The Midnight Hour & Other Scary Stories

Masquerade

Horace was from a good family of nobles. He had spent a great deal of his fortunate life attending the greatest parties and fanciest dinners. Truly, he had been given the finest education this side of the La Seine. Tale of his family's fame and luxury had spread far and wide; so much so that their affluence attracted a particularly strange invitation. It came one night on a dark wind.

A storm had beset their castle when the servant answered a knock at the door. The old man was then greeted by a tall figure dressed in black with pale white skin. They handed the servant a sealed invitation and then, just as quickly as lightning lit up the land beyond the estate, the figure vanished into the night with a peal of thunder. The servant found this unnerving but kept their fear in check, delivering the sealed parchment to Horace and his family minutes later.

Much to the Nobles' surprise, Horace and his family had been invited to a masquerade ball at Castle Volstein in the high mountains. The invitation had been sent to many of the richest families in the region. Horace and his kin were only quick to agree and set their affairs in order in preparation for the journey which would take three days time.

The servant, fearing for the family's safety gave Horace this warning:

"Young master," He said, "There is something ill-begotten about this whole ordeal. Please be careful. This is not all that it seems."

Horace, being the most open-minded of his kin, took the servant's words into consideration and pondered what he had meant as they traveled into the high mountains.

The trip was uneventful, all the way up to the great snowdrifts of the high mountains. Then, Castle Volstein appeared and Horace was captivated. It was a big castle and hundreds of years old. Ice clung to cold stone and statues of gargoyles leaned over the great gate. Their carriage was greeted by one of the castle's servants, a stooped man who walked in a shuffle like a crab.

Once their family's belongings were unloaded and they were given access to the great castle, the hosts of Volstein Castle appeared. They came down, elegant as moonlight, the great stone steps. One of the nobles, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, immediately drew Horace's eye. He had never seen anything so lovely in his whole life. She was deathly pale though as if the sun had never touched her skin. She passed him a gentle glance and smiled. He was immediately smitten.

The Lord of the Castle, with the Lady of the estate on his arm, both of which were dressed in rich fabric and fur, bowed humbly before them and said, "My dear guests, we are honored that you have decided to attend our party. Truly, you have graced us with your presence."

Horace's family was delighted. As they spoke with their hosts, Horace and his family were shown their rooms. The beautiful woman from before, the Lord's daughter, showed Horace his chamber.

She said little but did not need to speak. Her beauty spoke for her. She left him with a smile that thrilled his heart.

One by one, more guests appeared, and each of them was shown to their rooms. When it came time for the evening meal, the dining hall was packed with lavish men and women hailing from all parts of the duchy.

They ate with a clamor of gossip and flighty laughter. Horace noticed, however, that the beautiful young lady and her family did not dine like the rest of them. Their silver plates remained empty of the extravagant food that lined the long table.

They did however drink from silver goblets, and the servants were exceedingly quick to refill their glasses. How strange! Was this a new diet of some kind? Perhaps a particular wine? No one other than them at the table seemed to be drinking it.

When one of the nobles questioned the Lord, he said, "I'm afraid this is for our health, you see. It is not the finest vintage, as we have given that to you, our guests. Consider it our medicine."