Posted by The Gathering of Notables on November 03, 2000 at 17:49:12:
The Gathering of Notables
Thunder booms and lightning flashes. The clomping of the horse is heard throughout the woods as it carries the carriage down the dark, deserted dark road. In her hand sits the black invitation. Marsha plays with it nervously as the second thoughts possess her mind.
"John, I don't think this is such a good idea. Can't we go back?"
"Now darling, it's not everyday a man is offered that much gold if he and his fiancée just stay over night at an old building. We'll be fine! Besides, the invitation says there will be a gathering of notables! I wonder who else is coming?"
Marsha jumps as the lightning flashes. Upon a hill not too far off, she swears she saw the figure of a horse with someone riding. She figures it was her imagination. After all, riders would have to have a head attached, and the figure looked as if it was headless. She thinks the fear must be getting to her.
Something howls in the background. The sound almost spooks the horse. Again John comforts Marsha.
They come to the old, deserted looking mansion. John helps her out of the carriage. As he ties up the horse's reigns, he feels like something is watching from the bushes. He pushes the feeling aside.
They come up the old rickety steps to the front porch. From deep within the bushes something snarls. A machete seemingly floats over to the horses reigns. The thing in the bushes quietly craws towards the flouting machete and sniffs. A whispered voice that has no apparent body commands "Quiet you mangy dog! Go! Go to the master!"
The hairy creature, still shrouded in the dark, runs off around the back of the house. The horse becomes startled, kicking in the air. The machete chops the reigns, setting the horse free. It gallops down the path towards the direction it came. Marsh screams. John curses.
Too late to retrieve the horse, John reaches for the demon headed door knocker and knocks. They turn to each other as they realize there's music playing from somewhere within the house. The beautiful, haunting rhythm sounds like a mix between the title theme from "Phantom of the Opera" and the "Tales From the Crypt" theme.
"Maybe it's a party?" he asks as they listen for someone to come to the door. The music stops and then someone says something . they cant quit hear. Then the sound of someone limping. The door opens, revealing a hunchback person. He's short, with twisted facial features one dead eye. He mumbles something and motions for them to come in. the interior is in ruins but looks like at one time it was quite beautiful. As they inter, the door slams shut for no reason. They jump.
A voice from the other side of the main room speaks from the darkness, "Good eeevning." It's a thick, Transelvanian accent. "We have been waiting for you. Come, come in. Have something to drink."
They can barley make out the form of a man, but as their eyes adjust to the light they see him. Dressed in fancy clothes and appearing of European likeness, they can't help but notice his chalky white skin.
"Mr. Dracu? Is that you? We received your invitation in the mail. We're so honored to have been chosen for your good graces. How did you come across our names?" John asks as he takes a drink of wine from the hunchback servant. Marsha just clings on his arm and passes on the wine.
Dracu glides across the floor, almost unnaturally, "I have….. associates that search for my… needs. You understand the terms of the agreement?"
"Of course. " John replies, "We stay in this mansion for the night, and in the morning we receive five hundred thousand in gold. Sounds perfectly easy."
"I'm sure you two will do perfectly fine."
Trying to calm herself, Marsha tries calm conversation, "Mr. Dracu, are you going to have a drink?"
Dracu calmly responds, "I never drink…… wine. My servant, Quasifrodo will help you to your rooms. Do not be afraid of him. When I found him in a bell tower in France, he was lonely and deserted. Now he has the fellowship of other notables like him. Go on. Follow him. He will show you your rooms."
After the couple has proceeded up the old staircase, Dracu speaks. Although he's alone, the others can hear him, "Our guests have arrived. Do with them as you wish, but do not kill them. Remember our goal. At ten to midnight, you may bring them to me. Then we will begin."
Upstairs, as John and Marsha head for they're adjoining rooms they pass a proper English gentleman. A doctor by trade, he wishes them well and introductions are made. He then continues on. Marsha can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about him. Their rooms seem conformable enough. Dark and gothic, yet somehow inviting. They here the music start up again. It gives them the creeps, but while it adds to Marsha's fear, John simply denies such weakness.
At dinner they find more weirdness. Dracu sits at the head of the table. Although he clearly said he didn't drink wine, he apparently has a glass of red wine beside him. It seemed thicker though. At first Marsha was relieved to discover other guests present. Soon her relief turned to more creepy feelings as she met the silent strangers. there was a man completely wrapped up. A hat, scarf, sun glasses, gloves and coat covered his entire body. Apparently he must've has a strange skin condition. The doctor was there as well. Still proper and gentlemanly, yet it seemed he was hiding a dark secret. That seemed to be true for all the guests. There also was another man, this one in a long cloak. He also wore a mask, covering his face. More skin conditions. She started to think this mansion doubled as a hospital. There was one other guest at the table. His name was Terrence Labolt. He seemed ok, except for his habit of staring out the window. He was always mumbling something about the moon. Dracu explained that there were other guests, but that they would prefer their privacy. Moaning could be heard from below, but it was explained as a very sick man who needs his rest. The man in the mask played music for them. It sounded so exquisite to the couple. What unnerved Marsha was the fact that he kept staring at her and mumbling the name "Christine" over and over. Soon the moon was starting to peek from the clouds. This started a strange reaction with Mr.
Labolt. Clearly in pain he excused himself. The doctor followed him, explaining that Mr. Labolt was allergic to moonlight.
The room adjoining to the dinning room, Labolt and the doctor quickly close the doors. Labolt then drops to the floor, his body getting hairier. His ears become pointed and his teeth grow larger. A bushy tail sprouts out. His nose turns to a snout and his clothes rip to shreds. All the while he screams. Soon he is no longer there, but replaced by a werewolf.
"Hooowwwwwlllllllooooooo!!! Arrarrrrarrr!"
the beast leaps through the window that the doctor has opened for him. The doctor feels the vial of fluid in his pocket, then deciding against a particular action, promptly leaves for the dinning room. He doesn't pay heed to the Egyptian sarcophagus behind him. Not just that it's strangely out of place but that it starts to open with a creaking sound.
Later, John and Marsha are walking in the moonlight. He tries to focus on the romantic scene, but Marsha keeps getting spooked by the strange howling that seems to be coming closer. He simply says it must be a stray dog. They are unaware that the source of the howling is following them from the bushes.
"Marsha you don't need to be so scared. Look at this beautiful lagoon. The moonlight reflects beautifully of its black surface."
"John, I know I must seem like a little school girl to you. Maybe you're right. My eyes have been playing tricks on me all night. Just a second ago I could've sworn something was moving in that black lagoon. I guess my mind is running away with me."
A bush rustles a bit. They freeze in their tracks. It's clear someone, man shaped, is hiding behind the bush. Their collective pulses start to race. "Who is there? Come on! Show your self!" John commands.
A soft growl. Then something leaps from the bush and heads into the darkness. Marsha screams and grabs John. "Lets go! These people are crazy john! Please! I fear that if we don't leave right now, we'll die!" Marsha pleads.
"Rubbish! We'll be fine! These people are all sick and apparently the doctor and Mr. Dracu have their hands full helping them. Tomorrow we'll have to see if we can get them help."
John and Marsha head back up the stairs. They don't see the gilled, wet creature watching from the lagoon.
"Did you two have a nice walk?"
The couple looks around to see where the disembodied American voice came from, but can see no one. They continue into the house.
They find Dracu waiting for them inside. "I trust my other guests have not distressed you. They are an eccentric group. The night is young. You must….. rest. Good night."
For a second they looked at each other then back to Dracu, but he was gone. Vanished. Marsh screamed at the bat flying around. John tried to swat it until the disembodied voice shouted "No! Leave it! Do as he said!" they decided not to press matters and headed up to their rooms. On the way up the find the doctor again.
"Please, I beg of you! Stay in your rooms tonight! Just go to sleep. It will make your stay painless." The doctor stops pleading when he glanced at the bat, perched on the mantle place. The cold, calculating blood red eyes just stared into his soul. "Um… good night!" he quickly enters his room and shuts the door.
"We've got to turn around John! Please! If you love me, let's get out of here!" Marsha begs like never before.
John is quite put off, "Listen darling. WE-ARE-NOT-LEAVING! Now go into your room.." he opens her door and gently shoves her in, "and go to sleep! Tomorrow you'll see! We'll be rich and as always, I'll be proven right. GOOD NIGHT!"
John closes her door and enters his room, quickly retiring to bed. Many eyes have watched their display. Many different emotions are the result. The doctor, through the crack in his door, smiles to himself. Yes. Once again, these will be fine. He drinks his elixir and drops to the ground in pain. His body transforms, but he has no guilt at what is going to happen.
The eyes of the bat continue to watch. A satisfied, hungry look crossed his face.
Another set of eyes turn dark. The man in the mask must speak with the "master". This John must die but Christine… she has been reborn! He must have her! Master Dracu must give her to him!
John turns in his sleep. He can't stop hearing the basted moaning. He finally decides to check in out, despite the doctor's warning. He slips out of his room and suddenly bumps into a woman. At first he thought it was Marsha, but the hair style (standing strait up!) and the two white streaks in it definitely proved it to be someone else. She must've been another patient as she was wrapped from neck to toe in bandages and she had terrible scars on her face and neck. She moaned as she drifted off, trance like down the hall.
The moaning persisted so John continued down into the darkness of the corridor. He figured the absence of gas lamps meant that the patients with skin conditions would improve with out light.
The sound of arguing draws him to a door. It's slightly opened so he peeks within. The moonlight shines through the opened window to reveal Dracu and the fellow in the mask discussing something.
"I see no reason why you need Christine! Let me have her and we will leave for my opera house!" the man pleads.
Dracu snaps back, "She is not Christine! Her name is Marsha and we need them both!" Dracu calms down and continues, "The incantation calls for both a man and a woman. Our invisible friend selected these two randomly. They will suffice! It has to be tonight! In a half hour to be precise. If you want to return to this world, no matter what befalls you here and now, then we have to sacrifice two souls to complete the spell. The other ten are in agreement on this. you are the eleventh. If you chose to leave, and not take part in the rebirth in about a hundred years, so be it! But you will not spoil our chances! Now, have you made the trip here for naught, or are you with us?"
The man in the mask, a phantom in appearance, is silent for a moment. He knows he can't take all of them. Maybe the hunchback, but not all ten. He doubts even his friend, Wangmundo, could take on all of them. Finally he nods in agreement.
"Ok, so maybe the doctors are as loony as the patients here!" John thinks to himself.
"Uuuuhhhh" comes the moan. He follows it into a dark room. It appears to be a library. As he looks through the books he thinks he hears a shuffling, dragging sound coming up from behind. He turns to see a man rapped in bandages from head to toe. His face looks so shallow, like he was a walking dead man. The mummy looking fellow reaches for him with menace in its dead eyes. John steps back, into the book case and bumps a lever he didn't notice before. The book case spins around and he finds himself in a hidden room. There's steps going down to a big steel door. He's glad he's away from that smelly patient, even if it means being in this strange, cramped room. The moaning persists so he continues down the steps to the door.
Marsha wakes to the sound of Dracu's voice. It seems so distant, yet so inviting. He's calling for her. She could swear for a moment she saw him just outside her window but that's impossible sence she's on the second floor. Nevertheless she feels a chill so she goes to close the window. The lightning and thunder continue to rule the night. When she gets to the window the lightning lights up the night sky. A man on a horse can be seen on a hill over looking the mansion. The man is headless.
She screams and runs out of the room. John has got to see this! maybe if she shows him, then he will understand. Her fiancée is not to be found in his room. This fact chills her to the bone, leaving his room she spies the doctor hunched over as he walks down the hall. She calls to him but he doesn't answer. His back is turned to her the whole time so she runs up to him and touches his shoulder. He spins around and again she screams. He's covered in hair. His facial features are twisted. He has an evil look in his eyes and he laughs crazily at her. She runs down the hall and bumps into the silent woman dressed in wraps with the strange hair. The woman hisses at her.
John can't believe his eyes. He's heard of poor health care but this takes the cake. Quasifrodo is scrambling around a big slab of metal. Apparently a bed. There's a pale, dead looking, patchwork of a man with lots of scars and two bolts coming out of his neck struggling to be free. He's strapped to the "bed".
"Let him go you little monster!" yells John.
The man , apparently very tall and stauky, breaks his bonds and starts to head for John. The hunchback jumps for glee, laughing with delight. John yells and runs through another door (he was fool enough to come to close and cant make the door he originally came through), but trips down a corridor and winds up outside. The rain is pouring down upon him while the thunder booms.
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Vincent Price: "DARKNESS FALLS ACROSS THE LAND.
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR IS CLOSE AT HAND."
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Marsha is fleeing in terror. The screaming bride is following her. She ducts in a room to find a walking Mummy coming strait at her.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screams some more as she turns on her heals and heads back the way she came. The man who was all dressed up, his whole body covered, stands before her in the hall. "It's ok Marsha!" he comforts her in an American accent as he starts to remove some of his excess clothes. "The Monster's mate and the Mummy just want to welcome you!" Her heart practically stops as he takes off all his clothes to reveal… Finny's Super Schlong? NO! Nothing! He has seminally disappeared. Then he laughs like a madman. The laughter is joined by the crazed looking former doctor as he in turn laughs as well. Then the doctor says "Hyde if you can! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
She flees towards the stairs.
John is sneaking through the bushes. He seems to have lost that strange patient. He then feels hot breath on his neck.
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Vincent Price: "CREATURES CRAWL IN SEARCH OF BLOOD.
TO TERRORIZE Y'ALL'S NABORHOOD!
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"RUN!" John thinks, his mind in terror. He knows the snarling creature is behind him and gaining. He glances back to see something more wolf then man following at an incredible pace. He breaks through the bushes and heads down the path to the mansion. He hears galloping in the woods beside the path. Before he can reach the house a jet black horse breaks through and rears up on its hind legs. The rider has no head.
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Vincent Price: "AND THOSE WHOEVER SHALL BE BOUND,
WITHOUT THE SOUL FOR GETTING DOWN,"
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He runs through the bushes and trees', knowing something is following him. He can hear the footfalls of the horse but there's something else. The howling gives it away. The wolf creature must be following too. Not paying attention to the path he trips and falls beside the lagoon. He then hears snarling coming from the bushes. The horseman must've stopped pursuing him, but the werewolf is still coming.
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Vincent Price: "MUST STAND AND FACE THE HOUNDS OF HELL,
AND ROT INSIDE A CORPSE'S SHELL!"
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Marsha starts running down the stairs. She's aware of the strange people following her. She's at the middle of the stairs before she sees the large patch work dead guy and the hunchback waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. The man in the mask comes up behind them and removes his face wear. She's disgusted at his sullen cheek bones and wide eyes. His face looks almost like a skull. A phantom of a man, he pleads, "Christine! Do not be afraid! Frankenstein's creation and the hunchback from Notre Dame wont hurt you. Neither will the others behind you."
Marsha smells something very rotten.
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Vincent Price: "THE FOULEST STENCH IS IN THE AIR,
THE FUNK OF FORTY THOUSAND YEARS,"
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She turns around and the Mummy (the source of the funky smell), the Monster's mate, a floating rope (that can only be held by the Invisible Man), and the mad doctor are blocking the stairs going up. Marsha decides to plead with the doctor, "Doctor Jeckel, please help me!"
The doctor, looking hideous and crazed, responds, "Jeckel? There is no Jeckel! I'm Mr. Hyde! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
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Vincent Price: "AND GRIZZLY GHOULS FROM EVERY TOMB,
ARE CLOSING IN TO SEAL YOUR DOOM!"
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She screams again (a routine performance from her now) and the monsters move in closer. The Phantom continues to speak with her in an almost hypnotic tone, "Christine! Please! There is no need to fear us!"
The rich Transelvainian accent of Dracu is heard from in front of the Mummy, "She is not Christine! But, dear Marsha, the Phantom of the Opera is correct. The lives of you and your fiancée are in our hands. Now be at ease! I command it!" she can't help but surrender to those eyes! So powerful and dark. She can feel herself give in to the vampire's power.
John's pulse is going crazy as the Wolfman slowly emerges from the bushes.
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Vincent Price: "AND THOUGH YOU FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE,"
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He starts reaching blindly behind, still on the ground beside the edge of the black lagoon, for something to defend himself with. He instantly looks back when his hand found something wet and scaly. A foot. He looks up to see the Creature staring at him, it's eyes full of menace.
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Vincent Price: "YOUR BODY STARTS TO SHIVER,"
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John grabs a stick and jabs the Creature, then runs. He runs faster then he's ever ran before. Through the ragged sound of his breathing he can hear the noises made by the Wolfman and the Creature as they pursue him. He breaks through the bushes on to the path. The Headless Horseman is there, waiting for him. This time though John has a clear shot for the porch and the house. He sprints for it, despite the three monsters following him. If he can just get into the house! Get Dracu and Doctor Jeckel's help!
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Vincent Price: "FOR NO MEAR MORTAL CAN RESIST,"
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He runs through the open door and yells, "MARSHA! YOU WERE RIGHT! LETS GET OUT OF ….Marsha?"
The love of his life is just standing there. Her eyes glazed over, she is clearly in some sort of trance. John tries to wake her but is interrupted by Dracu's voice, "She can't hear you John. She is under my spell. I want to thank you two for coming."
John can't believe Dracu is not surprised as the dismounted Headless Horseman, the Creature and the Wolfman have entered the house, effectively blocking the doorway. That's when his eyes adjust to the room. Monsters he would never know have surrounded him and the dazed Marsha. Frankenstein's Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy and Mr. Hyde close in, along with the three at the door. Dracu, or Count Dracula continues, "You see, there never was any gold. You two have been randomly selected to become our sacrifices. In a hundred years or so we here will get the chance to live again! Thank you John. Thank you for you part in our little gathering of notables!"
John screams as the monsters savagely close in on the young couple.
Fade to black!
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Vincent Price: "THE EVIL OF ADAM DILLER! Huh? That's not right! Oh, I see! You Parodyverse guys switched the cue cards! Very funny. Just make fun of the dead guy! ah, here it is… (clears throat) ahem,
THE EVIL OF THE THRILLER! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAcough-cough!"
Happy belated Halloween!