Mirewood Manor - Part 1
For the month of October, I will be publishing a choose your own adventure. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will see a new post based on the most popular decision. The goal is for everyone to reach the end of the story by surviving the month. Cast your votes by replying on the post itself, Facebook, Twitter, or Straw Poll.
The tale of
Mirewood Manor was well known throughout town well before your birth. While it may have had some roots in factual,
worldly events, time has a way of twisting and perverting the truth. By the time you heard it on your first
camping trip all those years ago, several decades had passed, but your friends
held their collective breath right along with you.
The story
began as most do. It involved a happy
family consisting of father, mother, and son.
They lived in the renown Mirewood Manor just outside of town, nestled in
the thick woods that surrounded the Western half of the county. They were paragons of the community, having
lived there for generations themselves.
Mr. Fletch was the great-grandson of one of the town’s founders,
Augustus Fletch. While the family had
always been well off, it was their steel mills that kept the town running and
their coffers flush with cash. As the
first great war broke out, the Fletchs saw untold riches funnel into their
vaults.
But success
has a price. Having just become a man
himself, Mr. Fletch’s son, Cecil, had been called to serve his country. It was in some horrific battle across the sea
in a foreign land that Cecil drew his last breath. Upon hearing the news, his grief-stricken mother
hung herself from the spire overlooking the estate. His father, driven mad with sorrow and anger,
locked himself away in the labyrinth of the manor, never to be seen again.
After months
of no contact, the shareholders took action and seized control of the company
so the town wouldn’t die along with the family.
For years, they held a vigil for their leader in hopes he would come back. But as the years passed, it was clear that
Mr. Fletch wasn’t meant to return. It
was said that when the police finally searched the home they found only bizarre
shrines to the lady of the mansion and the son who would never return.
As for Mr.
Fletch, the story went that the pain was too much for him. The way it was told to you, all those years
ago, was that Mr. Fletch snapped when he found the body of his wife. Mirewood Manor became his tomb as he lost his
way wandering the halls. Now the ancient
mansion sits abandoned, haunted by the father, the mother, and the son whom
never returned.
For years,
it was a rite of passage for kids to creep onto the overgrown property and
knock on the ancient oak doors. It was
said the mother would answer in hopes her son had returned. However, a noose would be tight around her broken
neck and her eyes would turn hollow as her voice filled with rage upon seeing a
living soul once more. There were always
stories of kids from years ago that went missing. Some said they got lost in the halls of the
manor and others who were dragged off by the mother to a far worse fate.
Knowing all
of that hasn’t helped as you find yourself standing at the end of the driveway
leading up to Mirewood Manor. Your time
has come and you can scarcely believe you’re actually here. Several of your friends have already run the
half mile to the front door, knocked, and then run back in pure exhilarating
terror. You know it would be easy enough
to do the same, but where’s the fun in doing what everyone else has?
No, you came
prepared. A lantern sits in the back
seat of the car. It was your plan to
carry that lantern to the same spire the mother had hung herself from and light
its beacon for all to see. But, now that
you’re actually here, in the middle of the night, with only the moon to
illuminate your way, do you still have the courage to do it?
Reply KNOCK
if you simply want to knock on the door.
Reply
LANTERN if you want to follow through with your original plan.
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