The Haunt of Danzig Ruin

The Demon of Danzig

As told by Gabriella Fitzhugh:

Crinoline Danzig was, as polite society whispered in parlors, a 'disappointment'. She was born malformed, with a club right foot and a twisted spine. Her eyes were spaced just slightly too far apart and she was unfortunate to have an elongated, slightly offset lower jaw.
           From a very young age she was separated from the rest of the family in what was called (but was never said) a 'disappointment room'. It was outfitted with its own bedroom, a full bath, a dining room and a large play area, far from the family living quarters.
It even had its own servants, one for cleaning and one for cooking and a young servant brought specifically to play games or with dolls. . .dolls that were far from being 'disappointments'.
What many misunderstood about physical deformities, then and now, was that they did not always go hand in hand with cognitive disabilities. Yet this has always been assumed, given the speech difficulties these individuals often faced.
Crinoline Danzig knew her family thought her mind was as damaged as her body, but this was not true. She was able to read the cookbooks the cook used by the time she was 3 years old. Through the cookbooks she learned mathematics  by the age of 5. The cook was gracious enough to let her help in the small kitchen, which served as occupational and physical therapy.
Sometimes cook, as well as the servants, would make mention how surprising it was to see Crinoline advancing in her skills (the dexterity of her hands, her ability to hobble about a bit easier). When she overheard such talk, Crinoline was mindful to become clumsy or even fall into fits, in order for cook and the servants to recant their statements among themselves. This proved Crinoline's gift of critical and analytical thinking.
Thus far, there was no real reason to lock doors. 'Where would the little, crippled, mad child go even if she could?' the servants reckoned.
Crinoline Danzig wanted them to continue thinking as such, for at some point the crippled, mad child just might want to venture out of her 'disappointing' confinement.
The fevered fits sometimes were used to obtain whatever Crinoline wanted, within reason. She was bright enough to know what was within reason, and what was not.
Through the art of eavesdropping Crinoline found out about the birth of a baby sister at the age of 4. She thought she could hear baby cries in the garden below a few months later and asked to see the baby. When no baby was brought, Crinoline decided a tantrum fit was in order.
The wet nurse, Bonnie, brought the squalling baby for Crinoline to finally meet, being quite sure the mad girl would find the noise insufferable and never want the baby to return.
This did not happen. In fact, the more Crinoline interacted with Baby Rosemary, the more the baby relaxed and suckled properly, and therefore, less fussy.
Months passed, then years passed and Crinoline and Rosemary grew to be the closest of sisters. Crinoline read storybooks to the little girl. Rosemary brought flowers from the garden.
They shared secrets. Rosemary's were as most secrets girls of 7 or 8 years of age kept. Crinoline's secrets were much more dire. She made her younger sister promise above all things not to tell their parents that she could read, could write, had the strength to walk (slowly, but surely), and had the wherewithal to leave her quarters and had done so on occasion.
Rosemary Danzig did not understand Crinoline's reasoning in being seen as a helpless case, but keep her secrets, Rosemary did.
When Crinoline was 16 years old and her precious Rosemary only 12, Rosemary was betrothed to a cruel man from a powerful family who was widowed (under mysterious circumstances) and just nearly 32 years old. Rosemary had met this man and was beset with fear. She spent many hours clinging to her older sister. As for Crinoline Danzig, fury knew no bounds.
Rosemary became even more upset when her father commissioned a celestial scribe to create the marriage contract. There would be no turning back once the document was complete.
Theo Xander was a typical celestial scribe of the time, with a look more of a cloistered monk of a religious order than anything else. Crinoline took to watching him as he prepared his star readings down in the garden below her window. It was not out of the ordinary for him to finish an entire bottle of wine while out in that garden, unaware he was being spied upon.
The more often Crinoline saw this happen, the more certain her plan became, but it would take time and study.
The family library had become a favorite destination whenever she occasionally stole out of her rooms. There were so many books, Crinoline felt confident the few she swiped would never be missed. While she had them, she was careful to hide them from all, except for Rosemary. When she finished them, Crinoline would carefully replace each one, no one being the wiser.
It was during one particular night trip to the library that Crinoline came across the beginnings of her younger sister's marriage contract, only sketched out on parchment, but nearby sat a tapestry loom.
Before the development of proper pigments for modern painted parchment celestial documents, celestial scribes used dyed threads of wool and made celestial document tapestries.  So instead of expert painters, celestial scribes were, in the past, expert embroiders, each thread specific in placement and color. 
              Crinoline considered the untended loom and the nearby table where long colored threads lay in wait, carefully categorized by color.  She had the chance to completely wreck havoc, but feared that her Rosemary would face the consequences.  Then she found a great travel trunk of books Celestial Scribe Theo had brought, and had left open.  Crinoline quickly scanned the titles. 
               They were mostly books of technique and astronomy and physics reference books, but one stood out. It was neither the tallest, nor the shortest, nor thickest of the books, but it's title caught her eye and Crinoline slipped it out. 
           The title read: "Beware: A Celestial Scribe's Guide to Document Poisons"
             Crinoline took no other book back to her quarters that night.
              A few days later, Rosemary came to her with fresh flowers, but her face remained sad and forlorn.  If it weren't for the document that was being prepared, there might be another way out of her horrible fate, but she knew Scribe Theo was about to start the tapestry. He had promised their father it would be finished in three months time. 
               There was no time to waste. Crinoline had read the scribe's book, cover to cover and had found a recipe, of sorts, to make it
the documents start disintegrating .      
              Tradition dictated (and the law upheld) that if a document that was said to be indestructible had signs of destruction, then the scribe had defied the stars themselves. The contract would then HAVE to be broken.
               All it took was a single thread from the table and a mix of several types of herbs and roots that could easily be found in the gardens. Rosemary gathered the garden items. Crinoline stole the single thread.
               The ratio of each ingredient was a matter most important, but time was also of the essence.  It took steeping the herbs and roots in the hottest of water, then letting the thread soak in the mixture for two weeks. Then the single thread had to properly dry, then be returned the table of other threads that were beginning to dwindle quickly. Crinoline hoped the scribe kept himself intoxicated so as not to notice the missing thread. The book, at least, was slipped back it place, as if never touched by human hands. . .
             The Premiere (the old word for Grand Showing) for the finished tapestry was one for the ages.  Rosemary, now aged 13, and looking resplendent in her satin gown and swooped up auburn hair, kept a close eye on the newly completed tapestry looking for any signs of decay as Crinoline's book promised. 
             The decay needed to happen soon.  Franklin Easely, her intended, had already become intoxicated and had taken her to a darken study and slipped his hands beneath her skirts.  Her weeping only emboldened him.
              With the Premiere behind them and the nuptials fast approaching, both Crinoline and Rosemary became desperate, but could do nothing but be patient. Crinoline went over her notes time and time again, being absolutely sure she had taken all the correct steps. 
              A sprig of an incorrect garden ingredient had accidentally slipped in with the others, and the result became apparent the eve of Rosemary's wedding.  The following morning found Rosemary, her mother, her father and other extended family dead, their heads dangerously close to decapitation.
               The tapestry was in shreds in the corner of the room where they had gathered.
               Crinoline Danzig was the only family member left alive and when they came to her and found that she was not as helpless as she seemed, she became suspect in the demise of the other family members. Surely she used some type of sorcery or was in league with the Great Evil and chose to seek revenge on the rest of the family who she must have felt neglected her. 
              With Rosemary gone, Crinoline Danzig saw no point to even plead her innocence. She willingly confessed that she was, indeed, a servant of the Great Evil and let a mob take her to the nearest tree in the courtyard to be hung by the throat.  Then her body was burnt to ashes.
But according to legend, her evil spirit still roams within the walls of Danzig Ruin.