"Horror at Terror Creek" Act 1, Scene 4
(Ligeia hovers behind the Athame Inn’s lobby front desk. She
writes in a ledger on the counter surface. Raven, a mute who works
at the Inn in various capacities, enters. She is jittery.)
Ligeia: Stop fidgeting, you stupid girl! Don’t you have work waiting for you in the lab downstairs?
(Raven cowers and drops her feather duster. She picks it up shakily,
avoiding making eye contact with Ligeia.)
Ligeia: Get out of my sight, girl! For someone as silent as the tomb, you are certainly very distracting. Clean the rooms, if you need something to do!
(Raven skitters away to dust in another part of the room, away from
Ligeia, just as Edgar, a hunchbacked bellboy, enters the lobby.)
Edgar: Oh lady, I am sick - sick to death with the agony of toil. Say that I may rest myself a moment at your elbow?
Ligeia: Whatever keeps you quiet, Edgar.
Edgar: Ah, but my soul is perturbed by the soundless oppression of this place. Say that I may revel in your presence, even if only briefly. I feel the autumn chill is upon us all.
Ligeia: You may stay quietly or take your verbal excrement and spew it somewhere I can’t hear you, and while there are still no guests. I am expecting the Members of the Samhain Moon later this evening. Then you’ll have the noise you’re seeking.
Edgar: That, at least, is joyful news. For what purpose do all the Members of the Samhain Moon gather to slumber inside these stony walls?
Ligeia: Samhain is tomorrow night, idiot. A sacrifice is due this time every year. I would think you’d remember that by now. I had thought the ceremonies had made a strong impression on you.
Edgar: Upon my soul! Yes, I remember. (To himself, quietly) What hateful evil are these satanic revels. Every year my spirit strains to shake off what I always think MUST have been a dream. But every year I awake to a courtyard stained with the blood of the innocent. A mournful morning dawns awash in crimson!
(Ligeia clucks in annoyance. Fanny enters the Inn and walks up to
the front desk, giving Edgar a sideways glance.)
Fanny: Hi. I’m Fanny Punn - I booked a room here for the next couple of weeks.
(Ligeia looks through the guestbook for Fanny’s booking.)
Fanny: Are you Ligeia?
Ligeia: I am. you have an excellent memory, for such a pretty, young thing.
Fanny: Thank...you?
Ligeia: (Finding the booking) Ah! Here you are. I also have your credit card number on file. Shall I go ahead and use it, or would you prefer to pay by another method?
Fanny: Oh, go on ahead and use the credit card. That’s probably the easiest. And would you call a service station for me? My car broke down outside of town.
Ligeia: (Phony smile) I will take care of it.
(Ligeia puts the transaction through. Meanwhile, several folk enter,
presumably Members of the Samhain Moon. Ligeia acknowledges
them with a sly smile and waves them through.)
Ligeia: (To the crowd) Go right on through. Your rooms are ready and waiting. (To Fanny - her smile disappears) Members of a local organization. They’ve prepaid.
Fanny: Really? What organization do they belong to?
Ligeia: The Samhain Moon.
Fanny: (Getting excited again) Really? Everything is so delightfully macabre here. I took special note of your name when I was in touch with you a few weeks back. You look exactly as I imagined a Ligeia would look.
(Ligeia simply stares back at Fanny.)
Fanny: From “The Tomb of Ligeia”, by Edgar Allan Poe?
Ligeia: But of course. Hers is a countenance I believe my guardians hoped I would possess in my adult years. It’s good to hear you think so.
(Fanny smiles sheepishly.)
Ligeia: Tell me, Fanny...may I call you Fanny? How old are you?
Fanny: Oh, um...I’m twenty-seven.
Ligeia: Hmmm.
Edgar: She is certainly too old for membership, is she not?
Ligeia: (Hissing) Mind your own business, Edgar! (To Fanny - with a phony smile) This is Edgar, our bellboy. He will be showing you to your room.
(Dr. Audley Salmon enters from the basement (upstage). He spots
Fanny at the front desk and hovers in the background, listening to
the conversation. Fanny and Edgar are just about to leave.)
Ligeia: One moment, my dear. (Stiffly) I feel a kinship with you, yet I know so little about you.
Fanny: (Wary) Well, there’s not all that much to tell.
Ligeia: Nonsense. I think you told me over the phone that you’re staying here in order to research this town and the surrounding area?
Fanny: Yes, that’s right.
Ligeia: Don’t forget to look into the town’s religions. We may be more diverse than you might otherwise think.
Fanny: Thanks for the tip.
Edgar: Yet, on occasion, some secrets are better left unknown. The veil of time draws a phantasmagorical train over history and knowledge to better protect those living in the here and now.
Fanny: (To Edgar - confused and alarmed) Excuse me?
Ligeia: (Attracting Fanny’s attention back) You have a husband?
Fanny: Uh...no. I have a boyfriend. A fiancé, actually. We’re marrying this coming spring.
Edgar: Ah, spring. Rebirth and renewal. We are now in the season of harrowing death,of dreams, of the enslaved will, of the unconscious...
Fanny: (More alarmed) Yes, well...seasons change, fortunately.
Ligeia: This fiancé of yours...you are true to him?
Fanny: I...uh...yes, of course. Actually, I’m entirely true to him, and to myself.
Ligeia: Meaning?
Fanny: I am saving myself for marriage.
Edgar: (After a pause) Now we are surely intruding upon the Miss’s privacy.
Ligeia: (Eyebrows peaked) Forgive my curiosity. I find you fascinating. As someone of such purity and beauty, you understand, no?
Fanny: (Wide eyes) No. I mean, yes.
Ligeia: You will surely be in touch with your fiancé during your stay.
Fanny: I’m not sure. I think I’ll be pretty busy.
Ligeia: For the whole fortnight?
Fanny: He knows I might not be in touch until I’ve returned home.
(Ligeia lingers a moment, studying Fanny. Fanny’s eyes grow quite
wide and frightened. A smile forms gradually on Ligeia’s lips.)
Ligeia: I hope you find what you need here.
Edgar: To your room then, Miss? Come away...come away...
(Edgar take Fanny’s bags and shows her to her room. Dr. Audley
Salmon approaches Ligeia once they’ve left.)
Ligeia: She’s perfect.
Audley: (Staring after Fanny) Yes she is.
Ligeia: (Icy glare) She’s not that perfect!
Audley: Hmm?
Ligeia: I said, wait in faithful patience, and the Horned One will always provide.
Audley: She is an outsider?
Ligeia: Oh, yes.
Audley: Not expected back for two weeks...
Ligeia: The situation is ideal. (Brief pause) You will attend the ceremony then?
Audley: The ceremony? No, no. It will attract far too much attention to me. You and your coven attract far too much notice from the townsfolk as it is. They are ardent Christians. Give them a reason and they’ll string you up, along with all of your freaky friends.
Ligeia: At least we don’t consort with corpses.
Audley: Consort? There’s no consorting. I simply work with them. I am a scientist. This is my profession.
Ligeia: You are penniless.
Audley: (Flirting falsely) Or I would be, if not for you and this Inn.
Ligeia: See what little science has done for you? But our religion promises much more. You should attend the ceremony.
Audley: Just wait. I am close to a breakthrough. Then neither of us need fear the ire of this backward little town.
Ligeia: My coven, my family, is all I need. That (turning to Audley), and one to share my life with.
Audley: (Oblivious) The position of Priestess places you on a lonely pedestal. But you should exercise more control over your minions. Folks are going to notice the missing, eventually. We are surrounded by ghost towns and cemeteries.
Ligeia: We have been conducting the Breath of the Immortal ceremony and the Hallowed Betrothal for decades. The disappearances are now considered ordinary. We are simply “cursed”.
Audley: Nonetheless, be cautious or we’ll be discovered.
Ligeia: Have faith. You are a Satanist, and our magic will protect you as it does the rest of the coven.
Audley: If my experiments go as planned, we’ll soon have something more concrete to protect all of us.
Those parties interested in producing Horror at Terror Creek can purchase a sample copy at the base cost plus shipping - contact [email protected] to order.
writes in a ledger on the counter surface. Raven, a mute who works
at the Inn in various capacities, enters. She is jittery.)
Ligeia: Stop fidgeting, you stupid girl! Don’t you have work waiting for you in the lab downstairs?
(Raven cowers and drops her feather duster. She picks it up shakily,
avoiding making eye contact with Ligeia.)
Ligeia: Get out of my sight, girl! For someone as silent as the tomb, you are certainly very distracting. Clean the rooms, if you need something to do!
(Raven skitters away to dust in another part of the room, away from
Ligeia, just as Edgar, a hunchbacked bellboy, enters the lobby.)
Edgar: Oh lady, I am sick - sick to death with the agony of toil. Say that I may rest myself a moment at your elbow?
Ligeia: Whatever keeps you quiet, Edgar.
Edgar: Ah, but my soul is perturbed by the soundless oppression of this place. Say that I may revel in your presence, even if only briefly. I feel the autumn chill is upon us all.
Ligeia: You may stay quietly or take your verbal excrement and spew it somewhere I can’t hear you, and while there are still no guests. I am expecting the Members of the Samhain Moon later this evening. Then you’ll have the noise you’re seeking.
Edgar: That, at least, is joyful news. For what purpose do all the Members of the Samhain Moon gather to slumber inside these stony walls?
Ligeia: Samhain is tomorrow night, idiot. A sacrifice is due this time every year. I would think you’d remember that by now. I had thought the ceremonies had made a strong impression on you.
Edgar: Upon my soul! Yes, I remember. (To himself, quietly) What hateful evil are these satanic revels. Every year my spirit strains to shake off what I always think MUST have been a dream. But every year I awake to a courtyard stained with the blood of the innocent. A mournful morning dawns awash in crimson!
(Ligeia clucks in annoyance. Fanny enters the Inn and walks up to
the front desk, giving Edgar a sideways glance.)
Fanny: Hi. I’m Fanny Punn - I booked a room here for the next couple of weeks.
(Ligeia looks through the guestbook for Fanny’s booking.)
Fanny: Are you Ligeia?
Ligeia: I am. you have an excellent memory, for such a pretty, young thing.
Fanny: Thank...you?
Ligeia: (Finding the booking) Ah! Here you are. I also have your credit card number on file. Shall I go ahead and use it, or would you prefer to pay by another method?
Fanny: Oh, go on ahead and use the credit card. That’s probably the easiest. And would you call a service station for me? My car broke down outside of town.
Ligeia: (Phony smile) I will take care of it.
(Ligeia puts the transaction through. Meanwhile, several folk enter,
presumably Members of the Samhain Moon. Ligeia acknowledges
them with a sly smile and waves them through.)
Ligeia: (To the crowd) Go right on through. Your rooms are ready and waiting. (To Fanny - her smile disappears) Members of a local organization. They’ve prepaid.
Fanny: Really? What organization do they belong to?
Ligeia: The Samhain Moon.
Fanny: (Getting excited again) Really? Everything is so delightfully macabre here. I took special note of your name when I was in touch with you a few weeks back. You look exactly as I imagined a Ligeia would look.
(Ligeia simply stares back at Fanny.)
Fanny: From “The Tomb of Ligeia”, by Edgar Allan Poe?
Ligeia: But of course. Hers is a countenance I believe my guardians hoped I would possess in my adult years. It’s good to hear you think so.
(Fanny smiles sheepishly.)
Ligeia: Tell me, Fanny...may I call you Fanny? How old are you?
Fanny: Oh, um...I’m twenty-seven.
Ligeia: Hmmm.
Edgar: She is certainly too old for membership, is she not?
Ligeia: (Hissing) Mind your own business, Edgar! (To Fanny - with a phony smile) This is Edgar, our bellboy. He will be showing you to your room.
(Dr. Audley Salmon enters from the basement (upstage). He spots
Fanny at the front desk and hovers in the background, listening to
the conversation. Fanny and Edgar are just about to leave.)
Ligeia: One moment, my dear. (Stiffly) I feel a kinship with you, yet I know so little about you.
Fanny: (Wary) Well, there’s not all that much to tell.
Ligeia: Nonsense. I think you told me over the phone that you’re staying here in order to research this town and the surrounding area?
Fanny: Yes, that’s right.
Ligeia: Don’t forget to look into the town’s religions. We may be more diverse than you might otherwise think.
Fanny: Thanks for the tip.
Edgar: Yet, on occasion, some secrets are better left unknown. The veil of time draws a phantasmagorical train over history and knowledge to better protect those living in the here and now.
Fanny: (To Edgar - confused and alarmed) Excuse me?
Ligeia: (Attracting Fanny’s attention back) You have a husband?
Fanny: Uh...no. I have a boyfriend. A fiancé, actually. We’re marrying this coming spring.
Edgar: Ah, spring. Rebirth and renewal. We are now in the season of harrowing death,of dreams, of the enslaved will, of the unconscious...
Fanny: (More alarmed) Yes, well...seasons change, fortunately.
Ligeia: This fiancé of yours...you are true to him?
Fanny: I...uh...yes, of course. Actually, I’m entirely true to him, and to myself.
Ligeia: Meaning?
Fanny: I am saving myself for marriage.
Edgar: (After a pause) Now we are surely intruding upon the Miss’s privacy.
Ligeia: (Eyebrows peaked) Forgive my curiosity. I find you fascinating. As someone of such purity and beauty, you understand, no?
Fanny: (Wide eyes) No. I mean, yes.
Ligeia: You will surely be in touch with your fiancé during your stay.
Fanny: I’m not sure. I think I’ll be pretty busy.
Ligeia: For the whole fortnight?
Fanny: He knows I might not be in touch until I’ve returned home.
(Ligeia lingers a moment, studying Fanny. Fanny’s eyes grow quite
wide and frightened. A smile forms gradually on Ligeia’s lips.)
Ligeia: I hope you find what you need here.
Edgar: To your room then, Miss? Come away...come away...
(Edgar take Fanny’s bags and shows her to her room. Dr. Audley
Salmon approaches Ligeia once they’ve left.)
Ligeia: She’s perfect.
Audley: (Staring after Fanny) Yes she is.
Ligeia: (Icy glare) She’s not that perfect!
Audley: Hmm?
Ligeia: I said, wait in faithful patience, and the Horned One will always provide.
Audley: She is an outsider?
Ligeia: Oh, yes.
Audley: Not expected back for two weeks...
Ligeia: The situation is ideal. (Brief pause) You will attend the ceremony then?
Audley: The ceremony? No, no. It will attract far too much attention to me. You and your coven attract far too much notice from the townsfolk as it is. They are ardent Christians. Give them a reason and they’ll string you up, along with all of your freaky friends.
Ligeia: At least we don’t consort with corpses.
Audley: Consort? There’s no consorting. I simply work with them. I am a scientist. This is my profession.
Ligeia: You are penniless.
Audley: (Flirting falsely) Or I would be, if not for you and this Inn.
Ligeia: See what little science has done for you? But our religion promises much more. You should attend the ceremony.
Audley: Just wait. I am close to a breakthrough. Then neither of us need fear the ire of this backward little town.
Ligeia: My coven, my family, is all I need. That (turning to Audley), and one to share my life with.
Audley: (Oblivious) The position of Priestess places you on a lonely pedestal. But you should exercise more control over your minions. Folks are going to notice the missing, eventually. We are surrounded by ghost towns and cemeteries.
Ligeia: We have been conducting the Breath of the Immortal ceremony and the Hallowed Betrothal for decades. The disappearances are now considered ordinary. We are simply “cursed”.
Audley: Nonetheless, be cautious or we’ll be discovered.
Ligeia: Have faith. You are a Satanist, and our magic will protect you as it does the rest of the coven.
Audley: If my experiments go as planned, we’ll soon have something more concrete to protect all of us.
Those parties interested in producing Horror at Terror Creek can purchase a sample copy at the base cost plus shipping - contact [email protected] to order.
