The Old Castle
Somehow I had taken the wrong road and found myself lost. I was still new to the area and had gone for a walk along the idyllic country roads. A mist had unexpectedly come down in the late afternoon and it was now getting cooler. On the hill above me there rose an old crumbling stone castle. In need of warmth and safety, I walked up to the main gate and knocked on the solid wood door not really expecting to get a response. To my surprise the door opened up with a loud creak, and there stood an old man slightly bent over and dressed in rags. He leered at me.
“How can I help you miss?” he asked in a coarse voice. Taken aback, I was for a moment speechless.
“I’m lost and it’s getting cold. I was wondering if I could come inside for a time so I can get warm again, kind sir?” I asked him while feeling doubtful whether I should really go inside that old castle with him. He smiled and laughed crudely.
“Certainly miss. Come inside, the Mistress will be awake soon.” he said holding the door open for me. I had some reservations about walking in there, but it was cold and so against my better judgement I walked across the threshold. He closed the door behind me. “This way miss.”
I followed him as he led me through old dark musty rooms with his lighted candelabra dreading where it might end. We went up some stairs and he opened a door and beckoned me to go inside. No sooner had I done so, then he shut the door loudly behind me. I heard him lock it, and then he walked off laughing again.
“Let me out!” I screamed at him.
“Enjoy your brief stay miss.” I heard him say with a voice moving further away.
I tried forcing the door open, but it was locked fast and made from the same solid wood the main gate was. I looked around the room. It was dark, but there were some narrow slits in the wall which the fading light came through. Once my eyes adjusted to the gloom I saw in the middle of the room there was a black coffin. I thought it an odd place to house a coffin, so I went to investigate and opened it up. To my shock there was a dead woman inside it. She had long dark hair and ivory skin. She wore a black dress. I closed the lid and went back to the door and started pounding on it as loudly as I could.
“Please let me out!” I screamed, but there was no response. “There’s a corpse in here for God’s sake!”
Slowly the light in the room died out and I reckoned it must be dusk by now. To my shock the coffin lid suddenly opened up and the woman I presumed to be dead slowly emerged out of it. She looked at me and gave a dark smile.
“So nice of my servant to bring me some breakfast!” she said. She opened her mouth to reveal long white fangs. She approached me with a hungry look in her black pitiless eyes. I screamed, but no one else heard it.
Joanne Fisher
I’ve been watching a lot of the old Hammer vampire movies lately…
©️2021 Joanne Fisher