Gothic Story

The Haunting In Cleminson Hall

Mr. Edmond’s death forever scarred the students at Grosse Pointe South High School. They knew that after his death, they would never walk through the hallways of the school the same way ever again. The night of the terrible incident was dreary; an outrageous storm had struck the area during a late choir rehearsal. This left the students and their choir director, Mr. Edmonds, trapped in the school. At one point in the night, in the midst of rehearsing a song, the choir director suddenly stopped playing, and rested his head down on the piano. The students were bewildered by what had just occurred; they had no idea what to do. They stood, staring at the motionless body, crippled over the wooden piano. They tried shaking the man but he would not move. After realization sunk in, they called the police, and the man was confirmed to be dead.  After Mr. Edmonds' death, there was a change in atmosphere at Grosse Pointe South. There were no incoming teachers that wanted the man’s job; they were afraid of any bad luck that the position would bring. This changed when Mr. Graham came along.

Young, curious, and inexperienced, Mr. Thomas Graham was anxiously awaiting the first day at his new job. Now that the day had finally arrived, he was beginning to feel slightly nervous. Leaving all that he had ever known behind in Atlanta was a difficult decision, but it had to be done. Mr. Graham was in the midst of a financial crisis and was in desperate need for a job. He moved in with a friend in Grosse Pointe, Michigan when he heard that a job as a school choir director was available at one of the local high schools. He was surely not satisfied with the cool weather and lack of urban city scenery in Michigan. But this job seemed to be the light at the end of the shadowy tunnel of debt. He had always been passionate about playing the piano in particular, and now was the time to showcase this talent. Little did he know what else the job would bring him.

The school was beautiful. Grand marble pillars supported the detailed framework that gave the school such a look of elegance. There was a tower positioned in the center of the main building; a truly breathtaking sight. From the outside, the school looked like a peaceful and extraordinary place. But from the first moment he stepped into Grosse Pointe South High School, he felt something eerie. After hearing the creepy rumors about the school, this was expected. His friend had told him all about Mr. Edmonds' death. The faculty decided to stow the deceased man’s piano away in Cleminson Hall in memory of him. Rumor had it that sometimes, late at night, one could hear songs being played on the old piano in Cleminson Hall. The whole theory about ghosts and spirits haunting the school seemed too absurd to be true to Mr. Graham.

By the second month after the school year began, Mr. Graham had just about settled in. He had nearly memorized the ups and downs of the school. His students were great, for the most part; mostly obedient with a few rebellious adolescents. His classroom was somewhat welcoming besides bugs and cobwebs that were a result of the room not being inhabited for quite some time. He was not sure as to why no one had taken this job sooner. It had been available for years before his arrival. It had occurred to him that his room once belonged to the old music teacher that he had heard strange rumors about. But there had not been any ghost findings yet, and he was sure that there never would be. After all, there was no such thing as spirits coming from the afterlife and haunting the school, was there?

The weather in Grosse Pointe was awful that fall. Countless thunderstorms struck the area day and night. The citizens of Grosse Pointe had just about had it with the frequent power outages. This night in particular was one of the worst; lightning strikes making their way through the dark sky, power lines sparking and falling to the ground. 

Mr. Graham was working late on this night to finish some choreography ideas for an upcoming concert. When the storm continued to worsen, he decided it would not be wise to drive in this weather. He thought it would be best to stay at the school until the storm died down. Hours passed by and the conditions outside were just as bad as ever. There was only one other man that Mr. Graham knew was in the building; an old janitor. But the elderly man kept his distance, leaving Mr. Graham seemingly alone in this frightening place.

The storm was still violent, trapping Mr. Graham inside the claustrophobic school. The school seemed to take up a new atmosphere at night. No longer a place of friendliness and learning, the building was transformed into a more prison-like place; dreary and extremely lonely. When he checked the time on his cell phone, it read 11:48. The power had gone out nearly twenty minutes ago and the night bore a freezing cold breeze. The man was sitting at his desk reading a book by the light being cast by his phone. Occasionally, the lightning and crackling thunder was so extreme that it made him jump out of his seat.

By 12:00 midnight, the storm had dwindled down to a steady pitterCleminson Hall. Something drew him to approach the room and he felt the need to look inside.

He opened the grand wooden doors and was in awe of the exquisiteness of the room. It was a spacious room with large windows and a tall ceiling. A spiral staircase made of wood wrapped itself in a twisted form and worked its way up to the balcony of the room. He cautiously made his way up the stairs to follow the sound. The noise became louder and louder until he saw that the source of the music was indeed coming from the old piano.

Slowly and steadily, Mr. Graham made out what was making such strange music. There was something sitting at the piano. It had arms, legs, a head; all parts of a human body were present. But it was not human. The thing that was there was truly a ghost. He had never before believed in the paranormal until now, for this was none other than a ghost.

At first instinct, Mr. Graham gasped. Suddenly, the music stopped and the figure turned. What stood before him was clearly a man, but did not have a manly stature. The ghost was pale as snow with white robes draped over his body. His face was soft and frosty with distinct features. His cheek bones were frail and his nose pointy. Two light eyes stared at Mr. Graham with looks of sudden vigilance. The ghost’s lips were thin and white; a small smile formed on his face.

“I have been expecting you,” the ghost said.

Mr. Graham began to quiver. “Who are you?” he hesitantly replied.

“My name is John Edmonds. I am the former music teacher here at South High School.”

“Why are you here?” Mr. Graham questioned.

“I am very passionate about music. This here is my very own piano, and it will always be mine,” He said, dusting his fingers along the keyboard. “I will stay here forever, playing music on this piano.”

“Your music is very lovely, Mr. Edmonds.”

“Would you like to join me?”

The offer seemed genuine, so Mr. Graham inched his way over to the piano. The ghost moved over to clear a space for him. Mr. Edmonds' icy hands hovered over the piano until he set them down on the keys. He started playing a melody that was not familiar to Mr. Graham, but somehow, he began to play along. It was something about this music that overcame his body and gave him a feeling he had never felt before. He felt completely at ease and comfortable when playing this song. The strange sensation caused him to lose touch with the world for a while, and soon he felt as if he was truly not on Earth anymore. He was in a new place; he and Mr. Edmonds. A place where there was nothing but music. Nothing but the sweet sensation of miraculous harmonies.

When Mr. Graham’s dead body was found draped over the old piano in Cleminson Hall, the citizens of Grosse Pointe were astonished. There was never another soul to apply for that job at Grosse Pointe South High School for fear that they would experience that same fate as the music directors of the past. Sometimes, students at the school can hear music coming from Cleminson Hall, more beautiful than ever. But they know better than to approach the music. They know that ghosts are truly present in the room, and they have the power to possess a soul with music and take it with them into the afterlife. 

Edgar Allen Poe's Obsession With Death

Evelyn Wheeler

Mr. Provenzano 1st Hour

March 16th 2012

Edgar Allen Poe’s Obsession With Death

            After reading a story by Edgar Allen Poe, one will clearly understand that his stories represent the theme of death. Some conclude that Poe’s frequent use of this theme is a result of his tragic childhood. At a young age, Poe watched both his mother and father pass away and he was then forced to live with another family. Throughout his stories, Poe gives emphasis to his obsession with death by repeatedly bringing up the subject. Through each of these five stories, death is clearly executed as the main idea. In one of his stories, “The Fall of The House of Usher,” the death theme is emphasized through Poe’s distinct use of gothic diction and his creation of frightened characters. The “Masque of Red Death” is a story that introduces a more symbolic way to think about death. Another one of Poe’s stories, “Berenice,” is one that presents the idea of being buried alive, which connects with the death theme. “The Black Cat and The Mysterious Case of M. Valdemar” have characters in them that are obsessed with death themselves, just as Poe is. Edgar Allen Poe emphasizes his obsession with death by presenting the theme in his stories; “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Mask of Red Death,” “Berenice,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.”

            One of many Poe stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is one that very clearly portrays his obsession with death. The use of gothic diction in this story is frequent and elaborate. It is used to commence the inner darkness of the plot. “There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime” (Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” 1). Poe’s description of the house in The Fall of the House of Usher is extremely fear-provoking for readers. The creation of such a frightening environment makes way for the events yet to happen in the story; much of these events involving death. One of the characters that Poe has created in this story is mentally ill and is expecting death to come his way. “’ I must perish in this deplorable folly. Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost. I dread the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results” (Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” 6). The character’s fear of what death is yet to bring is just one way that Edgar Allen Poe represents the death topic in his stories.

            Another way the author reveals his obsession with death in his stories is by using symbolism.  One story that presents this use of symbolism in Poe’s collection is “The Masque of Read Death.” It takes place in a time where there was a horrible plague overcoming the population. The plague caused suffering and in most cases, instant death. In the story, the plague was represented by a man dressed in garments that looked like death itself; a corpse. Poe’s use of symbolism in this story makes it gothic. What is thought to be a man in a mask enters the Prince’s home and is thought to have murdered him. But when the people arrive at the scene of the crime, they realize that the masked stranger is not a concrete object or person at all. “…a throng of the revelers at once threw themselves into the black apartment and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in utterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form” (Poe, “The Masque of Red Death”). In this story, Poe stresses the theme of death by portraying death as a very human-like object.

            “Berenice” is one of Poe’s earlier stories and is based on the revival of life and being buried alive. The author has also included the topic of early burial in several of his stories. It is when the character seems to be dead and is buried, but is actually still living in a coma or an inactive state. In “Berenice,” the main character is due to marry his cousin, Berenice, but she soon dies. The main character, Egaeus, is obsessed with Berenice’s teeth. He often goes into trances where, afterwards, he cannot recollect what he has done during the trance. One night, he is informed that someone has dug up Berenice in her grave and ultimately taken her teeth out. When she was studied at the scene of the horrible incident, viewers noticed that she was still breathing and very much alive. “He told of a wild cry disturbing the silence of the night --of the gathering together of the household-of a search in the direction of the sound; --and then his tones grew thrillingly distinct as he whispered me of a violated grave --of a disfigured body enshrouded, yet still breathing, still palpitating, still alive” (Poe, “Berenice”)! The concept of her still being alive when she is thought to be dead is how Poe represents death in this story.

            The “Black Cat” is also a story including death-like elements. The story is about a man who has uncontrollable anger problems. He is constantly feeling the urge to kill or hurt his loving pet cat. Poe creates this personality like such because he loves linking his characters to the theme of death. After killing his first cat, the man feels better, but when he gets rid of the second, he is very relieved. “It is impossible to describe, or to imagine, the deep, the blissful sense of relief which the absence of the detested creature occasioned in my bosom” (Poe, “The Black Cat”). Although the man’s personality seems sickening and awful to readers, it was what Poe wished to include in his story because he loved to portray death throughout his stories.

            Some of Poe’s stories possess a much more obvious connection to death. An example of one of these is “The Facts in The Case of M. Valdemar.” It is about a man who wants to experiment with death and mesmerism. He is quite interested in what might happen to a person who has been put in a trance at the very moment of death. “My attention, for the last three years, had been repeatedly drawn to the subject of mesmerism; and, about nine months ago, it occurred to me, quite suddenly, that in the series of experiments made hitherto, there had been a very remarkable and most unaccountable omission: no person had as yet been mesmerized in articulo mortis” (Poe, “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”). The fact that Poe addresses the possibility of such an astounding scheme shows how interested he is in death. He also deeply describes the appearance of dying people in his stories. “His face wore a leaden hue; the eyes were utterly lusterless, and the emancipation was so extreme, that the skin had been broken through by the cheek-bones” (Poe, “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”). Imagery such as this plays a very large role in creating a death-like theme in the story. Poe used vivid descriptions because he wanted to highlight the theme.

            All of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories are written with a gothic feel to them. There are several themes presented in gothic writing, one of them being death. This seemed to be Poe’s favorite theme because it is highlighted very frequently throughout his works. Sometimes it is represented by death-like diction or imagery. Other times it is the plot line that brings out Poe’s love for the death theme. When reading “The Fall of the House of Usher,” readers can visualize Poe’s death obsession because of his gothic diction and his use of nervous and fearful characters that are near to death. In “The Mask of Red Death,” Poe uses a symbolic method to show what death is. “Berenice” is a short story by Poe that includes the topic of being thought to be dead when the character is actually still living. “The Black Cat” and “The Mysterious Case of M. Valdemar” are two Poe stories where the main character is interested or obsessed with death and act upon that feeling of curiosity and fixation. There is often something the reader can find in Poe’s short stories that leads them back to the theme of death.

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/blackcat>.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher>.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/masque>.

Poe, Edgar Allen. "Berenice." Poestories.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/berenice>.

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." Poestories.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/facts>.

"Poe’s Short Stories." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/context.html>.

Faust Legend

The Man in the Eighth Cell

Nearly all the light of the cell had escaped by now. Nights in prison were the hardest on him; but it did give him a chance to think back to what he had done. Thinking back, he remembered barely anything. But he did remember the rage, the fight, the man, and the bullet that he fired. Those actions were simply what led him to this place that he now hated so much. After several experiences in jail, this one seemed to have the most profound effect on him. He wasn’t sure what exactly it was about this atmosphere that made him so afraid; probably the voices and shadows that seemed to taunt him nearly every night. But he was sure they were only a pigment of his imagination. Another factor could be the mysterious jar sitting in the far corner of the cell. The cell had no decorative feel to it, so a past captive must have left it there. Inside the jar were several pennies, some of which had rusted and withered to a small size. The jar may have held three dozen pennies; all sitting in this jar in the corner of a jail cell.

“Here, John.”

He looked up to see the guard officer delivering dinner for him. Without reply, he took the offering and left in it the corner of the cell, not in the mood for eating. With a nod, the man slipped out of sight down the long dark hallway.

John’s reputation had never been the best. He never worked a successful job, was never married, he did not even have very many friends. Sometimes when he walked down the street to buy a newspaper, he could hear people whispering, “There goes John Hobbs,” or “That Mr. Hobbs disgusts me”. On occasion, a mother would pick up her child and shield them from the sight of such an awful man.

Normally a fearless and rebellious soul, John was surprised by the amount of uneasiness that this prison gave him. But he shook it off because nothing could turn John Hobbs into an apprehensive man. But on that particular night, there was something that made him uncomfortable.

He began to hear the voice again. It was an extremely deep, raspy voice, like none he had ever heard before. Typically, he would force himself to avoid what the speaker was saying. But tonight, he listened.

“John Hobbs, I know what you have done. I know why you are here. And I know that you want to leave. I can help you.”

“How?” replied John. “How can you help me?”

“Finally!” exclaimed the mysterious voice, “A response! Let me tell you how I will help.”

Suddenly, a cool breeze swept across John’s body, as if the source was right in front of him. As he squinted harder at the far corner of his cell, he noticed something that had not been there a moment before. It was a dark shadowy figure, an unfamiliar and disturbing sight. When he looked closer at the figure, he realized it made out the shape of a person. This person did not look like one he had seen before; it seemed to be a man with dark skin and black hair, wearing some sort of robe. His eyes were a piercing red and he had long limbs. His mouth had formed into a twisted smile bearing a set of sick, crooked teeth.

“I would like to make a deal with you, Mr. Hobbs,” said the figure. “Are you willing to work with me?”

John hesitantly replied, “Who are you?”

The man laughed a sinister laugh. “Who am I? Oh, please. Surely you have heard of the man in the eighth cell?”

“I’m afraid I have not,” said John. He slowly cocked his head to find that the silver plaque on the wall of the chamber had a number eight written on it.

“Some know me as just that: the man in cell eight. But I am much more. I am a miracle worker. I can make your wish come true if you give me a simple thing in return. All it takes is for you to agree to my deal, and you will be free.”

“Free?” John exclaimed. “You mean if I agree to do something for you, you will free me from this jail cell?”

The man nodded. “Not only can I free you from this cell, I can take you to a place where you will never live with the fear of returning to prison ever again.”

John thought about all the things he would do if this man could truly free him from the prison cell. He would continue his favored life of rebellious activities. Living to the fullest in this way was his only desire in life. He had no yearning for a happy and successful life; just one where he could freely continue his disobedient lifestyle. John would do anything for a chance to return to this way of living.

“How do I know that I can trust you?” John asked.

“Well…” the man picked up the jar and brought it to John. “Do you see all of these pennies in this jar? These pennies represent my past patients, all 58 of them. Each and every penny symbolizes an individual that I have freed from the bondage of this place and sent out into a world where there is no fear of coming back.”

Looking closer at the jar, John could tell that there a great amount of pennies. If all of these people agreed to this deal, why shouldn’t he?

“Well, I surely would like to be free, and I would also like to be taken to this land of yours,” said John. “I have no desire to stay here anyway. But I'm not sure I can trust you. Not only do I have no idea where you are taking me, but I also do not know who you truly are."

The man gazed into John's eyes with a sharp glare. "If you say no to me, I will only continue to taunt you. You will eventually come with me, John Hobbs. No one leaves cell eight without agreeing to my generous deal. How could you turn something like this down? Don't you want your freedom?"

 John thought long and hard about his offer. What harm could it cause him? It's not like he had any business staying in this town anyway. "Alright, I accept your offer. Now, what is it I need to give you in order for you to take me to your promised land?” On the man’s face grew the sickest grin John had ever laid eyes on. He took a step toward Mr. Hobbs. “Come with me, and I shall take you from here.”

Just like that, the two vanished from the scene. How easy it was for the man in the eighth cell to trick someone like Mr. Hobbs into thinking they were going to be free. Poor John should have known that the man he made a deal with was truly the devil; he had come to take his soul and keep it forever. Sure, he would be free from the bondage of the prison walls, but he would never be free from the real devil himself.

The next morning, when the guard came to give Mr. Hobbs his breakfast, he found an empty cell. “Oh, no,” he thought to himself. “Not him again.” The guard rushed over to the jar of pennies and began to count. Just as he expected, in the jar there lay 59 bronze pennies.