Legend of The Maze Part III: The Curse On All Hallow's Eve

PART THREE: THE CURSE ON ALL HALLOW'S EVE

 

Jessica rose early that day,

Wearing her favorite dancing dress

and a sprig of goldenrod in her hair.

She traipsed about the town,

smiling and humming softly to herself.

Around noon, she stopped by Paul St. John's shoppe

and bought a candied apple

then walked to one of the outer pastures to enjoy it.

She leaned against the fence there

and watched several clouds

as they made their languid paths across the sky.

She finished half the apple and fed the rest to a horse that had joined her.

He chewed happily until the entire fruit was gone,

And then proceeded to eat the stick.

She laughed, but kept her eyes on the road leading from town.

The day was half over and she had not seen any sign of Jack.

She sat down in the wheat grass beside the fence

letting her worrisome thoughts evaporate into the clouds.

She traced the edge of the valley with her gaze,

following it to the river at the edge of the fields.

A soft breeze began blowing as she returned to stare at the road.

Soon her heavy lids began to dance and flutter,

and as the sun passed its zenith,

Jessica fell into slumber.

 

She awoke with a start.

The light was far dimmer than midday,

and the breeze had turned cold and unfriendly.

The sun had moved to the valley's edge,

casting long finger like shadows across the town.

The horse that had guarded her sleep was gone,

And in the distance the bonfire was already burning.

 

Jessica gasped and leapt to her feet,

breaking immediately into a run.

She arrived at the bonfire breathless and anxious,

 just as the first dance was about to begin.

As the fiddler uttered the first wheedle of a song,

she eyed the crowd for Jack.

Not finding him, she looked instead for her father,

whom she found carousing with several of the other town elders,

but no sign of Jack.

Between her run to the revelry and the heat of the bonfire,

Her throat had become quite parched.

She moved to get a cider,

hoping to find Jack near the edibles.

Just then Thom appeared by her side.

He approached meekly and smiled softly at her.

Quite a change from the raging animal she had seen just yesterday.

"Hello Thom." she said coldly.

"Hello Jess.  Mayhap I can ask the next dance of ye?" he grinned dumbly.

"Perhaps..." she said, turning to grab a cider.

Still smiling, Thom leaned in towards her.

Jessica stared at him as if were about to bite her.

"PERHAPS...you should try to treat the man

whose bed ye are to share a bit more kindly,  missy."

She pushed him away and, grabbing a cider,

Rushed away from the bonfire.

Thom scowled as he watched her walk away.

The bonfire was indeed hot this evening,

And he was roasting beneath his dress clothes.

He turned to follow Jessica,

but just then there was a commotion near the bonfire.

 

Black feathers of smoke were pouring out of the bottom of the blaze

and the flames had turned a deep violet.

A column of flame shot up from the fire

And there was a cold rush of air

as the entire blaze turned to smoke.

Thom began backing away from the bonfire.

The smoke became a black smudge

against the dim remains of sunset.

The cloud swirled and twisted.

As the crowd watched, it burst into hundreds of bats.

The revelers began screaming as the tiny creatures swooped down,

their leathery wings swatting and smacking at everyone's heads.

Thom turned and ran, disappearing in the chaos.

 

Just then the bonfire exploded in a burst of sparks and embers.

As the smoke cleared, the bats moved away.

Where the bonfire had been, now stood a tall dark figure.

He wore a tattered black cloak,

and wielded a thick menacing scythe.

He was surrounded by a strange green glow,

and his head was adorned with a large jack-o-lantern,

carved in a horrible skull like visage.

He surveyed the fearful townsfolk with his glowing stare

as he stepped from the embers and into the crowd.

 

"BEHOLD!!!" He roared,

raising his skeleton arms to the sky.

As the townsfolk watched in horror,

the long shadows of sunset  stood up from the ground,

reaching upward with black tendril fingers.

There was a rustling of  Autumn leaves,

As the shadows became solid leathery walls

surrounding them and the entire town.

Contained in that space,

they had naught to look to but their captor.

He turned, fixing them with his hellish gaze.

"BEHOLD!" He roared again,

"BEHOLD-GOOD PEOPLE OF VALLEYDOWN!

BEHOLD-MURDER AND DARKNESS IN YOUR QUIET TOWN!
SIX QUICK HANDS DID HOLD ME DOWN!
ONE SHARP BLADE TO PIERCE, THEN KILL, THEN DROWN!
'TWAS WHAT CAME AFTER, THOUGH, THAT SET THE STONE
TO BRING YOU THUS MY MENACING TONE!
A REAPER'S STAFF AND A BODY LAY
AMIDST THESE FLAMES, BUT BURNED AWAY!
AND NOW WE ALL ARE TRAPPED WITHIN
DOOMED TO HELL BY HIDDEN SIN."

 

He arced the scythe over his neck

and slammed its hilt against the ground.

"I TELL YOU THIS AND SAY NO MORE,

BUT OFFER THUS INSTEAD...A DOOR.

 

BRING TO ME THESE KILLERS THREE,

BEFORE THE CROW OF COCK AND DAWN.

LEST THIS OFFERED DOOR SHOULD LOCK,

AND THE MAW OF HELL BEGIN TO YAWN.

THIS LABYRINTH BECOME THEN

YOUR ETERNAL DWELLING

WITH NO REGARD TO SOBBING,

SCREAMS, OR YELLING.

NO BARGAIN HERE OR PLEA WILL IMPLORE,

JUST ONE KEY AND NOTHING MORE.

 

WHO THE KILLER?

WHERE THE MURDER?

ONLY THIS AND NOTHING MORE."

 

And with that,

The glow inside his head turned to violent orange flame,

Exploding his pumpkin head outward
and catching his robes alight.

His headless body danced about,

waving the deadly scythe to and fro

and dropping bits of its burning robes as it twirled.

It  leapt back into the remains of the bonfire,

and kicking up smoke and ash,

clawed its way back underneath.

 

The townsfolk stared in disbelief,

his last words echoing through the thick night air.

The sun slipped just beyond the horizon then,

and Valleydown was swallowed by the night.

To Be Continued...

The first image here is an early rendition of Jack.  Much more Scarecrow than daemonic revenant in this version.  althought he is scary, there is a playful element.  In the second piece he is much more malicious.  I believe this piece was actually done before we began throwing the maze parties.  Sadly in my slackness, I did not write the date on the back so I have no idea what year I created it, but I do know it was around that same time period.  Jack later traded in his pitchfork for the scythe we see him with in the other pieces.  Much more dramatic...and daemonic spirits do love their drama!

{Pen & Ink}

The second image of Jack used here is from a previous post, but I could not resist using it again here for effect.  :-)  I wanted his cloak to be somewhere between bat wings and giant leaves, as if he were a dark green man / scarecrow / reaper combination.  More on the evolution of Jack...next week.  :-)

{Pen and Ink, Prismacolor, manipulated in Photoshop}

The Scythe study was done because I realized after my first drawing of Jack, that I knew ZIP about Scythes.  So in an attempt to make up for that initial drawing of a curved blade on a stick, I did some research and did the study you see here.  I just had a very frustrating fearful moment where I thought I had posted this already...I just did a quick scan and couldn't find it anywhere.  If it is somewhere in all this I apologize for the repeat.

{Pen & Ink}

More Maze History and Art:

 

The Legend of The Maze Part II: The Dance and The Accident

PART TWO: THE DANCE AND THE ACCIDENT

As the long shadows of sunset stretched across the town,

The dancers took position around the bonfire.

They swirled and leapt at the shouts and whistles of onlookers,

the whine of the fiddle spiraling around their ears.

Jessica held tight to Jack's arms as they whirled around the fire,

spinning like dervishes.

He pulled Jessica closer and began whirling faster.

Overcome by glee, they found themselves laughing.

 

At the edge of the carousing

Thom emerged from the crowd.

Unseen, he rolled a pumpkin into the dancers

directly at Jack's feet.

Jack toppled over and away from the dance, his arms flailing.

He landed firmly on a pile of pumpkins.

They were crushed under his weight

covering him in their slimy innards.

He tried quickly to stand,

but slipped in the orange muck and fell to his knees.

Jessica moved towards him to help,

But Thom intercepted, blocking her.

 

Thom's voice boomed in the silence that followed,

"I think 'tis time you were going stranger."

Jack slowly stood, wary of this sudden turn.

"It isn't right to be dancing with another man's betrothed."

Suddenly the fire seemed to hot, the crowd too close.

Jack looked at Thom,

the weight of this revelation apparent on his face.

"You're right...It is time I was going."

Jack turned and walked away.

Jessica pushed Thom away, tears welling up in her eyes.

She rushed away from the bonfire and into the night.

Jack kicked at the dusty road while he walked,

his heart heavy as he moved towards the edge of town.

A slender shadow emerged from behind a row of trees

And timidly approached him.

"I'm sorry."

Jack stopped walking, but did not turn to face Jessica.

"Were you going to tell me?"

"I-My father arranged the marriage," Jessica stammered,

 "Thom is a fine farmer,

 and ANY girl in Valleydown would want to be married to him, but-"

"-But you don't love him do you."

 Jack turned to face Jessica, her head hung low now,

shameful of her heart's desires.

"No, I do not Love him."

Jack moved closer and gently lifted her head,

Gazing deeply into her eyes.

He wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"It's okay." he whispered

and leaning in, kissed her tenderly.

"I will return tomorrow with a proper dowry

to sway your father and make you mine." he smiled.

He kissed her again.

"However tonight, we must part, so that stinging tempers may cool

and this newfound love might blossom,

far from the reach of any angry bonfires."

Jessica pulled him close and kissed him once again,

then reluctantly she released him,

and they parted ways.

She returned to the bonfire,

and he disappeared into the moonless night

on the road leading from town.

 

Three  figures appeared then,

barely a carriage length from where the lovers stood.

They paused briefly and followed Jack into the Darkness.

 

As he walked, Jack smiled at the thought of his return.

Tomorrow, in the light of day,

he would pledge himself to Jessica and win her hand.

Just then, from behind him he heard a wolf-like howl,

then laughter.

He glanced back briefly and picked up his pace.

A tree limb shot out of the darkness,

Hitting him squarely in the chest and knocking him to the ground.

He sat up on his elbows and cleared the dust from his eyes.

Above him stood Thom, glaring.

The figures behind Thom were grinning and laughing.

"I told you Stranger, but ye could na' leave well enough alone.

JESSICA IS MY BETROTHED!!!"

Thoms face was contorted with rage.

He kicked Jack in the side several times and spat on him.

Jack coughed up blood as Thom's associates laughed.

He began to crawl away, trying to get to his feet,

but Thom grabbed him by the hair and dragged him backwards.

Thom pulled him over to a wagon parked near the town's entrance.

He yanked Jack up and leaned him against the wagon,

punching him in the stomach and face.

"I don't understand why you didn't get it the first time!"

He punched Jack again.

"JESSICA BELONGS TO ME!"

Jack slumped against the wagon as Thom paced in front of him.

"Harold, HOLD HIM UP!"

Thom looked about, eager for some final punctuation.

Jessica's words still echoing through his mind,

"No I do not love him."

He spied a pile of pumpkins,

stacked for decoration near the wagon.

"RICHARD! Bring me one of the those Pumpkins!"

Richard brought the orange gourd to Thom,

fearful of his friends frenetic rage.

Jack could barely see Thom through the blood in his eyes

as the angry farmer leaned in and glared at him.

His head bobbed to one side,

a thick smear of blood pouring from his busted lip.

"This is yer final warning stranger.

STAY AWAY FROM JESSICA!"

Thom grabbed the pumpkin from Richard's shaking hands

and heaving it high,

slammed it down onto Jack's head.

Jack inhaled the meat and seeds of the pumpkin.

Suffocating, he flailed about,

pushing Richard and Harold away

and knocking Thom down.

His panic rising, he twisted around,

seeking purchase against the wagon.

He hit the back of the wagon.

Bent half over,

his hands clasped what felt like a club.

Grabbing it tightly, he swung behind him.

He raised it higher and continued swinging.

 

Richard and Harold ducked,

trying to avoid the scythe

as Jack swung it about.

Jack caught Richard in one swing,

hitting him in the belly

with the crook of the blades dull backside.

Richard fell back gasping,

the wind knocked out of him.

Thom leapt to his feet and rushed at Jack,

slamming him against the wagon

and knocking the scythe free of his hands.

Still unable to breathe,

Jack pushed at Thom,

punching his face.

Harold rushed over,

and the two wrestled Jack to the ground.

He wriggled in their grasp

and they could hear his screams within the pumpkin.

The stranger suddenly went limp in their grasp.

They released him,

realizing that their hands were wet.

 

The stranger lay on the ground beside the wagon

His back arched at an odd angle,

the scythe, shiny even in the darkness,

protruded from his chest.

Harold fell to his knees, looking at his hands.

Thom stood over the body,

the rage of his expression fading into a vacant stare.

Richard walked up to him then, his breathing labored.

His face went pale when he saw the body.

"Oh my god...OH MY GOD!!!"

Thom Grabbed Richard and covered him mouth.

"SSSst!"  He glared at Richard, "Keep Quiet!"

Richard nodded in understanding.

"What are we gonna do Thom?" Harold whimpered,

still staring at his hands.

Thom looked down at the body and then away,

"I don't know."

Thom released Richard and looked back towards town.

Richard walked away, collapsing near the pile of pumpkins.

Thom looked out across the darkness, his eyes wide.

Richard spoke then, his voice shaky and fearful,

"wu-We've got to bury the body...

or th--throw it in the river..."

Thom watched the bonfire in the distance,

it's light played across the sides of the houses.

He could see the dancers still twirling about the fire

and he could hear the faint music of the revelry.

From this distance, the fiddle sounded like a tiny fly

buzzing around his head.

"No." Thom said,

"If we bury it, someone might dig it up.

If we throw it in the river, it'll just wash up down stream.

What we need..." he paused, still staring at the distant fire,

"What we need is for the body to go away forever."

He faced the town,

his behemoth silhouette towering over the tiny flames of the distant bonfire.

A thin smile played across Thom's lips.

He turned back to his friends with a look of concern and intent.

He knelt beside them and pulled them closer to him.

 

"Tomorrow, before the sun has risen,

We three shall offer our youthful strength

to gather wood for that night's bonfire.

And while we are stacking logs and kindling,

underneath that wooden mountain

our secret shall be buried.

And when the sun is set once more,

and the blaze rises higher and hotter than any night previous,

our secret will be as dust and ashes."

Richard and Harold nodded,

mesmerized by Thom's plan.

Richard looked fearfully to the body,

"But what of the scythe?  It's wood is stained with the blood of death."

Thom stood then and rolled the body over,

Pulling the scythe free and wiping the blade on the corpse.

"The spine of this fine tool will join its woody brethren in the blaze."

He turned the blade examining it,

"And this pointy dagger will find a home where no man would think to look.

Hidden in dirt and under murky waters,

a crook in the river, where the currents run deep.

The children of Valleydown claim it haunted,

yet I will go there now, swimming low,

and brave whatever haunt guards that spot.

There to lodge this heavy blade,

between rocks and underneath,

so that never again will it see light nor day."

He faced the town again, the scythe still in his grip.

"...and that, gentlemen, is how this secret shall be kept,

hidden from prying eyes and minds.

We three shall then go about,

and play the festivities as if a stranger

had never passed this way."

 

Thom flipped the scythe over

and pressed his foot against its shaft.

The blade broke free with a crack, leaving the shaft splintered and spiny.

He moved over to the body and thrust the pole

beneath each armpit, hoisting it up to carry.

Harold grabbed the feet and Richard picked up the blade.

Moving slowly towards the woods,

these three solemn pall bearers shuffled off into the darkness

with their pumpkin headed secret.

To Be Continued...

These are several of the cards that go with the Murder in the Maze Box from my previous post: The Second Murderer.  I had thought all of these pieces lost, but I found an old portfolio with some physical copies of the cards within.  These are not the final versions.  There were several changes to final set...There were also several other cards not present here: several other victim cards as well as the second murderer.

The first card is the first murderer.  That butcher knife belongs to my previous roommate Billy.  I was worried initially about photographing it, but I ended up just laying it on the scanner and scanning it and many wonderful surprises followed.  The strangely colored Halo that the blade has came from the light of the scanner refracting.  I felt like it gave the blade a strange magickal aura, so it stayed.  The background is a photo that my friend Don took of the black plastic we used to create the maze.  I believe that one stayed almost as is in the final version.
{digital images manipulated in Photoshop}


The second card is one of the victim cards.  The woman in the card is my friend Shannon.  She was nice enough to let me xerox here face and use it in the card.  I think in the final version the V's became white so they could be more readable in dim lighting.  Once again, black plastic by Don.

{digital images manipulated in Photoshop}


And speaking of Don, that is him in the second Victim card,  banging his head, well...against his head.  Xerox process here as well.  Black plastic by Don.

{digital images manipulated in Photoshop}


The last image is the back of the set of cards.  I clipped the skull out from its previous background and had it floating before the black plastic. I gave it a nice spooky halo, and tweaked the color to give it a stronger indication of blood.

{digital images manipulated in Photoshop}

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Murder in the Maze Part V: The Legend of The Maze Part I

I'm going to ask for a final indulgence from you for this last of bit of maze history.  I thought initially that the following would be one post,  but I forgot that the Legend was so long...four parts in fact.  What follows is a good bit of text and I apologize for it's quality, but I intentionally did not edit it as I wanted it to appear as it did on the maze website.  Please forgive my poor writing, but I do hope you enjoy the story.

At the time I wrote this it seemed like Christmas got a new story attached to it every year, but Halloween was greatly neglected.  I was always fond of the legend of Sleepy Hollow growing up and I will be the first to admit the many elements stolen from that classic tale.  Our goal for throwing all of the Halloween parties in the first place and building the maze was to celebrate the holiday we'd loved so dearly as children, that night of magic and pageantry, the wall thinned world of spirits and legends: All Hallow's Eve.  I wanted the legend to have strange rural legend quality and that creepy edge of dark magic.  Of course it is set on Halloween, of course there is a murder, it is after all...

THE LEGEND OF THE MAZE

PART ONE: THE FESTIVAL AND THE STRANGER

Many Seasons past...

 

In a distant valley, there was a quiet village known as Valleydown.

Each year the townsfolk held a Harvest celebration.

Rivaled by none, all of the people from the neighboring towns attended.

The bonfire they raised each night could be seen from miles away,

and their revelry could be heard echoing off the mountainsides

late into the night.

 

One year, a stranger came to Valleydown.

He observed the festivities tentatively,

But refrained from participating in the merrymaking.

His furtive glances and moody air inspired suspicion in the Townsfolk,

but as the day progressed, a young maiden, Jessica, took a fancy to the stranger.

She decided then that he would be her partner in the evenings dance,

And set about a plan to coax him into obliging.

 

She came to him with a sparkling ale and offered to sit with him...

He was reluctant at first, but her insistent entreaties

and her fiery hair soon got the better of him.

"My name is Jack," he said shyly.

"This is your first time at the festival?" she smiled and sat closer to him.

"Yes, Its all very...Lively."

He took a drink of the Ale and looked away nervously.

"It's almost sunset.  There'll be a dance at the bonfire soon.

That's where I'm going, would you like to join me?"

The drink was very heady and made his face feel warm.

"Perhaps."  He turned towards her,

caught suddenly by the green of her large eyes.

"I hope I can find a partner for the revels.

Perhaps some handsome gentleman will ask me to dance..."

She smiled and looked away coyly.

"Perhaps..." He smiled, and took another drink.

By the time his glass was finished,

he was following her to the Bonfire.

 

Jessica, however, was not without a suitor.

Thom, the stout young farmer to whom she was betrothed,

did not take kindly to Jack's unknowing intrusion.

To Be Continued...

The two pieces of art presented here are some more headers from the previously mentioned Maze website: nexuscentral.net.

{created in Photoshop}

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Murder in the Maze Part IV: The Website

In 2001, My friend Don and I decided we needed something to celebrate the fun of The Maze.  Secretly, while no one was watching, we built a website for The Maze. Don was proficient at code and I was up to my eyeballs in Photoshop, so away we went.

We gave each year its own page and placed photos from the parties and descriptions on each.  I designed a header for each one of the pages.  We created a page to do profiles on everyone who helped construct the Maze and make the party such a success.  We also had a page for all the strange things we had created - like the skull keystone from last post and the "Carrie" trophy for best costume - a trophy with an idol of a prom queen covered in blood!  We threw a huge party on my friend Carol's birthday (Cinqo De Mayo) and premiered nexuscentral.net.

I suppose that is where things went a little crazy.  The party that year was beyond huge.   We had more people than we'd every had at any of the other parties combined.  I believe the cops showed up three times that year.  There wasn't any violence or anything...with that many people, we were just a bit too loud.  I have to claim some responsibility for the tension and recriminations that followed.  That party was TOO big and many boundaries were crossed during and after the party.  That was where things changed.

After the 2001, the luster of the maze fell away and we were left with the stark reality of the effects the parties were having.  After that year, the Maze moved to another location and the parties lost some of their sparkle.  They were still fun mind you, but the honeymoon was definitely over.  The price of the maze had become painfully clear: too much money, too much cleanup, too much arguing, and too little respect.

So the maze parties moved to another location and we all had to grow up a little.  The parties continued, but some people backed out of the preparation phase and all of our efforts were a bit halfhearted now that we knew and understood the price of the maze.  Ahhhhh, but we have the memories of rushing through the darkness, anticipating and fearing the strange touch of our friends and wondering if the trembling hand that reaches towards us is shaking out of communal fear or in preparation for the kill.  Oh the Murder!  The Murder in the Maze!

There are still a couple of pieces left to post from the website and a flyer or two I've missed.  OH, and did I forget to mention the LEGEND OF THE MAZE!  Alas, that is for another post...BWA HA HA HA HA HA!

The website doesn't exist anymore, but I couldn't post about the maze and overlook this essential part of its history. The Carrie trophy was created and photographed by my friend Don and the Skull Keystone was created by my friend Mike and also photographed by Don.

{All the headers were created within Photoshop} 

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