Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S4 Ep167: Episode 167: Freemason Horror Stories

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

Today’s fantastic selection of stories is the full series of ‘I’m a Freemason and I have some stories to tell you’, an original collection by PostMortem33h, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/PostMortem33/

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BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Welcome to Dr. Creepen's Dungeon. The Freemasons captivate our curiosity for various reasons, woven into their secretive history and mysterious rituals. Their clandestine nature, with closed-door ceremonies and symbolic regalia, sparks intrigue about their true purpose and influence. Additionally, the allure of powerful connections and whispered conspiracies adds layers to their mystique. Their role in shaping historical events and their reputation for fostering camaraderie among members further adds to the fascination. The combination of secrecy, symbolism and historical significance creates

an aura of mystery around the Freemasons that continues to captivate imaginations and fuel speculation, as we will see in tonight's collection of short stories. Now as ever before we begin, a word of caution. Tonight's tales may contain strong language as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. That sounds like your kind of thing. Then let's begin. Part one. Why would a man break the oath he took when he became a Freemason, you might ask?

Well, things have gotten pretty scary before the lockdown, and I need to have my testimony somewhere for the world to know what's really happening. Well, I'm sure that you've heard a lot of conspiracies about the Freemasons, how they rule the world. This one's true, actually. Or how they have clear proof of the existence. of extraterrestrial life, or how they sacrifice goats in the dark and light of their temples, for the one they worship blindly. Oh, and the one I like the most, is when they run naked in the

foresters, part of some deluded rituals. Most of these are, of course, false claims thrown by the media in our faces, just so that we can stay occupied with imbecile discussions. However, what I have to tell you is much worse. I've seen and heard things unimaginable, and in some cases unbearable for the human mind. Well, not get into Masonic history, how and why it appeared, what was its initial purpose and all those other things, because, well, you can find that online, although some of it has been a little altered,

just to make them look good. Oh, I'll start my story with the initiation ritual, what happened before and after that, how I was accepted and the sheer terror that I went through in my first visit to the temple. I'll not tell you where I'm from because I can easily be found if I tell which Masonic Lodge I'm part of and from what country, although I can say I am located in the south-eastern central part of Europe.

For the time being, I'll tell you about the start of my journey, and if there are people who are interested in hearing more, I'll tell you more. For example, the story of when I ran across a rather odd version of the Bible and the crucifixion of Jesus, or the real story of the 27-class. The actual ritual you have to perform when you want to have money, fame and talented music, but you have to give a certain something in return to a certain someone. Or I can tell you about the moment when I was really scared when a special guest was invited into our lodge to give a Masonic lecture about, well, I'll tell you that some other time.

The main reason I got into Freemasonry was because one of my teachers at the Academy of Sciences I currently do research in is a Freemason. He took a liking to me and asked after two years of gaining each other's trust, if I'd like to be part of an organization who has the sole purpose of bettering the world and the individual. He must excuse me if some of this text sounds wrong, because English is not my main language, but I'll try my best to feed your curiosities with the proper use of this beautiful language. I then asked him if this is an NGO or research group so that I know whom I'm speaking to

and what my conduct and behavior should be when I went there. He said it directly. No, son, this is a Masonic lodge I'm talking about. You'll learn new things. Things are not everyone can learn or no, because they must remain hidden to prying eyes. We're looking to bring in a few bright young people, such as yourself, because we're beginning to grow old and weary.

Can't do our duties properly. I mean, son, look at me, I'm 92 years, old, I could die tomorrow. I need someone to take my place. Can that someone be other than my best student in this whole academy? Professor, thank you for your kind words. I have to say that you have my full attention and my curiosity. But at the same time, I've heard throughout my life all these crazy stories about the Freemasons. So I don't know what to say. I'm sure you heard about the fact that we are Satanists, or we can talk to the devil, am I right? Or maybe we can talk to the dead as well. Imagine if I could talk to Einstein right now, or to Marry Karee, Nicola

Tesla, Tartini, Beethoven, all the greats of classical music. Oh, that would be wonderful, but it's impossible. Do I look like a Satanist to you? Do I look like a bad person? Do I sound crazy when I speak. Do I pretend that I know the secrets of alchemy? No, son. I'm just a normal person. A man of science who happens to believe in God as well. I'm very well known in my field and very respected. That's because of the 70 plus years of hard work and dedication that I put in. What do you say, son? Do you want to find some extraordinary knowledge? I pondered for a bit, and then I exclaimed, all right, professor. I accept. I. accept your invitation for mainly two reasons.

First one being that I have a lot of admiration and respect for you, and I'm really humble by the fact you see me as your successor. The other one is that I was trying to improve myself and learn new things. Son, you just made a life-changing decision. Someone will call you next week to ask for your personal details. I'll tell you everything about the meeting. Very good, Professor. See you next week.

I went home without very much thinking about this, and I just went off to do my normal stuff, reading and writing articles, publishing a few of them, finishing some work, the usual thing. The following week came, and I was called by a gentleman, and we met for a discussion, and he told me to be in a certain place at exactly 3.33 p.m. the next day. No sooner or later than that. This was back in 2015. I went there. I was greeted by my teacher. He took me upstairs to a tired room where he placed a black cloth over my eyes, and then he took me to a dimly lit small room,

also known as the Chamber of Reflection, where I stayed for an hour. However, this was not a normal chamber of reflection, nor did I reflect too much. It was only later that I found out that this lodge was one of the special lodges only known by the elite of Freemasonry in the Grand Lodge of the country. In my country, there are such lodges with only none. members each as I was sitting on the chair in the chamber of reflection a small figure

appeared from a dark corner of the room the upper body was that of a really ugly man with a very large beard black eyes pointy nose and ears and very yellow teeth what startled me was that he was standing on two legs that looked like they were his but at the same time not because they were well goat legs my instant judgment said it was just a costume for the theatrics of the initiation so i went along with it he asked me the following three questions written on a very old piece of paper for which i had to answer yes in order to go on with the ritual number one do you believe in the one and only true great architect of the universe number two do you wish to receive his knowledge through our ancient ways number three

Do you swear to serve the Freemasons for your whole life from here on out? And then he produced a small needle. Pungered one of my fingers with it and asked me to sign that piece of paper with my finger on what was a representation of the eye of Providence drawn under those questions. I signed it. A little man exited the room and five minutes later my teacher came and took me to my next part of the initiation. I entered the temple, again blindfolded. I did some not so cool things like breaking stone with a hammer, drinking some sweet and sour liquids.

I was half naked, my upper left part of the body, with the chest and shoulder showing. Next, I felt something really cold. It was the tip of something metallic. I figured again it was part of the ritual. A sword, maybe, I thought. All right, I said, I love these theatrics. But then, something really skis. Gary happened. The master of the lodge recited the following. Oh, he with many names,

except your newest humble servant into our brotherhood. Our master, who art in fiery light and who is free in spirit, accept this new apprentice within our ranks. Apprentice, say this three times with us all. Hail Jabbaron. Hail Jabalon. Hail Jabalon. Hail Jabal. Hail You are reborn now, apprentice. Forever through the square encompasses, now three eternal lights. Well, at this point my heart was pounding, and then they took the blindfold off, and what I saw was that everyone's swords were raised, making a circle around me with just a small opening.

And then it happened. Out of a corner, someone came towards me running through that opening, enraged and ready to attack me. It was clearly a gimmick, as the person was dressed like a goat with long horns. He stopped right in front of me, saw me shaking in fear, and a deep voice came from behind the mask saying, Sole, had Coagrilai, and luck said to nebri. Everyone chanted again, and I chanted with them.

The figure went back to a corner. Everyone started clapping, and then they started to shake my hand one by one, greeting me. Welcome, brother. Oh brother, you were really scared. Don't worry, this is all part of the initiation. Welcome, brother. My teacher told me afterwards that all these experience I had were to represent both good and evil parts of life, and I was now reborn anew, a better person, a freemason,

and my journey was only just starting. Oh, you will see the wonders of the world, son. Part 2. The Pripyat Grand Lodge visit. I've decided to tell you the story about my Chernobyl visit, which took place exactly four years ago. On the day the disaster turned, exactly 30 years old. Now, before I start, I must tell you that this was an accident. It was not provoked by anyone. This is 100%. Look, I've seen authentic documents provided by high-grade military intelligence officers in the Ukraine.

They did try to cover it up, like the Soviets did back in the day. Nothing is the state's fault and all that stuff. But when Gorbachev realized that he couldn't contain the disaster, he and the party decided to let the news out. You all know the story. Some of you probably read the Nobel Prize Award-winning book, Voices from Chernobyl, by the Belarusian author Svetlana Arkzevich, or even saw the great series that aired on TV.

Although some gruesome details were not included in that show, So, I'll not go into the actual disaster story. However, I wouldn't like for everyone to hold a moment of silence for all the brave men and women who lost their lives in that disaster. All the medical staff, the firefighters and the scientists who were capable enough to contain the disaster on the 4th of May, 1986. Today marks 34 years since that disaster. Let us never forget. So let me get started with today's story. I'll get back to my initiation ritual.

and what happened after I was made an apprentice at a later stage in these stories. I'll not tell them in a chronological order because I want you to be surprised every single time I'd tell you about my experiences at Freemason. Back in 2016, the lodge that I'm still a part of received an invitation to join the meeting of our brothers in Ukraine, most specifically the Pripyag Grand Lodge, which was to be held on the 26th of April 2016. Of course the master and the rest of us were a bit confused because we'd never been to that part of Ukraine before. We're a bit scared because we might get irradiated, might get sick, might get eaten by mutants, things like that. After our usual meeting at the temple, the master called his counterpart in Ukraine to see exactly what this was all about. Suffice to say, that we all agreed to go because not only do we feel obliged, but when it was.

a sign of disrespect to refuse the invitation. About a week later we had three cars come pick us up at the temple and with the trip being just a bit over 17 hours we stopped and slept the night at one of our brothers' hotels in Moldova and the next day we were near the city of Pripyat where we were greeted by our brothers with handshakes and triple fraternal accolades. We got acquainted and they actually had prepared a tour for us to visit the surroundings of Chernobyl where we saw reactor four and the Duga won, and then we went to have typical Soviet lunch, like they used to when the USSR was still a thing.

Then we went to visit the ghost town, and we stopped nearby the Red Forest. We were all equipped with dosimeters and hazmat suits, of course. While we were nearing the Red Forest, our Ukrainian brothers told us that we'd go somewhere to have our meeting, and then we'd go and sleep in a secret hotel that only the masons know about. After this, military personnel pulled in front of us and escorted us to an underground bunker near the Red Forest. We descended to the third floor below ground of the facility, where we had the meeting.

Our master had a speech, prepared, and vice versa. After the meeting had ended, we went on having our normal brotherly banquet. However, this is where things started getting strange. The food was nothing like I'd ever seen before. The wine had multiple colors at the same time. There were some sauteed mushrooms that were phosphorescent green, and the meats were very tasty, even though they were looking like they were really overcooked. But on the inside, they were very tender.

The potatoes were turquoise, and the fish were very pale pink with crimson tails. And while I was sitting thinking, Is this food real, or are they joking? Are we supposed to eat the damned rainbow in here? but the most interesting thing was the tea that they served at the end the hot tea smelled like hot summer mornings then changing to the smell of petricor then to the freezing smell of snow it was like all seasons were trapped in that one cup of tea we were of course a little bit scared to eat the food but our brothers told us there's nothing to be worried about as these were some ultra rare foods that only three hundred and thirty-three people in the world know about

After we finished, the master of the Pripyat Lodge raised his glass. Drink this final glass of wine, my brothers, and let me lead you to see the greatest secret of Chernobyl. You meet Vovgulaka. Then we went to the fifth floor underground, where? There was just a cage. Inside it, there was a man. Help me, please. You got me trapped in here.

Of course I was absolutely outraged, and I whispered to my professor, What is this nonsense, Professor? Why do they torment a man like that? And even though I whispered, the master heard me and said, You know I speak your language, right? I know what this looks like, but I can assure you that shortly something that will change the way you see this man will happen. And then he started chanting some Latin phrases, threw some liquid on the man, and then, Claw started growing out of the tips of his fingers, hair growing everywhere. His clothes were

slowly tearing apart. The man seemed to be turning into something else, something not of this world, something unholy, evil and unnatural. Soon, razor-like teeth started growing from his mouth, his eyes turning a dark shade of crimson red. His metamorphosis was complete, and the man was no longer a man but a huge monstrous type of wolf mortals one day i will escape this prison and i will kill you all mark my words you have had me confined for the last four hundred years since that day that i tore apart your lands i will escape someday i will end this world in blood and fire i was absolutely petrified I stood still for the next ten minutes or so. My teacher, though, was as calm as they come,

meaning that this was something usual for him. I was left wondering how many horrors there are in this world, what things exist here, what darkness lives on this world with us. The master took out another liquid, threw it on the creature, and it started shrieking, filling out sounds not of this world. After that, it turned back to that man again,

And we left. While still in shock, I asked, almost crying. What was that? Why don't you just kill it? The master looked at me disapprovingly, and said this was an 850-year-old werewolf. Since his capture, the masons had been trying relentlessly to alter his mind, using certain substances, which I know nothing about, and to make more creatures like this,

eventually turning them into armies for future wars. Oh yes, I know we have all this technology now, and we can make robots and whatnot, but these guys have a lot of secrets. If they kept him for so long, it must be very valuable to them. Maybe immortal, who knows? Well, after this we sort of fainted, woke up the next morning in the hotel, which didn't look like the hotel we'd been in, but like an apartment building that felt like it was constantly moving,

and no I was not hung over. On my table in the room I found a note saying that they wished us a great trip back home, thanking us for accepting the invitation and hoping we could meet again sooner rather than later. Also that there was a bottle of that tea wrapped up as a present. To this day, I have never opened it. Well, until next time, stay safe and take care. 3. The Church of Ghosts. This story will take us back to 2018, when we had our international meeting, which takes place

every five years. By now I was used to all the weird stuff going on inside our temple, and of course outside of it, where the secrets of the world lay dormant for the normal people, but not for us freemasons. Our meeting two years ago took place in a very beautiful hotel in Prague in the Czech Republic. This was what we were. one of those that's filled with history, where the walls and chandeliers have seen extravagant parties taking place and people in really expensive clothing attending and drinking the finest and rarest of drinks. I met a lot of powerful freemasons at that banquet, people very well known in the world,

some of them running multi-billion dollar companies. I learned a lot of things that they do research on, things I could not even imagine had existed, and of course I was left in awe with the topics of certain. discussions at that party. I was accompanied by my mentor, the professor, who had decided back in 2014, as you well known, to show me the wonders of the world. Too bad that we have different views on what that means. I usually at banquets like these. Nothing out of the ordinary really happens. It's mainly just a bunch of people in black suits talking about various scientific topics, improvements in certain industries, or the evolution of technology in the coming

is but at the end of that party my mentor took me outside the hotel to have a talk son let's go out for a bit there's something i need to tell you of course professor son tomorrow of midnight there's a place where we'll go from our lodge it's just the two of us and the master there'll be some very powerful and influential people at this meeting what is it this time professor vampires Czech monsters the dark god of Czech beer what you're very fun he said ironically oh we'll have this meeting in a church 200 kilometers from Prague in the village of Lukova as I understood from one of our brothers that flew in from the United Kingdom this church is a bit different from the rest of the

churches in this country why I don't know I guess we'll see tomorrow I at what's going to happen. Okay, Professor, I understand that I won't ask any more questions. Sometimes I like to inquire a lot about things because I'm a very curious person, as you know. Be careful, son. Curiosity killed the cat. But satisfaction brought it back, Professor. The party ended, and we went to sleep.

We woke up the next day and went for a walk in the beautiful city. And I can tell you, without a single shade of doubt, the Czechs have the best beer in Europe. We went to see the St. Vetus Cathedral, the Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock, Kiansky Palace, the Bragg Castle and the Old Town Square. These were the wonders of the world for me. And we, of course, got to see the hidden parts of each and every location,

parts that the public was not allowed to see, because of course, that's how things are supposed to be, in the opinion of the Freemasons. Then we went back to the hotel, changed into our usual black suits, black tire tire, took out aprons and gloves, and we went outside the hotel at about 9pm to meet the driver who would take us to the church. We got there around 11.30. That left us with 30 minutes of free time in which a brother from the Czech Republic told us

the story of the church. Oh, the St. George's church was built in 1352, but in 1960s, but in 1960s, the roof collapsed during a funeral, so it was very much abandoned up until an artist decided to make things more interesting in 2014, by adding mouldings of people on top of which he placed some sheets to make them look like ghosts praying. Brother Heinek went on. Dear brothers, let's go inside, but before that there is a table here at the entrance. Please, each and every one of you take these metal blocks and keep it with you until the meeting is finished. Welcome. To the Church of Ghost.

The master, the professor and I looked at each other, wondering what these were for. We proceeded to take these metals, which were roughly 500 grams in weight, and they were, of course, triangle-shaped. We went inside, and we were startled by the silhouettes standing still in the darkness. Then our Czech brothers rapidly lit some candles,

and we got to sit down next to the figures. It was a bit uneasy, because I don't really like being alone in a church at night, even more so when the church is old and creepy and filled with mouldings that resemble people. The master of the Prague Lodge started. Dear brothers, welcome to one of the most exquisite meeting places for people like us. I hope you all had a great time at the party yesterday, got to see our beautiful city. Please place each of your metals in the lap of the moulding next to you and leave it there until we finish this meeting. Then, of course, we're course we started having the speeches. After half an hour or so, after midnight, all the candles

went out, and a cold wind started to blow inside the church. The floor was creaking and a very thick fog started raising from under it. Then, I felt something moving beside me. I turned, and at my right side, the head of the ghost was turning towards me, staring at me with its non-existent eyes. I screamed, and then a voice from out of time began to speak. Brothers, dear brothers, do not be afraid. We come in peace. We are the Freemasons of the Grand Lodge from beyond time.

We have been here for many, many eons, silently watching you to see if you're doing your jobs properly, and we could not be prouder than we are right now. greetings to everyone who came from different parts of the world we are very happy that you are here with us tonight and then another one started brothers you will experience something tonight you have never experienced before please place your hands on our foreheads and let us take you to a journey of magic throughout time the thing is that their voices were speaking in the Czech language a language I know nothing about, but curiously enough, I was understanding it perfectly.

I placed my hand on the ghost's forehead, and at that point I felt like I was enlightened and filled with secret knowledge. With my eyes closed, I could see different historical periods. I was in a forest where strange animals were living. Then I was transported under sea to see populations of humanoids living free. Their technological advancements, nothing like I'd ever seen before. I saw kings and queens, empires falling, kingdoms of long-forgotten dead gods, ruins of cities in the sky, strange civilizations visiting our planets. But then everything stopped, and a man with a white hood on his head, a large staff in his hand and a grey beard stood in front of me in a tent in the desert. Hello, traveller, give me your hand. I did so without even

questioning him then he took out a very strange object it was like a red hot stone almost like coal but not quite and he placed it in my hand i squeezed it and when i opened my hand all that was left was a red light floating around my palm i looked to him with inquiring eyes and then he took out from a bag in his pocket a very odd powder then he placed the powder inside the red floating light and with his sceptre smashed it, yelling, "'Tria, priya! "'A large explosion occurred, "'knocking me over, but not hurting me.

"'I awakened some minutes, "'well, at least for me, "'later in the church with my hand extended. "'In my hand there was the metal block, "'but its colour changed. "'It was golden. "'Of course I couldn't believe my eyes. "'My mind was already buzzing

"'with all that I'd seen in my short journey. Brothers, vivat alchemia, this is our gift to you. Please be careful on your future journeys and take this gold home with you as a way to always remember your experience here tonight. So long, dear brothers, I checked my watch. It said 6.30 a.m. I looked at the gold triangle. On it was the representation of the exact same ball of light I'd held in the palm of my hand. The sun came up in the sky and everything was back to normal. We went back to Prague.

None of us saying anything for the next few hours. We just sat frozen and bewildered with our magical gold in our hands. I was seeing not only the wonders of the world, but also the riches of the world. Part 4. The Horror at Hoyer Forests. I used to be one of those people who did not believe in the supernatural, monsters, demons, vampires and all the things that should not be. However, for the past six years I've been constantly proven wrong,

and I was shown by forces beyond my reach and understanding that we are not alone. We were never alone, and we will never be alone. I've seen things that can churn your stomach that make your heart stop beating, or even question your existence. This time I'll tell you about one of my own. my vacations that I'll never forget on that I wish I could take back. As you know from the stories you've heard so far, strange things seem to follow me ever since I had the fortune to become a Freemason.

No matter what happened, I always managed to say lucid and keep my composure until the very end of these strange occurrences. For us Freemasons, summers are usually off. We don't have any kind of official gatherings. However, we do meet like friends in the white meetings. as we call them we'll just eat food and drink wine like normal people I've had many of those some of them really pleasant because you get to talk to some good people about great things but there are also evil people there as well so it's kind of a

battle of forces between good and evil some of them want evil to reign supreme and some of them want to destroy every vile thing that the Freemasons stand for their temple of lies will fall one day and their false God will burn in the purging fires of all that should protect us. Well, last summer before this whole crazy pandemic happened, I have a story about this as well. It'll come later. I don't want you to be scared more than you are right now.

Well, we were invited by some Freemason friends to spend a few days on a lovely property just a bit outside of the city of Kluge, Napolka in Romania. Very beautiful city indeed. Great food, great people. You should visit if you have the chance. Most of us have regular nine to five jobs, of course, and we decided we should spend a weekend there. Booked a flight, we got there in about an hour on a Friday night.

The property was filled with one-room little houses so that all brothers could relax and rest well. He went in, made ourselves comfortable, changed to casual attire, and went outside to socialize. The property was placed in the heart of nature, far away from inquiring eyes. The surrounded by a thick forest called Huia. Trees were very oddly bent, like they'd seen the horrors of the world. Behind the forest, a river was rapidly streaming away into the silence of the night. I'm a really big fan of barbecues, so it was my idea to not go to a restaurant in the city. Instead, we should have a nice barbecue done at the property, by ourselves, because it'd give us a better vibe, given the whole rustic scenery.

Everyone agreed, and we proceeded on lightening the thing up. After a few hours or so, when we're almost... most ending our small party. We heard screaming voices echoing from the woods, unaware of the dangers we would face later on. So me and four other brothers took our fleshlights and decided to go and see what the screaming was and where it was coming from. I was scared to see what terrors a night would bring upon us because the things we'd faced in the past were absolutely horrified. As we delved deeper into the forest after what seemed and felt like most of an eternity, not knowing what fate we would have. We were starting to get closer to the source of the screaming. As we were approaching,

we started seeing the river, and on its edge there was a woman wearing a white dress that seemed to be made out of clouds, almost vaporous. And then she turned. Her face was the whitest white I'd ever seen. Her eyes were so dark they could have looked straight into your soul, leaving you a petrified statue. The most scary part was that on her face was what appeared to be some sort of black blood dripping down from her eyes. She started coming at us hastily, so we started running, but when we turned around another four women were there, mid-air, floating and watching down on us, almost like the hunter and that we were the hunted. The creatures of the night needed to feed. I know some of the Eastern European

legends, and so given that we were in Romania, I remember him. hearing stories about the so-called Elia, which were spirits of tormented women who only wanted to prey on men, making them go absolutely insane. The legend says that you must not speak to them, nor say their name. So they started singing and dancing in circles around us. Two brothers started crying in absolute fear, and the rest of us were mesmerized. Then, like touched by grace, I snapped out of it and yelled, do not look at them and close your eyes said and done except for one of our brothers his gaze could not turn away from the spirits and then one came close to him would you come with us handsome she said slowly caressing his face yes i want to he said not even finishing his sentence they raised him up in the air and then they disappeared with him into the depths of the dark forest

"'No!' I yelled. "'Brothers, snap out of it. "'We have to go after him.' "'We started running like madmen, "'not knowing where we were going, "'or what fate awaited us. "'We started the search, "'looking for houses in the forest,

"'for lights for a single trace of our brother. "'And before we knew it, "'morning a cup. "'The first rays of sun shining shyly, "'almost afraid to enter the forest. "'After our searches came to know a vase, We found our way back to the houses and decided to rest for a couple of hours before going back to the woods. We were severely dehydrated and frightened to our very bones.

As we were approaching the property, the rest of our brothers were outside waiting. Hey guys, we're back. You would not believe what happened to us. We yelled collectively, almost running out of breath. We all stepped aside, revealing our lost brother, sitting in a chair, with his head lowered and well his physical appearance was changed his hair had turned white

he looked like he'd lost 20 pounds and he was almost a vegetable could not speak all he could do was mumble incoherently we told them what happened they were in shock but they also knew what horrors live with us in places where we humans should not go

and they understood the grave situation we were in we all decided though to stay a few more days We called the ambulance. We invented some story about how he'd woken up like that, because obviously we couldn't say the real story. They took him to the local psychiatric hospital for tests, where he is still confined to this very day.

After a few days had passed, the doctor called one of us, and the diagnosis was severe schizophrenia combined with dementia. The doctor told us that our brother was having hallucinations about five women, were trying to take him away from the hospital. And other times he would just dance by himself in a padded room. Oh, brother, I'm sorry we could not save you. Truly sorry.

Part 5. The Tragedy of Estrigoi. In our private library we have millions of documents and tomes from throughout different times in history since the beginning of man. Super poems. ancient scrolls describing amazing events that happened in history some of them not even known by man I was mostly interested in finding writings about the Eastern European folklore although many of the experience that I've had in the past has made me realize

that many legends were in fact as real as the moon hanging lifeless in the night sky as I was looking for something to feed my mind with a strange brown leather sort of journal fell down from one of the shelves I went to pick it up and I noticed that it was a normal journal about village life in Wallachia in the 15th century. However, some pages describe something horrible. November 30th, 1437 AD. The Black Hill Village, Wallachia. The diary of Yannos Chira.

It's now three weeks since I've seen my brother. I do not know what happened to him. How or why he disappeared. I found a small pool of blood in his room the morning following his disappearance, and since then something has changed in the village. Something evil was beginning to make its presence known. The air was changing. It started to feel very heavy at night.

Mysterious mist was slowly enshrouding the city under the dead eyes of the moon. People started disappearing regularly, almost every week. Their screams echoing in the night. Doors were bolted shut. garlic was hanging outside every house now and slowly the village was turning into a graveyard i decided to hold a meeting with the rest of my companions at the lodge of eternal light so that we could see if we could discover what was going on and if it could be stopped the evil cut clean at its root brothers i have called you here tonight to put an end to this insanity something is taking away the village folk and it's our duty to make sure that this has an end have any of you seen you seen anything out to the ordinary lately besides the obvious screams and bad omens floating around in the village. Brother John, you may speak. Yes, sir. Last night I was doing my nocturnal round on the streets. I felt some presence walking behind me when I was turning corners. Its steps doubling mine.

Every time I turned, no one was there. So I started running to see if it would follow me. I heard the steps running after me. I turned my head for a second, and when I turned it forward again, An unnatural shape was standing in front of me. And it said to me, Mortal, I will eat your soul and drink your life right here and now. Standing in fear, I started praying to God. While the thin silhouette was laughing mockingly, as tears fell down my cheeks.

Do you think your petty God will help you? Do you think a faceless, cruel God cares for a pest like you, humans? Who know only to kill each other in meaningless violence? silence and endless wars. Your God is dead and heaven is burning. Then how are you still alive, John? What did the creature look like? I asked. My only salvation was this little bottle of holy water which I threw in the face of the creature and this silver cross which I got out, pointed it like a weapon towards him, and he started shrieking and hissing, covering his eyes at the sight of the cross. So the creature was thin, very pale, its eyes and evil shade of the cross. It was a little shade of

red, had claws and his mouth was bloody. His teeth were sharp and he was bald. He was a living dead, a creature risen from the grave in the night, only to consume human flesh and blood. This was a thing of evil, sir, a strigoi. Must find where it sleeps and kill it, sir. We must do it quickly, or there will be more deaths. I understand. Thank you, John. Every one of us in the room still aghast. The hearing of such trouble. was some news. We'd never experienced anything like this, and we were not prepared for a battle like this either. We'd heard about the Strigoi, from the elders of the village, but we did not take it as true, only as a story. We knew we needed stakes, torches, silver crosses, holy

water, and cloves of garlic. Now I knew my brother had been killed by this vile, sickening monster, and I swore to avenge him, even if it meant that I had to give away my own life. The play was to trap the monster in the village square so we drew a large circle with flammable material so that we could light it up by shooting an arrow from the roof two of our brothers offer themselves as bait for this degree and i came and our brothers waited in the middle of the circle looking like they were repairing something to not give away the plan we had men standing on top of roofs ready to show the arrows while i was waiting patiently in a corner ready for a tank In the silence of a night that seemed eternal,

a figure appeared behind one of our brothers in the circle, enraged with madness. Before an arrow was shot, our brother was ripped to shreds. The other one tried to fight the demon, but before raising his sword, rivers of blood started flowing from his neck, with the Strigoi feeding and yelling like a demented beast. When his hunger blinded him,

and he realized very late that he was trapped. I rushed inside. the fiery circle. I threw holy water on him and vapours rising from where the water touched him. I placed the silver cross on his head, and as he was turning and screaming, I wanted to kill him with my silver knife, but as I tried putting it through its head, the creature raised its hand and blocked it, the blade going right through, blood coming down. He saw a small opening in the circle and made a run for it, slowly vanishing into the night, leaving a bloody trail behind. I yelled at my men to follow the trail with me leading them.

Five hours later, tired and with almost no energy left in us, we arrived at the entrance of a cave. The sun had come up in the morning sky as we entered the cave, and we saw the shape of a coffin. We found its resting place, men, take the coffin out and take the lid off, I yelled. Inside the creature lay dormant, unaware that it was nearing its end. It's hideous apparition, the vile aura surrounding him. The miasma coming out from inside the coffin made us all wretch.

As I was preparing to put my knife through its head, I noticed a piece of paper. I took it out and started reading it. If you are reading this, then I am probably nearing an end that I have been waiting for the past 120 years of relentless haunting and hunting in these lands. I was turned to a strigoi against my will, and I wish I can take back all the destruction and suffering I brought unto this world. My name was Simeon, but now I have no name.

The living dead bear no names. As I turned the paper, on the back of it, the following was written. The silent songs of death now echo through this freezing crypt. I only wish to rest now, so please end me in my sleep. I am the living dead and I cannot stop the urge to kill, because my hunger makes me do things far beyond my will. Now leave me here to rot forever, dead and torn apart. Just turn my head backwards and impale my broken heart. Part 6. Meeting a Prince of Hell.

This is one of the most horrifying stories I'll tell you, well, at least for me. A couple of years after I was made of Mason, there's been talks about a secret meeting with only a very small number of brothers invited. Nobody knew what it was about because the brothers received some very peculiar letters from a grandmaster whose name was unknown to us. We were all wondering what this was about and why nobody knows anything about what will happen at the meeting. My letter stated the following. Dear brother, you're hereby invited to attend the secret grand reunion of the Blacklight Lodge. which is to be held at the Crimson Temple on the 23rd of April 2017, starting at 6pm. This will be a unique experience for you because a meeting like this happens only once in 500 years.

You've been selected as one of the 23 brothers to attend this meeting, due to your fast rising to stardom inside our organisation. Please do not have precious metals, religious objects or artefacts, watches or money with you and dress only in black. Do not bring your apron and gloves with you, as you'll be given a very special set upon your arrival at the temple. Thank you for taking part in what will be the event of your lifetime. With admiration, I-M-S-L-H Anoli Morst. I made dozens of phone calls, emails, text messages to some of the most influential masons in Europe. Nobody knew who the master that sent us this letter was.

All they knew was that he was real and we must not. missed the meeting or else we would be burned between the columns. This is a procedure of Freemasons use only in extreme cases, when a brother has done something so bad that their presence is no longer wanted inside the Masonic Temple, and the consequences can be very bad. A few days passed and the big moment came. Some of the most powerful Masons in Europe were present, and that made me asked myself why I was chosen to be here. Clearly no one knew me well as I was a very discreet presence, I didn't want to be a rock star inside the Masonic Temple. So much so that the professor was not invited at this meeting

and I couldn't get a hold of him that day, meaning I was left prisoner to many questions as to why I was ever accepted into the masons in the first place. Now, I know some of you think that to be a Mason, you have to ask a Mason, but what you don't know or didn't know until now is that the lodge that I am in is very different than the regular ones. The rules of admittance are different. different. The clothing is different, and the rituals differ very much. Well, anyway, the meeting was

about to start, and we all formed a queue outside waiting to enter the temple. I was the last to go in, with the thought that the master who was taking charge of the ceremony would be late, because I hadn't seen him outside, so I was surprised to see a very big man, a person that, of course, looked human, a normal person, taking helm of the meeting. Welcome, brothers. We will begin shortly. Before we do, I know that there are some of you who want to give speeches before I have the final input. So please go ahead. Nothing out of the ordinary at this point. Three brothers had speeches on the lives and times of the Freemasons during the Spanish Inquisition. The second one was about a more esoteric field, white magic versus black magic. And the last one was

about how, in his opinion, we could bring people back from the dead. Oh, this guy was a scientist working in a secret military compound in the Carpathian Mountains. His eye was twitching when he was speaking, he was thoroughly convinced that everything he was saying was achievable. I decided not to judge because of all the crazy things I'd gone through. I mean, right now, bringing people back from the dead was another topic that the Freemasons could successfully experiment on. Well, after everyone was finished, we tap the floor,

as we usually do because we're not allowed applause. Thank you, brothers, for your one. wonderful inputs, and I also do believe that it's just a matter of time before we'll be able to use black magic inside our temple as a way of protection against the one who wants us destroyed. Now, at this point all the candles in the room turned to a purple flame, or the man raised himself from a seat and let out a diabolical chant. Infernal lights show them my truest form. and then he transformed so fast that one might say the man was never there i'll try telling you how this demon looked although i feel a sense of dread and my hands are sweaty and shaking just thinking

about it the demon had two lateral horns that went sideways from where his ear should have been he had two additional horns starting from his forehead and going back his eye sockets were two bright flames while his mouth was breathing steam between those sharp fangs that he had. His whole body was engulfed in flames, and where its stomach should have been, it was only an infinite black darkness, with tormented screaming of lost souls coming out. His torso was somewhat like a huge bloody mouth with one eye in its centre,

an eye that was moving rapidly up and down, side to side, like it was searching for something, searching for another soul to add to its ever-growing collection. The demon held a fiery trident in his hand-like claws, and then he hit the floor with it, producing a hot wave that made us all feel instantly like we were in the pits of hell. A diabolical voice began.

Brothers, courageous brothers, I only come to you once every 500 years. Rejoice or rejoice. I am Mamon, one of the seven princes of hell, your second leader after his infernal majesty. The letter you all received was sent by him and he picked the ones with the greatest potential to do his bidding. I will now pick three of you and I will grant you a few wishes each. So, Brother Nairus, Brother Sardin, brother Zimmer, come forward.

But know this, nothing is free in this life, so be careful what you ask for. I can only give material wealth or things that can produce it, and that. That's it. At this point, being absolutely petrified with horror, almost wetting my pants, why would you wish for something as insignificant as money? Your life is short as it is, and this gift is not for free. Rather near us, speak, what does your hard desire most? Majesty, I would like to be the owner of the most powerful bank in the world and to gradually

become the richest man that has ever lived on earth. So be it. This will cost you fifteen years of your life. A fair trade, I might say, said the demon. Brother Sarin, you. I wish to own an island. I want a fleet of the most expensive cars in the world, huge mansions, businesses that make hundreds of millions of dollars, and I want my family to have money for two hundred generations from now, without risk of going bankrupt. very well 30 years of your life is the price this means you only have 40 more years to live and then you will come live with us deep down in hell brother zeman you're the last one this better be good

master i wish to own all the gold in the world i wish to have trillions of dollars i wish i could buy off everything i wish that my money could feed the green reed machine of humanity in you. Before finishing, the demon yells, silence. We have a non-believer here with us, an intruder, a false brother, someone who wants us destroyed.

You, over there. He pointed towards me, and I was absolutely sure that he would cast me to hell for eternity. You, are you a true Mason or not? Yes. Of course I am, with all my body, mind and soul. I'm here to serve our lord until the end of my life.

I said, absolutely horrified, but very sure on my words as to not induce even more uncertainty in this ugly demon. Then if your claims are true, answer me this riddle. I must warn you, it's a very hard one, and if you do not know the correct answer, the skeletons guarding the door will immediately tear you apart. All right, I'm listening, Master. I said, almost shaking. My knees like marshmallow. What do you call?

Somebody with nobody and no-nose. Said the demon, almost bursting into laughter. Well, shit, I thought. Nobody knows? My answers. And then he started laughing like crazy. You should have seen the look on your face. I was just fooling around.

God damn. Oh, I haven't had a good laugh like this in 500 years. Thank you, brother. You are excused, you may return to your seat. I turned around, thinking, God, I almost pissed myself on this beast is in the mood for stupid jokes. Although I wonder, why did he pick me specifically? Do they watch me?

Do they see me as a traitor? Or was it just a random choice? Then he returned to asking Brother Zeman to finish his return. and I wish money would rule the world forever and ever. Very well, this will cost you your very soul. You will pay your debt in the future, not now. But you will not know when, you will only hear distant grounds and barking in the distance, know then the end is near.

Our brothers, it has been my pleasure. I must return home where I will send your regards to my request. hours to the princes of hell it's been a pleasure we will keep on watching you i will see you soon down there so long then he vanished into thin air and everyone stood silent the three lucky brothers started hugging one another like they'd won everything and lost nothing the greed of mankind is ever present in weak minds and lost souls Part 7 To Catch a Spirit This story takes place again in the beautiful country of Romania

Of course many of you know Romania For being famous For well Dracula For the Transfagarasan Road For the beautiful beaches of the Black Sea The Danube Delta All the natural other worldly wonders we encounter In the Carpathian Mountains

Well this story is about a lesser known place One that's filled with history, magic and well it had seen many things in its over 2,000 years of existence. What I'll tell you about today has happened on our last meeting of the past year. I was involved in a really big project at the Academy, so I didn't have time to think of anything else except this. It was about the Dacian wars that took place in the years, 101 to 102 and 105 to 106,

between the Roman Empire, led by Emperor Trian, and Dacia, led by Disabolists. Both wars have been lost by the day since. So, as I was reading, writing, and taking notes, printing case studies and doing other things we do in academia when we research certain topics, the professor came into my office. It was around noon or so, and I was already hungry. So he said, hey, son, how I? I can see steam coming off your head. You're really into it, eh? Yes, Professor, I find it fascinating.

Hopefully I can manage to pull it through so we can get that grant, the Academy's not. needs. Oh, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Listen, do you want to take a break and have lunch? A friend of mine that arrived last night with business here in the city, so he wants to eat some traditional food, maybe see some of the main attractions. He is a brother as well in an Italian lodge, and he's been working on finding if other realms exist for the last 55 years. I'd love to, Professor, but I really need to work. But did your friend find anything up until now? Well, we've seen a lot of crazy things happening during these last few years, and it'd come as no surprise to me if he did, but it keeps his work very secret, so I don't know anything. Well, I'm not taking no for an answer here, son.

It can wait and you need to eat. So come on, let's go. Grab your jacket. It's freezing outside. Okay, Professor, I am really hungry, so let's eat something. We went to my car and started driving to the hotel where his friend was staying. We arrived there, the Grand Marriott, and as we were waiting in the lobby for him to come, I noticed the elevator doors open, and a man in a really nice suit come out.

He had a very long white beard, almost like the wizards in the movies. Ciao, Professor. Come stay, Tutu Ben-I? Oh, Vincenzo, you know I don't speak Italian, even though it's an absolutely beautiful language. Please, meet my student, apprentice and prodigy. Brother Mason as well. Ah, that's formidable. Nice to meet you, young man.

Vincenzo Bianchi is my name. Already a brother, huh? That's very good. The professor must really like you a lot. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Vincenzo. Yes, he's my mentor, and I've been a Mason since 2014. And are you liking it so far? Do you have any nice experiences to share?

Well, yes, we went to Prague and... hush a young man we all know what's happening and need to keep the secrets are well hidden and then we got back in the car and I drove to this traditional food place that we always like to go to

when we're in Romania we do have some offices there for the academy so when we go there we usually stay for a couple of weeks do some research and then go back home we arrived at the place it's really rustic really good food amazing wines and a proper place

for good talks Vincenzo, what do you do back in Italy? What is your feel of research? I asked, almost forgetting what my teacher had told me. Well, young man, I study the dark arts, blacker magic. I have been trying for so long to find occurrences in history when or if they could bring people back from the dead, or if they could go to the other side. So mostly the art of necromancy.

Of course, I can't tell you anything about it right now. I am on the verge of a major discovery that will change the way we see the world, young man. Interesting and scary, Vincenzo, but isn't that playing God? Why should we humans mess with the natural order of things? Why should we take back what belongs to the earth? I asked, intrigued and mildly upset with this type of research. God, what does God have to do with this? Nothing.

I do it for the progress of humanity. Imagine if we can trap the spirit of a mind, of a genius. If we had Nicola Tesla, Einstein, the classics of music, Beethoven, Tartini, Rachmaninov, Vosar, Mozart, or Marie Curie, Picasso, Van Gogh, or every single great mind of the world. Imagine if we could use their mind potential forever and ever, or the possibilities are endless. He said, raising his voice just. a bit. I remember that the professor had told me something

exactly like this when he invited me to join the Freemasons. Yeah, that's strange. And then the professor's phone rang, he started speaking. Yep, hello. Good to hear from you. Yeah, of course we can. Yep, we'll leave next Sunday so we can be there

on Friday and leave straight from there. It's a big cold for that. No, my apologies. I didn't mean to upset you. Yes, I understand. What's going on, Professor? I asked, seeing him a little startled. We have a meeting next week at the Sami Zagetu Saragia in the Arasty Mountains. In the winter, can you believe this?

The invitation came from the Dacian Draco Lodge, and these brothers are very attached to the old ways, so we'll be wearing wolfheads and old Dacian-like furze on us. I mean, it sounds very nice, Professor. doesn't it, but it's not like we'll have the meeting outside in the night. Surely they must have a really nice temple up there. I said with Vincenzo, just listening and watching us. Well, it's exactly what they want. 10 p.m., we'll have a short meeting outside of the sacred area

where they'll light up bonfires. It'll be interesting, an incursion in history and the old ways of these people. Oh, then I have to come too, Vincenzo exclaimed. and I want to see this as well. Professor, I trust you can arrange this, yes. Don't worry, Vincenzo. You'll be the guest of honor. Then we went on having some amazing food and wine.

These guys in Romania have really great wines, by the way. You should definitely check them out if you ever go there. We finished, and then we went to the Marriott where we had some coffee. Vincenzo, see you soon. Come over to my office if you have some free time. We'll chat more. We all shook hands then and went on to our homes and the day has gone by. And then Friday morning came.

We had the driver pick us up and we picked Vincanzo up and went on a six-hour trip to Sarmese-Gatusa. We arrived there around 5pm. Our brothers from the Draco Lodge were already having fun. They had barbecues going, smoked cheeses, meats, the traditional Turika and Polinka. Everything was absolutely amazing. Professor, this is really nice. I really like it here. Yes, son. Good place to be. Vincenzo, you having fun?

Yes, cert. These Romanian brothers are so nice with us and very hospitable. Really nice people, Norok. Oh, by the way, Norok means cheers in this context, or good luck. So the night came, we stopped the party and went to have the proper ceremonial meeting at the Sacred Zone. Each of us were given a large wolf's head, which looked very real and some furs to keep us warm. The bonfires were burning away in the night, and the stars were looking down on us. We were sitting on these very old wooden chairs, traditionally decorated by our brothers, and the master of the Dracov Lodge stated,

Welcome, brothers, thank you for your presence here. It's very good to have you with us tonight. We invited you to come here because we wanted to show you how one of our rare meetings, looks and what the nature and the Carpathian forests sound like at night. We have a very special guest with us tonight. Coming from Italy. Welcome, brother. So they all started chanting in the Romanian language.

I understood some of it, but not all. Then a mild wind started blowing. The leaves were rustling, and we started hearing all the animals in the woods, howling, chirping, making their normal animal sounds. Soon we were surrounded by wolves, deer, bears, wildcats, moors, birds, they were all looking at us, studying us. Brothers, here in this part of the country, we are one with nature. We never disturb them, and we are bonded to them,

so it's like a symbiosis between man and nature, a very beautiful thing. Said the master of the Dracolodge. The animals returned to the woods after they'd finished their research on us, and we returned to our ceremony. Professor, this was a moment. amazing. Yes, but before finishing my mentor claps violently on the ground, gasping for air. Professor, Professor, are you all right? Talk to me. I yelled with tears in my eyes as Vincenzo's eyes turned white and he started chanting old Latin words. The professor was gone, dead to the world

in the darkness of the Carpathian night. And a black smoke started rising from his body into the air and Vincenzo was chanting more rapidly and more loudly and the smoke seemed to stay in one place like it was obeying Vincenzo's calling. What is this? What are you doing? I screamed, not understanding what was going on. This is the spirit of the professor. He knew he would die tonight, so he asked me to keep his spirit here for a few more years

because he's not ready to leave this realm yet. Then from the night a voice thundered. Brothers, I'm still with you in spirit, even though my body is laying there on the grounds. Brother Vincenzo, I have seen the other side. It's a cold place filled with tormented souls and infinite screams. The knowledge you search is there, but it's extremely difficult to get it. Vincenzo then yelled at me. I can't keep him any longer.

Go over there in the shed and get me the large glass ball. Hurry up. said and done i ran and retrieved it and placed it under the spirit he then chanted one more time and the spirit was trapped inside the ball a black smoke with small thunders inside so he was indeed a necromancer he did know after all how to talk to the dead or control their spirits if we ever let him out young man he'll go to the other side and we'll suffer for eternity we must keep him in a very safe place I will take him with me to Italy and put him in the Vatican hidden temple with the rest of the artifacts. Will we ever hear him again, Vincenzo? Yes, of course.

I'll try to make him talk from the inside. If he ever needs you, you must come to Italy. Without hesitation, I'll come as fast as I can. The next morning we arranged for the body to be sent back home, where I arrive soon after. I made all the necessary arrangements for his normal funeral to be held properly in and after that we gathered at the temple to mourn our beloved brother in a masonic funeral ritual gone but not forgotten thank you for everything professor part eight welcome to the years thirty one forty two fifty seven ninety three and twelve three seven five about two and a half years ago i went to an international event that was connected to my research you've probably figured it out by now that I'm a historian.

So, this event took place in Geneva, Switzerland, and its duration was three days. First it was history, then physics, and the last one was just networking between the two groups, meaning cocktails, food, and talk. And I was happy to see my friend, Dr. Ume Makito, an absolutely brilliant researcher, who actually works at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the senior research when physicists dealing with theoretical physics on simulations and the predictions of black holes appearing on earth.

Ume, is that you? What a pleasant surprise. I yelled, scaring him. You scared me. You know I get easily scared, but it's good to see you. We haven't seen each other in ten years. It's been so long. I attended your lecture yesterday.

It was really good, and I really liked how you made those smooth transitions between historical periods. Umey said, with his eyes red from almost getting choked to death. As I extended my hand to shake his, I tried to see if he was a brother, so I did the secret handshake, and he responded. Ume, since when? I asked him. Three years ago, now listen, do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?

There's something I need to show you. I discovered something that will blow your mind. Oh, man, why does it? always happened to me. Please tell me it doesn't involve demons, witches or dancing skeletons. He took me aside and whispered to me, cut the jokes. This is really big. I will not tell you now, see you tomorrow at 8 p.m. at this address. I have to go to CERN right now. It was a pleasure, as always, Tomodachi. So he wrote an address on a small piece of paper that he tore out from his notebook, and then he left. I just wandered around the city after that. They went to my hotel, had a

a glass of whiskey and went to bed. Next day after I'd made some visits in the city at some friends I had there, I went on to meet Ume for dinner. The food was great, but at Ume's request, we didn't drink any alcoholic beverages. Not even a glass of wine.

Come on, Ume, you're exaggerating. Trust me, it's better that we stay focused. You'll drink whatever you want when you get home, but for tonight we must stay absolutely 100% focused on the task ahead. Come on, let's get the check in. leave, time is of the essence. After we'd pay for dinner, we got a taxi to where Ume said he had his secret laboratory, where he did experiments outside of work, and they were, well, kind of forbidden. When he asked him what kind of experiments he did, not only did he tell me what,

but he told me he'd finally figured it out that it was working. He discovered how to travel to the future. Well, what he told me left me speechless, like that wasn't in the enough, he told me that we'd go to three different periods of time, one very far away from the others, so we could see how the world looked thousands of years from now. But I was suddenly scared of what we might encounter in the future, so much that my mind just shut down completely for a couple of moments. We arrived at his lab soon after, but I needed to drink some water, a lot of it because I knew Ume was not joking or lying.

He was always so serious He didn't like any type of jokes Tomodachi Are you all right I didn't want to scare you but this is immense Imagine the possibilities What we'll find when we go there tonight Ume said as my heart skipped a beat

Going where Tonight Why me umay Why didn't you take one of your physicists friends Why me a mere historian A nobody for your line of work Because you You are good at paying attention to detail.

That's your job, and I don't trust anyone else with this. In my field, everyone tries to steal everyone's inventions for money and fame, especially something as groundbreaking as this. Are you sure you want to do this? You have it all figured out. Are there any risks? Did you calculate every single tiny thing so we can return home, safe and sound? What if it fails and we die?

I have taken every measure and nothing can go wrong. is my entire life's work. I cannot fail and I will not fail. These glasses will allow us to go to three different time periods, where we can stay for a maximum of seven hours in each year we arrive in. The glasses have three small buttons, two on the right side and one on the left. I could not find a way to set the year manually, but I've managed to assign them a period of time, from the year 3000 up to 15,000. Then the computer will generate three random years. I managed to tie both glasses to so that we can travel exactly to the same time, day and year, and we will arrive in the same place in every one of those three years.

This one over here will form an invisible armor around us, allowing us to breathe inside it in case the air is changed or something. And this right here, this will open the portals for us to go to where it is we'll be going. Our journey will be the greatest in history, but I must admit Tomadachi that I am a bit anxious as well. What will we see there? What will we encounter? When we get back, this will be the most important discovery in the history of mankind. Promise me, you will come with me in this journey across time. Imagine what we can learn, achieve and see with our very own eyes. More so, we will be the first two people to ever travel through time. I'm very scared, Ome, but knowing the

hard work and dedication you put into your work, as well as all the struggles you faced until now to be where you are i will come with you but my question is do you think they'll ever let you go public with this major discovery let us get back first of course i imagine they will probably will not let me go through this gigantic step for humanity but i do believe that progress is inevitable let us take this journey then i bow to brilliant minds and the progress of mankind he then gave me the glasses We both said a prayer, hoping to return safe and sound. We both pushed the button for the portals to open, and before me stood an oval-like opening, which looked watery, about three metres high and one and a half metres wide.

We looked at each other, nodded our heads and pushed the button that generated the year we were going to, and then we went through. Year 3142. After what seemed to be a very short trip, we found us so much. thrown into the back of an alley. It's probably afternoon. After we'd recovered a bit, because the trip really shook us, I asked, where are you, my... Oh my God, it worked. I don't know where we are, but let's keep a low profile. We are both wearing suits, so this is a timeless piece, and hopefully we will not be seen as outsiders.

We started walking between the high, black, grey, and dark blue buildings, and we started seeing people driving in what seemed to be cars, I think, but in the form of large overloaded capsules with just three metallic wheels like in those fancy science fiction drawings. Tomodachi, look. I looked up and then saw what looked like three moons that were very large and close to our planet Earth. We were absolutely astonished by what we'd seen, but this was truly a magnificent sight. Then as we were walking, bewildered, we reached an area that had some buildings very high in the air. There were probably some sort of government building,

a city hall maybe. Maybe the leaders of this country were in there, working, maybe living. And I bumped into someone in the streets. He looked at me, almost like a robot, lifeless, senseless, emotionless. His eyes like vacant rooms on distant planets. And then he said,

I am happy. We are all happy. life is beautiful in Zillian The nethercore is keeping us all happy Yes happy Then he just continued his walk down the streets Almost like he was programmed to do so Ume

Something's wrong here What the hell's going on Let's go over there and grab a newspaper And see where we are Yes, sir It is I smell something really bad in the air Like a polluted smell coming from a tyre factory

can you smell it too? Yeah, come on. Hello, can I have today's newspaper? We are happy here. We are all happy. Ma'am, hi, the newspaper, please. Print version or tablet version. The print is two and a half d'vercles.

Tablet is 0.25 for five minutes of usage. Give me the print, please. On the first page it was written with capital letters. people of zillion be happy nethercore watches over you every single day delivering you the best conditions of life in our beautiful city remember to take the happiness pills three times a day so that the world can remain the same beautiful and joyous make sure to never be late at your jobs eat well only from trusted sources provided by nethercore and be sure to donate 75% of your income to nethercore so that we will be able to be able to be able to can continue to function properly. You support us, we watch over you, and remember the rules.

Number one, curfew starts at 10pm and lasts until 6 a.m. Anyone caught outside during those hours will be shot on sight, no exceptions. Number two, the Nethercore Marshal Police can verify if you take all your pills. If you fail to comply, you will be imprisoned for two years at the obsidian asylum. Number three, if you try to leave the city without permission, you will be arrested and transferred to the Nethercore Pharmaceutical Facility, where you will help at the fabrication of the happy pills. In other news, Earth One's population is being kept at 200 billion people due to Nethercore's

population control policy. Do you want to work for Nethercore? Enroll today at our HQ or call 1-800-500. 576, 384, and a state agent will guide you throughout the procedure. We predict that Earth3 will be colonized in the next 15 years, so we can live happily over there as well. Tomodashi, snap out of it, Ume said to me, as I was left to my own thoughts. Is this how the world will be in the future? A totalitarian state that controls 200 billion people?

It can't be. Hey Have you ever seen those movies where groups of rebels Save the World from totalitarian bastards I'm sure evil never wins Now come on Let's open them up and move to the next year Whatever year that may be

Ome This is too much to take in Come on we only have 30 minutes left Time goes away faster here Now push the button And so I did year 5793

We arrived in the middle of a war As soon as we landed we were greeted by a military man with a huge weapon I'm General Barrows What the hell are you guys doing dressed up like that You crazy Lieutenant Colonel Masterson sent you, yeah Fancy ass suits now Go over there and that shack and change

Hurry up soldiers, that's an order We looked at each other And did as we were instructed Oh, nice one, Ume. We'll die here. We don't even know how to aim these things. Well, I'm sure we'll get a hang of them. We have to act apart.

Keep the glasses on no matter what. Let's go. General, can you brief us? What are we up against? Said Umei, trying to act like he was in the military for all his life. You out of your mind, son. What do you mean what are we up against? Lost your memory or something?

Look, in the greatest war of mankind, we all. almost defeated Nethercore, but before we could claim victory, their leaders fell out to Earth 4. Before leaving, they released the virus they'd been working on in their obsidary asylum. I was all a cover-up for human experiments and other atrocious things. So they released this virus called desolation, wiped out 99.98% of the world's population. Nethercore still had the population control going on, although they finally allowed us to be 300 billion people. Well, after the plague started, only six years. 60 million or so survived, and the rest died immediately, right, on the spot.

Some of the 60 million, well, the plague changed them into some sort of humanoid mutants. More than that, it had the same effect on the fauna and floor of the world, so, well, some of the animals and plants started mutating and adapting themselves to live differently in other environments. So, you know what? Get in that car and let's go to battle. You'll see it with your own eyes. General, Umei said. We have a confession to make. We actually come from the year 2018.

Back home, I'm a physicist, and my friend is a historian. We have never held a weapon in our hands before, so it's most likely we'll die. Burroughs looked at us with unbelieving eyes, and he said, None of my soldiers are going to die, God damn it. What? You didn't go to the army three thousand years ago? What were you doing? Sitting in offices all day, reading chas and drinking coffee?

You're with me now? you'll fight with me and we'll win this war. Understand? Look at me both here. Do you understand? Yes, we both said. Yes, sir, not yes. Say it.

Yes, sir, we will win. Your goddamn right, we'll win. He drove through the barren wastelands for approximately seven minutes. When we got to where the rest of the team was stationed, General Burroughs introduced us to Major Henriksen. Erickson Found these two wandering back of the base Say they come from 2018

dressed in suits for God's sake Teach him how to shoot the thing Will you? Yes, sir So guys, basically you pull the safety off You aim for the creatures Pull the trigger and a large energy ray Will come out of the gun, all right?

The recall is kind of strong So keep your legs firm on the ground And your arms as well, got it First wave's coming, move out Burroughs yelled and then, well, I have seen monstrosities, four-meter-tall, disfigured human like mutants, enormous three-headed lizards with shiny, rays-like teeth, giant bats in the sky, but the craziest thing were the flying whales,

absolutely gigantic, 20 meters long, and what seemed to be the sort of electric shields surrounding them. We started shooting, and we almost fell down at the first shots. there were about a hundred or so of us shooting at these things the lizards and humanoid were the easiest to kill because they were slower than the rest and the bats were very fast changing directions when they saw us taking aim

managed to shoot some lizards and humanoys down ummi did so as well the hardest ones to kill the whales because their skin was very hardened he had to shoot three or four times just to hurt them and they were fast as well second wave's coming what the hell this never happens

Damn, they're coming too fast. Fall back, everyone, fall back. Burris yelled at us. Let's get to cover. He would get him pretty scared as we turned away to run, and Ume tripped and fell, breaking his glasses. Oh no, Ume, I said, with tears in my eyes. There's no time for that, Tomodachi.

We can't do anything about it. Come on, let's go. He started shooting again, this time at some dog-like mutants. Their eyes was red as blood, and they had spikes growing out of their backs. and they were twice as big as normal dogs. After a few hours of shooting and killing the beasts, we saw that our time had only had five minutes left.

Ume, there's only five minutes left. Here, take my glasses and go, I'll stay here. Do you think I want to go back now after all I have seen after all of this? My friend, you must go alone to the next journey and see how the world is. I will stay here and continue fighting. Maybe we will win, or maybe not. knows, but I'll find a way to leave a message for you to find when you arrive in the final year. Maybe you'll find me again, old and wrinkled, or maybe not.

Just go. Now, please. I'll find a way to let you know what happened. I'm sure these guys have a lot of technology that even I can't think of. Just go. It was a pleasure, my friend. Adios. Oh, who may.

So long, my friend. I push the button. The portal opened. I waved goodbye to everyone and off I went. Year 12, 375, I arrived to what I first thought of as hell. There were powerful sandstorms swiping the lands and everything was a ruin. Only hellish growls and fires in the distance.

The earth had been scorched and probably, I mean not probably, the air was a hundred percent not breathable and the planet we once lived on had no human life left. on it. I was looking around with amazed sadness. I started to see a red flickering light in the distance, so I started running towards it. As I was approaching it, I saw that it was surrounded by a colourless shield, making it easy to see that it was a holographic message from my friend Ume. Dear friend, as promised I have found a way to leave you one last message. After you left, we managed to kill all of those bastards that day. Even though we were.

we were absolutely drains of energy. We managed to do it. I made friends with everyone here. I learned a lot about their technology and they made me one of their chief physicists. Pretty cool, huh? So anyway, we continued the war for eight more years. What our numbers were dropping, people were beginning to get sick and die. So we decided to fly to Earth 3. We barely made it out alive. We left in the year 6,001, using some very powerful and fast capsules that sent us directly to Earth three. I am one of the last ones leaving. What we'll find there, I do not know. I would have liked to see what is like to go with you to the next and final journey before getting home, but, well, I think I got the better deal right. I mean, I'm going to another planet. Can you

believe that? What you'll find in your last journey, I do not know, but I want you to return home safe and sound. I know you'll never be able to sleep the same again after what you've seen, up to now but at least it's better in 2018 things are great in that year even though there's still some crazy things happening but at least you don't have to take pills that give you a false state of happiness or you know you don't have to fight giant and ugly mutants right oh i killed a lot of bats by the way got really good at that but well we lost in the end push the button now tomodachi go back home and drink that glass of wine you deserve it I wish I could come back with you, but I can't.

Be safe, my friend. All the best. After hearing his voice for one last time, I pushed the button and the portal opened, and I went through with tears in my eyes. Home, at last, a glass of red wine in Ume's memory. Part 9.

Vitam Eternom. Even when you get used to seeing, hearing, feeling, and experiencing things that should not be of this world, there can always be some situation or occurrence that can shock you to your very bones. Well, this happened some three or four years ago. When we were invited to, of course, not in an official capacity, just as regular people, I guess, to a large dinner that took place in what looked like an abandoned castle,

surrounded by a thick forest, almost looking like a place where you'd be lured in and then you'd never get out of. Well, of course, at that, time I was accompanied by the professor and curiously enough were the only two people invited from our lodge. I say curiously because usually the master is the one that gets the invitation to a certain event even if it's not an official one. It made me believe that either the master was not welcome there or that he actually attended some similar dinner in the past.

Of course I wasn't worried about it but to be honest I was starting to kind of get bored with these parties in some way and I'm a bit scared because you see you see the locations in which these banquets usually take place have some sort of ancient evil halo surrounding them. The invitation came from a certain Yvarn Negro, of which we found out, after thorough investigation, was the owner of the castle, although he was rarely there. He was residing in Vienna and Budapest, owning two very beautiful old mansions. So he decided to come up to this castle and do a banquet, a feast or a dinner with a certain individuals that shared his passions, whether history or numismatics, antique or collecting

paintings. We found out that his biggest hobby was to collect chalices. From my information, he had over 10,000 of them from different times in history, including one that was presumably used by Judas Iscarian. We arrived there at around 8pm, but we were forced by circumstances to leave our cars at the base of the castle. After that, we had to come. climb up 1,480 steps just to arrive at the main gate. While the castle looked to be at least 750 years old, and after we entered into the interior court, we saw some pretty unusual statues looking down on us. The walls were all covered in moss, while the windows were old and creaky, but all the lights

were turned on inside the castle. Soon we were greeted by a man who said, Good evening, sirs, and welcome to Mars, Ivan's Red Dragon Castle. My name is Sebastian and I am his servant, his right hand, if you will. The master will arrive in a very short time.

He had some errands to run down in the city. The rest of the gentlemen have already arrived, so please enter. Oh, you can leave your coats here. The air suddenly became cold, as though the temperature had dropped 10 degrees Celsius. The inside of the castle was rather odd. There were portraits hanging on the walls, portraits of what seemed to be people from very important families from a few centuries ago.

Like those counts, lords, duchesses, princes and princesses, kings and queens who were, well, gone forever. However, some of them were fully coloured and their gaze was normal, but others were looking like they'd been screaming in terror, with their faces distorted and covered in tears. The main hall was filled with armour that looked like soldiers guarding the place. A large chandelier was hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Old maces and swords were displayed on the marbled waltz, and the dining table already had different chalices waiting to be filled with the best wine varieties. Some of the gentlemen were admiring the paintings.

Others were inspecting the armour, while I and the professor were waiting eagerly for the dinner to start and to meet the owner of the castle, when suddenly a window opened and through it came a swarm of bats. Like they were flying in tandem, one exactly following the other to a precise location. While the bats landed and morphed into a man, a thin man dressed in a black suit that sometimes reflected a dark crimson in the lights of the hall. Greetings and welcome, gentlemen.

I'm Ivan Niggur, and let me welcome you to my citadel to my exquisite fortress. Thank you for accepting my invitation and coming here tonight. I'll personally greet each and every one of you. Before doing that, let me propose a toast. Sebastian, please fill everyone's glasses with that 45 mousini, viei vignes, magnum. I want to propose this toast for each and every one of you. Drink up. Everyone did so, some more scared than others,

while the professor and I were almost shaking when he came to us and he said, I've been waiting to meet you two for quite some time now. The silence of the night whispered me through the wolves, howls, and the rustle of the leaves, that there are two historians that have a special mission. I know you, and I know what you're trying to do. Young man, come with me. I want to show you something. Come.

Well, as I stood my ground as to not be scared so much, I went with him in the study upstairs, where he started saying, So, what is a young man like you looking to find in that organization that you are a part of? What are you trying to achieve? Be careful what you say, I can sense your heartbeat rising if you lie. You do know who I am, yes. I am... I think you're a creature of the night.

The thing that should not be. A vampire? Now, young man, there is no need for rude words like that. I take it you are a man of culture, a savant, are you not? Now take a look over here at this painting. Do you know what that is? Listen, Ivan, if you plan to kill me and drink my blood, just do it quickly, please. Silence.

Answer the question. Do you know who that is? Yes, that's Vlad Dracul, or Vlad Teppes, or Dracula, as most of the world. knows him. Correct. He was my great, great, great-grandfather. History never knew me because I destroyed every single piece of evidence, as it was too dangerous for people to know that we exist. But why are you telling me this? There is a war-coming, young man. You must be prepared. I'm not allowed to take part in it yet. Yet he will let me live forever. He sometimes makes mistakes. too soon everything will change and you have been chosen now depending on what you

answer to my most important question I will let you live or not usually at this feast I am playing with my prey and only let two people live will those people be you and your mentor will your bones rest eternally under my domain do the best of my abilities to answer the question you're gonna ask me I like you, young man. Maybe I will not kill you. Maybe I'll just turn you into a Strigoy. I remember one night in Wallachia.

When they killed a Strygoy, I watched from the shadows. I could have killed them all from the shadows right there and then, but I didn't. Those lands were already cursed by a plague, so their blood was poison. Now, tell me, indulge me with one simple answer to this question.

Do you wish to have it, eternal life in the eternal night. Do you desire immortality? To live forever? No, I said. To live forever is to suffer, to see everyone you love die. I could not bear that. I just couldn't do it. And the loneliness will just make eternity seem like a curse. So please just kill me quickly now. Oh, I will not. I was expecting this. answer, to be frank with you. You're the first person who said it like that. Your words are like poetry to my ears. You and your mentor are free to go, but hurry, I'm starting to get hungry, and if I catch you here, I will not be able to control myself. Go, run, little human. And then he vanished right in

front of my eyes. As I was heading to the door, I noticed a rather strange to home standing on top of the fireplace. I quickly went to see what it was. It said just this. My life, as a vampire. It was, as it has been, left there specifically for me to take.

I quickly grabbed it and went downstairs where the men were already drunk. Professor, we must leave immediately. They will all die. Why are you saying, son? Quickly, there's no time. We must leave now. We started running and as soon as we were

again a descent down the 1,480 steps, the screams started from inside the castle. Agony, desperation, the quick taking of a human life by a monster, a bloodbath, a living dead, living through death. A war is coming. What war? Should I open this book, this journal that I found, should I start transcribing it here? A war is coming. Part two. 10. As above, so below, my swan song. All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Matthew 4.9. The end, or what supposedly was the end.

Now I don't know, but I think I serve my purpose. I finally understood what the war was and why I was chosen to fight it. The mechanics of fate were slowly turning their gears towards the final hour, of my personal enlightenment. Sometimes in life, even though you don't know where you're headed, which way to go or what the final goal of your journey is, there's always something, some invisible force, a hand on your shoulder that's guiding your steps carefully. I was never a religious person up until this year, when you see something has changed

the way I see things. Now, of course, like everyone else, I believed in my personal version of God, which for me is a combination of love, kindness and joy. And all of these together form the beauty of life. Am I right? The laughter of your children. Someone who says they love you, or maybe when you surprise someone close to you

and they really get emotional. All these small things are what life is all about, and I believe that each and every one of us has been put on this planet with a purpose, no matter how big or small. As above, so below. These words make much more sense now. While the world has many religions with different views attached to them, there is always faith.

Of course, some religions were violently applied in society in different parts of the globe throughout history, due to the misinterpretation of man. Maybe some of you will say that the world will be better with no religion. Maybe that is true, maybe it's false, but this story is not about theological debates or about arguing which religion is better. Let me tell you the story of my final meeting with the Freemasons. Ironically, this was the first meeting without the professor. So, I was a bit sad at first, knowing that my mentor and protector was now gone. What started as a usual day for me, going to the office, doing research on ancient Eastern European religions. It was ironic, once again, just a normal day at the office, after which I went to the meeting with the Freemasons at the lodge.

The meeting started, but something strange began happening. One of the walls began shifting to one side, revealing some sort of shrine, an altar, which I'd never seen before, nor did I know existed. Another secret revealed, but what was it for? Act one, the blood of it. The master started chanting something that made no sense to me. It sounded like a demonic language. Now soon, soon after that, the world was. walls began changing and blood was dripping from the cracks.

The eye on the main wall moved into a vertical position and started turning an angry shade of red while blinking rapidly. The rest of the brothers raised up from their seats and started advancing towards the shrine while I was waiting to see what was going on. Each and every one of them was pulling out a knife and while at the altar they began cutting the palm of their left hand and blood started flowing into one of the three goblets. Soon after that, when it was my turn to do it, I went to the shrine end.

I kicked one of the blood goblets, but the blood just went back inside it, crawling slowly. The master of the lodge smashed the wooden hammer on the table and year old resoundingly, What are you doing? Have you gone mad? If he sees you, you are dead. Then a diabolical voice started from inside the wall. He is an imposter Sees him

Cut his chest wide open I will rip his heart out of it And all the brothers started changing into ugly devils They came towards me and grabbed me Ripping my shirt up and so that my chest was on show It was almost like an opposite initiation ritual A death ritual My Masonic downfall

And soon after their leader showed himself It was the same goat From my initiation as a mason But this time it was real In flesh, blood and bones Their masks have been fully removed And the puppeteer had shown his true face Their so-called architect

Was doing his own bidding inside the lodge While keeping himself entertained By pulling the strings of his puppets Making them follow his orders Like in a mindless evil chain dance So much so that With every move, every single heartbeat, I was acutely feeling it in my throat. I finally thought that I was done for, that my journey will end in defeat.

Left alone to my own devices, I called for help in my own head, yelling desperately in my mind for someone to come and save me from the vile, wretched and repulsive monstrosity. A fiend that was only feeling on fear, pain and angst, he drinks tears and eat something. A destroyer of all things beautiful and the greatest deceiver known to humanity. The seducer of man, Satan. He approached me, and while he pointed his index finger at my heart, everything stopped and went dark.

I found myself in a place where agonizing screams were echoing throughout an infected air. I saw live skeletons of people who were swimming in hot lava, screaming endlessly while the torture never stopped. I was on what seemed to be some sort of a metallic boat, and with me there was a hooded man. He was guiding the boat to an unknown destination. Where are we? Where are you taking me? I asked. This is hell, and I am the one who leads some of you to what will be a life of eternity, of soul-devouring, agonising afterlife.

You've been trying to destroy the architect's creation, and he is not happy. In fact, he has never been as angry as he is right now. If there's a devil, there's a God as well. He'll save me. I was doing what was right for my world, I said to the guide. It's too late now. God is dead. No one has heard from him in ages.

That is your prison for eternity. He then pointed at some sort of ziggurat that was made from flesh and bones, and on its surface people were spiraling to the top. when getting there they just jumped right in what are they doing they go to the top always thinking that if they get there they can find salvation the road is filled with obstacles so when they get to the zenith they just jump into a lake of acid where they swim to get to the shores it takes them a thousand years to get there after that they get out again and repeat the process I refused to go there, I yelled, and then a familiar voice was calling my name. Don't give up, son, fight it, resist it, come back up. Act two, escaping hell and meeting God. I suddenly woke up in the temple, where I saw Satan trying to get inside my chest to take my heart out. "'Impossible,' Satan said,

"'his destructive eyes staring at me in disbelief. "'And then a sort of divine power overtook me. "'I felt sensations unknown to man. "'I saw bright lights, heard music that instantly sounded out of this world, "' melodies and notes that I never knew existed. "'From beyond I heard and saw the professor for one last time. "'Son, I was with you the entire. time even if I left you alone for a little bit. Back there I was just your professor and mentor.

But here, I'm everything that is. Omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. I rescued you and I know you'll see things differently now. Let us send them back to where they belong and destroy them once and for all. I wanted you here. Not because I needed you help, but because I wanted a man with pure heart to experience something divine. I'll be watching over you. So long. Came back to the temple, and from my eyes, mouth and body, bright light started shooting into those vile demons.

They were consumed by the light, and finally they were cast down to their place of suffering and eternal room. When I came back to it, gasping for air, I said, with tears of joy flowing down my cheeks in rivers, Thank you, God. The sun was shining bright in the cloud of the sky. It was an unusually warm winter day.

Parents were playing with their kids in the park, laughing and giggling happily. I started walking home, smiling and waving at the sky. I had been given hope. Life is beautiful. And so once again, reach the end of tonight's podcast. my thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen now I'd ask one small for your review

wherever you get your podcast wrong please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review as it really helps the podcast that's it for this week but I'll be back again same time same place and I do so hope you'll join me once more until next time sweet dreams and bye-bye