The Occult Club

Prologue I: The Occult Club

The Occult Club

Prologue I: The Occult Club

'They say that at night, if you're still surfing the web, a strange pop up will appear and you'll die if you try to close it even once.'

June 16th

Hidden in a dark alley was a small cafe, innocently bright and cheerful while exuding an aura of normality. As normal as it may have seemed, the hanging signage was enough to put people on guard and think twice before entering the cafe, because contrary to the shop's normal exterior, the hanging block of black wood was painted elegantly with the letters T.O.C. with a black book and a dead rose painted alongside it. Ivy climbed up the cafe's cream colored walls beautifully and the alluring smell of freshly brewed coffee was almost enough to lure in customers. But everyone in the town knew what the small cafe was for and decided to either avoid it or ignore it altogether.

That was because the cafe was used as the headquarters of an arcane group of people called 'The Occult Club'.

The people in the cafe were mostly students. Although the teenagers didn't look like they belonged in the same clique, they also didn't look like random strangers who just happened to be in that cafe. All of them, even the two women who looked like they were in their mid thirties and the man who neither looked young nor old, held a small, black notebook as they looked at the man in the center of the room.

The club was more of a secret cult than a club. Once a week, or everyday on rare occations, they would meet and hold a gathering to share their findings on a particular legend.

The club had a strange tradition of assigning a specific legend to a member, and that member would research everything he or she can to share to their fellow club members. After the meeting, the leader, a beautiful, young woman in her mid twenties who always wore black, would write everything in a black, metal plated book similar to the one painted on the sign.

Right then, the club was holding an initiation for their newest member in months. And the urban legend he'd been assigned was the 'Red Room'.

'The funny thing is, everyone who heard the story died right after the person who told him the story. But that wasn't a part of the legend itself... There's also another version of the 'Red Room' but I'll leave that for next time.'

'Well then, as this is your first day, it is traditional that you be the one to write the name of the legend itself in the book. But please remember that you will not research only about the 'Red Room', but also other internet based rumors with Ms Smith Sisters. Is that clear?' the leader said sternly.

'Yes ma'am.'

Another strange tradition of the club is to never call a member by his or her real name, but with the name of the first legend he or she has ever researched. The leader, however, was not called by a name of a legend nor was she called by her real name. Instead, the members only refer to her as the 'Author'.

The Author took out the black book from a large, ornamental box and handed it to the boy. Silently, he nodded and took it, taking it to a tall table and writing the words 'The Red Room' with a quill. She smiled, taking the book back and returning it to the box from where it came from.

'As of now, you are officially a member of the Occult Club, Mr Red Room. We welcome you and hope you would work with us for a very long time.'