A Night to Remember
At the mansion
“Here!” Frank slapped the leaflets onto the table, his excitement overflowing. “Check that out!”
Cautiously, each band member reached forward and picked up one of the glossy pamphlets that lay in the middle of the table.After a few moments, Gerard spoke.
“And this is what you called us here for?”
Frank frowned before collecting his thoughts and moving on.
“You asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and this is it.”
“You want to stay overnight in a haunted house on Halloween?” Ray clarified. As he did so, he glanced towards Mikey, who had as yet, not said a word, but looked as though he really wanted to. Gerard picked up on the glance and smiled comfortingly at his brother.
“What do you think, Mikey?”
The young bassist looked down. “I’m not keen,” he said simply.
“Mikey!” Frank pleaded. “I know why…”
“I know you know why, so how can…?” Mikey paused. “I’ve seen enough haunted places to last me a lifetime.”
Frank leaned forward and whispered in Mikey’s ear. As he sat back, he stared expectantly at his friend. Mikey’s nose crumpled.
“I don’t know, Frank.”
“Okay,” Frank conceded, though it was hard to conceal that he was crestfallen.
Mikey’s shoulders sagged; he hated himself for being the one to encourage that look of disappointment, no matter how hard he tried to disguise it.
“Book it,” Mikey capitulated.
“No, Mikey, if it’s not…”
“Seriously, Frank, I’ll be fine,” he nodded. “I think this is one demon I have to face.”
*
“I know what you’re thinking!” Frank enthused as they stood outside the house.
“I really don’t think you do, Frank!” Bob glanced up and frowned.
It was a creepy enough looking building, but because, basically, it was a tourist trap, a few clichéd items had been placed around to make the place seem spooky. A rocking chair on the porch; clearly fake cobwebs; dim, slightly green tinged lighting all designed to make the place look eerie.
“Oh, great, there’s even a mannequin in the upstairs window, this is really over the top, Frank,” Bob grumbled.
“Oh, stop complaining, Bob,” Frank replied. “It’s my birthday, don’t ruin it!”
“There’s no mannequin,” Gerard commented.
“There is, it’s…” Bob pointed to the top left corner window, but nothing was there but curtains. Dropping his hand he furrowed his brow. “It must have been a trick of the light.”
“Frank,” Mikey pulled at the guitarist’s sleeve.
Frank turned and smiled at his anxious friend.
“He’s just making it up to scare you,” Frank reassured him.
“I just…” Bob began.
“Didn’t you, Bob?”
“Like, I said, trick of the light.”
Mikey frowned.
“Shall we go in then?” Ray asked. “It’s pretty cold out here, you know.”
Heading inside, they laughed at the excessively creaky sounding door as they pushed it open. Hitting the lights, they looked around the entrance hall. It was a large house and the impressive entrance hall took their breath away. It was just like every horror movie house they’d ever seen. Large and dark with mahogany panelled walls. A grandfather clock – perfect! Old style furniture, creaky floorboards, patterned rugs everywhere, paintings on the walls, everything.
“There’s got to be a suit of armour here somewhere!” Frank laughed. “It would be so right for this place!”
“It’s pretty impressive,” Ray nodded.
“Do you want to look around?” Frank asked.
“Yeah,” Gerard agreed, “I’d like to, might even get a few song ideas too!”
“I think we should stick together,” Mikey commented quietly.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Bob agreed, still feeling guilty at inadvertently scaring Mikey earlier. “It’s a big place, probably easy to get lost.”
Visiting room after room, they couldn’t help but be distracted by the dramatic style of the house décor. It was as if it had been decorated in the late 1800s and never altered. There was a very definite feel as they moved from room to room that time had stood still and that if they checked their watches, nothing would have moved on. There was an inexplicable feeling that they were being watched, and not just by the numerous portraits hanging in every room.
In addition to the impressive layout and general sense of eeriness, each room had a floor-standing plaque giving information on the room’s use in days gone by.
“Hey!” Gerard called. “Look at this! This room was used to try witches in the late 1600s!”
“Maybe that’s what you saw in the window?” Frank chuckled.
“Yes,” Bob growled. “Laugh it up, hobbit! If anything comes for us, it’ll be you they catch, we’ve all got longer legs.”
“Yeah, but you’d be a meal, I’d just be a snack,” Frank retorted.
Heading downstairs, Frank led the way.
“So what this then?” asked Ray.
“Duh!” Gerard piped up. “Basement?”
“I meant what did it used to be?”
“What it was is what it still is,” Frank replied cryptically as he pushed open the heavy wooden door and switched on the lights.“The dungeon!”
“A dungeon!” Gerard’s eyes widened. “Cool!”
Edging his way past the others, he stood and looked about in awe.
“I’ve never seen a real dungeon before.”
Around them, on the walls hung chains and manacles, a rack for stretching, pokers, thumbscrews, iron masks and…
“Awesome!” Gerard cried excitedly as he opened the giant casket and inspected the spikes inside. “An Iron Maiden!”
“What else is down here?” asked Ray. “You seem to have done some research already.”
Frank nodded. “I have and this is going to blow you away!”
He led them to the back of the dungeon where a small cell stood. It was entirely set into the wall, with old but solid looking stonework walls and a heavy wooden door similar to the one at the entrance to the dungeon. Frank explained:
“The story here is that the witches put a spell on this cell during the trials and anyone in it on Halloween would disappear at the stroke of midnight and be taken by the Devil himself.”
Bob laughed as he peered inside at the grim but ordinary looking cell.
“And that’s happened, has it?” he asked sarcastically.
“That’s the legend,” Frank replied. “But I want to test it.”
Frank took a step back and shoved Bob into the small room, closed the door and pushed the bolt across before he even had chance to turn around. Within seconds Bob was hammering on the door.
“Open this door, Iero!” he yelled.
“Oh come on, Bob, where’s your sense of fun?”
“Open this door and I’ll show you!” he threatened.
“You’re not really going to leave him in there are you?” Mikey asked. “I wouldn’t like it, and you’re claustrophobic, I know you’d hate it!”
“He’ll be fine,” Frank pleaded with them. “And it’s only an hour.”
“And then he’s going to kill you,” Ray countered. “Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Frank, it’s going to be short lived.”
“We’ll see you in an hour, Bob!” Gerard called. “Assuming the Devil doesn’t take you!”
“Let me out of here!”
Bob gave one final thump on the door before he realised they’d gone.
“Oh, I’m gonna get you for this, Iero!”
Cautiously, each band member reached forward and picked up one of the glossy pamphlets that lay in the middle of the table.After a few moments, Gerard spoke.
“And this is what you called us here for?”
Frank frowned before collecting his thoughts and moving on.
“You asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and this is it.”
“You want to stay overnight in a haunted house on Halloween?” Ray clarified. As he did so, he glanced towards Mikey, who had as yet, not said a word, but looked as though he really wanted to. Gerard picked up on the glance and smiled comfortingly at his brother.
“What do you think, Mikey?”
The young bassist looked down. “I’m not keen,” he said simply.
“Mikey!” Frank pleaded. “I know why…”
“I know you know why, so how can…?” Mikey paused. “I’ve seen enough haunted places to last me a lifetime.”
Frank leaned forward and whispered in Mikey’s ear. As he sat back, he stared expectantly at his friend. Mikey’s nose crumpled.
“I don’t know, Frank.”
“Okay,” Frank conceded, though it was hard to conceal that he was crestfallen.
Mikey’s shoulders sagged; he hated himself for being the one to encourage that look of disappointment, no matter how hard he tried to disguise it.
“Book it,” Mikey capitulated.
“No, Mikey, if it’s not…”
“Seriously, Frank, I’ll be fine,” he nodded. “I think this is one demon I have to face.”
*
“I know what you’re thinking!” Frank enthused as they stood outside the house.
“I really don’t think you do, Frank!” Bob glanced up and frowned.
It was a creepy enough looking building, but because, basically, it was a tourist trap, a few clichéd items had been placed around to make the place seem spooky. A rocking chair on the porch; clearly fake cobwebs; dim, slightly green tinged lighting all designed to make the place look eerie.
“Oh, great, there’s even a mannequin in the upstairs window, this is really over the top, Frank,” Bob grumbled.
“Oh, stop complaining, Bob,” Frank replied. “It’s my birthday, don’t ruin it!”
“There’s no mannequin,” Gerard commented.
“There is, it’s…” Bob pointed to the top left corner window, but nothing was there but curtains. Dropping his hand he furrowed his brow. “It must have been a trick of the light.”
“Frank,” Mikey pulled at the guitarist’s sleeve.
Frank turned and smiled at his anxious friend.
“He’s just making it up to scare you,” Frank reassured him.
“I just…” Bob began.
“Didn’t you, Bob?”
“Like, I said, trick of the light.”
Mikey frowned.
“Shall we go in then?” Ray asked. “It’s pretty cold out here, you know.”
Heading inside, they laughed at the excessively creaky sounding door as they pushed it open. Hitting the lights, they looked around the entrance hall. It was a large house and the impressive entrance hall took their breath away. It was just like every horror movie house they’d ever seen. Large and dark with mahogany panelled walls. A grandfather clock – perfect! Old style furniture, creaky floorboards, patterned rugs everywhere, paintings on the walls, everything.
“There’s got to be a suit of armour here somewhere!” Frank laughed. “It would be so right for this place!”
“It’s pretty impressive,” Ray nodded.
“Do you want to look around?” Frank asked.
“Yeah,” Gerard agreed, “I’d like to, might even get a few song ideas too!”
“I think we should stick together,” Mikey commented quietly.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Bob agreed, still feeling guilty at inadvertently scaring Mikey earlier. “It’s a big place, probably easy to get lost.”
Visiting room after room, they couldn’t help but be distracted by the dramatic style of the house décor. It was as if it had been decorated in the late 1800s and never altered. There was a very definite feel as they moved from room to room that time had stood still and that if they checked their watches, nothing would have moved on. There was an inexplicable feeling that they were being watched, and not just by the numerous portraits hanging in every room.
In addition to the impressive layout and general sense of eeriness, each room had a floor-standing plaque giving information on the room’s use in days gone by.
“Hey!” Gerard called. “Look at this! This room was used to try witches in the late 1600s!”
“Maybe that’s what you saw in the window?” Frank chuckled.
“Yes,” Bob growled. “Laugh it up, hobbit! If anything comes for us, it’ll be you they catch, we’ve all got longer legs.”
“Yeah, but you’d be a meal, I’d just be a snack,” Frank retorted.
Heading downstairs, Frank led the way.
“So what this then?” asked Ray.
“Duh!” Gerard piped up. “Basement?”
“I meant what did it used to be?”
“What it was is what it still is,” Frank replied cryptically as he pushed open the heavy wooden door and switched on the lights.“The dungeon!”
“A dungeon!” Gerard’s eyes widened. “Cool!”
Edging his way past the others, he stood and looked about in awe.
“I’ve never seen a real dungeon before.”
Around them, on the walls hung chains and manacles, a rack for stretching, pokers, thumbscrews, iron masks and…
“Awesome!” Gerard cried excitedly as he opened the giant casket and inspected the spikes inside. “An Iron Maiden!”
“What else is down here?” asked Ray. “You seem to have done some research already.”
Frank nodded. “I have and this is going to blow you away!”
He led them to the back of the dungeon where a small cell stood. It was entirely set into the wall, with old but solid looking stonework walls and a heavy wooden door similar to the one at the entrance to the dungeon. Frank explained:
“The story here is that the witches put a spell on this cell during the trials and anyone in it on Halloween would disappear at the stroke of midnight and be taken by the Devil himself.”
Bob laughed as he peered inside at the grim but ordinary looking cell.
“And that’s happened, has it?” he asked sarcastically.
“That’s the legend,” Frank replied. “But I want to test it.”
Frank took a step back and shoved Bob into the small room, closed the door and pushed the bolt across before he even had chance to turn around. Within seconds Bob was hammering on the door.
“Open this door, Iero!” he yelled.
“Oh come on, Bob, where’s your sense of fun?”
“Open this door and I’ll show you!” he threatened.
“You’re not really going to leave him in there are you?” Mikey asked. “I wouldn’t like it, and you’re claustrophobic, I know you’d hate it!”
“He’ll be fine,” Frank pleaded with them. “And it’s only an hour.”
“And then he’s going to kill you,” Ray countered. “Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Frank, it’s going to be short lived.”
“We’ll see you in an hour, Bob!” Gerard called. “Assuming the Devil doesn’t take you!”
“Let me out of here!”
Bob gave one final thump on the door before he realised they’d gone.
“Oh, I’m gonna get you for this, Iero!”
Notes
Do you like? Let me know what you think - should be fun ahead :)
Amazing story.
7/16/17