Anatomy of a Horror Setting #2-19: Spelling Horror

Let’s talk about some actual spells now. Rather than retread the usual ones how about something a little more original? First up, what villain hasn’t wanted to flay someone alive? It needs to be little more interesting though. Some ancient, angry, master of the arcane decided that it would be better instead to have a spell that caused his enemy’s skin to pull away from their muscles and stretch but not to tear open anywhere. The result was beyond painful and continuous. It led to a long agonising death due to internal bleeding. It had two added benefits dealing with the increased fear it caused. No ordinary man could achieve such a bizarre thing; it had to be the work of dark magic. It also looked really terrible, especially as the space between skin and flesh filled with blood.

Curses are popular. There’s endless itching, having no reflection, and permanent bad luck. A vengeful Mayombe (evil voodoo priest) decided to make an enemy’s life an actual living nightmare. He set upon this man a powerful curse to make him forever see everything as if it were dead and rotting. This extended to the man’s senses of touch, smell, and taste. Things that don’t exist capered and leered threateningly from nowhere and circled around in the man’s peripheral vision. Voices whispered constantly, saying terrible things and inviting the man to do terrible acts. The last bit was the worst. It constantly ate at the edges of the man’s sanity and tried to drive him to visit evil upon others. It caused the man great guilt long before he gave in to the voices.

Here is a twist on an old stand by. There is a powerful spell used to turn people into slavering, violent, monsters. However, a great and powerful being from another realm of existence, who was capable of great guile and viciousness, had a better idea. This nameless being came up with an alternative. It cast the spell upon some random man, who upon touching his beloved wife changed her. That night the man was awakened to see his wife change into a monster and run off into the night. He went after her, but the local villagers caught her slaughtering the neighbours. The husband found his wife just as the villagers moved to destroy the monster. The man had to chose to die with his beloved or to fight his friends and neighbours, even as true to the spell’s form she attacked them.

Mood: excitable.
Music: Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) by Iron Maiden and Silver Wings by Bruce Dickinson.

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