There was only one rule: don’t open the door.
A walk onto the pier reveals that the stone crannog has a small black door with no handle or knob, but only a gold plate with a keyhole.
An eerie green light flickers and fades repeatedly from underneath the door and through the hole.
A cacophony which no human ear can comprehend issues from within the forsaken dwelling, sounding impossibly far away while also feeling as if whispered into the ear by hot, panting breaths carried on cold winds that race over the surrounding crags like an insatiable predator bearing down on its prey.
On the door, scrawled sloppily in crusty red letters that could be blood, is a poetic riddle which, unfortunately for many unwary tourists, is all too easy to solve.
To open me
Use the key
Of curiosity.
Even when the locals warn them, they ignore it. After all, who doesn’t like a good mystery? Who doesn’t like a good scare?
Surely, they say to themselves, the locals are just having a little fun. Surely this is just a joke, and a quick peek won’t hurt. Surely…
There was only one rule: don’t open the door.
***** * *****
Still curious? This crannog made its first appearance here:
About the Creator
C. Rommial Butler
C. Rommial Butler is a writer, musician and philosopher from Indianapolis, IN. His works can be found online through multiple streaming services and booksellers.
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More stories from C. Rommial Butler and writers in Horror and other communities.
Horror to Culture, Antichrist Edition
This is my second article cross-referencing my collaboration with Micheal A. Dyer (a.k.a. MAD) on the Horror to Culture website, (here’s the first) where we explore the horticulture of horror—which is to say, the means by which the shadowy elements of the human psyche are redeemed through the cathartic art of exploration and adaptation.
By C. Rommial Butler2 years ago in Horror
Comments (8)
This has great horror elements with a unique context! Very memorable!
well written
Me. I would open the door. I would as well.
See, I want to open that door now. Your story is just too tempting. That paragraph which begins "The cacophony..." (which is a fave word, by the way) was so well described and gave me chills. Brrr.
Hehehe I'd definitely be killed by my curiosity. Loved your story!
Humans and their curiosity is a deadly combo.
Tell us not to do the thing, we only want to do the thing...oh the words we don't know..crannog...new one for me.
There’s only one rule. If you are one of those people who yell at the actors in a horror movie, “Don’t go in there!” then for heaven’s sake don’t open the door! Loved this, Rommi! Thanks for adding a new word to my arcana vocabulary!