˗ˏˋ grim, grinning ghostsˎˊ˗

Change pronouns/titles as needed!

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still — that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!"

"Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your ghost host. Kindly step all the way in, please, and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now. Our tour begins here in this gallery, where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state."

"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis."

"Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination — hmm?"

"And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows and no doors… which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out!"

"Of course, there’s always my way."

"Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. The real chills come later. Now, as they say, 'look alive,' and we’ll continue our little tour. And let’s all stay together, please."

"There are several prominent ghosts who have retired here from creepy old crypts all over the world. Actually, we have 999 happy haunts here — but there’s room for 1,000. Any volunteers?"

"If you insist on lagging behind, you may not need to volunteer."

"And now, a carriage approaches to take you into the boundless realm of the supernatural. Take your loved ones by the hand, please, and kindly watch your step. Oh yes, and no flash pictures, please. We spirits are frightfully sensitive to bright lights."

"Do not pull down on the safety bar, please. I will lower it for you. And heed this warning: the spirits will materialize only if you remain safely seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside. And watch your children, please."

"We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat. Every room has wall-to-wall creeps and hot and cold running chills. Shhh, listen!"

"Let me out, let me out of here!"

"Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they’re at!"

"Rap on a table — it’s time to respond. Send us a message from somewhere beyond…"

"Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine!"

"Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there be music from regions beyond!"

"Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell, give us a hint by ringing a bell!"

"The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations and are beginning to materialize."

"They’re assembling for a swinging wake, and they’ll be expecting me… I’ll see you all a little later."

"In sickness and in… wealth."

"You may now kiss the bride." 

"We’ll live happily ever after."

"Till death do us part." 

"Here comes the bride." 

"As long as we both shall live." 

"For better or for… worse." 

"I do. I did."

"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!"

"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!"

"As the moon climbs high o’er 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!"

"When you hear the knell of a requiem bell, weird glows gleam where spirits dwell."

"Restless bones etherealize, rise as spooks of every size!"

"Ah, there you are! And just in time… there’s a little matter I forgot to mention — beware of hitchhiking ghosts!"

"They have selected you to fill our quota, and they’ll haunt you until you return! Now I will raise the safety bar, and a ghost will follow you home!"

"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."

"Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate… if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now!"

Change pronouns/titles as needed!

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still — that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!"

"Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your ghost host. Kindly step all the way in, please, and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now. Our tour begins here in this gallery, where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state."

"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis."

"Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination — hmm?"

"And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows and no doors… which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out!"

"Of course, there’s always my way."

"Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. The real chills come later. Now, as they say, 'look alive,' and we’ll continue our little tour. And let’s all stay together, please."

"There are several prominent ghosts who have retired here from creepy old crypts all over the world. Actually, we have 999 happy haunts here — but there’s room for 1,000. Any volunteers?"

"If you insist on lagging behind, you may not need to volunteer."

"And now, a carriage approaches to take you into the boundless realm of the supernatural. Take your loved ones by the hand, please, and kindly watch your step. Oh yes, and no flash pictures, please. We spirits are frightfully sensitive to bright lights."

"Do not pull down on the safety bar, please. I will lower it for you. And heed this warning: the spirits will materialize only if you remain safely seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside. And watch your children, please."

"We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat. Every room has wall-to-wall creeps and hot and cold running chills. Shhh, listen!"

"Let me out, let me out of here!"

"Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they’re at!"

"Rap on a table — it’s time to respond. Send us a message from somewhere beyond…"

"Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine!"

"Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there be music from regions beyond!"

"Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell, give us a hint by ringing a bell!"

"The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations and are beginning to materialize."

"They’re assembling for a swinging wake, and they’ll be expecting me… I’ll see you all a little later."

"In sickness and in… wealth."

"You may now kiss the bride." 

"We’ll live happily ever after."

"Till death do us part." 

"Here comes the bride." 

"As long as we both shall live." 

"For better or for… worse." 

"I do. I did."

"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!"

"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!"

"As the moon climbs high o’er 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!"

"When you hear the knell of a requiem bell, weird glows gleam where spirits dwell."

"Restless bones etherealize, rise as spooks of every size!"

"Ah, there you are! And just in time… there’s a little matter I forgot to mention — beware of hitchhiking ghosts!"

"They have selected you to fill our quota, and they’ll haunt you until you return! Now I will raise the safety bar, and a ghost will follow you home!"

"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."

"Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate… if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now!"

❛❛   Priscilla. ❜❜

THOSE GREAT, HEAVY BROWS OF HIS lifted in faint surprise, drawing inwards as he noticed his wife trembling hands, that fine skin of her drained of its color. she looked like a HALF-DEAD THING there among the other restless haunts of the house. so different from the vibrant, pretty LACE-SCRAP of a girl that had fallen into his arms on their wedding day ; a fine yellow canary keeled over with her throat full of smoke. I suppose I have something to do with that.

he laid aside the log book –– a respectable merchant voyage, now, for the lord of the manor had a REPUTATION to uphold ( even if, as he found, the respectable often did more thieving than the criminal ). Bartholomew rose from the leather-bound desk chair with a great heave like a brewing storm, SALT-STAINED JOINTS straining at the sudden motion, and he reached out to take those fluttering, nervous hands in his. a frown darkened with suspicion pulled creases in his forehead and cheek but his palms were gentle, almost too kind as he stroked soothing circles over the back of her hands with his thumbs. he resisted the urge to pat her head as one might do a child, frightened in a thunderstorm.

she was far too skittish. one wrong word to her parents about the terrors of the mansion and the marriage bed and he'd have more trouble than the Roberts' harsh eye to deal with.

Her hands that were as pale as the bones she had discovered hidden in the belly of their mansion shook like the shuddering leaves of the oaks decorating their land.

The sight of her husband was the last thing she expected - especially when she was stuck in her home for so long alone. She was used to not seeing him while he voyaged. And plundered and reaped and maimed. She could only see the treasure she had just found - the bloodied bones and trophies. His deep eyes, darkened by a frown and heavy brow, looked like a skull's gaping eye sockets.

"I-I didn't know you were home yet," Priscilla's voice was whispery as she tried to calm her hummingbird heart. Blinking quickly as she shook her head. She feared he could feel her thudding pulse through her dainty hands that were oh so small and fragile in his. Crushable like rotting bones. Priscilla tried to pull away, feeling like she was trapped. The mention of a ghost made her dilated eyes flash to his stormy-ocean eyes. "Ghosts? Why would there be ghosts here, da-darling?" she tried to ridicule, blow off as she tried to weasel out of his grasp still, wiggling a bit like a spoiled child.

Trigger warnings: Death Threat, Alcohol Abuse

“I wish I’d never fallen in love with you.”

“I never loved you. You were a nice little fuck toy, that’s it.”

“If I ever see you with _________ again I’ll kill you both.”

“You can’t fuck lonliness away, you know?”

“If this is love then why does it hurt so much?”

“How could I ever fall in love with you?”

”All I ever wanted is to be with you.”

“Did you ever love me?”

“Look into my eyes and tell me you never loved me!”

“I’m sorry for calling you so late at night… I needed to hear your voice again…”

”You are mine and no one else’s!”

“Do you enjoy hurting me?”

“Please don’t tell me to go now.”

“I miss you, but I know you don’t miss me.”

“I am just trying to drink my pain away.”

“As soon as I close my eyes I can see you smiling at me.”

”It’s okay. I am used to get hurt.”

”I have no tears left for you.”

”Come back to me! I need you…”

”Now I really know you ARE a monster without a heart.”

”I can lie to you, but my heart can’t.”

”The thought of you kissing someone else is breaking me.”

”Would you even notice if I was gone?”

”Love is just a beautiful dream. An illusion.”

“There is no ‘us’ anymore!”

“In my dreams you still love me.”

“I feel cold without you.”

“I felt safe with you.”

“The taste of your lips still lingers on mine.”

He’d begun to wonder if, perhaps, he’d begun becoming a part of it.

“ Not particularly, ” Gracey answered, far more casual than he should have been when faced with a ghost, a vengeful bride at that. He took a cautious step closer, closer to the well. She was waiting, waiting for something — something which Gracey did not know. The way she said his name was chilling. She knew his name. Of course she did.

The new master of the house made a brow twitch. His lack of fear. . . was discombobulating. "Foolish mortal," Priscilla commented.

"I'm always waiting," the water-logged forever-bride told him. "Waiting for my husband to return from sea. Waiting for revenge." Her fingers curled into fists, her phantom fingers were wrinkled with well water. She tilted her head a bit. "You'd know about waiting for someone to return, wouldn't you?" It was cruel and sharp as a blade.

“Pretty much the exact same, minus the teacher part,” She laughed sadly, fiddling with her dress. “I had a fiancé, Jake, we wanted to travel the world together… but fate,” Her father, actually.“had other plans.”

Mèlanie looked back up at the other bride, her glowing green eyes staring into her darker ones.

A soft smile came to her lips at the other sharing her feeling of wanderlust. Of yearning to see more, be more. Now here she was cursed to remain on soil that was equally cursed. Leota's calls to the other manors didnt usually attract her but the phantom manor she sat in now felt close to an escape. Despite its walls feeling eerily similar to the walls of her own caged mansion in Louisiana. And she still couldn't go outside. It felt suffocating.

But speaking with Melanie, it was nice. She was so used to the same ghastly stories and faces.

"Fiance," she repeated with a gentle sadness. Oh how the world was cruel to them. "I'm sorry," she told the other earnestly. If there was anything left of Elizabeth, it was her soul. Pure and kind to the very end. She refused to cling to malevolence and anger.

Elizabeth's chest rose and fell nonetheless; a mimicry of her once-life. She sighed as she shrugged in response to the other's query. "I'm hoping its not done yet," the beauty commented. "Its been two centuries and I still hope. To be reunited with Edward and for us to escape these cursed grounds. I was first to go in life but I won't leave his side. . . even if he can't see me." She was surprised she had maintain a physical form this long to speak to the other bride. "I... struggle with apparition." she admitted. "Especially around him."

❛  your vote of confidence is overwhelming.  ❜ ❛  are you trying to trick me ?  ❜ ❛  what if something happens to you ?  ❜ ❛  i will never love again.  ❜ ❛  am i going mad, or did the word ‘think’ escape your lips ?  ❜ ❛  you are sure nobody’s following us ?  ❜ ❛  out of curiosity, why do you ask ?  ❜ ❛  i suppose you think you’re brave, don’t you ?  ❜ ❛  i do not accept excuses.  ❜ ❛  did i make it clear that your job is at stake ?  ❜ ❛  i do not think it means what you think it means.  ❜ ❛  i don’t mean to be rude, but this is not as easy as it looks.  ❜ ❛  i’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t distract me.  ❜ ❛  you are better than i am.  ❜ ❛  please understand, i hold you in the highest respect.  ❜ ❛  i just want you to feel you are doing well.  ❜ ❛  we must all be ready for whatever lies ahead.  ❜ ❛  could this be a trap ?  ❜ ❛  if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.  ❜ ❛  i could have sworn i saw something.  ❜ ❛  you only think i guessed wrong.  ❜ ❛  i was giving you a chance.  ❜ ❛  you think your dearest love will save you ?  ❜ ❛  what can i do or you ?  ❜ ❛  nothing you can say will upset me.  ❜ ❛  you can die too, for all i care !  ❜ ❛  i told you i would always come for you.  ❜ ❛  why didn’t you wait for me ?  ❜ ❛  death cannot stop true love. all it can do is delay it for a while.  ❜ ❛  is everything clear to you ?  ❜ ❛  you mean you wish to surrender to me ?  ❜ ❛  don’t make yourself a fool.  ❜ ❛  we can live there quite happily for some time so whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit.  ❜ ❛  i thought you were dead once, and it almost destroyed me. i could not bear it if you died again, not when i could save you.  ❜ ❛  who says life is fair ?  ❜ ❛  life isn’t always fair.  ❜ ❛  i’m telling you, you’re messing up the story !  ❜ ❛  i’m sure you’ve discovered my deep and abiding interest in pain.  ❜ ❛  this is where i am, and this is where i’ll stay.  ❜ ❛  you don’t look so good.  ❜ ❛  i just hope it’s enough to buy a miracle, that’s all.  ❜ ❛  there’s a big diference between mostly dead and all dead.  ❜ ❛  all your worst nightmares are about to come true.  ❜ ❛  have you been chasing me your whole life only to fail now ?  ❜ ❛  i think that’s the worst thing i’ve ever heard.  ❜ ❛  you’ve got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. it’s going to get you in trouble someday.  ❜ ❛  what hideous sin have you committed lately ?  ❜ ❛  if you didn’t say it, you didn’t do it.  ❜ ❛  i have been in the revenge business so long, now that it’s over i don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.  ❜

❛  no one can know about this.  ❜ ❛  i'm sorry. you know i didn't mean it like that.  ❜ ❛  you still love me, don't you?  ❜ ❛  promise me not to do this again.  ❜ ❛  you hit me!  ❜ ❛  but you said you loved me ...  ❜ ❛  i didn't tell anyone, i swear!  ❜ ❛  you promised me you'd stop this.  ❜ ❛  you know what's going to happen if you try to pull this stunt again.  ❜ ❛  don't you dare leave me!  ❜ ❛  you aren't scared of me, are you?  ❜ ❛  stop it! please, just let me go!  ❜ ❛  is there something you forgot to tell me?  ❜ ❛  but i do know better than you. i thought that much was obvious.  ❜ ❛  so you leave me no other choice.  ❜ ❛  i'm doing this because i care!  ❜ ❛  why did you do that to me?  ❜ ❛  will you just shut up about it already? i told you i'm sorry.  ❜ ❛  you're really testing my patience today.  ❜ ❛  i only did this for you!  ❜ ❛  this is all your fault! if you'd just listened to me, it wouldn't have come to this.  ❜ ❛  please don't be mad.  ❜ ❛  i'm worried about you.  ❜ ❛  you have no idea what you're talking about!  ❜ ❛  i'm sorry, i don't know what came over me.  ❜ ❛  stop being so dramatic.  ❜ ❛  god, you're making this way too easy for me.  ❜ ❛  did you just disagree with me?  ❜ ❛  do i need to remind you who you belong to?  ❜ ❛  nobody else will ever love you the way i do.  ❜ ❛  who do you think they would really believe? you or me?  ❜ ❛  what the hell is wrong with you?  ❜ ❛  you remember what i told you would happen if you leave, don't you?  ❜ ❛  you are nothing without me!  ❜ ❛  you still haven't learned your lesson yet, hmm?  ❜ ❛  it's obvious you're not trying hard enough.  ❜ ❛  so you're saying this is my fault?  ❜ ❛  you're only making this worse for yourself.  ❜ ❛  go on, keep telling yourself that i'm the bad guy when deep down you know this is all because of you.  ❜ ❛  don't you understand yet? i'm only doing this because i love you.  ❜

“ Please, ” he muttered so as to keep anyone from hearing, trying to hide both the delight at the notion of leaving and the lingering dismay from the party itself. He could not help a small laugh which accompanied the word — look at him, so desperate to escape ! What a lucky thing it was, that he had Elizabeth to escape with.

With his hand in hers, he spared a watchful glance at the eyes around them to ensure that none were watching. It appeared that all was clear, for at least that moment — so he ducked back and away, carrying Elizabeth with them. If one of the partygoers managed to catch glimpse of them, then perhaps there would be rumors ... but what care did Edward have to that, anymore ? If one where to have caught them, he hoped it would be one of the staff. At the very least, they may not be too ruthless ... and it may not spread past the kitchen.

The beauty let him guide her away, sneaking in and out familiar alcoves. Away from the prying eyes of the party-goers yet sneakily enough that the whirling swirling guests wouldn't even notice their host's departure.

As they scurried down the winding empty hallway, Elizabeth couldn't help but let out another chuckle as they exited out of the Mansion with ease and onto cobblestone balcony, only feet away from the private crypt of the mansion and, of course, the gardens. The humid night air clung to her bare arms but it felt freer than the bustling ballroom.

His words made her ever-present smile beam in the moonlight. Elizabeth couldn't help but feel warm around him. Childhood memories fading into teenage dreams and gentle romance. Her gloved hand, still in his grasp, squeezed his fingers as she took a step towards him.

Hummed, her voice reverted warmly and pleasantly - as warm and pleasant as the magnolia trees shadowing over them. Elizabeth's thumb brushed up and and down over his knuckles softly.

❛  you make me complete.  ❜ ❛  i'm nothing without you.  ❜ ❛  you are the light of my life.  ❜ ❛  i'm so lucky to have you by my side.  ❜ ❛  you mean the world to me.  ❜ ❛  you always know just how to make me smile.  ❜ ❛  you're my favorite person on this whole planet.  ❜ ❛  i love you more than coffee, and that's saying a lot.  ❜ ❛  i don't want to live in a world where you aren't with me.  ❜ ❛  you really have no idea how much you mean to me, do you?  ❜ ❛  every single day i fall a little more for you.  ❜ ❛  i want to spend the rest of my life with you.  ❜ ❛  you'll always have a place in my heart.  ❜ ❛  you mean so fucking much to me.  ❜ ❛  you're the best thing that has ever happened to me.  ❜ ❛  you're a beautiful person, inside and out.  ❜ ❛  i'm here for you ... always.  ❜ ❛  i would do anything just to see you smile.  ❜ ❛  i'm completely lost without you.  ❜ ❛  life would be boring without you.  ❜ ❛  sometimes i look at you and wonder how i got so lucky.  ❜ ❛  you're amazing just the way you are.  ❜ ❛  no matter what, i'll always have your back.  ❜ ❛  you and i make a wonderful team.  ❜ ❛  every time i see you, i fall in love all over again.  ❜ ❛  i'm not scared of anything except losing you.  ❜ ❛  you take my breath away.  ❜ ❛  i love you more than words can say.  ❜ ❛  love might be hard, but with you, it seems easy.  ❜ ❛  you make me feel things i've never felt before.  ❜ ❛  you bring out the best in me.  ❜ ❛  you are my sunshine.  ❜ ❛  with you, i feel like everything is possible.  ❜ ❛  you're the love of my life.  ❜ ❛  when i'm with you, it feels like home.  ❜ ❛  i appreciate everything you do for me.  ❜ ❛  you are the most amazing person i have ever known.  ❜ ❛  you make me believe in love.  ❜ ❛  i love you with all my heart.  ❜ ❛  i am truly and unconditionally in love with you.  ❜