The Portrait of Sir Oswald the Red

Login accepted.

Query: /searchOb-3112.

Access to this file is restricted under minimum Level 3 clearance. Anti-memetic certification required.

Processing...

Memetic-certification accepted.

Clearance accepted: secondary files only. Primary files under Level 2 clearance. Seek supervisor for exceptional clearance provision. Accessing secondary file for Object 3112.

The following are excerpts from the diary of an intern (now classified as subject 3112-B for the purpose of this report) from the Art of Europe Department of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Caution is advised.

October 24th, 2019

We've had a recent acquisition from the estate sale of some private collector in the United Kingdom. It's a beautiful portrait in a remarkable state of conservation. The painter is unknown, but the canvas itself is painted wonderfully in a renaissance style. The only thing known about the painting itself is a later brass inscription nailed to the frame that says Oswald the Red, a minor historical figure. He was apparently a rather bloody figure in England's past, a regular good Samaritan: murder, pillage, the whole nine yards. Interesting stuff.

Doctor Williams is responsible for its curation. I'll be tagging along. This is so exciting!

October 25th, 2019

The longer I stare at that painting, the more it gives me the creeps. The background and foregrounds are exceptionally macabre -piles of skulls, burning hamlets, good old Oswald's foot raised on a dying combatant- but for me it's the eyes. The longer my eyes meet the painting, his eyes, that look is piercing. There's a curve to that lip, too. I could almost swear the eyes move to watch me. I realize that that's a painting technique, trompe l'oeil it's called. It's an optical illusion. If that's the case, this could be one of the earliest examples of that technique! But still, the effect is nonetheless unsettling.

October 26th, 2019

We found a janitor staring at the painting in the exhibit hall when we arrived in the morning. He was mumbling something and screaming at anyone who tried to approach him. Dr. Williams was able to talk him down, but neither man was really able to take their eyes off the piece. It was a rather confusing and blood-curdling altercation. Everyone in the department was rattled for most of the day.

I hear the janitor has been put on medical leave. Poor guy.

Not going to lie, I had a nightmare about it myself. I was at a banquet with the knight. Everything the guests was eating looked strange, too familiar. After, I went on a hunt. I don't remember what we hunted.

October 28th, 2019

Dr. Williams spent the entire night in the museum yesterday. We found him staring at the portrait. He seemed flustered when we tore him away, but he seemed otherwise fine. The atmosphere at work was different after that. He has been placed on leave.

October 29th, 2019

Those eyes, I see them at night. Piercing eyes, eyes of red. Red stains for the blood of the innocent. Red stains for dripping blades.

I had another nightmare where the knight in the painting was chasing me. He and his entourage cornered me in a valley. All I remembered before I woke was the call of baying hounds and the flash of steel. Isn't it irrational that I flinched every time I walked by the portrait today? Either way, I'll have to learn how to deal with it. It'll pass.

Those eyes, those gleaming red eyes, that crooked smile. Teeth.

October 30th, 2019

He's coming, I can't explain it. There was a chill in the air today. No matter how warm I dressed, I still felt it. Even my blood felt cold. What is wrong with me? I can't look away from the painting. When I close my eyes, it is there. If I lose focus at work, I find myself in front of it, no matter where I was in the museum. I haven't prayed in years. I prayed today. That's the only thing that makes sense now. Those red eyes, the red fields.

October 31st, 2019

Red eyes o'er the red plain

Red paint for red steel

Red steel rends the red flesh

Red teeth to gnaw on the tender red

Red eyes for a red smile

Red is the will

Red is the blood

Red is the fang that needs

Red is the mouth that feeds

Red is the master

Red is the servant

Red is the covenant broken

Red is the deal that is spoken

Red is the stain on the wretched soul

Red is the pain that is putrid whole

By red we are bound

By red we are free

To red we are gone

To red we will be

Memetics screening required. Please look into the provided receiver.

Processing...

Cleared, memetic contamination within acceptable limits.

Processing...

Subject 3112-B is currently being treated at [REDACTED] for paranoid delusions and violent outbursts. Object 3112, otherwise known as the Portrait of Oswald the Red, is currently undergoing diagnostic examination at [REDACTED]. Under no circumstances is Object 3112 to be viewed without memetic shields, nor must a subject deemed contaminated by its influence be introduced to its experimental unit. Further information requires Level 2 clearance.

Please report to the infirmary for the prescribed memetic decontamination procedure.

Logout confirmed. User interface reset.

Welcome. Please enter employee login.

-----

This short story is submitted for Marie Sinadjan's Spooky Season Writing Challenge under the prompt 'Ancient Curse'.