I am intrigued by classic haunted literature. When Scott and I were first married, we purchased a book of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe from an estate sale. The book holds all the more fascination because of its age and mysterious history to us. One of my favorite Poe stories is The Masque of the Red Death. It's a story about the fear of a plague and the selfish opulence of a prince who tried to hide from it. What really intrigues me about this story is the visual depictions it paints with its words about a revelrous melee of color and gross indulgence. I thought of posting it today, but I think it is too long for a blog. I've made the title above a link to an online version of the story if you would like to read it. It's probably a 5-10 minute read.
Instead, I will share a shorter story from Danish lore told by Hans Christian Anderson.
In North Seeland they tell of a dark mystery that challenges one's imagination. The church of Roervig lies far out among the sand dunes by the stormy Kattegat. One evening a great ship came to anchor off the shore. It seemed to be a Russian man-of-war. That night there was a knock at the parsonage door, and several people, armed and masked, demanded that the minster put on his robes and come with them, out to the church. They promised to pay him well, and they threatened him if he should refuse to go. He went.
He found the church lighted. Unknown people were gathered there, and all was in deep silence. A bride and groom waited in front of the altar. The magnificent clothes they wore suggested the highest rank, but the bride was deathly pale. When the marriage ceremony ended, a shot rang out, and the bride fell dead at the altar. The people took her corpse and went away with it. Next morning, the ship was gone, and to this day no one has been able to give any explanation of these happenings.
The minister who took part in it wrote the whole story down in his Bible, which his family has kept to this day. The old church still stands between the sand dunes, near the tossing water of the Kattegat, and the story still lives in memory and in writing.
Do you have a favorite haunted tale?
2 comments:
I love the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps it is so endearing to me because my Dad played the part of Brom Bones when he was in high school. It's a classic.
ooooo. spooky.
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