In loving memory of...
Richard Moll (Two-Face, Scorpion, Night Court)
Matthew Perry(Chandler from Friends) May we miss them.
All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy this fic.
LC Halloween Special 3: Grim Grinning Ghosts
Welcome, Foolish Mortals, to New Orleans. A most paranormal place. Where somber funerals end in celebration. Where death is not an ending, but a new beginning. And even grief can be a doorway to joy if one is willing to walk through it.
It was two years before the events of the main story. As we turn back the clock, we find the familiar trio of Eda, Luz, and King spending Halloween in New Orleans, Louisiana. They walk down the streets of the French Quarter, dressed as pirates.
"I don't like my costume you guys gave me," King complained while dressed as a parrot.
"Oh come on, King, live a little," Eda encouraged while dressed as a pirate captain in a dark maroon captain's hat, long overcoat, orange belt, purple trousers and velvet boots. She also sported a hook for a hand. Her hair was tied into a ponytail. "We're in New Orleans, I hear that this was a popular spot for pirates centuries ago."
"Where'd you hear that?" Luz asked while wearing a long black coat with a fake white mustache, a straw hat, black shirt with a skull and crossbones, blue jeans, and sandals.
"From some mermaids that I traded goods with down at the Mississippi River a while back," Eda said while looking at Luz's costume. "I still don't understand your little weird costume. You're supposed to be a pirate."
"I am a pirate," Luz told her. "I'm Captain Monkey D. Harlock Crunch. I am the most handsome and fun-loving space pirate with rubber powers looking for the great treasure of Captain Crunch cereal. Prepared to be crunchatized!" she declared with her fists up.
"… Okay," Eda replied. "I guess I'm the only one who gets the tradition of dressing up and being a pirate."
"You mean that outfit you use to rob the Emperor's Coven's ships?" King asked her.
"Don't hate that I look fabulous," Eda said.
"Ugh, fine. When can we grab a bite around here?" King asked.
"Maybe we'll take a stop at that place called Tiana's Palace," Luz suggested.
"Eh, that won't be happening," Eda said. "There's no way we can afford a reservation…" She then turned to someone standing nearby. "Hey, you with the red coat."
"Oh, who me?" asked a guy who was dressed in a red wig, red shades, a red, pointed shoulder coat with a black collar, pink stripes, and a red and black-cross necktie. He also wore black pants with red thin stripes and red cuffs, black dress shoes, and gloves. He was holding an old-timey microphone.
"Yeah, where can pirates like us go get something to eat around here?" Eda asked.
"Ah, well if you wish for my recommendation, you can try out Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop," he said as he pointed to a nearby building. "It is one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans and was built in the 1770s. According to legend, it used to be owned by the privateer named Jean Lafitte, who may have used the structure as a front to sell contraband."
"Heh, sounds like my kind of guy," Eda said.
"Is it also supposed to be one of the most haunted places in the French Quarter," the man continued.
"Haunted?" Luz asked. "How haunted?'
"Jean Lafitte himself is often seen lurking in the shadows to watch over his former haunt, usually near the fireplace," the red-coated man explained. "On the second floor of the bar there is the ghost of a woman who killed herself up there in the 1890s. And there is also a pair of phantom red eyes that have been seen in the dark corners of the bar. But there is more to the place than the hauntings. The reason why it's called a Blacksmith Shop is because Jean's older brother, Pierre, was a blacksmith, but the abandoned ship became a cafe into the 1940s by a man named Roger Capilinger. Since then, a few celebrities have visited the place and it was even declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970."
"Hmm, thanks for the info, bud," Eda told him before she turned to King and Luz. "Alright kids, to the Lafayette Cafe!"
"Um, it's actually Lafitte-" he tried to correct her but Eda just walked past him along with Luz.
"So who are you supposed to be?" King asked him.
"Oh, well I'm supposed to be an infamous serial killer from around these parts," he explained. "The Radio Demon, as they called him, was once a radio show host before-"
"Come on, King!" Luz called out to him.
"Coming!" King replied as he rushed to catch up to his family, leaving the guide alone.
"Man, talking about the legend of the Radio Demon makes me want a hotdog," he said to himself before he walked off.
The trio entered the old brick building and saw that there was indeed a bar inside, Eda walking over to the counter.
"Hey, can a gal like me get some service?" Eda asked the bartender. "Me and my kids are starving!"
"Just grab the menus and we'll be on your way," the bartender said while Luz and King managed to pick a table.
And so, the three sat by their table as they ordered their food. After being served, Luz ate some wings, King ate his cheesy fries, and Eda drank a bottle of apple juice.
"Can't believe they don't sell alcohol here," Eda muttered.
"Well that's a good thing, mom," Luz responded. "Because the last thing we need is you committing a hit and run with your staff again."
"Yeah, yeah," Eda replied. "You still got the cash to pay for this?"
"Yup," Luz said while counting her money. "Got it from smuggling that barrel of maple syrup over the Canadian border."
"Great, now we don't have to dine and dash again," Eda said while she leaned back as she kept drinking her apple juice. She then noticed a painting of an antebellum mansion up on the wall. The painting showed a bunch of people wearing old-timey clothing in front of it, which piqued her curiosity.
Luz noticed that Eda was staring at something. "What are you looking at, mom?"
"Oh, just a nice house," Eda commented.
"That's Gracey Manor," spoke a teenager who was sweeping on the floor.
Eda turned to the teenage boy. "What can you tell us about it?" she asked.
"Well it was built by Ambrose Gracey, a merchant captain who had a secret association with Lafitte," he explained to them. "Thanks to this association, Ambrose would sometimes return to the docks with more goods than he started out with, which helped him to build up his wealth. And because of his relationships with pirates, he built his mansion with secret passages that were used to bring in and store illicit goods. The mansion was home to several generations of the Gracey family, though all of the Graceys are dead now." He paused, as if considering something. "And you know… the mansion is also the site of an annual Halloween party."
"A Halloween party?" Luz asked.
"Yeah, it's got a… 'haunted mansion' kind of theme. Easily the biggest Halloween party in the area. Lots of special effects and actors. You should all go check it out if your schedule is free, I'm sure they would let you in," the teenager suggested.
Luz turned to Eda. "Can we go see it, mom?"
"Yeah, it sounds fun! And they might have free food!" King pointed out.
"Well, hopefully there's some rum down there," Eda said with a hum. "Alright, I guess we can go check this 'haunted mansion' party out."
"Huzzah!" King declared. "We're going on a raid!"
After finishing their food, the Clawthornes began to leave the bar. "Alright, family, to the haunted mansion party!" Luz declared as they made their way out.
As the teenage boy saw them leave, he got smacked in the arm by his girlfriend. "Ow! Why'd you do that?"
"Ah can't believe that you'd tricked that poor family, Georgie," she responded with a Cajun accent. "All of Orleans knows to steer clear of that creepy manor!"
"But I was telling the truth, Louise," he said while rubbing his arm. "There is a party going on at Gracey Manor tonight…"
Outside of New Orleans, the trio of Luz, Eda, and King were now on the grounds of Gracey Manor, which had a cemetery outside of the mansion.
"So this is where the party is happening?" Luz asked her mom.
"Well that's what I've been told," Eda responded while looking curious at the mansion. "It certainly looks like it would be haunted…"
"Excuse me," said a voice.
The three turned and saw an elderly man with long white hair. He wore a brown jacket with a green scarf, a hat, and carried both a lantern in one hand and a shovel with the other. Accompanying him was a bloodhound dog. "What is your business at Gracey Manor?"
"Who's the guy in the shovel?" King whispered.
"I think he's one of the actors playing the role of the groundskeeper," Luz responded while turning to the old man. "Well sir, we're here because we heard of a party going on and we'd like to check it out."
"Well, yes there is a ghost jamboree going on later tonight," the old man said.
"Great! Then I hope you don't mind if we go in," Eda said as they walked past the old man.
"Wait!" he called out for them. "Don't go in there! You won't like what goes bump in the night!"
"Yeah, sure, beware of entering inside of some Scooby-Doo yadda-yadda, you're doing good!" Eda said while giving the caretaker a thumbs up as they walked towards the mansion.
"W-Wait!" he tried to call them out, but they were not listening to him. He turned to his dog. "They never listen…"
And so, the Clawthornes walked up to the front porch of the mansion. Eda was about to knock on the front door… only for the doors to open up themselves.
"Huh, it must be automatic," Eda commented before they went in.
"Whoa, this place looks… old," Luz commented while looking around the interior of the manor. She noticed some men and women dressed as butlers and maids cleaning and tidying up the place. They paid little attention to the Clawthornes. "These guys must be more actors."
"You're too early," a butler suddenly spoke up from behind them, spooking the Clawthornes.
"Ah geez, warn a girl next time!" Eda told him off.
"My apologies, miss," he apologized. "But pray tell care to explain your reasons for being here?"
"We're here because of the Halloween party that's happening," Luz said.
"Hmm, you're here for the shindig." the butler said with a hum. "You sure you're up for it?"
"Hey, we're here to party like it's 1699!" King declared.
"Well, I guess I can't say no to you enthusiasts," the butler said as he pointed down the hall. "Go that way and you'll find yourself in the portrait gallery. That is where the Host wants new guests to start their tour."
"Alright, thank you, Alfred," Luz said to the butler as she, Eda and King made their way to the portrait room.
"It's Charles…" the butler said.
The trio walked down the hall and made it to the portrait gallery. The room was of an octagon shape with gargoyle statues sitting underneath some large portraits that hung above them. Luz looked up and saw the portraits of an elderly lady holding a rose, a bearded man with a piece of paper in his hand, a parasol-holding woman, and a man with his arms crossed.
"Who do you think these people are?" King asked.
"Previous owners, maybe," Eda said with a shrug.
"Welcome, foolish mortals!"
The three were spooked as they looked up at the ceiling of the manor to try to figure out where the voice was coming from. The door behind them closed. "Welcome to the Haunted Mansion! I am your host… your Ghost Host."
"Where's that voice coming from?" King asked.
"Don't worry, probably a speaker somewhere," Luz reassures him while looking around. "Right, mom?"
"Yeah…" Eda said, though she had a strange feeling.
"Our tour begins here at this fine art gallery, filled with portraits of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state. Kindly step forward from the door, there's no turning back now!"
"Please drag your bodies away from the walls and into the dead center of the room," spoke the woman with the parasol from behind them. Luz turned around only to see the painting still.
"Who said that?" Luz asks, looking around.
"Probably another speaker." Eda replied. "Just as you said, right?"
"Y-Yeah," Luz admitted. "Gotta admit, they really have worked themselves around here." She then noticed something about the room. "Hey guys… does this room feel… off?"
"Off how?" Eda asked before she noticed that the room was moving. As if the walls were growing… longer.
"Like it's stretching!" King pointed out as he noticed the portraits also elongating, revealing there was more to the painting.
"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding," the Ghost Host explained. "It's almost as if you sense a disquieting metamorphosis… Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it just your imagination…hmm?"
They looked at the portraits as the walls stretched out vertically, eventually revealing the fates of each of the guests. The depictions of them looked grim, yet humorous.
The lady with the rose was sitting on a tombstone with a bust of a man named George that has a hatchet in his head. "Well… that's a widower when I see one," Eda commented.
The bearded man wasn't wearing any pants and was standing on a dynamite keg about to blow. The woman with the parasol was standing on a fraying tightrope while below her was an alligator wanting to eat her. Lastly, the crossed-arm man was revealed to be carried on the shoulders of another man, who was also carried by another man on his shoulders while sinking into quicksand.
"Something tells me these guests didn't have the most dignified deaths…" Luz commented.
"Indeed, they didn't," the Ghost Host responded to Luz. "And to consider your displaying observation: this chamber has no windows and no doors… which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! YAHAHAHA!"
They noticed that the door they entered through had disappeared. "Weh!?" King exclaimed as he patted the wall. "There is no door!"
"But it was just there!" Luz exclaimed while Eda patted Luz and King.
"Don't worry, this is all just… pretend… right?" Eda asked while looking around. "Hey, Ghost Host or whoever you are, is there a way out of here?"
"Well… there's always my way."
The lights in the room went out and thunder was heard. As lightning flashed and they heard a shriek, everyone looked up toward the ceiling. Or rather, where the ceiling once was.
There was a skeletal corpse hanging from the rafters by the noose, left hanging from the cupola.
Once the lightning flash was over, the lights went back up again, showing the ceiling from before.
"Nice skeleton decoration!" Luz commented, though she, Eda, and King still looked shocked.
"Oh I didn't mean to frighten you prematurely," the Ghost Host spoke as a door appeared in front of the Clawthornes. "The real chills come later. Now as they say, 'look alive', and we'll continue on our little tour. And let's all stay together please…"
The three looked at the door. "Boy, those were some kind of special effects, weren't they?" Eda asked.
"Y-Yeah," Luz replied, wondering how they got the doors to appear and disappear like that. "Let's continue forward."
"Do we have to?" King asked before they heard whispering coming from the gargoyles above them.
"Leave," the gargoyle told them.
The three entered a hallway which contained more portraits and paintings along with some busts. As they walked, King noticed the busts seemingly turning to glare at the Clawthornes. "Those uh… some animatronics, are they?" he asked as he saw one bust blink at him. "Weh!"
"And some neat… holographic paintings," Luz said while looking at one portrait of a woman as the lightning flashed, revealing her to be a werecat. Next to this portrait was a portrait of a knight on his horse which changed into a skeleton-like ghost. A portrait of a handsome nobleman changed into a skeleton in a rotting suit and a ship on calm waters was changed into a ghost ship in the middle of a storm.
"A little macabre on the decorating," Eda said as they passed by the portrait of a woman who, after a flash of lightning, was changed into a gorgon. "Heh, talk about a bad hair day, am I right?"
"HISSS!" the gorgon woman hissed at Eda, suddenly animated.
"WEH!?" Eda backed away, while Luz heard a purring sound and she turned around to see that coming out of her portrait was the black and white-striped tiger woman.
"Mom…" Luz spoke up. "I don't think this is all for show…"
"This house is really haunted!?" King exclaimed in shock.
"Actually, we have 999 happy haunts here, but there's room for a thousand. Any volunteers?"
"Nope!" Eda shouted as she saw the gorgon lady crawling out of her portrait. She brought out her staff as she shot a light beam at the gorgon, knocking it away from her kids. She turned around and uses her finger to shoot a fire spell at the werecat after it tried to get the jump on them. The werecat was scared off from the flames while Luz grabbed King and ran off through the halls, Eda running to follow them.
"Of all the rotten luck, we ended up at a haunted house!" Luz exclaimed.
"Ghost horse!" King pointed at the skeletal ghost and his horse jumping out of the portrait, followed by the Flying Dutchman's painting gushing out a lot of water as the portrait monsters chased the trio.
Luz pointed ahead. "Over there!" she shouted as she pointed to the door to the library, which they rushed through before slamming the doors shut behind them. They listened closely to the door.
"I think we've lost them," Eda said before looking around the room. Being a library, it was full of bookshelves and ladders. "Looks like we're hiding here for the time being."
"The library is well stocked with priceless first editions, only ghost stories of course," the Ghost Host explained. "And marble busts of the greatest ghost writers the literary world has ever known." After he explained this, the Clawthornes saw the ladders moving by themselves, books being picked up along by invisible hands, and chairs moving when invisible specters sat down to read.
"This is even spookier than the Bonesborough Library…" Luz said.
"Alright, I think we've seen enough," Eda said as she dug her hand into her coat, only to find something missing. "What the hell…?"
"Uh, what is it, Eda?" King asked.
"The portal key… it's missing!" Eda exclaimed, followed by a flash of lightning.
"What?!" Luz and King exclaimed.
"You lost the portal key!?" Luz asked.
"I had it on my person all the time!" Eda insisted while the nearby ghosts shushed them.
"Oh don't worry, your belongings are safe," the Ghost Host told her. "You'll be able to collect your belongings at the end of the tour."
"Uh-uh, no way mama's going to tolerate anymore of this haunted mansion nonsense!" Eda declared. "You either give me my key back, or else I'll burn this place to the ground!" She summoned flames from her hands "The laws of this realm do not apply to me! Yahahahahaaaah!" she laughed madly… only for a splash of water to come down from the ceiling and hit her over her head, dispersing her flames.
"SHHH!" the ghosts shushed her.
"Please enjoy the library before we continue on the tour," he told them. "And remember to stay quiet…"
"Come on, mom, let's find an exit," Luz told her while she and King started walking through the library.
Eda gave a frustrated huff before following her kids. The trio looked around, passing by the moving ladders and the cart of books moving on its own. As they walked toward the exit, King noticed a portrait on the wall.
"Say, who's that guy?" King asked, pointing at the portrait.
Eda and Luz turned to see the portrait of a thin, tall man dressed in an old black suit with a wilted carnation on his lapel. His face appeared to be skull-like, with pale and craggy features and whispy white hairs on his head. Under the portrait was his name: Aminus Arcane.
"He must be the librarian or something," Luz commented.
"Let's just move on before something scary happens," Eda told them as they continued on, spotting the door to exit out of the library.
It took them to a conservatory. They saw that it was filled with decaying overgrown plants and vegetation, along with a coffin in front of a window. The trio looked at each other with a nod before King and Luz grabbed any objects they could find while Eda performed spells to try to break the windows. But each time they failed. The chairs and items thrown at the windows bounce off, prompting Luz and King to dodge them. And when Eda tried to use her magic, it bounced around the room.
"Good luck trying to break out," the Ghost Host told them "Perhaps you'd have better luck than Mr. Davis."
"Mr. Davis?" Luz asked before they heard the cries coming from the now moving coffin.
"Help… someone, get me out of here," he cried while his skeletal hand stuck out, trying to get the lid of the coffin off of him. His skeletal face peeped through. "Help a guy out of here!"
Eda, Luz, and King decided to move on, going through the same door they came in through. Only this time they found themselves inside of a music room rather than back in the library. They saw the piano playing by itself and on the ground was the shadow of its invisible player.
"Looks like there's a Piano Man in here," Luz commented.
"Hey, do you know any other music to play?" Eda asked.
The ghost playing the piano then started playing 'Superstition,' which got the trio to stay to listen for a while.
"Alright, let's move on," Eda said after listening for a bit. They tried to go to another room while the piano player kept playing.
In another room, the Clawthornes found themselves surrounded on all sides by numerous staircases that seem to run in every direction, some sideways and upside down; some ending in freestanding doors and others turning or leading off to points unknown. Glowing green footprints manifested along these stairs and any candelabras they passed flickered and sputtered out before mysteriously relighting.
"Oh come on! Not another Escher staircase thing!" Luz complained.
"Not a fan of Relativity?" the Ghost Host asked.
"Not really, just sick and tired that you come to these staircase scenes too many times to count. Just living in one kinda lost its novelty," Luz explained while rolling her eyes.
"...Kids these days…" the Ghost Host grumbled. "Nothing excites you about this room, does it?"
"No-sir-re-bob," Luz told the Ghost Host.
"Well perhaps you'd like to be chased by the giant spider behind you then."
"Say what now?" Luz said as she, Eda and King saw the giant spider behind them.
"AAAH!" the three screamed as they ran up the stairs as the giant spider. They ran up the stairs, the anti-gravity making them walk upside down and on the side of the walls, walking each stairway to escape from the giant spider until they found an opened door. The three jumped through the door and Eda closed it behind her, preventing the giant spider from chasing them further.
"That was a close one!" King said.
"Hey, look." Luz pointed at a levitating three-stick candle floating in place down the very long hallway.
"Looks like that candle's our guide," Eda indicated as the three began to walk down the hallway.
"If you should decide to join us, final arrangements may be made at the end of the tour," the Ghost Host said while his laugh echoed.
"Sorry, but living with Hooty is enough frights for all of us," Eda told the ghost as they kept walking.
"You know, back in the Demon Realm, you know how we deal with ghosts infesting homes? Exorcists!" Luz shouted as they kept walking.
"Is it just me, or are we not close to that floating candle?" King pointed out, seeing that they were still far from the floating candle.
However, behind the Clawthornes was a moving suit of armor following them. Their steps were loud in sync with the knight's steps. They then stopped as they turned around, only for the knight to pause. They turned around as they began to walk again, the knight resuming in following them. They stop again to turn to see the knight stopped in its place.
"Was that armor following us?" Luz asked as their eyes narrowed.
Eda gave the armor a look, before they turned around to resume walking slowly. As they walked slowly, the armor walked slowly as well… only for Eda to quickly look at him to catch him moving. "AHA!"
The haunted armor looked surprised before it then ran towards them. The Clawthornes turned around and ran through the endless hall while being chased by the haunted armor.
As they were being chased, they passed through a corridor of doors. There, they heard groaning and screaming behind the doors. The doors bent as if breathing while the knockers clacked and rattled by themselves. Behind the cracks of one door was a brick wall.
"Help us!"
"Get us out of here!"
"We promise to not haunt you!"
"YAAAAHAHAHAHAA!"
This whole thing terrified them. As they kept running, one hand popped out of a door, trying to grab Luz.
"CRAP!" Luz shouted as she dodged the hand.
"It's a madhouse! A MADHOUSE!" King cried out while he saw a grandfather clock, its arms spinning wildly backwards while the clock struck thirteen.
"Stay close to me!" Eda shouted as she grabbed Luz and King while running. They passed a wall with portraits of the resident ghosts and one picture frame that read 'Tomb, Sweet Tomb.'
After they ran for a while, Luz and King looked behind them. They couldn't see the haunted armor chasing them. "I think we lost that armor," Luz said.
Eda looked exhausted after letting the kids go and she sat on a chair. "Thank Titan, I need a rest."
"Hey, watch who your sittin'!" the chair spoke, spooking Eda.
"Gah!" Eda shouted, standing up. "Alright, that's it! Listen up, you Ghost Host! We've been chased around this house long enough!" she complained. "Either you show us a way out of here, or so help me…!"
"We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat. Every room has wall-to-wall creeps, and hot and cold running chills."
They saw a door near them open. Eda, Luz, and King reluctantly looked into the room before they headed inside. "Hope nothing scary happens," Luz muttered.
"I am so giving this place a low Yelk review," Eda said as they entered the shadowy room labeled the 'Seance Circle'. There, they spotted a large table with a crystal ball on it and three chairs gathered around. "Hmm, a séance… well, why not? Let's see our fortune," she said as she sat on the chair.
Luz and King did the same. "So who's the séance reader here?" Luz asked.
"Where's the remote?" King asked.
"Serpent and spiders, tail of a rat…"
The trio noticed the crystal ball glowing as it rose up from the table. Forming inside of the crystal ball was the head of a pale faced woman with floating blue hair. "Call the spirits, wherever they're at!"
"Of course there's a spirit in a crystal ball," Eda muttered.
"Rap on a table, it's time to respond… send us a message from somewhere beyond!" Leota continued while the three Clawthornes felt a sudden chill. "Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine!"
They heard a tambourine shaking nearby, which spooked them.
"Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there music from the regions beyond!" she declared as they started hearing music playing.
Luz saw a harp playing by itself while floating, followed by a horn, a flute, a bagpipe, and a drum following its example.
"Huh, you know this isn't half bad." Luz comments while the instruments play.
"Yeah, less scary and more entertaining," King commented.
"Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell, give us a hint, by ringing a bell!" Leota declared as a bell levitated past them, ringing while the instruments continued to play.
"Well, I'll admit, that was less horrifying," Eda commented.
"The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations and are beginning to materialize."
As the Ghost Host said this, the Clawthornes saw five phantom minstrels appear over their heads, playing the instruments that floated around the room. But there was another ghost in the room. And he levitated down and landed on the table next to Leota's crystal ball, the three were shocked to see his appearance.
"Hey, I know you!" King pointed out. "You're the guy from that portrait at the library!"
"Why yes, that is me," spoke the ghost of Amicus Arcane. "Though you know me as your Ghost Host. I'd like to thank my good friend Leota for her help."
"A pleasure is mine, old friend," Leota replied. "It's good to give a little show at the end."
"Wait, wait, wait, I got some questions from you two," Eda said as she stood up. "What is your deal? First you trap us here against our will, then send us on a tour to scare us, and now you're giving us a show?"
"We apologize for frightening you all, really," the Ghost Host, Amicus, explained. "You see, this manor is a retirement home of sorts for lost and misplaced souls from all over the world. But sometimes, every now and then, we can't help but have a little fun with the mortals whose curiosity gets the better of them. A Halloween prank, nothing more. Don't worry, we're a harmless happy bunch… well, except for the one locked in the attic, we don't recommend you all to go up there."
"So how did this place attract so many ghosts in the first place…?" Luz asked.
"That would be me, young one, through my summoning magic," Leota spoke up. "I brought many of the ghosts here to protect this place from something drastic."
"Oh, so were the one who prevented us from escaping through the windows?" Eda asked.
"What? We don't have the insurance for a window's fix. Are you trying to get us in a quarreling nix?" Leota asked.
"And as a sign of good faith, here's your key back." The Ghost Host snapped his fingers and the portal key floated into Eda's hand. "You can go along your way, but I would be a bad host to not invite you to our Halloween party as guests of honor now that the scares are out of the way. After all, our happy haunts are assembling for a swinging wake and they'll be expecting me…" He then floated up. "Think about it," he told them before he left.
Luz turned to Eda. "So… what do you guys think? Go home or…"
"Well, we did come all the way here…" King said while he and Luz looked up to Eda.
"Eh, what the hell," Eda said while putting the key in her person. "Let's check out the ghost party. Where to, Madame Leota?" she asked, turning to the crystal ball ghost.
Madame Leota smiled. "If it's the party you wish to go to for the night, the Grand Hall is where you'll be if you head to your right." A door appeared to their right, opening for them.
Luz, Eda and King walked through and found themselves in the Grand Hall of the mansion. They saw many spirits and ghosts floating around, greeting each other and dancing. They saw a spirit organist playing the organs and a plump ghost hanging from the chandelier with his cane and a glass of wine in his green hand while next to him on the chandelier was the ghost of a Roman soldier and an Egyptian woman sipping wine and enjoying each other's company. On the walls were the portraits of two duelists. The ghosts of these men emerged from the portraits and turned to shoot each other at the same time, reenacting their deaths. When they opened fire, they both disappeared.
"Whoa… now this is a party," Luz said with a smile.
"To the food table!" King shouted as she pointed at the table, the Clawthornes heading over.
Luz looked over the table, only to find it being occupied by a bowl of eyeballs, a plate of human fingers, a bowl of worms, and a punch bowl filled with ectoplasm. "Not as savory as I thought…" Luz said until she spotted a bowl of bugs. "But the bugs look good," she said as she took a bite of a cricket. She felt a tap on the shoulder.
"Excuse me," spoke a young ghost girl who looked around to be Luz's age. Luz turned to her and saw that she had a pink bow on her head, blond hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress. She may be transparent, but to Luz she was quite cute. "Would you like to dance?"
"Oh, well… guess I can't say no to a cute ghost girl," Luz replied, accepting her hand as she and the ghost girl went to the dance floor.
Eda walked over to the table as she picked out an eyeball, eating it. "Mmm, they don't make eyes this good back in the Isles."
"Yup," King replied while eating the crickets. "Hey, look at Luz dancing."
Eda turned and smiled as she watched her adopted daughter enjoying herself. Seeing her dancing with the ghost girl almost reminded her of a time back when she and Raine used to dance.
"Ah, you must be the guests of honor here."
Eda and King turned to see a dark cloaked figure with a devilish grinning face and a black top hat. He possessed an old, knobby walking stick in his right hand and a hatbox in his left.
"And who you might be, gruesome?" Eda asked.
"They call me the Hatbox Ghost," he introduced himself to Eda. "I have been absent from here for a long time, having been out visiting other haunted locations from around the world. I just came back and I heard that you mortals decided to join our party this year."
"Yeah, that's us," Eda replied.
"Wait, what haunted locations have you been to?" King asked.
"Many. Of particular note is the Ravenswood Manor in Thunder Thesa, Arizona, the Hollywood Tower Hotel in Los Angeles, California, a mansion similar to this one in Greenhill, Maryland, and the Mystic Manor at Mystic Point in Papua New Guinea… say, would you like to see a trick?" The Hatbox Ghost's head suddenly vanished. Then appearing inside the hatbox was his head. "Ta-da!"
"Hohoho! Good old show, Ol'Hattie!" spoke the drunken spirit hanging on the chandelier while drinking.
"Ooh, neat trick!" King said as he clapped his hands.
"So Mr. Hatbox, the Ghost Host warned us about going up in the attic," Eda mentioned. "What's up there?"
"Oh that's where Constance lives," he answered, his head still in the hatbox. "I knew her personally back when we were alive and… well, she's a widower. Every groom she married ended up losing their heads, and, well…" He nodded to himself.
"Oh, you two were married?" Eda asked, looking at him in sympathy.
"Well, not exactly…" he said while grinning.
Meanwhile, Luz continued dancing with her new friend. "You're a good dancer, Luz."
"Thanks, learning to street dance since I've taken up capoeira," Luz said. "So what's your story if you don't mind me asking, Jan?"
"Well, after I got hit with the Spanish Flu, I took to scaring and pranking bad children who picked on one another," Jan the Ghost Girl replied. "Though eventually it got harder and I decided to retire here, since kids nowadays are so desensitized."
"I hear that," Luz nodded before she noticed the ghosts phasing through the walls. "Hey, where are they going?"
"The party's moving outside!" Jan realized as she grabbed Luz's hand. "Come on!"
The door opened for Luz to enter out, with Eda and King following. After Jan let Luz go, the Clawthornes found themselves at a graveyard. They saw many ghosts partying around while the ghost musicians from earlier were playing their music.
"It is a ghost jamboree around here!" King exclaimed before the Clawthornes spotted a familiar face.
"Hello again," the Groundskeeper greeted the Clawthornes while sitting next to a tombstone and enjoying a cup of tea with a female ghost. He lifted his cup of tea toward them.
"Hey," Eda said while talking up to the Groundskeeper. "Wasn't expecting to see you again."
"And I wasn't sure you would stick around," the Groundskeeper said while sipping his tea. "Sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Horace. And this-" He gestured to the ghostly woman he was sitting with. "-is my wife."
"Oh," Eda said, surprised. "So did you two meet before she became, uh, you know…"
"We moved into the area a few decades ago," the ghost of Horace's wife explained. "We worked at the same school together. I was a teacher and he was a janitor. We were inseparable, at least until… I fell ill."
"I was distraught," Horace admitted sadly. "But a nurse told me that if I was to bury her here, I would get to see her every day. The nurse's mother worked as a maid here and she was able to arrange the burial. She also helped me get a job here."
"So those servants we saw when we came in… they were living people?" Eda asked.
Horace nodded. "The ghosts hired them as staff to help maintain the mansion. Fortunately, the job comes with perks."
"Woof!" his bloodhound barked while at a poker table with other ghost dogs.
Meanwhile, Luz looked back at the mansion while exploring the graveyard. She noticed someone watching from the attic window. Someone who looked to be dressed like a bride for her wedding day. Her eyes pierced towards Luz, who turned around and continued her walk.
"Hey Jan," Luz spoke to the ghost girl, "Who was that up that window?"
"Oh, her?" Jan asked as she turned to look at the bride watching them. "That's just Constance, don't mind her."
King walked over to another tombstone where one ghost popped up. "BOO!"
"Weh!" King shrieked as he rushed back while the playful spook chuckled. King then turned around and saw that he was in front of three other ghosts pointing their thumbs up. "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Phineas, and these are Ezra and Gus," spoke Phineas, the hunchbacked ghost who wore a top hat and carried a suitcase.
"We're trying to hitch a ride." spoke the tall skeletal phantom known as Ezra, who was wearing a bowler hat.
"But for some reason, no one wants to pick us up," spoke the bearded dwarf man with a ball and chain.
"Say, we got a friend named Gus back home," Luz said as she and Eda caught up with King.
"Really? Well, to avoid confusion you can call me by my nickname from when I was alive… Shorty," Gus declared before he noticed Eda. "Oh, someone get me a glass, because I just found me a tall drink of water."
"Don't mind him, he drinks too much," Ezra said.
After walking past the Hitchhiking Ghosts, it was then the Ghost Host showed up in front of the Clawthornes. "Ah, there you are!" he said. "There's a little matter I forgot to mention." He leaned towards the Clawthornes. "Beware of hitchhiking ghosts!"
"Yeah, already met them," Eda said, pointing back at them.
"Oh… well, then you're just in time for a special performance of our musical entertainment… the Singing Busts!" the Ghost Host announced as he pointed to a line of five head busts, one knocked out with his head held up, as they started to sing.
"When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake,
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!"
As the Singing Bust sang, the Clawthorne trio watched as the other ghosts sang along and floated around. They spotted a mummy conversing with a ghost dressed as Father Time, who was deaf and struggling to understand the mummy.
"Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide,
For a silly spook may sit by your side.
Shrouded in a daft disguise, they pretend to terrorize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!"
Jan scared a cat while the other ghosts laughed. Luz, Eda and King spots a King and a Queen riding on a seesaw, while a Duchess sat on a swing drinking tea. Behind them was a skeletal wolf howling at the moon.
"As the moon climbs high over the dead oak tree,
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes start to shriek and harmonize!
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!"
Luz and King spotted a beheaded knight singing along with his executioner and his prisoner. They then saw an Opera Singer who sang loudly in harmony, loud enough to break the glasses of one ghost. The Phantom Five continued playing their instruments while two cats were spotted dancing and swinging together.
"When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherealize, rise as spokes of every size!
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize,
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!"
After the Singing Busts finished singing, the Clawthornes clapped at the performance before Luz noticed a couple of ghosts. "Hey mom, look!"
Eda and King turned and saw two ghosts hanging out together. One was a black-haired man in a blue coat, velvet vest, black pants, and shoes. With him was the ghost of a man with a goatee, a large hat with a feather sticking out of it, a red shirt, and a black cape.
"Aw, Lafitte, it is nice to spend the night with you, old friend!" spoke the dapper-looking ghost.
"You too, Master Gracey," Jean Lafitte replied as the two toasted their drinks. "To another happy haunting!"
"To another happy haunting!" Gracey declared with their cups up as they drank.
"Looks like they were friends after all," Luz commented with a grin.
The Clawthornes continued hanging out at the graveyard as the party went on…
Hours later, Luz, Eda and King sat with the other ghosts as they watched four skeletons dancing at the grave.
The four skeletons popped out from behind the tombstone as the music played. They lined up and bounced from their knees. They then took two steps to the left as they jumped up and down. They took the left steps again three times as they jumped up and down. Their skulls levitated as their bodies swung and waved before they stepped down quickly as their bodies lowered. They did the same dancing sequence as they took steps to the right. After that, they grabbed their hands as they spun around in a circle together before they spun themselves.
"Who knew these skeletons can dance?" King asked while watching.
"Yeah, these guys are a riot," Eda replied while eating a snack.
Luz watched as the skeletons continued to dance before she noticed that the sun was coming up. "Hey, look."
Eda looked at the sun, as did the ghosts. "Wow, did we really stay up for that long?'
"Well, time to retire, everyone," Horace declared, standing up.
"He is right," the Ghost Host said. "Once the sun is up, all ghosts and ghouls retire for the day," he said as the spirits and skeletons alike returned to their graves and tombs.
Jan turned to Luz. "It was nice meeting you and your family, Luz," she said with a smile.
"Hey, thanks for the dance, Jan," Luz responded to her while holding up her fist. "Ever try a fist bump?"
Jan raised her own fist and she bumped Luz's. "Just because I'm from the olden times, doesn't mean I don't keep up with the trends."
"Yeah, I figured," Luz replied before she gave the ghost girl a hug. "Goodbye, Jan. Maybe I'll be able to come back to visit someday."
"I hope you do, Luz," Jan responded after giving Luz a hug. "Take care of yourself."
King was talking to the other spirits. "Well, it's been a happy haunting with you guys, especially you, King."
"Right back at you, fellow King," the King spirit responded, raising his cup before retiring with his Queen.
Eda held up the portal key as Luz and King walked over to her. "Well, thank you all for giving us a frightful, yet entertaining night. We had a lot of fun, didn't we?"
"The best Halloween night there is!" King declared.
"Yup. I'll be remembering this for a long time," Luz replied in agreement, turning to the ghosts. "Thanks for the hauntings!" she waved to the ghosts.
"Happy Hauntings!" the spirits told her as they waved back before vanishing.
"I bid you farewell," the Ghost Host spoke to them before he departed. "Though I see that a ghost has chosen to follow you home!"
The three looked in confusion at this. "What does he mean by that?" King asked.
"Who knows, let's just go," Eda said while tapping her portal key and opening the portal door. As they begin to depart, they heard the Singing Busts sing one more time.
"If you would like to join our jamboree,
There's a simple rule that's compulsory…
Mortals pay a token fee,
Rest in peace, the haunting's free…
So hurry back, we would like your company…"
As the door opened, Eda and King walked into the portal, heading back to the Isles, but Luz stopped when she heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Hurry back… hurry back… be sure to bring your death certificate…"
Luz turned around and saw that the spirits had already retired. But then she looked up at the attic window and saw the shadow of the Bride before she fades away. A shiver creeped up Luz's spine and she hurried through the portal door before it closed.
"We've been dying to have you…"
"Hey, you guys are back!" Hooty announced when he saw that the Clawthornes had returned.
"Yeah, had a long night," Eda replied with a yawn. "I'm going to hit the nest," she said before turning to the couch while King headed to the bathroom.
"Yeah, same," Luz said with a yawn as she laid on top of Eda's back. "That party really tired me out."
"Yeah, but at least we have fun," Eda said as she patted Luz's head before they heard King's voice.
"Um guys… you may want to see this."
The two looked exhausted but they got up anyway. "What is it that you want us to see, King?" Eda asked as they went into the bathroom.
"I think we have a house guest," King said as he pointed to the tub and the two saw what he meant.
"WHAT THE HECK?!" Luz exclaimed.
"Oh hey, you guys are up," the ghost of Shorty spoke while scrubbing his back while using the tub. "You don't mind if I use the bathroom here, do you?"
"And that's how I met the Clawthornes," Shorty said as he finished telling his story to the witch who had summoned him: Hexside's Oracle student Celine.
"Um… I'm very confused about your story," Celine said. "Like, how do you know all the parts you weren't there for?"
Shorty chuckled before he paused, seeing that Celine had a good point. "You're right, how did I know…?"
Once Upon a Time… in a far away land…
A beautiful young Maiden lived on a farm with her father.
The Maiden lived a harsh life. Her poor upbringing involved having a horrible father that would berate her, blaming her for her mother's death when she was born and calling her names like "a talking steer" in her presence.
He would tell her "Hey steer, if you have the time, go do your chores" while drinking his rum.
The young Maiden had to do a lot of chores around the house and the farm. At home she would sweep the floors, wash the dishes, dust out the chimney, and wash the windows. On the farm, she had to collect the eggs, milk the cows, and feed the livestock.
When she was not doing her chores, she would go out to the local village for errands. There she would be admired by the boys for her beauty, something she took much pride in.
"Now isn't she the most lovely girl in the village?" asked one of the boys.
"Why, she's the fairest of all the girls," another replied.
But comments like that caused some of the other girls to envy the lovely farm girl. In retaliation, they would always gang up on her.
"You think you're so special, you little pig?!" one of the girls asked while picking on the poor farm girl.
"Please…" the Maiden teared up while they bullied her to no end.
This made up most of the Maiden's early life. Her cruel and terrible father, all of the chores that took a toll on her, and the girls in the village who would pick on her.
One night when she was by the side of her window, the young Maiden laid on her knees and lowered her head. She would then pray to a bright, shining star up in the sky.
"Star light, star bright, I make this wish tonight," she said while clasping her hands, closing her eyes. "I wish for a better life..."
And soon enough, her wish would be granted.
The next morning, while the young Maiden did her chores, sparkles appeared around the floor. The young Maiden noticed them and watched the sparkles materialize into a beautiful fairy.
"I have responded to your wish, young Maiden," she said to her.
"Who… who are you?" the young Maiden asked.
"Why, I'm your fairy godmother," the fairy answered. "And I am here to give you what you need for a better life…"
And so, the young Maiden would learn the ways of magic from her fairy godmother. The young Maiden was impressed when the godmother changed a hen into a pig.
"Wow, that's a wonderful trick!" the Maiden said in awe.
The godmother also taught the young Maiden how to do potions.
"Eye of newt is one of the key ingredients to make a potion," she said.
"Isn't it kind of like witchcraft?" the Maiden asked.
"Witchcraft, fae-magic, they're quite similar, don't you think?" the godmother asked.
And then she taught the Maiden how to perform incantations.
"Now there are many ways to perform incantations: it can be performed as a song or as spoken word if it is spoken sincerely," she said while the Maiden listened and learned. "A magic word can be of use."
"What kind of magic word?" she asked.
"Something simple and easy to remember like bippity boppity boo," the godmother explained.
Throughout her teachings, the young Maiden learned well from her godmother. Eventually the fairy godmother decided to teach the young Maiden another lesson.
"Listen here, and listen good, young one," the godmother spoke to her while holding a spellbook. "If you wish to get ahead in life, you must learn how to deal with your adversaries."
"What… is this?" she asked while looking at the book.
"Ways to make… poison for your enemies," the fairy godmother told her. "If you wish to flourish, you must get rid of the weeds."
"How… do I get rid of the weeds?" the young Maiden asked, making the godmother smile.
The next day, the young Maiden was behind the tree while looking at the mean girls that had picked on her. She held up a page given to her by her godmother and spoke the incantation.
"Crows from the skies, hear my cries, go down to those girls and peck out their eyes!" the young Maiden chants.
The crows from the skies have their eyes shine. They then flew down, aiming for the mean girls who were just gossiping about. The girls saw the crows coming to them, but it was too late as the crows attacked them using their beaks and talons.
"Why are they attacking us?!" one cried out while getting scratched.
"My eyes!" another screams, having her eyes plucked out from the crow.
The young Maiden smiled when she saw that her incantation worked. Those girls would never bother her again…
When she came back home from the village, she saw that her father was outside drinking his rum again.
"Hey, who let the steer out?" he asked while in a drunken slur. "Oh wait, it's you."
The young Maiden glared at her father before pulling out another page of the spellbook and performing a chant. "You have called me steer long enough, as a father I consider you unfit. I curse thou to be transformed, into a steer and see how you like it!"
"What… what is this?!" the father exclaimed as he began to transform. He saw his hands turn into hooves, making him drop his rum. "AAH! The… pain! My skull!" he cried out while horns burst out from his head and his body inflated as he was now on all fours. "You… yooo-OOOOO!" he mooed as he grew a tail, his whole body having transformed into a steer.
The Maiden smiled. "Now then… what should I do with you?"
She ultimately decided to take her now cow-father to the market, where she sold him for a fair price.
"Sure thing, young Maiden, I'll take this steer from you," the buyer said while grabbing the steer's leash.
"Thank you, kind sir," she replied as she turned around and walked away with her money, while the buyer took the steer to the slaughter...
One day, the young Maiden was enjoying herself when she saw a carriage stopping by. She saw coming out of the carriage was a man with a crown and royal robes.
"I have heard of a young Maiden of your beauty who has lived in this part of the land," he said while taking a good look at the young Maiden. "Would that, pray tell, be you? Because frankly, I have never seen a lovely, fair woman such as yourself."
The young Maiden smiled. "Why yes, I am what young woman you've all so heard of."
"Is there anyone else at your home?" the King asked. "I've heard of a farmer…"
"Oh, that would be my father who… recently passed away," she told him. "My mother passed on earlier, and my father would use me as a servant for the farm. He basically made me slave away from him while he drank."
"Why, that's horrible," the King declared. "A woman of such beauty shouldn't be a slave!"
"Yes, well I at least he allowed me to leave the farm and go into the village to run some errands, though the girls down at the village were always jealous of my beauty," she added while wiping her eyes. "They used to pick on me even when I did no wrong to them."
The King, feeling sympathetic to the Maiden, started to fall for her charm.
"That is horrible," the King said as he offered his hand to her. "A fair maiden like you should be treated like you deserve."
The Maiden smiled as she took his hand. "Why that would be delightful."
And so, the Maiden and the King spent some time together as he courted her, with him eventually bringing her to his castle.
"You have quite the lovely castle, your highness," the Maiden told her.
"Why thank you, my dear," the King responded.
The two would eat dinner together, listen to music, and play games, all the while the Maiden used her charm and her wit to win over the King. Eventually, the King proposed to her.
"Would you do me the honors of making me a happier man?" he asked while holding up a ring to her. "If you say yes, I promise that you will truly be the fairest of them all."
The Maiden smiled. "Yes, oh yes I do!" she declared as she accepted the proposal.
After that, the King decided to introduce the Maiden to his daughter. The Maiden looked down at the daughter, who had a pretty dress, short black hair, blue eyes… and skin as white as snow.
"My daughter," the King told her while holding the Maiden's hand. "I would like for you to meet your new stepmother… Grimhilde."
The Maiden, known as Grimhilde, managed to smile with faked enthusiasm "My, it is wonderful to meet you. Tell me… what thee be your name?"
"Why my name is Snow White, ma'am," the young daughter replied, feeling overjoyed as she gave her new stepmother a bow. "It is nice to meet you! I'm looking forward to you being my new mother!"
"Yes, I am overjoyed as well..." Grimhilde replied, though in truth she was completely disinterested in the idea. She had greater ambitions…
On the day of her wedding, Grimhilde was preparing to be wed to the king. As she looked at herself and her wedding dress in the mirror, she noticed someone else in the same room as her. She turned around, only to be relieved when she recognized her fairy godmother.
"Oh, you're back," Grimhilde commented. "It has been a while, you know?"
"Yes, I know," the godmother responded. "I've heard that a certain goddaughter of mine was getting married to royalty."
"Yes, and I did it exactly like you've taught me," she told her. "That king was helpless against my charm. I am very grateful to you."
"I know, which is why I've come here to give you a wedding gift," she said while holding her staff. "I gift to you a mirror with a demon slave inside." She hit the bottom of her staff on the ground and appearing on the wall was an oval-shaped mirror with a void of darkness inside behind her reflection. "The slave in the mirror can only speak the truth and it will serve anyone who owns him; he holds all the knowledge of the farthest reach of space and time. Just say the incantation."
After learning the incantation, Grimhilde tested out the mirror. "Slave in the Magic Mirror, come from the farthest space. Through wind and darkness, I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face." As she spoke the incantation, Grimhilde felt the wind picking up around her before flames sprouted in the mirror, revealing a face that resembled a theatrical mask.
"I am at your service, my new master," the Magic Mirror spoke to her. "What wouldst though know, my master?"
"Answer this… who is the fairest of them all?" Grimhide asked after a moment.
"Why that would be you… my Queen," the Magic Mirror replied with a smile.
It was later that the King fell ill. Grimhilde was by his side along with his daughter Snow White, who cried now that her father had given his final breath. Her stepmother patted her shoulder.
"It's alright, young one," Grimhilde said as she pretended to be in mourning.
"First my mother… now my father too!" Snow White cried sadly. "Why…?"
"The illness was too great for him," Grimhilde told her, patting her head. "He is with your mother now, but I have promised to take care of you…"
Grimhilde, as the Queen, started to get accommodated to her rule. With the King's death, she knew that there would be those who would try to usurp her. Her political rivals must be weeded out, so she used her Magic Mirror to find those enemies.
"The Bishop was the King's best man, but strike him out before he can."
The Bishop was summoned by the Queen one day and was never seen again, instead being sent to be locked up in her dungeon to rot away.
"The Court Jester has always made the King humble, deal with him before he'll make you crumble."
The Jester was in the Queen's court one day. He told a funny joke, but the Queen was not amused and instead opened a trap door beneath his feet, sending him directly to the dungeon.
"The general you must take out, he'll betray you there is no doubt!"
The general was drinking his cup of wine, but he soon fell on the floor. The Queen found him and had his body dragged away.
Over the course of several months, the dungeon beneath the castle became filled with prisoners, from the servants to even the common folk who loved the King. She sent down the barber, the baker, the butler, the maid; the herder, the trimmer, even the first aid. She sent out the sitters, the teachers, the coach she didn't waste long; the water-giver, the fisherman, and Lady Lucy who actually did nothing wrong.
"I knew Lady Lucy did nothing wrong, I've decided to be awful, I digress," the Magic Mirror admitted. "A man in a mirror can get bored sometimes, but the Queen would just kill her no less."
The dungeon was now filled with prisoners and while many of them starved to death or died of thirst, the Queen still found it a bit cluttered. So she went to the prisoners and left a lit candle for them. She was wearing a mask, which confused the prisoners, but when she left, they started to realize the candle had a very foul smell. A smell that went to their lungs… and caused them all to start to cough violently.
"Poison candle!" one cried out as he spat blood.
"She's… she's an evil queen!" Lady Lucy coughed before her lungs burned.
Grimhilde heard the cries of her dying prisoners and she gave a smile. "That will shut them up," she declared, deciding to leave their skeletons in the dungeon to serve as reminders of what happens to those who dared to try to oppose her.
Now as for Snow White, why wasn't she a victim of the Queen's ruthless campaign? Well if the princess died soon after her father's, the Queen realized that it would look too suspicious. So for now she tended to try to ignore Snow White.
"Mother, look at the butterfly that landed on my finger," Snow White tried to show the Queen.
"I'm busy right now, dear," the Queen told her while looking through a spellbook. "Run along now."
It went on like this, Snow White attempting to spend time and bond with her stepmother, who was always distant, either ignoring or neglecting the poor girl. But as Snow White grew up, the Queen began to notice her more. For Snow White was becoming more beautiful with every day and the Queen began to fear that she could become more beautiful than her. This gave the Queen a new feeling: envy.
"I cannot let her beauty overshadow mine," the Queen declared. "Killing her won't do, but perhaps making her less appealing would work…"
And so, the Queen decided to make the princess a servant to the castle, having her wear ragged clothes and wooden shoes. She made sure to treat her cruelly, but Snow White remained kind, caring, and generous. It was then one day the Queen asked the mirror…
"Magic Mirror, on the wall… who is the fairest one of all?" she asked the Mirror.
The Magic Mirror responded truthfully. "Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see… rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas… she is more fair than thee."
The Evil Queen scoffed. "Alas for her! Reveal her name!" she commanded.
The Magic Mirror formed a grin as he replied. "Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony… skin white as snow."
It was then she realized who he meant. "Snow White!"
The Evil Queen went to her window, where she looked out at Snow White with jealousy, even spotting her meeting with the Prince from another Kingdom. Her envy grew when the Prince took an interest in Snow White, to the point where he would show up calling for her the other day. The Queen had the guards to arrest the Prince and sent him to her dungeon as a political prisoner, which saddened Snow White.
But the Evil Queen's envy grew and she decided to set out to have Snow White assassinated. She would then send for the Huntsman, Humbert.
"Take her far into the forest," the Evil Queen instructed. "Find some secluded glade where she can pick wildflowers."
"Yes, your Majesty," the Huntsman said.
"And there, my faithful huntsman, you will kill her!" the Evil Queen revealed, shocking the Huntsman.
"But, your Majesty, the little princess!" the Huntsman objected.
"Silence!" the Evil Queen commanded. "You know the penalty if you fail."
Remembering the many that the Evil Queen had imprisoned or killed, the Huntsman lowered his head. "Yes, your Majesty."
"But to make doubly sure… You do not fail, bring back her heart… In this," the Evil Queen said as she lifted up a box, showing it to the Huntsman.
Later, Humbert the Huntsman returned and handed her the box containing a heart, indicating that the job was done. When the Evil Queen looked at the heart, she grinned. "I will have it cooked and salted, and that will be the end of Snow White," she revealed, shocking and disturbing the Huntsman. "You are dismissed."
Humbert left the throne room in a hurry. He knew that the Queen was mad, but learning that she intended to eat what she thought was the heart of her stepdaughter was too much. He knew that her reign had to come to an end…
But before the Evil Queen could eat the heart, she decided to show it to the Magic Mirror.
"Magic Mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?" she asked.
"Over the seventh jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the seven dwarfs, dwells Snow White, fairest one of all," the Magic Mirror revealed.
"Snow White lies dead in the forest," the Evil Queen insisted. "The Huntsman has brought me proof." She opened the box. "Behold, her heart."
"Snow White yet lives, the fairest in the land," the Magic Mirror corrected. "It is the heart of a pig you hold in your hand."
"The heart of a pig?!" the Evil Queen realized. "Then I've been tricked!"
Angered by this, the Evil Queen rushed to the basement of the castle and to her secluded lab, where she woke up her pet raven.
"The heart of a pig! The blundering fool!" she shouted as she threw down the box. "I'll go myself to the dwarfs' cottage in a disguise so complete no one will ever suspect." She pulled a book from her bookshelf. "Now, a formula to transform my beauty into ugliness, change my queenly raiment to a peddler's cloak…"
She gathered the ingredients she needed, even commanding the wind and the thunder to mix her brew. After the potion was ready, she drank the bubbling potion…
The transformation began as she felt her body changing. Her hair turned gray, her hands became wrinkled and bone, her nose grew longer with a wart, and her eyes bulged out. She started to look more like an old hag…
"Yes, nice… the perfect… disguised!" she declared as she revealed her new appearance while wearing a black cloak, terrifying her pet raven.
Once the Evil Queen was turned into the Old Hag, she looked for a way to kill Snow White. Searching through her spellbook, she found the perfect spell: the Poisoned Apple. One taste of the poisoned apple, and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping Death. After she made the Poisoned Apple and taunted her pet raven with it, she decided to check if there was an antidote. But then she learned that the victim could be revived by love's first kiss, she dismissed it, believing that the dwarfs would bury her alive. Besides, she still had the Prince locked up.
As she prepared to leave, she first decided to visit the Prince in the dungeon, telling him what she planned to do to his beloved Snow White.
"No! You old, vile hag!" the Prince cried out while trying to reach for the Old Hag between the bars of his cell. "You'll never get away with this! Such a vile plot can never succeed!"
"Ha! It can't fail, my pet! Those bumbling dwarfs will think she's dead and they'll bury her… alive!" she declared while laughing at his helpless misery. "Pleasant dreams, my boy… pleasant dreams! Yehehheheheee…!"
Soon, Grimhilde in her disguised form as an old peddler appeared at the cottage where Snow White remained safe. She would appear at the open window, which spooked Snow White. Seeing her making pies, the Old Hag would offer Snow White an apple. Despite the birds trying to warn Snow White, the princess invited the Old Hag in, who acted grateful to the young princess.
"And because you've been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you," the Old Hag told her. "This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple."
"A wishing apple?" Snow White asked.
"Yes! One bite and all your dreams will come true," the Old Hag promised.
"Really?" Snow White asked.
"Yes, girlie," the Old Hag said as she walked toward Snow White with the hand holding the apple extended towards her. "Now, make a wish and take a bite."
And once Snow White took a bite of that apple… she fell to the floor.
The Old Hag cackled triumphantly. "Now I'll be the fairest in the land!"
But after she walked out of the cottage, she realized that the dwarfs had come to Snow White's rescue with the deers, squirrels, and birds leading the way. The Evil Queen ran through the forest while being chased by the dwarfs. She ran to the top of a rocky hill as the dwarfs climbed up to chase her. She saw them carrying clubs, planning to beat her with them.
Even though it was a storming night, the Evil Queen managed to climb up on top of the rocky cliff, only to realize she had nowhere else to go. "I'm trapped! What will I do? The meddling little fools!" She then saw a nearby boulder and grabbed a stick, using it to try to free the boulder and push it on top of the dwarfs. "I'll fix ya. I'll fix ya. I'll crush your bones! YAHAHAHAHA!" she declared as the drawfs were closing in on her. They paused when they saw what she was doing.
But in a stroke of fate, lightning struck at the cliff from where she stood, causing her to fall. "AAAAHHH!" she screamed while the boulder fell after her.
The drawfs went to the edge of the cliff and looked over to witness the Evil Queen's demise, as not only did she fall to her death… but the boulder crushed her as well.
And thus was the end of the Evil Queen…
…until she woke up. Her eyes opened as she looked around at her surroundings. "What… what is this?!" she cried out, finding her face disembodied from the rest of her body in a dark void. Looking forward, she realized she was looking out of an oval-shaped mirror… where she spotted her fairy godmother. "Fairy godmother… what is this? Why am I trapped in the mirror?!"
"Oh don't panic, sweetheart," the godmother responded. "You're not in Hell… yet. But after you died, your soul became bound to the Magic Mirror, replacing its previous slave."
"Where… where is he?" Grimhilde asked.
"Who knows, but I should tell you one thing," the godmother then explained. "The Prince managed to escape thanks to the Huntsman leading a mob to storm the castle. And the Prince, once free, broke the spell placed upon Snow White."
"WHAT?!" Grrimhilde exclaimed in shock. "But… those drawfs should've buried her!"
"Yes, well… they were too fond of her, so they didn't have the heart to bury her," she said. "And now the Prince and Snow White will go on to live happily ever after…"
"No… this cannot be!" Grimhilde said in shock while seeing her godmother about to leave. "Godmother, please release me from this prison!"
"I think I've done all I can for you," she declared while spotting the Queen's pet raven. "Oh, found you. Come now, Diablo," she spoke to the raven, who flew up to the fairy godmother, who was now dressed in a black robe…
"Godmother!" Grimhilde cried out, but it was too late. Her fairy godmother was gone, leaving Grimhilde to her fate…
And so, Grimhilde, while trapped in the Magic Mirror, was passed down from one owner to another. The Huntsman tried to have the Magic Mirror destroyed, but the Mirror reassembled itself when shattered, so instead he attempted to hide the Magic Mirror away. But eventually it was found and sold to a merchant, who in turn handed it off to a collector. Once the new owner realized that she was a Magic Mirror, Grimhilde was used to grant them information on how to get ahead in life, using the vast knowledge she gained to help those in need…
And it went like this for centuries. Forever trapped in a mirror as someone's servant. She would end up traveling the world, falling into the hands of dukes, sultans, and even emperors.
"I wish to know how to get more rich," spoke one peasant before she was passed around once more.
"How do I get rid of my enemies?" asked a duchess of a kingdom.
"Who is my true love?" asked a desperate woman.
Grimhilde had no choice but to truthfully give answers to anyone who asked. Sometimes, she was even used as a display for a fair. She had never felt so objectified in her life. Passed around by one owner to another, a slave to the curse she was placed under…
But everything changed when a certain merchant managed to buy her.
To Grimhilde's surprise, she ended up traveling to another Realm. Her new owner turned out to be a vampire who owned a pair of dimensional scissors that he used to collect many items from around the Realms. It was good for business, though sometimes Vanz would use her from time to time. Until he suddenly stopped using her.
Grimhilde was resigned to her new existence, resigned to being trapped in this mirror, forced to serve whatever master she had. But then…
"Grimhilde…"
She heard her name called and she looked around. "Who… who calls for me?"
"Grimhilde… I can help you…"
"Who are you?" Grimhilde demanded.
"Someone who wishes to offer you… freedom," she spoke to Grimhilde. "Bloody Mary is what they call me."
Grimhilde was intrigued by this woman's offer and soon learned that like her, Bloody Mary was a prisoner trapped in a mirror…
"BLOODY MARY!"
Vanz was horrified when he looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw it was… smiling at him.
"AAAAHH!" Vanz screamed as his own reflection grabbed him and pulled him into the Magic Mirror.
After he was pulled in, Grimhilde began to push her face out of the mirror, creating a liquid-like effect. Once her face was out, glass started to materialize to form a body for her as she pulled herself out of the mirror. She let out a cry as she oozed out from the mirror.
"Ugh… ACK!" she screamed as her body began to form from what looked like liquidated chrome. Once her body was completely formed, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she was the Old Hag. "Dammit! These years weren't so kind to me," she said while looking at the Magic Mirror, curious. "Vanz, you in there?"
Vanz, now in the form of an Opera-face mask, showed up in the mirror. "You… trapped me in here… how?"
"I have my ways," Grimhilde replied with a grin.
"And that, my dearie, is how I got myself out of the mirror," Grimhilde told Sunny while sitting on the couch. "Don't cry over Vanz Ator, that man has done so many awful things that he deserved his fate. But while my soul was freed, I had no body to return to, so a new body for my soul had to be created by my associate." She looked down. "And you see, this associate of mine, whose name I should not mention, expects me to keep up my end of the bargain by freeing her in return, for she could free me, but not herself. Of course, I have had to relearn magic all over again and ally myself with a pirate who could help me get what I needed. But when you-know-who is freed, my debt to her will be paid and she has promised to restore me to my former beauty!" She raised her finger up, only to realize something. "But after that… I'm not quite sure what to do. I have no kingdom and I have been in that mirror for so long…"
"Well, that is a lot to think about," Sunny replied while having tea, Scabrina sitting beside her. "But why are you telling me all of this? Why come to me all of a sudden?"
"Well, I will admit, it's because you reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago, Snow White," Grimhilde admitted. "You talk and act like her in any form, even have the same hair as her. It's like you're a reincarnation of some sort."
"Well, I don't know about that," Sunny replied. "Though, there have been studies in the Oracle coven about reincarnation as a possibility."
"Nevertheless, because of your resemblance, it brought up some unresolved issues that I had," Grimhilde admitted. "I didn't know what to do with those issues, but my associates, the Pirate and the Voodoo Priest, suggested that I just talk to you in order to work through my issues."
"Well, I hope that this did help," Sunny told her.
"Huh, you even have her generosity," Grimhilde said as she looked down again and sighed. "You may talk, act, and resemble her in a way. But at the end of the day… you're not Snow White. You're just someone who happens to share a resemblance." She looked down at her own tea. "Snow White is dead. The Prince is dead. The Huntsman is dead. The dwarfs are dead. I have no one to hate now. You know, spending centuries in a mirror gives you a lot of time to reflect on your choices. And when I think about all that effort I spent toward Snow White, who was just a child…" She shook her head. "I thought I needed closure, but now all I want is to just be in control of my life again."
"Sounds like you want to move on," Scabrina said. "To let go of your past and your hatred. Maybe try something new like fire honey collecting or Hexum Hold'em."
Grimhilde thought about this before nodding. "Thank you for listening to me. And for telling me about yourself as well. It was nice getting to know you, Sunny. I'm glad that you have a good relationship with your step-mother."
"Thank you," Sunny said, smiling. "And I am sorry for everything you've been through while trapped in that mirror."
"Well, I best be going," Grimhilde said while setting her own tea on the table and getting up.
"Oh, alright. But if you want, maybe you can come by again for tea some other time," Sunny suggested.
"I think I'll pass on that, but I will do you a favor," Grimhilde said as she got Sunny close to her. "Heed my warning, do not trust Terra Snapdragon."
Sunny looked confused and worried about this. "What…?"
"That woman reminds me too much of myself and I believe you're not safe around her. If you can, leave the Isles with your family," Grimhilde told her. "You may not like what's going to happen soon…"
After that, Grimhilde made her leave, leaving Sunny with a confused and worried look as she wondered what Grimhilde meant about Terra.
Once she was out, Grimhilde heard the shrunken head she was carrying with her speak. "So, do you feel better now?" Facilier asked.
"You know what, I actually do," Grimhilde admitted. "Besides, that Sunny girl is just her own character and not Snow White. Though much to my surprise, I do think I am actually worried about her now."
"Well, hopefully not too much, because we need you to have a clear head," Facilier told her. "We still have work to do and I want a body as much as you want your beauty."
"Of course," Grimhilde replied with a nod as they continued on their way "We should go meet up with Hook now. Wonder if he took care of his personal business just like I took care of mine…"
-This version of the Haunted Mansion takes elements from several versions of the Mansion. For example, the groundskeeper's name, Horace, is from the Haunted Mansion comics by Slave Labor Graphics. Which is pretty funny when you consider that when Luz thinks of the name Horace, she thinks only the groundskeeper she knew back in New Orleans, rather than that one Hexside bully she doesn't have the time to care.
-Jan is based off of the ghost girl from the Disneyland 35th Anniversary Special with Woody from Cheers recounting his first visit to Disneyland as a kid and that's where he meets that ghost girl.
-Gus, one of the Hitchhiking Ghosts, is also Shorty, one of the pub thugs from Tangled.
-We've decided to combine both Grim Grinning Ghosts and Grimhilde's history for Halloween since we've been wanting to reference Haunted Mansion as well as concluding where we left off from Grimhilde's visit to Sunny's home. Giving you guys some closure that nothing's bad happened during their talk. Also fitting considering that since Snow White is the first Disney film and it's the 100th anniversary for Disney, it's fitting to have this star the iconic first Disney villain on the spotlight. For her backstory, we decided to make it like a fairy tale gone wrong. Like a Cinderella type story where both Cinderella and the fairy godmother turn out to be evil. The girls who got their eyes pecked out is even a reference to the original versions of Cinderella, while the Evil Queen wanting to eat Snow White's heart is a reference to the original versions of Snow White. Grimhilde keeping the Prince prisoner and the Huntsman leading a revolt are both ideas that didn't make it to the final film, though the former did appear in a comic adaptation.
Now for the reviews:
BlueKnightX2: Well, it didn't happened. They're just friends.
Matteso585: 1) She already is part of LOWTH. 2) Well, he's summoned on occasion. 3) Emily is her own character.
Crash X Fusion: Well, it didn't torpedo much.
Franco Almiron: Adopted parents? Emily wasn't adopted unless you meant the Tarot Guild. I do not understand your question.
Ultimate-drax: Thanks for the review.
Krypton Writes: I wouldn't consider the chapter filler, as it contains some new content like getting to know Lindsay's family and friends.
Shuffollower: Well, counseling is available to Emily, Cross and Lindsay if they need it.
Spantidem7: 1) Never seen the Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movies. 2) Um… why? 3-5) Wasting time with those. 6) Yes, it's a favorite of mine. 7) Soon. We'll think about what Lucifer will sing when he makes an appearance in this fic.
RJWritingInk: Luz learns about Torigore's death from Felicia in the "Errands and the Willows" chapter.
Happy Halloween!