: Pen & Ink - Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt & Ron Garney

For those that couldn't get enough of Keanu Reeves' record-obliterating jump into the comics world, BRZRKR returns in a new format while fans eagerly await the Netflix feature film, the Netflix anime series, the novel, and more comic books!In addition to enjoying the brutality in the refreshingly bleak black and white of BOOM! Studios' Pen & Ink line, series artist Ron Garney brings some method to the mayhem with brand new exclusive commentary!

Crypt Of Shadows #1 - Rebecca Roanhorse & Karen Darboe

The heroes of the Marvel Universe spend most of their time in the bright sun, flying high above it all…but every once in a while, they venture into the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of the world. There lurk the creatures, the monsters, the vampires…the ones who prey on innocence and goodness. Join us, and some of your favorite heroes, for tales of fangs, claws and silent, stalking swamp creatures to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve!

Fear The Funhouse: Toybox Of Terror One-Shot - Timmy Heague, Danielle Paige, Michael Northrop, Ryan Caskey, Ryan Jampole, Tango & Sweeney Boo

In Riverdale, even the toys are terrifying in this anthology one-shot set in the universe of last year's successful Fear the Funhouse comic. Three tales of dolls, robots, and puppets gone awry all thanks to the work of a shadowy toymaker and a young girl intent on revenge, in the vein of the widely successful M3GAN movie and Child's Play franchise.

Gargoyles Halloween Special One-Shot - Greg Weisman, Bonesso Diego & Matteo Lolli

It's young Gnash's first Halloween in Manhattan, and you're invited to come along as he heads out to find friends on the one night of the year when Gargoyles can roam the city unbothered! Unfortunately, he's about to run afoul of the masked Quarrymen, who are out to hunt down any Gargoyle foolish enough to brave the streets on All Hallow's Eve. That means Brooklyn, Katana, Lexington, Broadway, Angela, and even Goliath are in real danger! Will they survive this cruel trick, or become a treat for the marauding Quarrymen? Find out in October with this all-new 40-page special featuring a 28-page main story written by Gargoyles creator GREG WEISMAN!

Hack/Slash: Back To School #1 (of 4) - Zoe Thorogood

Slasher hunter Cassie Hack is only just getting used to her man-monster partner, Vlad, when she's drawn into a new case involving a murderous bunny mascot, dead kids, and an entire squad of maladjusted teenage serial-killer hunters!

A completely new chapter in the beloved, long-running series that's perfect for new readers and old fans alike, just in time for Halloween.

Headless Horseman Halloween Annual #1 - David Dastmalchian, Valeria Burzo, Phillip Sevy & Lukas Ketner

Boils, ghouls, vampires, monsters, and creatures of all kinds, welcome. Take a seat, go on, fill the aisles, relax your fangs, and sit with us for a while. Join us in a macabre and magical journey through all the haunts and spooks that keep you up at night for here we revel in the darkness and present to you a chilling, nay petrifying experience as the Headless Horseman presents a collection of five terrifying tales to warm up your cold soul. Hurry up now, you won't want to keep them waiting...

My Little Pony: Black, White & Blue One-Shot - Tee Franklin & Agnes Garbowska

Sorry, everypony, it seems our printer ran out of pink, purple, yellow, green, red-uh, well, all the colors except black, white, and blue! What to do with all this blue? Hmm... OH! Drumroll please...In Misty's first comic appearance, everypony's favorite blue pony is in Maretime Bay for a sleepover with the Mane 5! But when everypony wakes up...all the color is gone! It kinda looks like Violette and Skye's favorite old TV show, Betwitched-at least the years it was in black and white-but everypony can still see blue for some reason. Determined to make the best of a gloomy situation, Vi and Skye put together a plan to spread cheer. Meanwhile, Izzy helps the distraught Misty see the beauty in messy situations using the power of unicycling! Join us for a magical one-shot of color calamity before returning to your regularly scheduled programs.

Sensational She-Hulk #1 - Rainbow Rowell, Jessica Gao, Genolet, Andres, & Jen Bartel

THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK IS BACK! Jen Walters is dusting off her adjective and kicking off a new era! The best hero slash lawyer in the Marvel Universe is going to remind you why she's so SENSATIONAL, going up against her deadliest challenge yet! PLUS: MARVEL STUDIOS SHE-HULK series writer JESSICA GAO makes hers Marvel in a short story with the Jade Giant!

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #1 - Saladin Ahmed, Juan Ferreyra & Rod Reis

Terror continues for the Web-Slinger! After a fight with SPIDER-CIDE, Spider-Man gets taken on the most terrifying ride of his life. If you think you've already read the scariest Spider-Man story ever, you may stand corrected after this one!

Subgenre #1 - Matt Kindt & Wilfredo Torres

A man is living two lives. He is a private detective in a dystopian cyberpunk future trying to solve a triple murder. But when he falls asleep... he wakes up as a wandering adventurer in a barbaric fantasy world where magic exists. Is he two separate people? Or is he a third person that has undergone a psychotic split? He jumps back and forth from sword-wielding barbarian to jaded private eye trying to solve the brutal crime. But the bigger question is, can he merge these realities without losing himself?

A Splatter Western One-Shot #1 (of 4) - J M Brandt, Tom Napolitano & Garry Brown

A chance encounter between a sideshow owner and a man with his fair share of secrets unleashes an unholy terror on the folk of Randall's Oasis and Professor Morris' Pageant of Curiosities. A grisly murder brings the attention of fastidious Sheriff Jacob Dillon. What will he discover in the desert, and how will he stop it? Read the darkly comedic Splatter Western Swallower of Shades to find out those shocking answers!

TMNT: The Best Of Bebop & Rocksteady - James Biggie

Elegant. Mild-mannered. Graceful. Two upstanding gentlemen eager to help their neighbors. Just Kidding! Bebop and Rocksteady are wild, angry degenerates with muscles the size of sedans. And they're charging toward your local comic shop to relive their greatest hits! Try not to miss the party, will ya?

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantom Fam?

[lizardsfromspace]

Greetings, boils, ghouls, skele-thems and non-bone-ary individuals! Tonight's terror tale is called "I just finished watching Tales from the Crypt and here are my thoughts on the series". Horror pun

Season One

Season one was just six episodes, and aired in June 1989. The whole season, because the first three episodes aired on one night, which would be the case for every season but the last. This season isn't quite there yet, notably the Cryptkeeper animatronic is less expressive and the character himself is less silly.

Best Episode: "And All Through The Night". The most important episode, because it set the tone for the series (the premiere is good, but not very representative, being a crime story with a fourth-wall breaking protagonist). It's the story about a woman who kills her husband, and then finds herself stalked by a evil, killer Santa. All from the director of Back to the Future.

Honorable Mentions: "The Man Who Was Death", "Dig That Cat...He's Real Gone", "Collection Complete"

Worst Episode: idk "Lover Come Hack to Me" is p. forgettable

Season Two

Season two is a step up in length (18 episodes!), the Cryptkeeper (more expressive and more cackly), and stars (Arnold Schwarzenegger directs the second episode). It set the pattern for what the show was: a ghoulish, bloody horror anthology, done with high production values and featuring Hollywood's biggest stars and directors.

The one problem, and it's one that will haunt the rest of the show's run, is that Tales from the Crypt also features a fair chunk of non-horror crime stories, and they're pretty bland on the whole. Luckily, the show's producers know not to do them all the time...yet.

Best Episode: "Television Terror". Tales from the Crypt was rarely scary, or really trying to be. It leaned more towards "fun", and as for scare factor, well, these were adaptions of comic books designed to scare children (and even though it was a very R-rated HBO show, kids loved Tales from the Crypt, enough for it to get both a Saturday morning cartoon & a kid's game show spinoff). But "Television Terror" is one of the few episodes that actually tries for grim, serious horror, and it's the show's scariest episode. It also stars sleazy 80s talk show host Morten Downey, Jr. as a sleazy talk show host, real stretch of a role there.

Honorable Mentions: "Cutting Cards" is another of the show's best episodes; "Three's A Crowd" has one of its best dark twist endings; "For Cryin' Out Loud" features Lee Arenberg as a murderous band promoter taunted by his conscience, Sam Kinison; "Four-Sided Triangle" features Patricia Arquette as a woman in love with a scarecrow; "The Ventriloquist's Dummy" is a twist on the cliche featuring Don Rickles; "Lower Berth" is a romance between a circus freak and a cursed mummy, with a surprise twist; "Mute Witness to Murder" is one of the show's few great noir episodes; "My Brother's Keeper" is a story of Siamese twins.

Worst Episode: "Dead Right", the season premiere. Demi Moore is a gold digger who marries a man when a psychic tells her he'll inherit a large sum of money, then shortly die. There's a decent prophecy twist, but man, so much of this is devoted to showing off how gross the man she married was.

Season Three

Around season three, a spinoff called Two-Fisted Tales was proposed, which would've adapted EC Comics' pulp action & adventure stories. It was never picked up, but the pilot's segements were folded into Tales, with one in season three and two in season four.

Best Episode: "Abra Cadaver". Beau Bridges gets revenge for his brother's prank by trapping him in his own body. Great, ghoulish POV work here.

Honorable Mentions: "Carrion Death" features Kyle MacLachlan as a fugitive handcuffed to a dead cop who swallowed the key to the cuffs; "The Trap" is a crime story with a good twist; "Top Billing" features Jon Lovitz as a struggling actor who will do anything to get a part in Hamlet; "Easel Kill Ya" has Tim Roth as a starving artist turned killer; "Undertaking Palor" is a kids-on-bikes story featuring Aron Eisenberg and Ke Huy Quan; "Mournin' Mess" has the guy from Wings investigating a group helping the homeless whose name is literally GHOULS; "Yellow" is one of the Two-Fisted Tales stories, featuring Kirk Douglas as a WWI general and his son Eric as the general's cowardly son.

Worst Episode: "Spoiled". It's a soap opera parody. Enough said.

Season Four

Season four and five are the show's peak.

Best Episode: "Split Personality". Goofy horror-comedy. Joe Pesci is a con artist who pretends to be twins so he can marry a pair of twins who. Don't want to share.

Honorable Mentions: "None But The Lonely Heart" is a story of a serial murderer of old women, directed by...Tom Hanks?; "On a Dead Man's Chest" is a tale of heavy metal and moving tattoos; "Seance" is another good noir episode; "Beauty Rest" is "Top Billing" but about a beauty pageant; "What's Cookin'" stars Christopher Reeve as a chef who discovers a new source of meat; "The New Arrival" is another of the show's legitimately scary episodes, featuring child psychologist David Warner going to the home of patient Zelda Rubinstein; "Strung Along" features Donald O'Connor as a puppeteer trying to make a comeback, but is his new assistant what he appears to be?

Worst Episode: "This'll Kill Ya". This one is just...bad? It opens with a protracted rip-off HOMAGE of the 1950 noir D.O.A., before diving into a boring weird science story, and ending with a contrived twist.

Season Five

Best Episode: "Death of Some Salesmen". TIM CURRY IN THREE ROLES!

Honorable Mentions: "Forever Ambergris" features Steve Buscemi and gnarly melting efffects; "Food for Thought" is a gothic circus story with Ernie Hudson and Joan Chen; "People Who Live in Brass Hearses" features Bill Paxton and Brad Dourif as crooks trying to rob a ice cream man; "House of Horror" features Wil Wheaton as a college student being put through ghostly hazing; "Creep Course" is a tale of mummies.

Worst Episode: "Came the Dawn". It's a worse Psycho, which means an evil-alternate-personality twist. Pass.

Season Six

OOF.

Season six starts fine, with two great episodes. Then...

OOF.

The show suddenly becomes comedy episodes and crime stories all the way down. Where are the ghouls? Where are the vampires? WHERE ARE THE WEREWOLVES??? (though the show never produced a great werewolf episode and I am Disappointed by that)

We do get some towards the end of the season, but this is the show's worst, by a lot.

It ends with "You, Murderer", a first-person story notable for resurrecting Humphrey Bogart (and, in the frame story, Alfred Hitchcock) via CGI. Which probably seemed more fun at the time, when it was a passing tech fad and not...a thing studios were actually trying to do

Best Episode: "Only Skin Deep". It's weird that such a silly season gave us one of the show's scariest episodes: the tale of a creep who picks up a masked woman at a costume party, and discovers it's the biggest mistake he'll ever make.

Honorable Mentions: "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" is a Nothing But Trouble-y story of Catherine O'Hara as an ambulance-chasing lawyer facing strict justice in a small town; "Staired in Horror" is a gothic curse story with a goopy ending; "Comes the Dawn" features CREATURES in a proto-30 Days of Night; "99 & 44/100% Pure Horror" is a story of the wife of a soap manufacturer, and also has a goopy ending.

Worst Episode: Many contenders, but one obvious winner. "The Pit" is a story of MMA fighters being pushed into a cage match by their wives. Nobody dies, and nothing even slightly horrific happens. It's just. Boxing. I have no idea why the Cryptkeeper is telling me about this

Season Seven

The seventh and final season suddenly moves the show to London. Yes, the entire season is produced in Britain; if you're expecting big British 90s stars, though, think again - apparently, British actors refused to do the show in Britain because of high taxes. It does feature not-yet-famous actors like Ewan McGregor and Daniel Craig, though.

I was told this was the worst one, but while it's nowhere near the peak, it's...better? This season does something unique by merging the crime stories and the horror stories into one, leading to many episodes that start with criminals, who then encounter something paranormal. It's also tilted more towards Actual Horror

The Cryptkeeper segments in this one feel perfunctory, though; after they started to sprawl out in the last couple seasons, he's barely in these, and there's only two that are Britain-themed despite the show pushing the British setting hard (the show's never had so many establishing shots). But the Cryptkeeper gets his largest role of the series in the series finale, "The Third Pig", the show's only animated episode and the only one narrated by the Cryptkeeper.

Best Episode: "Horror in the Night". A man shot in a heist finds his way to a hotel, which quickly turns surreal. Another of the show's scary episodes, and one featuring a kind of hallucinatory horror it rarely did.

Honorable Mentions: "Cold War" seems to be a crime story, but with a paranormal twist (this is the one with Ewan McGregor, who's American); "Report from the Grave" features a parapsychologist whose experiments in afterlife contact turn fatal; "About Face" is a bit of gothic Victoriana about a corrupt priest's illegitimate daughters; "Confession" stars Eddie Izzard as a suspect in serial killings.

Worst Episode: "Last Respects". The director of the 1972 Tales from the Crypt film returns to direct...a much worse version of one of that film's segments? Not sure what happened here.

Anyway should you watch Tales from the Crypt in 2023? YES!!! Tales from the Crypt filters through just about every genre of horror at some point (there are even a couple episodes that are proto-found footage) and even if it's rarely 'scary' it's almost always fun. It's also cool to see such a high-profile horror show, such a unabashedly pulpy and gross horror show, made in a time where horror was increasingly a dirty word. Now if only they could work out the rights issues so we can get our boy the Cryptkeeper back on his throne (pronounced like bone)

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

ACTOR Russell Crowe has revealed he is the distant relative of a notorious Jacobite Lord who was the last man to be executed by beheading in Britain.

The Gladiator star has been exploring his ancestry and said his research uncovered some surprising connections.

While he knew he had Scottish heritage, Crowe has recently discovered he is related to Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat – known as the Old Fox.

Known for his scheming plots and switching sides to and fro between the government and Jacobite causes, Lovat's clan was eventually among those defeated at the battle of Culloden in 1746 and he was executed the following year

Fans of the Outlander novels and TV series will recognise him as the grandfather of the lead character Jamie Fraser (below).

On X/Twitter, Crowe said he had begun by trying to trace his Italian roots, something made difficult by “folkloric family tales and misspelling”.

He discovered his great-great-grandfather Luigi Ghezzi had moved to New Zealand in 1864 after meeting Mary Ann Curtain in Cape Town.

The 59-year-old actor added: “Also something else that has recently come to light on my father's mother's side, via John (Jock) Fraser (arrived in NZ in 1841) we directly connect back to Simon Fraser. 11th Lord Lovat. Look him up.

“He’s quite the character. The Old Fox they used to call him.

“Seems his Machiavellian ways caught up to him at the age of 80, & he has a claim to infamy as the last man to have the head chopped off his living body in the Tower of London. His death even coined a phrase.

“Apparently, they set up temporary stands for the gentry to watch him die. One of these stands collapsed which resulted in the death of nine onlookers. Being told this just before he was put to death made him laugh.

He was still laughing when the blade struck his neck, thereby ‘laughing his head off’.”

Crowe also said his DNA suggested a strong Irish link, but he is currently uncertain where exactly this comes from.

The 11th Lord Lovat’s execution at Tower Hill in London drew huge crowds.

He had sided with Bonnie Prince Charlie during the 1745 Jacobite rising and was sentenced to death for treason.

Crowe has previously taken an interest in Scottish history. He is a supporter of the Clanranald Trust which has created the Duncarron fort near Denny, an authentic replica of a medieval stronghold.

The Australian actor donated a battering ram from the film Robin Hood to the fort.

In 2018, forensic experts were called in to try and identify if remains removed from a Highland crypt were those of the 11th Lord Lovat.

While official records stated he had been buried beneath the floor of a chapel in the Tower of London, his clan believed his remains had been “intercepted” and returned to Scotland.

However Professor Dame Sue Black determined the remains at Wardlaw Mausoleum were those of a woman and not the “Old Fox”.

Duncarron medieval village, in Carron Valley, was built by the Clanranald Trust for Scotland, a charity which relies heavily on donations and volunteers to help bring history to life at the site.

The medieval village site is featured in Outlander set during the American Revolution where it doubled as the location of Fort Ticonderoga.

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon:Vault of Horror

Today we look at a film based on Vault of Horror,the comics from the 50's....Not really,it just takes the title,and the stories actually come from Tales From the Crypt,but still

In this 1973 film 5 men enter a lounge and recount their nightmares

SO this films is based on EC comics and is a follow up to Amicus other EC comics adaptation Tales from the Crypt .Ive never read the comics but have seen thye previous film ,whichj ios a personal favorite of mine (And of course I have seen a few episodes of the TV show from the 80's and 90's and all three film connected to said series).Vault of Horror is a good movie and a good anthology .I dont think its as good as its predecessor Tales from the Crypt but it is an ejnoyable film

I will rank the segments from least fave to most fave

5.Bargain in Death -Lamest segment ,just a guy rying to fake his death for insurance and I found it boring,its the only dud in the movie

4.Midnight Mess -Guy goes to a mysterious town to kill his sister for inheretance ,unaware that its dangerous to be out atr night .This ones fine ,the twist is fun but its just funny how the brother is so upfront hin his murderous intentions .Fun fact the brother ands sister are played by actual siblings Daniel Massey and Anna Massey ,whose dad is Raymond MAssey AKA Johnathan Brewster from the macarbre comedy Arsenic and Old Lace ,so thats fun

3.This Trick Will kill you -A magician and his wife set out to steal a magic trick from a woman in India .Fun of this one is really Curd Jurgens and Dawn Addams as the villianous couple

2.The Neat Job -A man obsessed with neatness and order is constantly getting on the case of his new wife .Less horror (Till the end) and more classic dark comedy ,with it getting so high due to the punchline and the great performances of Terry-Thomas and Glynis Johns

1.Drawn and Quartered:An artist uses voodoo to enact revenge on those who wronged him .I love the idea of whatever the artist paints happening but really what sells this segment is a pre Doctor Who Tom Baker as the artist,he just has such a sinister quality

Overall reccomend this movie ,its reallly spooky fun

@filmcityworld1 @amalthea9 @marquisedemasque @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @ariel-seagull-wings @makingboneboy @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

[seanpultz]

Top 12 Favorite Episodes of Tales From The Crypt

#1

The Third Pig

#2

Yellow

#3

And All Through The House

#4

Split Personality

#5

Cutting Cards

#6

For Cryin' Out Loud

#7

Television Terror

#8

The Switch

#9

The Ventriloquist's Dummy

#10

My Brother's Keeper

#11

Carrion Death

#12

You, Murderer

Honorable Mentions: The Man Who Was Death, House of Horrors, Let The Punishment Fit The Crime and Dead Right

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Thranduil and Josie Part 78- Jareth

Summary: 6pm, the night before the masquerade ball. Lestat makes a long overdue decision and heads out to set it into motion. Josie awakens from her violin induced nap remembering another disturbing dream. A man from her past appears that she had forgotten all about and someone else she has never met. Raven is stark raving mad and uses black magic to help her situation. The outcome isn't quite what she had in mind. Welcome Jareth the Goblin King, whom Raven gets down and dirty with in more ways than one. He certainly knows how to make an entrance. Raven comes up empty handed in a search for something. Moose is in danger. The grand elk is highly underestimated by a naive Raven. The King and Queen share a moment that is interrupted at the most inopportune time. The stables are on fire! Marius helps out again and Raven vanishes. Thranduil and Josie make up and he stays by her side all night, but first she tells him more of her dream. Thranduil is taken aback by what she tells him. He then reveals who Jareth is. Narcisse's stallion ends up back in Dorwinion running wild. The black beauty tells a tale to his keeper.

*Virgin smut* *Language* *Angst*

After you had fallen asleep to the weeping sounds of Lestat's violin, he sat motionless for hours watching you as your eyes moved about in a state of dreamland.

Although vampires could sleep, he hadn't done so that soundly since the time Marius left to teach him a lesson about his defiant ways. For 100 years he lied dormant inside a New Orleans crypt until he was ready to face eternity alone.

It was almost his feeding time as dusk was on the horizon. Lestat went out to his balcony swing and sat for a moment gazing at the descending sun. A decision weighed heavily on his mind. One he knew he needed to make after his time spent with you. One he should have made long ago. The patience he held all these years to protect those Louis cared for had ran out. They meant nothing to him and only caused him turmoil. It was also clear he was of no importance to Louis after left him with his baggage. Lestat's decision was made and then he vanished into the impending darkness.

Your dreams were all jumbled again. You were in your room with your dad and he wasn't feeling well after drinking his tea. It was Halloween and you were dressed in some Madonna type get up to hand out the candy with a neighbor girl you had made friends with. You wanted to just stay with him but he insisted you go and he would rest. So you had him lay on your bed and you left.

As you walked out the front door, you saw all the trick or treaters and their parents. One in particular stood out that frightened you. A very tall man, blonde hair that was shaggy on top, then long and straight from the ears down. He stopped and stared at you as all went silent and still except for his hair that blew in the wind. It was like time had stopped. His eyes were cold and dark like death and he smelled of a musty dungeon that reminded you of the dark elves cave.

It was like no one else saw him as they all passed you by. You wanted to scream but you could not even speak. But he did.....

He bent down just down just inches from your face and told you time is short and that he would see you soon. "It's only forever. It's not long at all."

He touched your hand and you saw a vision. A place you had never seen and a clock that held a 13th hour.

You gasped and ran from him as fast as you could. When you got to your friend's porch, you beat on the door screaming for help, then turned to look back and he was gone. When the door opened, you ran through to find yourself in a large unfamiliar library. Your friend was getting a book from a high shelf. A book that looked just like Ashmole 782. Only she didn't physically take it down, it magically floated out to her.

You gasped causing her to swiftly turn around. Only it was not your friend. She had long blonde hair that was pulled back in one thick braid and eyes....her eyes were like moonstones. They were Thranduil's eyes.... "Leeanduil?"

She sweetly smiled. "Look behind you. They're coming."

You turned to see multiple figures in black cloaks and....Aragorn.

Up you sprung, screaming for Thranduil as the sound of a clock chimed 6 times. You composed yourself as you realized you were in Lestat's room where you had fallen asleep, and that is was now evening time. You had slept the entire day and Lestat was gone. You ran as fast as you could to find your husband.

One hour earlier before Raven's escape:

Marius shoved Raven inside her room and slammed the solid iron door shut. All that could be heard through the towers winding stairs was the echo of the slam and the lock turn...along with Raven's profane muffled screaming.

Raven threw herself face first onto her bed, cursing and beating on it. She then flipped over on her back and breathing heavily as she stared at her iron latticed window. Through clenched teeth she spoke. "They will not confine me in here like some dirty little secret." She got up and went to the window peering down the 6 stories at the ground. "Why does saint Josephine get a King to save her when she called for him and I get nothing! It's not fair!!!!"

Raven then glanced over at her vanity that held one of her many books of spells. She flipped through the pages and ceased when one jumped out at her. She laid the book over the fireplace mantle and began to chant.

"Magic Forces black and white. Reaching out through space and light. Be he far or be he near. Bring me a King that all shall fear. Love me he will and set me free. Oh King of great power and many sights, I call to thee! Take me away from this awful place!"

The palm of her hand lit up with fire as she stared at her window.

The call of an owl came from below and her book burst into flames.

She jumped back with a heavy gasp. "It's not supposed to do that..." she whispered in fear. Off to the window she darted. There sat a white owl peering up at her from a stone post.

The wind had picked up and made a screeching howl against the glass which then began to vibrate. The owl took flight and flew directly towards her window.

As Raven took one step back, the iron bars flung off into the wind as if a tornado had ripped them free and sucked them away. She let out a squeal and kept moving back while keeping her eyes fixated on the window. Something was coming.

The window panes burst open and there stood what appeared to be a man sheathed in all black with platinum blonde hair like the elves, only he was not an elf at all.

"Who....who are you?" Raven stuttered.

He walked towards her, his 4 inch heeled boots clunking on the stone floor. Looking into her eyes, she noticed one was brown and one was blue.

"You summoned me and yet you ask of my identity. Hello Raven. I am Jareth. King of the goblin realm."

"How...do you know my name? and y...you do not look like any goblin I've ever seen."

The goblin king let out a chuckle. "For I am no goblin and I know many things."

"Th...then...what are you? A fae or something like that?"

"Something like that. Now let's get to why you have called me here young crossbreed. You desire freedom and seek revenge. Yes?" he said as he effortlessly rolled a clear crystal ball back and forth in one hand like it was a toy.

"Y...y..yes. And...you can give that to me?"

"I have already done so. You are now free to leave. I am sure that revenge is something you do not require assistance for. I can see the evil flow about you. Just my type. Why do you think I heard your plea?" Jareth scanned her up and down like she was eye candy to him. A shiny new toy aside from the one he toggled about like magic.

"Normally I would not need any help but I am outnumbered here. Bunch of heathens all think they're better than me and have locked me away." she scowled.

"I have no ill with the elves or the vampires. They are not of my kind. You would have to have something of value for me to involve myself in provoking such unnecessary rabble." He did it again. Gawked at her from head to toe. "Do you possess anything that I desire?"

She grinned at his boldness. "I may....but I need to take care of something first. Thank you for freeing me." Raven headed towards the window and Jareth raised his hand. An unseen force wrapped around her arms and drug her on her feet right back in front of the goblin king.

"Going somewhere?"

"You said I was free to go?" she gulped as she stood paralyzed in his invisible grip.

"You are, but first I require payment for my services."

Raven knew exactly what payment he was demanding as he undressed her with his eyes. "You can't be serious? I just met you. And to be honest, you're not exactly what I had in mind when I summoned for a King."

"And what was it that you had in mind? A white knight upon a fiery steed? Someone more like....the Elvenking per se?"

"Well....yeah. Kinda. No offense."

"Plenty taken. His kind makes my stomach turn. I know who he is very well. There is none who do not. You would never earn his desires. Yet you know this. And the the other King you crave does not want you either. They're not good enough for you. They don't appreciate the beautiful wickedness you behold. I can offer you that. Your powers and mine combined would be hellfire. Let me show you. I am certain you will change your mind after you've had my taste in your mouth. I ask for so little. Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say and I will be your slave."

Raven knew he was right about Garrett and although she had a secret thing for the Elvenking, he was also correct on him too. They each shared a one true love, her sister. Thranduil despised Raven and probably wished her dead. All she wanted from him at this point was revenge for what he did to her and by hurting him, she could also hurt her perfect sister. Although Jareth was quite eccentric, he was definitely gorgeous, Raven thought. And he wanted her when no one else did. The only thing was....she had never been with a man. "I...I...um...I never..."

"Had the pleasure of a cock?" he blatantly said with a grin. "There's a first time for everything. I assure you, I will be gentle. I am no monster unless I am forced to be. I can be quite generous actually. But I can also be cruel. The choice is yours as is anyone else's as to what side they see."

He removed his overcoat and sat in a chair with his leg propped over the arm. In one of his black gloved hands was a horse whip with a crystal ball on the top like the one he juggled about earlier, only smaller. Tapping the whip on his knee high black suede boot, he stared Raven down impatiently waiting for her decision.

"O...ok. I will do it." She found him greatly desirable not only in his skin tight gray leggings but also in the way he looked upon her like no other had. The sound of the tap tap tap from the crop was now turning her on immensely.

Jareth smiled at her submission. 'Splendid! Now please, do me the honor of undressing for me. I wish to see the bare canvas."

Raven bashfully looked down and could tell she was blushing. She had never been naked in the presence of anyone. "I...I'm a bit..."

"Shy? I can assist with that." Jareth snapped his fingers and her clothes all fell to her feet. She squealed and flung her arms crisscrossed over her breasts as she turned away from him. His boots clacked slowly across the floor as he made his way over to her. Another squeal peeped out of her with a slight jump as he lightly cracked the whip one time on her nicely rounded ass cheek. "Turn around. Show me the painting."

Raven trembled as she slowly rotated back to face him. It was slightly fear that made her shake so, but it was all lust fueled and the goblin king ate it up. Fear aroused him. He brushed her hair off her shoulder and brought his lips to her ear. "Remove your hands from your breasts." She hesitantly did and a ferocious smile formed on his mouth. His free hand came up and cupped one of her small plump globes. Raven's eyes closed as a gasping moan escaped her lips. The cool touch of the leather glove stirred her core. This delighted Jareth as his cock was now extremely prominent through the thin material it was firmly held captive in. The sight of it brought out her inner beast and suddenly her hand laid upon the hard mass, groping it. Jareth had no complaints although his groans told another story. His cock begged to be freed from it's confinement.

"I've shown you mine. Aren't you going to show me yours?" she grinned like a sly fox.

His grin matched hers. "Gladly." He undid his leather cummerbund and let it crash to the ground and then yanked his shirt free of his pants. Now that his waistline was clear of entrapment, the head of his cock found it's way into view. Raven's eyes bulged at the size of him. She knew right then and there how much this was going to hurt. "Do you like what you see? I assure you, it likes what it sees now that it can view you."

Raven stammered as she stared at the precum floating atop his protruding head. "V...very...m..much. Not to be a buzz kill but...h..how? "I'll never be able...."

"Never say never. You just need some loosening up." With that, he swiftly devoured her mouth as he pushed her against the wall. Even a kiss she had never experienced so she mostly let him lead. His tongue swirled about hers and over her teeth. He tasted of a ripened blood orange and the musty cave smell he had carried in was now overrun by his sexual aroma which reminded her of lemon zest. He was a mixture of sweet and sour and it was making her walls ache which released a rush of wetness between her thighs. The ghastly feeling she had when he arrived was long gone. It was like this was meant to be.

He could smell her juicy essence. "Now, you are ready." He slid his pants over his cock and let them rest around his knees. Her eyes widened even more at the full length of him. He lifted her up against the wall and she locked her legs around him. His lengthy girth teased against her clit as he deeply kissed her again. Slowly, his fingers found their way into her folds and he slid them back and forth until they were saturated. Using 2 of them, he gently inserted his digits into her entrance with shallow movements. Raven cried out at the initial shock and bit her bottom lip until his fingers were fully submerged. She dug her nails into his back as he began to slide his fingers in and out. As he did this, he grinded his cock against her while groaning something fierce into her neck. "I must have you now. Bite my shoulder if you must. I will go slow."

Raven's entire body tightened up as he placed the head of his throbbing cock at her entrance. He could feel her tension. "You must relax or this is going to be unpleasant only for you. Your tightness will not allow me to last very long and I want you to rave in the pleasure of release either before I do or with me." She nodded as she pursed her lips in anticipation. Jareth continued by inserting his head inside of her and pumped with facile thrusts. Raven began to move her hips as the cushiony feel of his head was invigorating. Taking his tip in was simple but the solid swelled shaft after it was hell. She could feel herself tearing no matter how slow and easy he pushed. Her teeth, minus the fangs, ripped into his shoulder just as he told her to do. He was finally reaching half entry and kept it there for awhile, sliding in and out. He brought his thumb to her clit and began massaging it. The sensation felt so good that it caused her hips to rock intensely. "A little more." he proclaimed in a deep grunt. "Then it will be easy and pleasureful." He carefully manipulated his cock the rest of the way in at a steady pace to allow her wetness to fully lubricate him. Her moaning became erratic as he came to fill her up entirely.

Jareth grinded deep and hard. Raven could feel his cock twitch here and there which made her pant. He now began to roll his hips as hard heavy breaths expelled from his mouth. The rolling movement grazed her sweet spot and her entire body went into convulsions as she climaxed with high pitched mewls spurting out of her mouth. She had pleasured herself before but it never felt anything like this. Her tightness made Jareth feel every contraction of her walls and he became unhinged. Faster and faster he pumped. His hand slammed against the wall accompanied by a hefty long grunt as he pulsated inside of her. He growled against her lips and kissed them passionately. "Is it still not fair? What your sister has now that you have tasted me?"

Raven's head laid back upon the wall with her eyes closed and a heavenly smile carved on her face. "It is so fair." she whispered.

The two dressed and Raven's face drooped. "Now that you've had me, are you going to go away?"

"Dear child. Did you not feel the hellfire that occurred between us? Have you not listened? We are one now. You belong to me. I will exit for the time being but I shall not be far. I do have a kingdom to rule. When you have taken care of your needs here, I will come back for you. A little word to the wise. Never try to use your power when you are weakened. As you can see, it did not work out as you wished it to. Yet, it came together as it was meant to be... Irony at it's finest. Your power should now be restored." Jareth traced her lips with his thumb as he formed a satisfied grin, then in the blink of an eye....he was gone.

Raven stared at herself in the mirror and gave her arm a good pinch. Did this really happen? she asked. It was quite evident that it had. As she began to walk, she winced in pain for she was most certainly torn and her walls throbbed. Aside from that, for the first time she was happy and felt wanted. But she wouldn't be fully satisfied until those who crossed her felt the pain she has. Out the window she went.

The dungeons of the de Lioncourt castle were an endless labyrinth. Raven made her way back to where she was held by retracing the path her mother guided her on. It's not like she knew the darkened prison well as she was mostly always locked in her tower for bad behavior. The dungeon was only used for when she needed an attitude detox per se. As she arrived at the cell where the prisoner had been, she found it to be empty.

"What the fuck?" she whispered and glanced all around. "I know damn well someone was in here." Raven came to the conclusion her mother must of had them moved since she didn't seem too happy that they had spoken to her. Or...Raven supposed they could have been set free...or...even killed. "Damn it." she huffed and left. If the person was still down there, it would take her hours to locate them because she knew her mother would have hidden them extra well. She wasn't about to get lost trying to find them as she was already starved to death and needed to hunt.

With a wicked grin, she first headed for the stables. What better way to get back at Thranduil then to destroy his prize elk....

As she approached the stable's, Moose was wandering about freely. He did not need to be confined in a stall like the horses. The great elk was most loyal to his master and companion King Thranduil and obeyed his commands. He also shared hatred in Thranduil's enemies. Little did Raven know the force she was about to reckon with. Moose sensed her evil presence as she came up behind him. The extremely intelligent stag went about his snacking on the generous pile of grass, tree leaves, twigs and aspen bark. "Hey there you big ugly flea and tick bag. What do you say to a little fire bath to cure you of the infestation?" she said in baby talk in an attempt to make the elk think she was friendly.

If only Raven knew that Thranduil's elk was quite magical like the Elvenking and that he understood every word she said. Moose continued eating to portray he was not frightened in his own attempt for her to come closer. When she was just at the right angle, the 1000 lb wapiti upheaved his back legs and blootered her across the stable. Moose then galloped outside and waited for her. It was his way of protecting all the horses from a possible blaze.

"You disgusting rabid diseased rodent! You will pay for that!" Raven screamed as she came limping out.

The pissed off elk taunted her with screeching bugles in his own way of saying 'bring it on witch'.

And then off he ran trying to lead her away from the stables.

But instead, she did what he feared she would do. "How about I make us some chargrilled horse instead!" The unhinged arsonist conjured flames into each hand and began flame throwing at the barn.

30 minutes earlier:

You had been frantically running around the caste's halls searching for Thranduil to tell him of your dream. You ended up at Haldir and Legolas' chambers and went to knock until you saw the door was a few inches ajar and heard voices. Thranduil's being one. But you knew he was already in there because you could smell his sweet aroma of lilacs. You knew you should have just knocked and went in, instead of lurking because Thranduil always knew when you were near him.

You cringed when you heard him call you out. "I know you are there. Why do you linger in the shadows?"

You let out the deep breath you were holding and slowly walked inside. The King and Prince were there but not Haldir. "Th..Thranduil...I need....." You closed your eyes and leaned on the wall. Thranduil could see you were distressed.

"Legolas. Glenn- hi!" (Go now). He nodded and quickly left, offering you a light smile as he did so.

"It is clear you are troubled. Has something happened?"

Of course something has happened, you thought. His earlier words had drove nails into your heart. But you needed to forget that for now. "Thranduil...I...I saw..." You began to cry and couldn't finish your sentence.

He immediately came up to you and placed his hand on your forearm. "Take your time. What did you see?" His tone was calm and caring. Nothing like the cold and heartless one from hours ago.

"I....I saw our daughter....in my dream. She...she was older. Around Raven's age." His eyes lit up with your reveal. "She had the book...Ashmole...and then..." You held your breath with pursed lips.

He then took your hand into his. "And then what Josephine? Why are you so distraught?" he said with genuine concern.

"She...she said....they were coming. And then I saw a group of black cloaked figures. I...I couldn't see their faces. Their hoods were up and it was dark. And then Aragorn...he was there. I don't know why. He threw a fire stake at them and I woke up....."

"Nazgul...." he whispered with a worried look.

"Naz...what?"

"Death dealers. They come when there is something they want. Aragorn knows of them very well."

"I...I ....aren't they the vampire assassins that are after my mother and Raven?

"Yes." His expression was now a thinking one as he began to slowly pace.

"Thranduil! What does this mean?? Are they coming here???"

"You have nothing to fear. I will let no one harm you or my child."

"Don't you mean our child?"

"Take it any way you like." he coldly said and walked away to pour his wine.

"Oh...well ok. I'll just go then. Thanks for giving a shit about me." You turned to leave as your eyes burnt with forming tears.

"Like the way you give a shit about me?" He abruptly called out.

You halted in the doorway and turned. His back was to you as he stood at the wine table. You lowered your head in defeat. It was all becoming too much. "You're right...I have treated you poorly. Thranduil I..."

"Yes...you have." He knocked back the drink and poured another.

"My god Thranduil, what do you want me to do?? Get on my knees and beg you for forgiveness? Never mind your secrets and lies. I'll take all the responsibility if that will make you fucking happy. Will that work for you?" you cried and dropped on your knees. "There! I am on my knees begging you to love me."

"Stop this foolishness Josephine. It is beneath you."

"But that is what I am right? Beneath you! So here I am......beneath you. I can't take this anymore! I love you Thranduil! So much! I don't know what else to....." Pain shot through your stomach in that moment and you doubled over crying out.

Thranduil dropped his glass and fell to his knees before you. "Josephine! What is it??"

As soon as he touched you, the pain ceased and Leean began kicking. You gasped and raised your tear streaked face to his. "Thranduil.....she's....kicking. Feel!" you cried and laughed as you grabbed his hand and placed it on your stomach. When his hand contacted your belly, she gave him a wallop of a kick which tickled you. His eyes widened in astonishment and the side of his mouth lightly raised into a half smile. You laid your hand over his. "Do you see? She doesn't want us to fight. She doesn't want us to be apart. I...I don't want any of those things. I just want you. Only you. and our little girl. Just the 3 of us. Together forever."

Thranduil's heart grew 3 times bigger than the grinch's in that moment as he gaped at your tears and love engrossed eyes for him. He brought the back of his hand to your cheek and wiped your tears as tears formed in his. "Go- an uir." (Together for eternity) he whispered. The King was dying to kiss you as much as he had been dying inside without you. Slowly, he brought his mouth down to yours. Just as your lips touched, he flung back and gasped. "Moose..."

Thranduil's furry faithful friend had called to him. "Raven....she is setting fire to the stables!"

Thranduil summoned Legolas and Haldir as you and he ran to save the horses. As you all arrived, fire was everywhere. Moose was running amok around the stables.

And then....there she was. The fire obsessed lunatic appearing to be in the middle of a complete mental breakdown.

You attempted to run for the stables and Thranduil grabbed you. "No! it is too dangerous!"

"Thranduil, the horses!!!" you cried as you could hear them screaming for help. Out of nowhere, Marius swooped through the stables, unlocking their stalls at the speed of light and and shooing them out. He then showered the barn with a tidal wave of water. The horses scattered. They were Narcisse's horses that he had lent you and Legolas. One was Thranduil's that Haldir had rode when he and the King left Mirkwood to come here. The one Aragorn had he took with him when he left. Haldir and Legolas swiftly contained their horses but yours, the black stallion, was too spooked and ran into the forest.

"Oh my god...Thranduil. I am responsible for that horse. How will he survive in this cold and with no food?"

"Do not worry my love. He is as clever as Moose, and has a connection with Narcisse the way my stag and I do. The Friesian will return to Dorwinion."

You felt somewhat better but were worried what Stephane was going to think of your carelessness with his prize breed. Moose came trotting up to Thranduil. It was the sweetest sight to see them nudge each other's noses. "You did well my friend." Thranduil complimented the mighty beast and stroked his neck. The immortal elk had been through hell and back with his keeper and they had formed a bond like no other. In fact, Moose had belonged to Oropher but he connected with Thranduil on a much deeper level. Best friends they were since Thranduil was a small elfling. They had saved each other's lives on more than one occasion and they both bore the battle scars to prove it. You weren't sure how the great elk was immortal, but you had a feeling it was Thranduil's mother's doing. She saw the bond her son had with the animal and made sure they would never be separated, was your guess. It would also explain how they can speak to each other. Magic....

Raven had split when she saw Marius. She obviously didn't want to be drowned again and then locked up as well. You were sure this time, they would have thrown away the key. Marius tended to the horses and Moose by moving and securing them in another location for the night. Thranduil despised vampires but he must have trusted Marius in some way to allow him to handle his elk. Marius had proven himself worthy more than once with what the King held dearest to his heart was your guess. You all went back inside and Thranduil insisted you come with him now that the bat shit crazy bitch was loose again.

You changed into some night wear and laid upon the bed. "Thranduil....what if she comes back? What if...."

He had removed his outer robe and came right to your side. "You are safe with me. She now knows of my power and that she is no match for it. I swear on my life, I will never allow you to be harmed."

"Will you please just hold me? I need your arms around me. I...I need you my one and only King."

Your words meant everything to him and he did as you asked. Thranduil climbed on the bed and laid beside you with his hand on your baby belly. You laid your head on his chest and listened to his beautiful heartbeat. A sound you could never live without.

"Thranduil....I..I saw my dad again in my dream too. It was Halloween just like tomorrow is. I wish I knew why I keep seeing him. And then I...."

"What is it my love?" he said and kissed the top of your head.

"There was....I saw this man...It was another memory I had forgotten all about. I was only 16 at that time. He....he told me time was short and it was only forever, then he said he would see me soon. There was this clock with a 13th hour and he had some crystal ball that he floated around in his hand and...."

Thranduil sat up stiff. "Did you see his face?"

"Well...yeah...he had blonde hair...like yours but it was spikey on top and....his eyes....one was brown and one was...."

"Blue...." Thranduil whispered.

Now you sat up and stared at your obviously worried husband's face. "Thranduil? Do you know who he is?"

He hesitated. "I...I do yes. His name is Jareth. He is the King of Goblin town in the Misty Mountains between Mirkwood and Rivendell."

"G..Goblins?" you said with a shaky voice.

"Yes...abominable creatures of the dark caverns. Some small and some atrociously large. Extremely vicious. We steer clear of them."

"But he..he looked...human? Why does he rule over such monsters?"

"That's because he is. An evil one at that would be why."

"Well...why did I see him? What could he possibly want with me? He had powers. What is he?"

"I do not know why he appeared to you or what his motives are. He's powerful because he is a warlock. So was your father as far as you suspect. If that is the case, then that would make sense as to why he may have some interest in you."

"Thranduil...please hold me all night and don't leave. I don't want to dream anymore and your arms help that. My dreamcatcher is in my room and ... I don't need that...I need you. Just you."

"I am here my sweet girl and I will leave no more unless you order me away. I will fix this. All of this." Thranduil snuggled down under the covers beside you and cradled you close against him. "I love you my Queen. Please forgive me for my actions."

"Only if you forgive me. Deal?" you smiled.

"Deal." Thranduil smiled back and pulled your head under his chin. You fell fast asleep in the magical hold of your King's arms, but he didn't. This new information had him on edge. Thranduil stared into the darkness as you slept while he internally worried about the notorious goblin king.

Halloween morning in Dorwinion:

"Lord Narcisse! Come quick. Your stallion is here running wild!" Ashur shouted to Stephane as he sat by the fireplace drinking his morning tea.

As Narcisse arrived down by the bay, the guards had managed to lasso the panicked stallion as he ran through the water's edge.

Stephane was angry. "Take that leash of my horse this instant! He will come to me on his own." The guards cut the rope free and sure enough, the black gentle giant came trotting up to his master.

"Whoa! Hey there big fella. Where have you come from? And where....is your rider, Josephine?"

The horse halted and snorted as Narcisse stroked his nose. Stephane stood silently while staring into the the horse's eyes as if they were speaking to each other. That's exactly what was happening. The stallion was telling him all he had witnessed.

Narcisse took a step back releasing a slight gasp. "Jareth."......

@redeemer46

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