Title: The Haunting of HRE
Author: xXxXLupicideXxXx
Rating: M
Category: Horror and Romance/Creepy Pasta
Language: English
(May post a Spanish or other language version later if requested.)
Warnings: Poltergeist, Supernatural violence, Possession, Mildly descriptive gore, Mentions of supernatural murder, Character deaths, Possession of corpses, Implied/Mentioned attempt at Necrophilic rape, Lightly implied mentions of past child molestation, Implied supernatural and possibly Necrophilic rape, etc…
I'll never forget the day I found that blood-stained journal in the back of that second-hand shop, in Venice during my gap year… It was an odd thing to see amongst all the Italian trinkets in the store, an A5 sized green journal with 'Deutschland' written across the cover in gold. It surprised me to find that most of it was actually written in English, a few German words merely sprinkled in here and there. Buying it and taking it back to the hotel, I decided to flick through and read a couple of the more interesting entries. My heart stopping cold as I recognised the names within… No, it couldn't be!
C-Could it…?
The entries were written about Hetalia characters, making me think as I read on that it must have been some sick joke…
March 30
Dear Journal,
Strange things have started happening lately…
Bruder recommended that I start writing to you again to alleviate the stress that I seem to be under. Anyway, lately I… Well, I presume that I've been seeing things. A small blonde boy in ein black hat und cloak, to be specific… I started seeing him not long after Feliciano's birthday, und as far as I can tell I am the only one who sees him. I haven't informed anyone of this yet, und I'm not sure if I should. They'd probably think that I'm crazy… Und I'm starting to think that may be the case.
-Ludwig
April 9
Dear Journal,
The strange things that I began talking about in my last entry have been becoming more pronounced. Particularly when Feliciano is around…
Yesterday he was cooking pasta in the kitchen, und when I yelled at him to take some initiative und clean it up after he was finished a jar of pasta sauce flew at mein head from across the room. Feliciano was hysterical, running into Gilbert's room screaming und crying about ghosts.
In the days leading up to that there have been several similar events, a particularly notable one being all the knives in the kitchen dropping from the ceiling. Und it would've hurt a lot more if Gilbert hadn't tried to push me out of the way last minute, leaving me with barely a few scratches up my right arm. Mein bruder on the hand, having needed several stitches…
-Ludwig
April 16
Dear Journal,
When I came home today the kitchen was a mess. Even though no one had been home, und as far as I could tell no locks had been tampered with. The main thing that had been out of place were the jars of pasta sauce that I keep for when Italy visits, all of them smashed open on the floor and their contents smeared to form words. The top one which was crossed out read: 'Germaniam', which in Latin means Germany… The word which was written underneath it in capitals read: 'MEA'. It means MINE… I wonder if this has anything to do with the small blonde boy I see, if maybe I'm in possession of something that he once owned. Lately he seems angry, frustrated… Like there is something that he can't get across. I just hope that mein name will be the only thing that gets crossed out.
I've decided not the worry Gilbert about this, und cleaned up the mess before he got home from Spanien's house. It's just nicht something that he needs to be worrying about right now, the incident with die knives freaked him out enough.
-Ludwig
April 20
Gilbert woke me up in the middle of the night, screaming unnaturally from his room. I ran down the stairs to try und see what was going on, but the door was locked. As the screaming continued I tried breaking down the door using several different methods, starting to panic out of fear for what might be happening to mein bruder. But it was as if the door were welded shut, the screams only growing louder and smashing sounds beginning to be heard from the other side of the door as my efforts increased. The smashing sounds und screaming (Which was almost unearthly sounding) having come to a stop about an hour ago, the house becoming eerily quiet… I'm afraid to go back to sleep, und I worry about Gilbert. But I'm starting to fall asleep with mein eyes open just writing this…
-Ludwig
April 22
Dear Journal,
The reason that I haven't written to you about what happened with Gilbert yet is because I've been in ein Hospital.
Just when I was about to finally go to bed Gilbert came out of his room, und how he managed to do so I will never know… There were bite und scratch marks all over his pale skin, und he refused to look me in the eye…
When I asked if he was alright he just smirked, a black tar-like substance dripping from his mouth und down his chin. He then growled something at me hoarsely, which I am fairly sure was: 'Si surripio quid est mea, ego surripio quis est vestri…' which roughly translated means 'If you take what is mine, I will take what is yours…' Und again the words are Latin.
The most unnerving part was probably when he looked up at me, his eyes completely pitch-black und his head turning at a 180 degree angle.
I do not remember much after that, just fragments of mein bruder sprouting sharp und needle-like teeth over his own und the tips of his fingers turning into talons…
I would've thought it all a dream, had I not woken up in ein Hospital with Doctors asking me if I could remember mein own name.
Apart from a minor case of amnesia surrounding the incident, I also woke up with four cracked ribs, a broken collarbone, cuts und scratches all over mein body, und a strange marking craved into mein back… Most of the cuts were deep enough to need stitches, und I haven't seen Gilbert since.
Feliciano was the one who found me, und he seems quite shaken by the whole thing. I don't blame him…
-Ludwig
April 30
Dear Journal,
I was allowed to leave to Hospital today…
Und the first thing that I noticed when I got home was the blood, of which I presume is my own. Running all the way from the start of the hall, right to the front door… There are also talon marks on the ceiling, but I guess by this point I shouldn't be surprised.
-Ludwig
The next page had no date, it just read: 'MEA' in brownish-coloured dried up blood.
I swallowed thickly, starting to question if this was really a just damn joke… Turning the page hesitantly, I looked to see if there were any more entries.
May 4
Dear Ludwig's Journal,
I'm scared ve…
I told Holy Roman Empire not to hurt Lud, but he didn't listen. It doesn't matter how many times I say that I'll never belong to another ve, he never believes me… Maybe I'm the liar.
After all, it's you that I'm writing to Signore Ludwig's Journal ve…
Maybe I was in amore with Doitsu.
Si, I think I would've said yes that San Valentino had Holy Roman Empire not been standing behind Lud when he'd asked…
I tried to protect him, ve! …But, I guess it just wasn't enough.
Alla prossima,
Feliciano
I ran my fingers over the tear stains on the page, finally understanding something that had often confused me about my favourite anime/manga/webcomic series. I knew that it wasn't because Italy was stupid like everyone said he was. Because I knew that Italy wasn't really all that stupid at all, that he was just hiding things from everyone else… And now I knew exactly what.
Shakily, I turned the page.
May 5
Dear Ludwig's Journal,
I just want it to stop ve!
He's taking things too far… Last night he possessed Lud's dead body, and brought it up from the morgue ve! I told him that it wasn't funny, but he didn't listen. He never listens anymore, ve…
He just pushed me down, and climbed on top of me, and… That's when Fratello walked in.
I'd told him before that I didn't like him or his Mafia friends keeping guns in the house, but at that moment I couldn't be more thankful that he did ve…! He shot the body on top of me five times, a thick black liquid dripping down on me from the open wounds that Fratello had created… I guess that must been embalming fluid, seeing as he was dead and all ve. But what good would shooting a dead man do? Ve, Holy Roman Empire screeched from within Lud's body and climbed off of me to lumber towards Fratello.
"RUN!" I screamed, but it was already too late...
Fratello just shot at him, again and again ve. Until he was all out of bullets and tried to run, but by that point Holy Roman Empire was too close and he couldn't get away ve… It was horrible to watch. Lud's body snatching Fratello up by the throat, and then shoving his other arm down it to pull out something bloody and pulsating. I felt sick, ve… And I wanted to cry so badly as Fratello was thrown against the wall on the right, coughing and sputtering on his own blood. But I was frozen with fear, ve. And I dared not cry out for fear of what might happen to me if I did… I know it's not right, but it couldn't be helped ve.
Picking up Fratello and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Holy Roman Empire turned to face me in the body he had possessed. Doitsu's eyes now cold and harsh, ve…
"Si nolueritis des te ad me plene, tollam quod voluptas fratrum tuorum sine ante ego occidam eum…" He spoke, before carrying Fratello out the door.
I felt sick, ve… So sick. It'd been a since I'd last heard or spoke Latin myself, but still I understood those horrifying words ve… Which for those of you that want to know, meant: 'If you will not give yourself to me fully, then I will take that pleasure from your brother before I kill him…'
I'm so worried or Fratello, ve… I just want it to stop!
Alla prossima,
Feliciano
May 7
Dear Ludwig's Journal,
I can't believe he actually did it ve! He killed Fratello!
I've never been so scared in my whole life, ve! Not even when Nonno died, and I had to do all those scary things that all the bigger countries forced me to!
Yesterday morning, I'd just got up to call big brother France because I didn't France pick up I saw Gilbert standing in the doorway. I could hear big brother France on the other end of the line, but I hadn't heard Gilly come in ve. In fact, he didn't really look like Gilly at all… But like some scary monster out of Pan's Labyrinth, ve! At his side he held il mio fratellone, but not all of il mio fratellone… Just his head, ve. The head which he rolled along the ground to me, as if it were a bowling ball and screeched in unearthly delight. As if he were proud of what he'd done, ve… All I remember after that was being tossed against the wall by Gilly, and then everything went black. This morning I woke up with a dull pin in my back and lower regions, ve… But I do not want to think of any of the terrible things that Holy Roman Empire might have done with Gilly's body. This will be my last entry, ve… Because I can think of only one way to stop him from hurting anyone else. Ve, I'm sorry to anyone who knew me if you find this. But it's okay, tonight I'll get to see Nonno, and Fratello and Doitsu… And no one else will get hurt because of me, ve. Sarò felice…
Ciao Signore Ludwig's Journal, and ciao to everybody else ve.
Addio per sempre e con un sacco di amore,
Feliciano
There were no more entries after that, just some rips in the next few pages. I just sat there terrified, for what seemed like the longest time… But after a minute I realized that each rip per page formed a letter… 'Mulier neglegens' it spelt, which I later learned when put through Google Translate appears as the word slut in English. Just as I was pondering to myself then what it could mean, a horrid screeching like the sound of fingernails across a chalkboard filled the room. The word 'MEA' scratching itself into the wall without any manner of object to do so with. I swear to God I nearly shit myself! Then suddenly a little boy in a black hat and cape appeared in front of me, angry looking and not speaking a single word… Not that he needed to. I understood exactly what he meant, and in all hopes of retaining my life I threw the journal at him! Shouting something along the lines of: 'Fuck! YOURS! I get it, I get it!' Before running to the window and down the fire escape. I never saw the Holy Roman Empire after that…
But now I know the real reason we don't have personifications of the countries. It's not that we never had them, but that the revenge of the Holy Roman Empire eventually destroyed each and every one of them one by one… I presume that France and Spain would've been the next ones dead and perhaps Japan after that… So I beg of you, if you ever find that journal as I did do not claim it as your own or so much as pick it up. For it is all the ghost has left, and I do not doubt that he would do anything to get it back.