Willsdem's Curse
a spooky story by Geneviève Laprise
The rare midweek offering is presented to you in the form of a creepy tale to keep you up at night. So it’s a good thing I’m sending it in the morning, eh? I’m thoughtful like that.
Our new sacrificial offering comes from a familiar face: creator of “The Horseshoe Inn,” a recent underside story, Geneviève Laprise.
I hope you enjoy!
Willsdem's Curse
by Geneviève Laprise
Silver light from the moon reflected on the lake’s still surface despite the gentle snow falling from the sky. An eerie silence permeated the woods surrounding the town of Willsdem. As new snow blanketed the ground, the villagers were inside their homes, starting fires and likely preparing a warm dinner. The homeless huddled in the church in the town centre, waiting for the storm to pass.
The source of the storm did not originate from the heavens but from Lake Kerilian’s depths. Under the calm and frozen waters of the lake was a sleeping darkness biding its time. Then, at the height of the blizzard, it would wake and take its revenge upon those who sought to keep it imprisoned.
#
Kosey stoked the fire in preparation for the storm to come. His parents would be back soon from the church. He wanted to have the evening meal ready when they came home. Walking to the pantry, he gathered carrots, onions and potatoes; grabbing a knife from the drawer, he carried everything to the kitchen table. Finally, he fetched a cauldron full of water from a shelf and hung it over the fire in the wood-burning fireplace.
Soon Kosey heard footsteps and the creak of an old floorboard on the front porch. An urgent rapping at the door startled him. He didn’t expect anyone other than his parents to be out in this weather. A shiver ran down his spine as the wind picked up and howled.
Quietly, Kosey went to a kitchen window and peered outside to see a silhouette on the front porch, trembling in the cold. Returning to the kitchen table, he picked up the knife, before walking up to the front door. He reached for the brass doorknob. As soon as his bare fingers grasped the handle, he yelped and snapped his hand back as the freezing appliance burned his bare skin. He stared at the doorknob.
“Who’s there?” asked Kosey.
“M-m-may I come in? I’m c-c-cold,” answered the voice on the other side of the door.
He couldn’t turn the person away, not in this storm. He would freeze to death. So Kosey reached into a box next to the door and produced a knitted glove which he used to turn the doorknob and crack open the door.
Standing before the door was a boy not much older than himself. He wore a brown tweed jacket with a white dress shirt which had once been wet but was now frozen and hanging stiff off his lanky body. Long dark hair fell rigidly from his head, contrasting his ghostly white face. His lips were a concerning shade of blue, and ice crystals had formed on his eyelashes.
The boy’s clear blue eyes were scared and pleading. He held his hands close to his body and rubbed them together. Whatever trepidation Kosey felt before opening the door was replaced with concern for the well-being of this boy.
“Pl-pl-please,” he stuttered.
Kosey pulled the door open. His lungs burned from the crisp night air, and for a moment, his breath caught. Then, gesturing for the boy to come in, he closed the door behind him and took a shaky breath.
“Th-th-thank you,” said the boy
Kosey locked the door and hid the knife behind his back. Then, leading the boy to the fireplace, he dropped the blade and the glove on the kitchen table and continued.
“Please, sit by the fireplace. I’ll be right back.”
Turning his back to the boy, Kosey opened a large wooden linen chest and rummaged through it until he found a yellow-knitted blanket. Turning back to see the boy sitting cross-legged on the area rug, he bent down and draped the blanket across the boy’s shoulders. Kosey sat on the floor across from the boy and watched him extend his white and dark blue speckled fingers to the fire. Tiny ice crystals on his fingertips twinkled in the firelight.
“Don’t get too close. You might burn yourself,” warned Kosey.
Snapping his hand away, the boy winced and sucked in a breath through gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry, I should have warned you earlier. I’ve had frostbite, so I know how painful warming up can be. But eventually, the burning sensation will disappear,” Kosey explained.
He watched the boy as he sat shivering near the fireplace. The boy scooted forward a bit and rubbed his hands together. He extended them once again toward the fire but stayed at a safer distance. The water in the cauldron boiled over, sizzling into the flames and evaporating. Kosey stood and put on a cooking mitten. He then reached for the pot and removed it from the fire. Returning to the kitchen, Kosey set the cauldron on a wooden coaster. His parents were taking a lot of time coming home. He wondered if they would be upset that he let a stranger inside. It didn’t matter—the boy needed help, and his parents would be proud of him for helping him out of the cold.
The boy in the living room seemed familiar. Kosey wondered where he had seen him before. It might have been an event his parents had made him attend. An uneasy feeling overcame him, and he shuddered. Returning to the boy, Kosey watched him closely and studied his features.
“I think I recognise you, but I’m not sure where from. My name is Kosey Willsdem. My dad is the mayor of this village.”
A bolt of fiery light flashed through the boy’s eyes. As soon as he had seen it, it was gone. Kosey stepped back even as adrenaline flooded his veins, trying to dismiss the irrational fear. He told himself that it must have been a trick of the light. The boy smiled.
“I am Gabriel. Thank you, M. Willsdem, for letting me in,” the boy answered. His voice seemed different, and his speech was formal. Even though the boy still shivered, his voice did not tremble. The boy shook his head slightly and continued. “I-I don’t remember meeting you before,” he said.
Kosey squinted and cocked his head, confused by the change in the boy’s demeanor and voice. But then, he remembered the article in the daily rag.
Boy from nearby town of Kyrr drowned in Lake Kerilian. Attempts to recover the body are still underway.
The story appeared in the Willsdem newspaper back in July. That was five months ago. How could this be? wondered Kosey. He must be mistaken.
“Are you Gabriel? The boy from Kyrr who drowned in Lake Kerilian,” asked Kosey.
“Y-yes, my name is Gabriel, and I am from Kyrr,” the boy answered.
“But you drowned five months ago. People tried to get you out for weeks, but they failed,” Kosey said, frowning.
“I remember falling in,” recalled the boy staring off into the flame, holding the blanket around his neck. His eyes glowed red instead of the clear blue they had been earlier. His voice had changed again. He was no longer shivering.
“I was drowning,” continued Gabriel. “I thought I was a goner, but then, a woman with fiery red hair grabbed me and pulled me to safety.” His now cold blue eyes met Kosey’s.
“That was five months ago,” repeated Kosey.
“What? No. Th-th-that can’t be right. It ha-happened just this mor-morning,” replied the boy in a panic.
Gabriel rubbed his hands together, and the blanket fell behind him. His curly dark hair was soaking wet, and water dripped down the tip of his nose onto the floor. His clothing had also thawed and clung to him as he sat on the wooden floor—a puddle formed around him. Thin tendrils of frigid water reached out and touched Kosey’s knees, sending a shiver down his spine.
“I will get you some dry clothes,” said Kosey rising to his feet. “Stay by the fire,” he added.
He walked to his room and gathered a comforter, a long-sleeved blue shirt, a pair of black trousers, and socks.
He thought more about the missing boy who mysteriously appeared at his door moments ago. There had to be some sort of magic at play. Who was the woman who had saved him? How had he survived underwater for so long?
A quiet scratching sound from the far wall interrupted his pondering. Kosey shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but the hairs on his arms stood on end. Gabriel needed help, and he would provide it.
Returning to the fireplace with his bundle of dry clothes, Kosey watched the boy. He didn’t notice anything amiss until he came closer and noted the puddle of water around the boy was unnaturally large. It was undoubtedly more water than his frozen clothes warranted. Some tendrils of icy water fanned out around the puddle, extending and retracting like waves on a beach.
Troubled, Kosey frowned and bent down slowly. Then, entranced by the movement of the water, he slowly reached out to touch it, dropping the bundle of cloth to the floor. If the boy had been breathing, the tendrils of water would have matched his breath, thought Kosey. If the boy had been breathing… if the boy had been breathing, his mind repeated the phrase. Shocked by the revelation, Kosey’s gaze met Gabriel’s hungry eyes.
Kosey’s body tingled with fear as his fight or flight response was triggered. Eyes wide and heart hammering in his chest, he took a deep breath. His vision tunneled, and his ears rang as he focused on the boy. Gabriel’s complexion was unchanged, but his skin was shriveled up as though he had grown old in a matter of minutes. He no longer looked like the thirteen-year-old boy who knocked on his door less than an hour ago.
Gabriel reached for Kosey as the water pooled around his feet. Stumbling backwards on the slippery floor, Kosey fell on his back. The boy towered over him, grinning.
“I have no use for this body anymore. Give me your heat, boy.” The voice demanded. It did not belong to Gabriel but to the one who had spoken earlier, who had called him M. Willsdem.
Rage and desire replaced the fear that had been in the boy’s eyes. Kosey scrambled backwards, but the shriveled, cold, and wet creature lunged at him, hissing. As the thing pinned him to the floor, Kosey thought he was facing a vampire. But vampires didn’t exist—they were merely stories to scare children inside after the sunset. Whatever this thing was, it was no longer Gabriel but something more sinister and dangerous. Kosey struggled against his aggressor, trying to wiggle out of its slippery grip.
“You! It was you! You trapped me in the lake! You tried to kill me!” spat the creature. Its rage-filled red eyes glared at Kosey. Water poured off Gabriel’s face dripping onto him, forcing him to turn his head away.
“I didn’t do anything to you! I don’t know you! Please don’t hurt me,” pleaded Kosey.
“You can cry and beg for mercy, but I was not granted mercy that night. The night your kin trapped me and cursed me to be forever frozen in Lake Kerilian. I did nothing wrong. I only wanted company and warmth.”
“It wasn’t me! I swear it wasn’t me. I’m just a kid!”
“I would recognise those amber eyes anywhere! If it wasn’t you, it was your father or his father before him! You will all pay! The curse is upon you, M. Willsdem.”
The thing that was Gabriel burst into water, and a wave of frigid, crystal-clear water kept him glued to the floor. Then the water rose at an unnatural pace, until it filled the room. Kosey swam as hard as he could, trying to reach the surface. Finally, with a muted thud, his head slammed into the ceiling of his house.
He had to breathe; his lungs burned with need. Kosey choked and coughed as the bitterly cold liquid forced itself into his mouth, nostrils, and ears. He tried to scream as the frost coursed through his veins. His hands moved to his throat, and his feet kicked out in another futile attempt to reach the surface, but there was no surface to be reached.
Then, Kosey heard a female voice whisper in his ear, her voice calm and melodic. His eyes opened, and he released his throat as an unnatural calm fell upon him. The image of a beautiful golden-skinned woman with copper hair splayed around her head appeared in front of him. Her icy blue eyes contrasted beautifully with her golden complexion. A white gossamer gown covered her beautiful slender body.
“I am Aryanah, the spirit of Lake Kerilian, and I will no longer be confined to that terrible lake. The curse your family has placed upon me becomes your curse. You shall feel my wrath, and every last member of your line shall die. Now, give me your warmth, and go to your family for help.”
With those words, Kosey felt his last heartbeat. It echoed through his mind as his eyes fluttered closed. The water receded from the room, and his prone body, now lying on the living room floor, absorbed every last drop. For a fleeting instant, he was calm and at peace. He saw a distant golden light and could feel pure and utter joy at the sight. Then the light faltered and disappeared—everything grew cold.
Kosey’s eyes snapped open. He felt as though he was underwater, but he wasn’t. Instead, he was soaking wet and freezing, lying on the floor in his home. The fire still burned in the fireplace. He wondered for a moment if he had been dreaming, but a cackle in the back of his mind seemed to think the thought was funny. Slowly, he rose to his feet but had no control over his movement. He was like a spectator, watching himself being controlled by someone, something else.
He tried to fight it, but the spirit was pulling the strings of his body; he was a helpless puppet. Finally, Kosey spoke to the puppetmaster as his body moved to the front of the house, intent on leaving and finding his parents.
“There is no need to leave, my parents will be home shortly. It’s so cold outside, and I am already freezing.”
“Yes, such is the curse, to remain frozen in the waters of the lake. I do miss the warmth, though.”
“You can sit by the fire,” suggested Kosey. “Perhaps drinking the hot water from the cauldron will help?” continued the boy.
Kosey’s body moved to the kitchen table where the cauldron sat, steaming. His mind reeled at the thought that he might be used as the vessel to kill his own family and spread the curse to his loved ones. There had to be something he could do.
“Hush now, boy. Let me get my vengeance, and I will release you as I released the other one,” said Aryanah.
Kosey rubbed his hands over the steaming cauldron and reached for the handle. His hand sizzled as it made contact with the hot container, but still, he ignored the pain and drank from it. He could feel the spirit’s pleasure as the scalding liquid slid down his throat. Perfect, it’s distracted, he thought. Quickly, he reached for the knife lying on the table next to the cauldron and turned the blade on his body, plunging it through his ribcage, piercing his unbeating heart.
He assumed this alone would not kill the thing within him, for he was already dead, but with the last bit of control over his undead body, he pulled the knife free—cold, clear water gushed from the wound.
“No-o-o!” cried Aryanah as her essence started to slip from Kosey’s rapidly shriveling body.
Kosey smiled as he felt the fury of the evil spirit inside him, warming his dying heart. He would end this grudge here and now. If this spirit had no one to possess, she would die or return to the lake unavenged.
The cauldron and the knife clattered to the floor. Kosey’s body collapsed with a loud thunk. He took comfort in the fact that he had saved his family, and the cursed spirit of Lake Kerilian would die before she could hurt anyone else.
Eek, eek, eek.
A small white mouse ran past Kosey’s head and started lapping up the water seeping from his body. Then he heard the creak of the floorboard from the front porch. His eyes widened in panic as the creature cackled in his mind. The door opened as his eyes began to close. Aryanah’s voice whispered in his mind, “Nice try.”
As the spirit released him, he watched his father stomp on the red-eyed mouse, which burst into water. The lake waters rose, and Kosey burst into a torrential flood. Then he vanished as the evil laughter of the spirit of Lake Kerilian echoed through his mind.
Meet the author:
Geneviève is a Canadian writer and mother of three who likes to write about the darker things that hide in the Underside. She can also be found writing about mythological aspects of different cultures. She is currently studying editing at Queen's University. She likes to play board games with her family when not writing dark fiction.
Geneviève found the Underside through her love of mythology, weird fiction and the paranormal.
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