VANITY IS AGELESS

Moving from murderous rage, our next portrait reveals a more supernatural nature. A supernatural curse to be exact. This impressive portrait depicts a Miss April DuVall; a very gorgeous young Victorian woman. Miss DuVall was certainly a most stunning lady: a beautiful angelic face; coal-black hair; and dressed in her elegant pink and white gown. However, sometimes Miss April's personality did not match her pretty facade. Being a wealthy woman, she had a tendency to look down on the poor and middle-class. Unfortunately, this attitude would lead her to meet her demise; one that was caused by this exact portrait. The Haunted Mansion's Gallery presents the story of Miss April DuVall: The Vain Aristocrat.

Miss April DuVall:

The Vain Aristocrat

(1855-1881)

Throughout her entire life, the two things that Miss April DuVall treasured more than anything was her beauty and wealth. Being the only daughter of the millionaire Claude DuVall of Rapid Falls, New York, she inherited the entire estate and wealth of her family. Miss April grew up to be an elegant Victorian lady, but with a flirtatious nature. Using her striking beauty, she could have any man she wanted, and had a fling with almost every young, rich bachelor in the area.

However, with her amazing beauty came a dark side: Miss April greatly looked down upon the unfortunate and poor. She disliked associating with them and being bothered with their problems. If they were lower than her in the social or wealthy class, then chances were that she would treat them as if they were wasting her precious time. It was this attitude that lead her to make a most grave mistake.

One day, while shopping in the town square of Rapid Falls, Miss DuVall was confronted by a poor old woman. The old beggar was extremely ugly, and completely dirt-poor as evidenced by the tattered clothes she was dressed in. The hag approached Miss April and pleaded with the aristocratic lady to let her paint the young woman, since painting was the only means for the beggar to get by. After arguing with the old hag for a short time, Miss April finally agreed to let her paint the portrait.

After a little while, the old crone finished the portrait and showed it to Miss DuVall. The young woman was extremely impressed by the old beggar's painting abilities; this was the best portrait of herself that she had ever seen. Miss April gleefully took the painting, yet the poor woman grabbed the picture back and demanded that she pay her. Annoyed with the old woman, April only snatched it out of the hag's gnarled hands and stormed off back to her mansion. Furious, the beggar shouted hysterically to Lady DuVall, "Beware of the hag December!"

April adored the work of art, and hanged it prominently in the center of her parlor for all to see. Though, she was still slightly disturbed by the old woman's frantic shouting, and wondered what "beware of the hag December" meant. But the young lady pushed it out of her mind, and dismissed it only as an empty threat from a raving lunatic. Little did the flirty woman know, that as the days progressed a disquieting metamorphosis would take place.

Miss DuVall went about her merry way with her aristocratic and sometimes snobbish attitude. Unbeknownst to the young girl, every time she would express derision to a poor villager or merchant, her new portrait would supernaturally age three years; and so did she. At first the changing was unnoticeable, but as the days progressed Miss April began to realize her beauty was fading fast. She started to develop a pale complexion, wrinkles under her eyes, and noticed a couple of grey hairs. She soon began to resemble a middle-aged woman, heading into her late-40s/ early-50s. She had aged more than 20 years in just a week.

All her suitors and beaus began to avoid her as she aged more rapidly. Miss April soon began to slip into a deep melancholy state, depressed as she watched her beauty fade fast. Her gorgeous appearance was the one thing she treasured most in the world, and without she would be nothing. Most of the time, she locked herself away in her room and cried; everything was disappearing or crashing down around her.

On the ninth day of aging, the now middle-aged Miss DuVall wandered aimlessly through the halls of her large mansion, and came across her portrait in the parlor. There, she noticed something that she hadn't seen before: the portrait depicted her as she appeared now, with the word "September" written in the upper right corner of the portrait. She realized it was the portrait; it was the old beggar who had done this to her. Frantically, she rushed into town to find the old woman and undo this horrible curse placed upon her.

Returning to the corner where she first met the hag, Miss April found the beggar in a small hovel situated among the otherwise pristine brick homes. The old woman did not seem in the least bit surprised to see Lady DuVall return. Miss April demanded to know what the old woman had done to her, and that she return her to her once beautiful self. The hag artist explained that she sometimes dabbled in black magic, and when the young woman had refused to pay her for the portrait, she placed a curse upon Miss DuVall: for every unkind comment or act she would display toward the poor and less fortunate, the portrait would age and she would age with it.

Miss April pleaded with the old woman to lift the curse, and gave her a very generous sum of money to undo the hex. The beggar took the money, but told Mistress DuVall that she could only stop the spell from continuing, not reverse it to change the young girl back. Miss April flew into a hateful tantrum, and demanded the old hag to change her back, but the old woman only repeated that it was impossible. Miss DuVall shouted at the crone in rage, screaming every curse and threat she could think of.

Yet with this tantrum, she continued to age three years with every foul word she shouted at the old woman. Soon, Miss April had aged well beyond pass 90 years old into a grotesque, hideous hag with wrinkles, shocking white hair, and a withered saddened face. This was the final stage of the curse: she had transformed into the old hag December. And with that, Miss April DuVall herself faded into thin air. It appeared she had completely disappeared out of sight. Yet the truth behind her demise, was that she was now trapped for eternity within the portrait displayed in her mansion. For the portrait depicted (and always will) Miss April in her original youthful and lovely state.

A very strange little tale, wasn't it? After this incident, the old woman who had painted the portrait, told the local village children of Miss April's tale. And soon, they developed a rhyme that many of them sang around the town:

"Cheeks as rosy as the flowers in spring,

Her beauty surpassed everything.

Miss April, the time and beginning of life,

Became December, cold and full of strife."

In fact, some even believe that Miss April's portrait is haunted by her spirit, and that if you listen closely you might here her sing this chilling rhyme created by her legend. Whether this myth is true or not, Miss April's portrait will always be seen as a work of beauty, even though the woman herself is no more. And one statement will always be true of Miss April DuVall: "beauty is fleeting, but vanity is ageless."

A big thanks to Aquarian Wolf for coming up with the poem.

Next chapter: the story of Merina the Beautiful Gorgon