DARK MANSION

THE DESERTED MANSION

A mansion so dreary.
One should be leery
Of entering its gate.
Better leave it to fate.

Each room offers a view
Of history for you.
Beautifully furnished rooms
Swept clean by invisible brooms.

“Who lives in here?” you might ask
If you dare take him to task.
“Only I,” he might reply
With a twinkle in his eye.

THE DEAD GAME
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AN EVIL UNDERCURRENT

mistymorningme

Cape Cod July 2013_-60 (by jackfrench)

Sunset brings the night.

It brings dark shadows.

Hues of red fill the humid air.

Blood flows freely through the streets.

The residents hide behind closed doors.

Tourists huddle in fear at their hotel.

The town waits deserted and quiet.

The woods behind town rumble with music.

Champagne flows at the mansion of an original resident.

Dignitaries fly in from around the world.

Limousines line the forest paths.

Guests swirl around the dance floor.

Linda is afraid of the lifelike glass statues.

She watches the beautiful guests laugh and drink.

But beneath it all she can feel an evil undercurrent.

As if evil is waiting to raise it ugly head.

The Dead Game has just begun.

THE DEAD GAME

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OUR GAMES HAVE JUST BEGUN --- THE DEAD GAME --- PART 36

Time for us to explore.
Time to find out what is hidden inside.
The Watchers are vampires
And so might be the residents of this mansion.

Linda's thoughts run wild in her head.
Too many players, too many suspects,
To help them solve the mystery.
A mystery that could easily end their existence.

A tall man approaches us,
Flanked by two Dobermans.
His black eyes watch us closely,
Forcing me to turn my gaze away.

Shana looks as troubled as I am.
Maybe she'll give up on her silly idea,
And we could leave this creepy place.
I don't want to pursue any vampires.

The man offers to give us a tour of his house.
Shana is excited as she accepts his offer.
I stand back, not eager to enter this place.
I turn to leave, but Shana takes my hand.

"Please, Linda, let's go inside.
I want to find out who lives here."
A smile covers Shana's face, 
A sweet smile created just for me.

The man walks toward the front door
Through the fallen leaves and flying dust balls.
Only weeds grow in the yard.
The man doesn't seem to care.

Shana pulls Linda through the front doorway.
A marble foyer greets them
With a high-domed ceiling and crystal sconces.
A drastic change from the gloominess outside.

Beautifully furnished bedrooms.
A library larger than any other.
Priceless masterpieces showcased throughout. 
It doesn't feel real to Linda but a dream.

Time to leave this house of contradictions,
Balancing the fine line between the living and the dead.
The caretaker watches us from the front door
As we walk through the decrepit garden,
Happy to be back with the living.

"Linda, the caretaker has to be a vampire.
No one can live all by themselves in such a big house.
No servants, no food, only books.
The Watchers must be watching him!"

"That must be it.
A Watcher is always sitting in that rocking chair,
Keeping an eye on the mansion.
If the Watchers are good, then the caretaker must be bad."

"Linda, you don't know that.
The Watchers could be bad, 
Making the caretaker the good one.
There's no rule book to explain this new game."

"We shouldn't trust any of them.
We need more information.
We need help.
I'm done doing this alone anymore."

"Linda, do you want to involve Todd and the Sheriff?
I thought you didn't trust them.
We've been going in circles,
Not coming up with any answers."

"I trust Todd and Sam much more than
The older residents, The Watchers, or that caretaker.
We must come up with a plan,
A good one this time.


"We have our work cut out for us.
And Shana, no more fancy plans.
We plan smart and go in together this time.
This must end once and for all."

OUR GAMES HAVE JUST BEGUN

THE DEAD GAME


 

5 star Review for THE DEAD GAME

I'm sharing the post on Jessie B. Tyson's blog for THE DEAD GAME.

http://jessiebtyson.blogspot.ca/2015/07/5-star-review-for-dead-game-by-susanne.html

5 star Review for THE DEAD GAME by Susanne Leist

If this review was helpful to you, then please click YES here or at amazon. Oh, and don't forget to share it too, thank you

people found the following review helpful

 A mystery/horror story well worth the time and price, April 25, 2015

By 

Oscar A Wiggy "Oscar A Wiggy"

This review is from: The Dead Game (Kindle Edition)

The Dead Game is a mystery/horror story that brings you into the lives of a group of people living in the quaint sea-side community of Oasis, Florida. Even though Oasis seems to be a lovely place to live, sinister forces are hiding around every corner and wreaking havoc on the innocent town-folk. The author does a good job of developing the characters (both good and evil) and fleshing out the world they live in. Two inanimate objects in the story that grew into characters as the book progressed were the town of Oasis, Florida as well as a place called End House. End House is an old abandoned mansion in a reclusive part of town that has a mysterious background. Invitations in black envelopes are sent to select people in town to attend a party at End House on a Friday night. The friends decide to attend the party and that is when all hell breaks loose. (Not wanting to reveal too much of the story) End House displays its paranormal personality with all sorts of terrifying entities from razor sharp saws to gigantic bugs. The author is very creative with the horror she dishes out making it interesting and detailed without being so graphic as to turn anyone away from reading the rest of the story. After the horrific events of the party the group has suspicions about the people within their own circle and if they are friend or foe. Friendships evolve between the characters both positively and negatively. Hidden attraction between a few of the main characters brings a romantic angle to the story as well. A few of the characters work together to discover information on an eccentric man named Charles Wolf and a group he leads named “The Dead”. Rich and powerful, Wolf is known as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and throws another wrinkle into the story. At this point in the tale, suspicion among one another runs rampant as factions emerge from among the groups of characters. Some groups are honest and good and others deceitful and evil. It’s not easy to tell the good from the bad and the author keeps you guessing here. The honest and good group of characters leads a revolt against The Dead at the mysterious End House in an attempt to crush the evil group and eliminate them from Oasis. The author provides us with more creative action and gore as the battle between good and evil plays out. After the brawl, the town goes back to its lazy little self and people start getting back to their normal lives… or do they? The last few chapters are a topsy-turvy dance to figure out who is the real bad guy in the story. I was surprised by the end of the story and didn’t see it coming. This book is definitely well worth the time and the price.

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CRYSTAL CHANDELIER

CRYSTAL CHANDELIER

Crystal chandelier of mine.
How you do sparkle and shine.
Bringing back memories long gone
When life hadn’t been so far gone.
Remember the parties we used to host?
Fancy guests arriving from coast to coast.
Music and laughter were the rules of the day.
But now all that are left are the bills to pay.

THE DARK MANSION

THE RUNDOWN MANSION

Could there be beautiful rooms inside?
Rooms furnished with the turn of
the century furniture.
Gilded mirrors, ornate picture frames,
and large ballrooms.
How could all this fit into this small house?
Is it real or just an illusion?
It can exist because it’s in Oasis, Florida.
A town where dreams come true.
And nightmares—if you’re not careful.
THE DEAD GAME
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THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 167

Chapter 30

With Todd in the lead, they sped through town and up the narrow mountain road. Driving up End House’s gravel path, they were faced once again with the gloomy and foreboding house. There were no lights on or any sounds of life in the house: only dark, soulless windows watching their approach.

     Todd pulled up to the house and sprinted from his car, leaving his car door hanging wide open. He was in the house before the others had even exited from their cars.

     “How did Todd figure out where they were hiding?” Shana asked Sam as they followed Todd through the main floor to the dreaded staircase leading down to the basement.

     “I don’t know…let’s just follow him, since he seems to know where he’s going.”

     “He mumbled something about returning to where the whole Dead Game began,” Linda said. “I can’t believe that we’re trudging down these basement steps again.”

     David spoke up. “I don’t want to return to that awful basement.”

     “If you remain up here, then you’ll be all alone,” Mike said. “It will fare much better for you if you stick close to the others.

     “But David,” added Mike, “if you really want to remain upstairs by yourself, you can wait here until we return.” That is, if you’re still alive when we come back and don’t get eaten alive by vampires. No great loss; there will be other cowardly lions to take his pathetic place.

     “No way am I waiting alone upstairs. Wait for me—I’m coming!” David quickly joined the others.

     The group slowly descended the narrow staircase, down to the basement of End House—definitely the last place that any of them ever wanted to visit again. The basement was cold and drafty. The one light bulb seemed to be broken. They were forced to climb down the long flight of slippery stairs in darkness.

DOES A POOL BRING HAPPINESS?

Do you believe life would be better
if you had a mansion with a large pool?
If you had tons of money to spend
on anything you wanted?
Sounds nice doesn’t it?
But I wonder if these people
are any happier or more
content than we are.
Maybe they are still not
satisfied and want more.
Maybe human nature is to always want more.
Following this logic, these people are not
any happier than we are but are just more comfortable.

THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 126

The party at Diane's house was perfect with perfect-looking guests.

    Linda followed Todd through the thick crowd of people. Guests were chatting and laughing; some held plates while others held glasses of wine. The men looked dignified, dressed in black tuxedos; and the women were exquisite in their fancy gowns and jewels.

     All the guests were tall and good-looking: the men were handsome and muscular, and the women were beautiful with tall, shapely figures. She spotted redheads, blondes, and brunettes; each person unique and gorgeous in his or her own way.

     A loud commotion by the front door broke into her reverie. She turned to watch Hank walk into the party with a young beautiful blonde on his arm. A throng of people surrounded them, waiting to be introduced to Hank’s knock-out date.

     The striking blonde was wearing a white, low-cut dress that was much too tight and clingy, decided Linda. She looked over at Todd to see if he was staring at this new beauty as he’d done earlier with Shana. Instead, she found him staring down at her. Linda hoped that the smirk on his face didn’t mean that he’d figured out the full extent of her errant thoughts about Hank’s girlfriend. She usually had only kind thoughts about people, but this time she didn’t know why she felt this sudden hostility toward Hank’s female friend.

     She turned to Hank. “Please introduce us to your lovely friend.”

     “Frances, please meet the residents of Oasis,” said Hank as he introduced the gorgeous woman by his side.

     “How…how…do you know each other?” asked Mike, openly ogling her.

     Hank responded with a hint of humor in his eyes, “Frances is my daughter who is visiting from college this week.”

     “Oh.” Linda swallowed. From the corner of her eye, she watched Todd hold back a laugh. Annoyed with him, she looked away.

     When she spun back around, she noticed that Hank and his daughter had already disappeared. She could see them dancing in the middle of the dance floor. He must have led her away pretty quickly—most probably before Mike had a chance to ask any more questions. Hank definitely didn’t like being interrogated. She had learned that earlier during her very unpleasant encounter with him at his shop.

THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 118

THE DEAD GAME — DAY 118

Linda and Shana continued their investigation of the town’s residents to find out who was responsible for the disappearances and murders in town.
They continued their journey down the road until they reached the tall black metal gate of the mansion. The house stood dark and bleak on a small rise of land that lacked any form of vegetation among its rocks and dirt. They entered through the open gate.
The property appeared to be deserted and very isolated from the rest of civilization. Shana shivered. The wind moaned, brushing the dirt back and forth beneath their feet like a giant invisible broom. Huge mounds of dust rolled by, resembling a deserted town from the Old West.
Shana heard weird shuffling noises down by her feet. She looked down and was terrified to find two Doberman Pinschers growling up at her.
Both of the women stood still, not wanting to agitate the dogs any further. A tall man approaching them from the direction of the house, called out, “Zeus! Apollo! Heel!”
Shana felt like she’d been in a vampire movie at the bed and breakfast and now she was smack in the middle of an episode of Magnum P.I. At least the man didn’t look like Tom Selleck. He was more of a cross between John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. He was tall, with a cheerful smile on his face. He looked strong and muscular. He also appeared ageless—like Shirley and Hank—with his thick black hair and unlined face.
The dogs trotted away, their tongues lolling out to one side, to stand on either side of their master. Shana realized that she was able to breathe normally again, now that the dogs weren’t standing so close to her anymore.
“What can I do for you, pretty ladies?” asked the huge man.
“We’ve been having problems in town and were wondering if you were experiencing similar unexplained occurrences out here?” Shana asked while eying the two panting dogs.
“What kind of occurrences are we talking about?”
“Strange shadows stalking us, young girls disappearing from town, and a deadly party at End House that ended in two disappearances…” said Shana.
“Out here it is always quiet, but over the years I’ve heard about the strange events in your town. That’s why I’ve kept away from town and don’t visit any longer.”
“I guess that’s why we’ve never seen you before. What about the couple who own the bed and breakfast? Do you ever talk to them?” Linda asked.
“I met those two a long time ago. I’d found them to be very strange, so I’ve kept my distance from them.”
Shana believed that they were getting nowhere with this man. She wondered if he would let them inside the house to look around. She noticed that Linda was glancing back over her shoulder. However, she was determined to remain here until she found some answers.
“Does anyone live here? Could we come in and see the house?” asked Shana, despite the murderous looks being given to her by Linda.
“Sure. I live here alone. By the way, my name is James. Please follow me and the dogs…they are really harmless, but enjoy barking at strangers.”
“My name is Shana, and this is Linda.”
They followed him through the front yard, which was overgrown with weeds. The tall trees and the rocky ground were bare of any greenery. Shana looked around and saw that nothing seemed to flourish here; even the house looked dead, with its grey walls and grimy-looking windows.

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