This story is based on the infamous Disneyland attraction "The Haunted Mansion." I did not create the character Leota or the last name Gracey, and I'm borrowing the first name of George from Aquarian Wolf, another HM fanfic writer.
Chapter 1: Epilogue
The woman stormed through the house, angrily. How could he do this to her? He was her one true love, and he betrayed her.
She threw open each room she passed with a mere wave of her arm, the doors banging against the wall.
"Gracey!" She yelled, "I know you're here somewhere! Come out and face me like the man you are!"
The woman continued to search the large house, until she came to the study. This had to be where he was – she'd looked everywhere else. She glared at the door, and it flew open.
"You're in here, George," The woman said icily, "I can feel it. Show yourself."
A man slowly rose up from behind the desk, trembling. He had his hands in the air and a scared look on his face.
"L-Leota," The man named George said, trying to sound brave, "What do you want?"
"You know damn well what I want, George," Leota said, her brow furrowing. Small objects in the room began to rattle and shake.
"Leota, please…Emily and I are in love…and what we had…well…"
"What we had was more than anything you will ever have with that…that skank!" Leota said furiously, her heart breaking. To this, George blushed furiously.
"Leota, please…I'd rather you didn't-"
"So what, you're EMBARRESSED of our child? She exists, you know. I've seen the way you shun her, and act as if she's not there. Do you know how often she comes to me in tears, wondering why her father doesn't love her!"
"That was a mistake, and I regret the day it happened," George said firmly, but there was a hint of wavering in his voice.
"That's how you feel. Well good. Then I don't regret what I've already done!" Leota said, her fists clenched in anger.
"What do you mean?" George asked, now nervous. Leota was a very unpredictable woman.
"Your 'bride' is dead. Locked in the trunk in the attic. And I'm going to make sure that YOU feel the pain that you've caused me…for all eternity!"
Leota snapped her fingers, and in her hands appeared a small red book. She began to read from it; an incantation.
"Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat. Call in the spirits, wherever they're at!
Rap on a table, it's time to respond. Send us a message from somewhere beyond!"
The lights in the room flickered, and a low moan suddenly sounded from nowhere. George felt himself being lifted up into the air, strange lights surrounding him. He reached for Leota's book and to both of their surprise, was able to grab it.
"If I'm going down, you're coming with me!" George yelled. Suddenly he was thrown from the study, flew through the house, and found himself hovering in the small gallery that he had made to honor his relatives. He looked at all of the small paintings, and noticed that something peculiar was happening. Was the room getting longer? Or was he just moving up higher towards the ceiling?
Whatever it was, it was effecting the portraits. They changed from pristine to grotesque – showing his family members about to die. George suddenly remembered what he was trying to do, before it was too late. He flipped frantically through Leota's book, looking for something, anything, that could stop her. He finally found one that looked as if it could do the trick, and read it.
"Spirits of good, answer this call, trap the dark presence in a crystal ball!"
As he finished the spell a noose appeared around his neck and he knew he was done for. And as the magic holding him let go and the only thing left to hold him was a thick rope, he heard a loud scream echo through the house.
Leota was imprisoned.
So was George. And everyone else in the house.
The book fell from George's grasp, and fell to the gallery floor with a small thump. It laid open to a blank page, but as a clock chimed midnight somewhere, it started to shake and new words appeared in it:
The cursed mansion, now doomed ever more
Can only be freed by the girl from lore
A jewel in the rocks, a girl unknown
This mortal can save us; only her alone.
