Down There
For L.C. Schäfer's One Dollar Challenge - Quote Me Baby (Spooktacular Edition)
The dead know only one thing
- "Private Joker", Full Metal Jacket
"That is selcouth", the guide told him.
"What?"
"Selcouth, that thing should not be here. It was tot here yesterday, and no one has been down here", he pointed at a staff next to the dessicated body on the slab. It was pointed, and the point was red with blood.
"What is selcouth, is it some mystical word or something?"
"It just means strange, unusual, or uncommon. My grandad used it a lot, and I just picked it up from him. Whenever I use it, people ask what it means. We have lost so many great words, youth seldom respect the past"
He was researching witchcraft in the sixteenth century, and this crypt contained the bones of a notorious witchfinder who decreed that any woman who had a skill should be burned at the stake, but only after he had had his way with them and tortured them.
He found the tomb of the witchfinder, but there were no bones. The lid was half off, and the coffin was empty.
"Watch the hole", a voice said. He thought it was the guide, but the guide was nowhere to be seen. His torch went out.
He thought he could find a way out, but he was feeling a bit light-headed. He went to his pocket to see if he had matches, and his shirt was wet...with blood...his blood.
He had been stabbed.
The blood on the pointed staff was his.
Was the guide the witchfinder? But he would be four hundred years old.
He was now scared, and suddenly he was falling. In the dark, he had fallen into the hole, and it was getting hotter as he fell.
He thought he saw a demon, claws spread, waiting to take him.
When he hit the bottom, the demon took him and said
"Ah, another meal from the witchfinder. We will allow him another ten years in his dark crypt."
About the Creator
Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred
A Weaver of Tales and Poetry
Join & Share In VSS
Creationati
Call Me Les ♥ Gina ♥ Heather ♥ Caroline ♥
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Keep reading
More stories from Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Comments (8)
That's why he was using such an old fashioned word, the rascal! "My grandfather" my bum! Great entry, thank you 😁
You just can't trust anybody these days. I finally got around to writing one. This was quite selcouth in itself. ha ha.
Freaky as well as creepy. Good work on this one.
Oh wow, that was soooo creeepppyyyy! Loved it!
Another great short story, Mike. Deliciously creepy.
You drew me in with the quote from Full Metal Jacket. It's one of my husband's all time favorite movies. I also loved the vocabulary lesson. Then the story itself was surprising, intriguing, and clever. I love that he saw the blood then realized he had been stabbed and then realized it was his blood.
Nice twist, that the witchfinder was the one who had made a deal with a demon. I especially like learning a new word at the beginning of the story. Well done, Mike!
Oh I agree, youth seldom respect the past. My anger burns. Knowing that this has happened to women who had a skill. Half off and... Empty? 😳 Oh my gosh. His shirt... 😲 Got warned and now that's where he went. Terrifying. Another ten years sounds deliciously fair. Fantastic work Mike 🤗🖤❤️🖤