The Holmes Curses: The Devil's Labyrinth Ritual
Previously: The Auld Néaltrú Ritual.
Have you ever drawn labyrinths or mazes? Or at the very least, during childhood, played the popular paper puzzle game where you have to find the exit by drawing it with a pen or pencil? Well, if you have and you want to incorporate it into a curse, you can do just that. What I have here is a curse that's inspired by the deceptive design of Jeremiah Valeska’s notorious bunker and its dreadful reputation. Much like viewers watching the layout of Xander's home, this ritual forces its target (or targets) to question if the inner sanctum of one’s mind is ever truly safe. It is an ode to the idea that a labyrinth can be not only made of walls and passageways but also of memories and misfortune. The exit, the way for the target to make the effects stop in this case, would be them accepting that there is no exit — and thus, finding one. Not even remorse can help them, and like with all Holmes Curses, this can neither be reversed or undone.
The concept of a labyrinth has flourished throughout myth and literature — from the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur to H. H. Holmes’ Murder Castle. Similarly to the aforementioned, this curse is designed as a trap, as it sows confusion and torment, rendering its target as a lost wayfarer in an endless maze of shifting passages and unaccountable, spectral echoes. Much like an invitation, the curse offers a veneer of comfort only to ensnare the soul in disorientation by unseen forces. And, since it is a maze, it is a double-edged sword: the very structure shields and hides the caster from being found out about while it puts the target in perpetual torment, appealing to the heart's hidden sorrow. Often, the most seemingly-innocuous structures conceal the most dangerous secrets, just as a welcoming home can hide a trapdoor leading to a dark dungeon — a duality that resonates with the darkest recesses.
Prior to the ritual, bathe in cold water while confessing past transgressions in your mind or in whispers, dress in garments meant to evoke both stealth and solemnity (deep, dark robes embroidered with subtle patterns of twisting corridors or a hooded mantle that shrouds your identity), and spend time in meditation or reflective solitude (clear your mind and open your senses to the possibility of the unseen — the deeper your introspection, the more responsive the secret passage will be to your invocation!). Consider setting the ritual on a night when the constellations are believed to be in harmonious alignment with dark energies, or at any other time that shadows deepen and the air grows heavy, such as a fog-laden midnight, a storm-tossed night, etc. when the weather itself seems to conspire with the curse. Beware and proceed with caution at your own risk and discretion, although this curse will keep you hidden.
Participants:
One practitioner
Materials:
Lancet
Taglock
Incense
Leather-bound book
Broken mirror fragments
A white carnation and a black feather
Riverwater mixed with crushed opal chips
Key that appears to change form based on perception
Black candle that was blessed during the Feast of the Black Flame
Fine ash collected from the burned remnants of old maps and journals
Stack of weathered notebook pages filled with incomplete and contradictory blueprints
Directions:
Begin at your chosen location by extinguishing all artificial light. Ideally, it is to be performed within a long-abandoned manor, a decrepit mansion, a forgotten warehouse, a neglected wing in an antique estate, or a specially prepared chamber — each hall, passage, and corner resonating with unseen energy. Choose a central room, and with the ash, sprinkle a thin line along the perimeter to create a circle that is to contain the energies being called forth. Stand at the center. Lay out the stack of weathered notebook pages on a flat surface. Light the black candle that was blessed during the Feast of the Black Flame and set it next to the blueprints. The dim, wavering light of the candle is meant to coax the hidden corridors from their state of dormancy. Allow the soft light to begin blending with the dark corners of the blueprint, symbolizing that what was once unseen is now called forward.
Carefully study the zigzagging corridors and intersecting pathways depicted. With a piece of charcoal or a quill, gently trace your intended route by drawing over any faint markers along the walls and selected paths that evoke hidden routes. The traced routes are not to be followed as an exact map but rather as a symbolic representation of the labyrinth that will now be woven. Using a fingertip, take a few drops of the riverwater and delicately anoint the charred lines on the scroll. As the liquid meets the parchment, envision that the energies contained within begin to stir, ready to cause the target trouble. This act binds sorrow with the blueprints of the labyrinth, channeling it into the very framework of the curse. Hold the mirror fragments up so that their fractured surfaces catch both the candlelight and the dancing shadows. "Reveal the unseen, open that which is locked, let hidden doors whisper their secrets."
Light the incense and allow its fumes to permeate the area, and place the key at a door. As the incense drifts, allow your eyes to fall upon the walls marked on your blueprint. At this point, step out of the circle and slowly run the key along the edges of a door that appears less worn, perhaps one that has a small detail hinting at secrecy. Insert the key into the lock even if the door appears unexceptional. As you do, envision the key dissolving the barrier between the seen and unseen. Using a fingertip, take a few drops of the riverwater and delicately anoint the inner rim of the doorway in a spiral pattern from the center outward. With the ash, lightly scatter a pinch along the doorway’s threshold. Visualize the ash as a binding agent that ensures that the energies of the past will aid the malison. "Unlock the veil that hides the dread, open the door where danger’s led. Unravel the veneer, unveil what is misplaced."
Keep drawing. Open your leather-bound book to a page containing ancient, cryptic inscriptions. With a fine-tipped quill, inscribe a series of symbols that represent disorientation, horrific change, and eternal sorrow. Then turn to a clean page, solemnly draw a compass with corresponding colors (Brown for North, Crimson for South, White for East, and Blue for West), and inscribe the following next to it. "I, the bearer of scars brought onto me by (target's name), do bind this passage with unyielding bars. Let peril reign with every furtive drip and breath, may all who enter face their foretold, ignoble death." Return to your blueprints and re-trace the drawn path with a dark ink. Note any faint things — a whisper of wind, a shift in the temperature, a creak of the wood, a ripple in the shadow — as these are the affirmations of the curse’s impact. Retrieve the key and seal it with melted wax mixed with rainwater.
Carefully remove the mirror fragment from its previous position and embed it in the immediate frame of the doorway. Secure it with a sprinkling of the ash and six drops of your own blood as fragments of your own essence. "In surrender, I offer my own blood so that this curse may forever take its toll. May my sacrifice serve as the final nail, binding hidden peril with an unbreakable tale." Stand at the doorway with your eyes closed, and slowly extend your hands outward. Visualize the energies of the room — gathered from candlelight, swirling incense, and the murmur of distant echoes — coalescing into a single, pulsing beam of dark energy. Allow this to infuse every inch of the maze and let its power descend into the metaphysical space. Sit and observe in silence for several minutes — you may see startling images that manifest as you look into the darkness beyond the door. Do not be alarmed.
Drift. Close your eyes and imagine that every sorrow, every whisper, and every twist of the corridor weaves itself into the tapestry of fate. Your thoughts merge with the vibrations, and for a few moments, you are no longer an individual but rather a part of the labyrinth. Carefully listen. Then allow your eyes to wander over the entire space. “No full-living step shall cross these boundless corridors unscathed! Let this barrier bind the sorrow of the past! In the quiet shadow of this forsaken room, I call forth the secrets buried in gloom. Let walls betray, let doors unseal, the hidden path I now reveal. Beneath the mask of normality, let danger flow, so that the perilous passage might at last show.” Although unseen to the naked eye, the newly-made barrier prevents any abrupt escape and ensures that the labyrinth will continue to evolve. Leave the offerings — the carnation and the feather — on the blueprint, along with the target's taglock.
Additional Notes:
The ritual is most effective when undertaken in decaying places, where the whispers of a forgotten past hang in the air like cobwebs. The structure itself must appear to have been designed with deception in mind — secret rooms, shifting corridors, and doors in unexpected places. The construction should echo the design of a maze and rooms should intersect in nonlinear ways, like an estate where staircases lead to basements that then spiral up to attics, creating a disorienting, cyclic pattern. The structure should be labyrinthine by nature, with intricate layouts and unexplained features. Look for features such as concealed rooms behind moving bookcases, mysterious panels in the wall, or a staircase that seems to end without explanation. The edifice should be steeped in secrets and evoke an unsettling sense of history — a place where every creak and shadow hints at hidden corridors.
The maze exhibits a will of its own, evolving as the target’s personal history unfolds rather than remaining static. New corridors, hidden memories, and altered passages can emerge to reflect recent actions, ensuring that the labyrinth is never fully predictable or resolvable. Its maintenance is essential to keep the secret corridor active and malevolent. Every corner might trigger vivid hallucinations of past misdeeds, flashbacks, and spectral manifestations, and the cursed individual might experience a steady erosion of trust in their surroundings. They also may face fatal consequences and supernatural beings that were gradually drawn. The malison does not discriminate, its peril is inexorable, and it is impossible to escape its clutches. It is an infinite cycle — where every escape leads to another unexpected dead end or new passage. Again, thanatophobes and necrophobes beware.
As aforementioned with all of my Holmes Curses, this cannot be reversed or undone. As with all Spiritual Murderism rituals, do not get scared, let go of any preconceptions of it being "evil" or "bad", and keep it good and healthy. Be in a great personal space — clean, happy, and in a good mood. Be in your good senses. Do NOT use any more or less blood than what is asked, do not have electronics around (print this), do not perform at any other time, do not be an ingrate, do not only leave your own taglock there rather than yours and the target’s taglocks, do not have a lack of intent, and please abort the ritual if anything goes wrong. Obviously, this ritual involves summoning something that delights in suffering, and if any step is done incorrectly, the consequences could be permanent, lethal, and far worse than anything you could imagine. Proceed only if you are willing to accept the price.
