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: 62 ill post every story-fact that i can find here, wich are bugging people or whate ver... i find this really wierd and interesting: Ever heard of a philosophical movement known as solipsism? Basically, according to the solipsist, only he exists. Since his only mind is the only thing he knows to be truly real, nothing else is. Actually, the logic follows quite nicely. If the senses are our only means of pr ocessing information, and the senses are ultimately unreliable, then everything in your head must be - and is the only - reality. And that's where the unsettling implications start to come in. That thing under the bed, in the attic, that your parents told you is "all in your head?" Well, y our parents are also "all in your head." Your sight, your only source of reasoni ng, so reassuring when you turn the lights on and gasp in relief when you see th at nothing's there? All in your head. The thing in the attic, however, is another story. You've never seen it, you've never heard it, you've never sensed it, but your body really wants your mind to believe that it's not there. Now why might that be? -----------------------------------Being entirely self-contained, nobody from LLN contacted the police. Upon examin ing Vorlok's body, they found him to be nicely preserved, with a laughing smile on his face - in fact, he could have been alive, were it not for the cuts along his arms and the gaping hole in his abdomen. However, it was the other items in the room that disturbed the other members the most. In the windowless tower, there had been furniture, a desk and a bookcase - there was none. Sconces were no longer attached to the walls. Minus the bed, t here was nothing but a notebook and a tape. The notebook contained remarkably accurate anatomical drawings - inside and out - of each of the other members, labeled in Arabic. They were penned in blood. The tape contained one single, ten-minute recording. It was released under the n ame "Mogoutre," the name on the cover of the notebook and the only legible word throughout. It contains recordings - clearly from outside the tower - of footste ps on cold ground and blowing wind. It also contains horrible groaning, retching noises, clearly the products of hum an vocal cords - specifically, those of the other members of LLN. I've listened to it, I just wouldn't recommend it. ----------------------A man, at about the age of 30 went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check-in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and all, and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there. So he went to his room, and went to bed. The next night he was curious as to what was in the room, so he walked down the hall to where it was and of course tried the handle. Sure enough it was locked. So he bent down a nd looked through the keyhole. What he saw was a hotel bedroom and in the corner was a woman whose skin was completely white. She was leaning up against a wall and her head was facing the wall. He stared in confusion for a while then went b ack to his room. The next day, he went back to the room and looked through the k

eyhole. This time, all he saw was redness. He couldn t make anything out, all he s aw was red. At this point he was confused and a little freaked out. He went to the front des k and asked the lady about the room. She sighed and said, "Did you look through the keyhole?" The man told her that he had and the lady said, "Well, I might as well tell you the story. A long time ago, a man murdered his wife in that room, and her ghost haunts it. But these people were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which are red." -----------------------------Coffins used to be built with holes in them, attached to six feet of copper tubi ng and a bell. The tubing would allow air for victims buried under the mistaken impression they were dead. Harold, the Oakdale gravedigger, upon hearing a bell, went to go see if it was children pretending to be spirits. Sometimes it was al so the wind. This time it wasn t either. A voice from below begged, pleaded to be unburied. You Sarah O Bannon? Yes! the voice assured. You were born on September 17, 1827? Yes! The gravestone here says you died on February 19? No I m alive, it was a mistake! Dig me up, set me free! Sorry about this, ma am, Harold said, stepping on the bell to silence it and pluggin g up the copper tube with dirt. But this is August. Whatever you is down there, y ou ain t alive no more, and you ain t comin up. -------------------------An elderly man was sitting alone on a dark path. He wasn t certain of which direct ion to go, and he d forgotten both where he was traveling to and who he was. He d sa t down for a moment to rest his weary legs, and suddenly looked up to see an eld erly woman before him. She grinned toothlessly and with a cackle, spoke: Now your *third* wish. What will it be? Third wish? The man was baffled. How can it be a third wish if I haven t had a first and second wish? You ve had two wishes already, the hag said, but your second wish was for me to retur n everything to the way it was before you had made your first wish. That s why you remember nothing; because everything is the way it was before you made any wish es. She cackled at the poor man. So it is that you have one wish left. All right, he said, I don t believe this, but there s no harm in wishing. I wish to kno w who I am. Funny, said the old woman as she granted his wish and disappeared forever. That was your first wish. --------------------------Somewhere in the world ic, untouched by light pt in a hidden section e reason, the shelf is is a shelf of books. It might be a shelf in someone's att for decades. It might be in the basement of a library, ke that even the head librarian knows nothing about. For som somewhere different every time someone finds it.

The books on this shelf range from ancient, leather-bound tomes to spiral notebo oks, from modern-day paperbacks to books dating from the fall of the Roman Empir e. These books are all diaries, all kept by different people from different poin ts in history. These people have only one thing in common: they were all serial killers. You ca

n read any of the diaries and watch as the writer, at first seemingly normal, sl owly descends into madness with every entry and gains an unquenchable thirst for blood and murder. The last pages of these diaries are invariably unreadable - b arely-legible scrawlings of murderous men and women who have gone completely ins ane and lost all grip on reality. You can read as many of the diaries as you want, if you feel you can stomach the horrific tales of murders and acts of sadism recounted within. Many who have fo und these books have even read them and walked away, remaining healthy and norma l, save for being completely unnerved. One word of warning. If you stay at the shelf and read for too long, you may not ice a book you didn't see before, right at the very end of the shelf. If this ha ppens, you should leave immediately and never return, nor never try to find the shelf again. Because if you open this book, you will find that only the first pa ge has been written on. It is an entry describing how excited the author is to h ave started a new journal. And it is in your handwriting. ----------------------------You get a phone call from your Mother. Since her car has been in the shop, she a sks you to go to the grocery store and pick up a few odds and ends for her. Brea d, milk, cereal, and chicken breasts. After writing down a small list you reluctantly get in the car and pick up the i tems at the store. The lady cashier makes an odd remark to you, "You know, we're in no danger of a milk shortage." Upon arriving at her house you knock several times. No answer. You decide to try the door. It opens. You place the grocery ba g on the counter. Strange. There seems to be six other grocery bags, each with i dentical contents. In a couple, the chicken and the milk has gone bad. "Mom," yo u call out, but no answer. You make your way thru the kitchen and into the livin g room. Sitting on the couch, with her head cut off and neatly resting on her la p, is your Mother. Naturally you call the police who come over to investigate. They mention that sh e has been dead for nearly a week. Furthermore, the police psychiatrist is at th e scene and talks to you after you give your initial statement. Sitting on the f ront steps, you overhear the psychiatrist talking with the crime scene investiga tor. "It's not uncommon for people suffering from schizophrenia to get locked in to a series of repetitive behaviors," he says. You think to yourself, "They can't be talking about me. Schizophrenia? Nah. Repe titive behavior? Do they think I did this?" Suddenly your cell phone goes off. " Hello?" "Hi hun, it's me. Could you stop at the store and pick up some chicken and milk. Ohh, and I need some bread and cereal too." "No problem Mom. I'll be right over..." ------------------------------One day at a shopping mall in the afternoon, a woman was coming out of the mall from a shopping spree. She was in a happy mood. She had gotten to her car and lo aded her stuff that she had bought into her trunk. When she was done loading, sh e shut the door of her trunk and she saw an old lady standing by the passenger s ide of her car. The old woman said "Would you be a darling and give me a lift home? I don't have a car and I was walking all day." The woman said "I'd be happy to." So she unlo

cked the door for the old woman. As she started to make her way around the car to the driver's side, she started to feel uncomfortable. So when she got in the car, she looked in her purse and s aid "Darn, I can't find my credit card. I'm going inside to see if anybody found it." The old woman said "I'll wait for you here." The woman left to go look for help. Then she found a security guard and told him the situation. They went back to the woman's car and the passenger door was wid e open. On the seat of the car was a shopping bag that the old woman had been ca rrying. Inside of the bag was the old woman's dress and a gray haired wig, along with a huge butcher's knife and a roll of duct tape. ------------------------------A few months ago a friend of mine, who is an up-and-coming nature photographer, decided to spend a day and night alone in the woods outside of our town. She wan ted to get photos of the woods and wildlife as naturally as she could for her po rtfolio. She wasn t afraid of being alone, as she had camped by herself many times before. She set up a tent in the middle of a small clearing and spent the day t aking pictures. She filled up four rolls of film on that trip, but something was strange about them. What she saw in those pictures has stayed with her ever sin ce, and she is still trying to recover from the trauma the have caused her. Almost every picture was accounted for, except for one picture in each roll of f ilm. These pictures were of her, asleep in her tent in the middle of the night. -----------------------------A young girl is left home alone with only her dog to protect her. When night app roaches, she locks all the doors and tries to lock all the windows but one won't close. She decides to leave it unlocked and goes to bed. Her dog takes its cust omary place under her bed. In the deep of night she awakens to a dripping sound coming from the bathroom. T he girl is too scared to go check so she reaches her hand under the bed. She fee ls a reassuring lick from her dog and falls back to sleep. She reawakens to the dripping sound, reaches her hand down to the dog where she feels the reassuring lick and falls back to sleep. Once more she awakens to the dripping sound. She r eaches her hand down and feels the lick of her dog. Now curious about the dripping sound, she gets up and slowly walks towards the b athroom, the dripping sound getting louder as she approaches. She reaches the ba throom and turns on the light. She is greeted by a horrific sight; hanging from the shower nozzle is her dog with its throat slit open and its blood dripping in to the bathtub. Something on the bathroom mirror catches her eye she turns aroun d. Written on the bathroom mirror in her dog's blood are the words "HUMANS CAN L ICK TOO". ------------------------A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and tapped him on the shoulder. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over th e curb, and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window. For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, and then the still shaking d river said, "I'm sorry but you scared the daylights out of me." The frightened passenger apologized to the driver, and said he didn't realize a

mere tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much. The driver replied, "No, no, I'm sorry, it's entirely my fault. Today is my firs t day driving a cab. I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years. -------------------------------You blink yourself awake. Maybe it s time you got up, you ve hit snooze three times already, and it s well past noon. You slump lazily off the bed, and make your way to the kitchen, time for breakfa st. Most of the bowls are dirty, but you find one in the cabinets that s still cle an. After serving yourself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you make your way to the living room. You don t have anything to do today anyway, might as well see wh at s on TV. Click. The TV doesn t respond to the remote. Click. Nothing. Click. Blank. At last you decide to set your bowl down, and manually turn the TV on. It seems a new set of batteries is in order, but for now, you ll finish your cerea l and scope out what s on. Your favorite, a CourtTV forensics show. Crunch. You sl urp up a bite of cereal as you scope out the bloody scene; a body lying face up on the floor, a blood stained couch right in front of it. Crunch. You realize its your couch. Crunch. You see that its your carpet that is so sanguine. Crunch. You catch a glimpse of the mirror hanging above the televi sion. You see yourself in the mirror standing behind the couch, a hammer raised, ready to beat into the person seated. Crunch. ------------------------------------You are home alone, and you hear on the news about the profile of a murderer who is on the loose. You look out the sliding glass doors to your backyard, and you notice a man standing out in the snow. He fits the profile of the murderer exac tly, and he is smiling at you. You gulp, picking up the phone to your right and dialing 911. You look back out the glass as you press the phone to your ear, and notice he is much closer to you now. You then drop the phone in shock. There are no footprints in the snow. It's his reflection. The Deep The Ocean has claimed many lives over the years. Traders, sailors, airmen, subam riners, passenegers... the list goes on. A boy was riding the ferry to the Scill y Isles, 30 miles off the south-west corner of England. The sea was choppy, and he felt sick. He leaned over the side, sensing that he was about to throw up. In stead, he was horrified to see that the grey water was full of white corpses, so me in uniforms, which stared up at him with pure white eyes. Horrified, the boy got up and turned to his parents. They were the same as the people in the water, and so was everyone else on board. The ship stopped just as the boy ran to the the bridge. Everyone on board regarded him with dead eyes. As the ship gracefull y slipped beneath the waves, the boy realised that the Deep was claiming its tax on humanity. [edit] The Hitchhikers There are stories about a certain kind of hitchhiker - they only ever appear at night on quiet roads, seeming to flicker into existence in the very edge of head lights, never carrying a sign, always with an expression of deep despondency on

their faces, swathed in a heavy coat and long pants, usually with gloves. If you stop, they will seem cordial enough, polite, but hardly chatty. They will assur e you that the next town or city along your route will be a fine spot to leave t hem. Normal enough. Unless you try killing them. They die easily enough. But look underneath their clothes, and you will see that their skin is marred with lines of scars, forming repeating patterns that are u nsettling to look at, and even more unsettling in the context of their skin. The y have no wallets, no identification. If you slice their belly open, however, th ey're different inside. There's no blood, no muscle, only a hollow cavity contai ning a single object. The object varies. Examples include a single coin, heavy a nd golden and engraved with runes nobody could ever decipher. A diamond gem with fractal edges that slice bare flesh to ribbons. A small vase, quite unbreakable , that smells of the ocean and is always damp... Once you possess a hitchhiker's object, you'll find yourself always driving the quiet roads at night. You'll never mean to, but somehow, you just will. The lure of possessing a second one will hum quietly in your head. You'll strain to catc h sight of a figure appearing in your headlights, try to resist the impulse to s top, and sometimes you might. But sometimes you won't. You'll try telling yourse lf that this is just a normal person on an adventure, someone who ran out of pet rol. The logical part of your brain will scream at what you're doing. You'll smi le and nod and they'll get into the car and you'll slowly, casually, reach under the seat or across to the glove box... [edit] The Holder of the End In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the End". Should a look of child-like fear come over the workers face, you will then be taken to a cell in the building. It will be in a deep hidden section of the building. All you will hear is the sound of some one talking to themselves echo the halls. It is in a language that you will not understand, but your very soul will feel unspeakable fear. Should the talking stop at any time, STOP and QUICKLY say aloud "I'm just passin g through, I wish to talk." If you still hear silence, flee. Leave, do not stop for anything, do not go home, don't stay at an inn, just keep moving, and sleep where your body drops. You will know in the morning if you've escaped. If the voice in the hall comes back after you utter those words continue on. Upo n reaching the cell all you will see is a windowless room with a person in the c orner, speaking an unknown language, and cradling something. The person will onl y respond to one question: "What happens when they all come together?" The person will then stare into your eyes and answers your question in horrifyin g detail. Many go mad in that very cell, some disappear soon after the meeting, and a few end their lives. But most do the worst thing and look upon the object in the person's hands. You will want to as well. Be warned, if you do your death will be that of cruelty and unrelenting horror. Your death will be in that room , by that person's hands. This object is 1 of 538. They must never come together. Never. As for the other Holders... [edit] The Unmentionable Bargain There's a small, inconspicuous building called "Padraic Willoughsby & Co.," in t he industrial district of Birmingham, England. Most of the time, its doors are l ocked and the windows are draped. However, on February 29th of every leap year, there will be a small plastic container outside the front door containing busine

ss cards. On the front of the card it says in large capital letters, "PADRAIC WI LLOUGHSBY & CO., ENGLAND'S THAUMATURGICAL SPECIALISTS". On the back, in nearly i llegibly small type it says "The blood of the innocent." Any night after midnight one can come to Padraic Willoughsby & Co., and slide th eir card through the door, and the door will instantly unlock. Inside there is a n empty room with white walls. No light reaches this room, except for a small sl iver from the other end of the room. When you approach this room you will find t hat it is actually another door. When you knock on it, a voice will ask "What ma kes a man become exalted?" and you must respond with the phrase on the back of t he card: "The blood of the innocent." The door will open and you will come into another room, a kind of lounge. Inside it you will find around 5-10 people, depending on the night, sitting around smo king and drinking brandy, all in late Edwardian period dress. There is absolutel y no conversation at all in this room and, it is nearly silent except for the ph onograph which plays the exact same record over and over, ad infinitum. If you a ttempt to speak to one of the patrons, they will promptly ignore you and pretend as if you were not there. Towards the south wing of the room you will find a large, round table, slightly different from the others. On it will be a quill pen and a document. The documen t shows all of your personal information: name, birth date, place of residence, criminal record, greatest fears, and so on. At the bottom of the document is a l ong line that asks for your signature. No one knows what happens if you sign it. [edit] The Lighthouse There is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea that does not appear on any map . It cannot be seen from any other island, nor can any other land be seen from i t. On this island is a lighthouse, rotting from age and sea water, which is neve r lit. There is nothing inside it, save for a spiraling staircase that leads to the top, and an ancient, dusty bookcase. The case is filled with unmarked books; bound in ancient leather, save for a sin gle space. If you remove a book from the shelf, it will fling itself open in you r hands, and the words inscribed in it shall start screaming to the air. You mus t wrestle the book closed and shove it back on the shelf, or the immortal evil c ontained within its pages shall break free, and you will be forced to take its p lace, with pages, ink and binding crafted from your own flesh and blood. However, if you bring the correct book to the island, and place it in the empty space, the lighthouse will light. As long as it is lit, the world shall enjoy an unending paradise, for all the evil in the world will be contained in the light house. And while it is lit, nothing can go in or out. The only problem; you will be trapped for eternity with all the evil ever known or conceived, by man or god. And the only way to escape is to douse the light. [edit] Leon Czolgosz Leon Czolgosz, assassin of William McKinley, the 25th President of the United St ates, was electrocuted for his crime on October 29, 1901, at Auburn Prison in Au burn, New York. Among the personal effects found in his cell was a U.S. quarter stamped with the date 2218. The face in profile on said quarter was not George W ashington, but rather a face which has yet to be identified. [edit] The Other Earth Remember this: Should you ever despair of life so much that you want to die, you have the means at hand and yearn to end your life, you have written a suicide n ote to those you will leave behind and you are prepared to die... at that moment , stop. Get a pair of scissors. Cut away at the note until you end up with a pie

ce of paper in the shape of a key. Go to a door, any one will do. Push the paper key forward and turn your hand as if unlocking an imaginary lock. The lock is r eal. Open the door. There you will find it. The other earth. The one that awaits to replace this one when it dies. That death is inevitable, but in the meantime the other earth will belong to you. Be warned: the other earth is very differen t from this one. [edit] The Void Rumor has it that every Halloween during the hours of 2am and 5am, there exists a void. You must stand in front of a mirror in a pitch black room with your gaze fixated on the mirror. If you remain in the room when the moment arrives, you w ill feel a chill seize your body. Place your right hand on the mirror and whispe r "I accept." If done correctly, in the mirror, there will be a faint image of a n infant with no flesh and pitch black eyes. He will stare directly into your so ul and you will hear the buzzing of flies and nervous whispering. You will not be able to make out the image in the mirror, but you will be filled with unspeakable terror. The infant will ask you five questions about events th at have occurred within your life. His voice will sound like the rubbing of sand paper on bone and sinew and will be devoid of all human emotion. For each questi on that you answer incorrectly, one of your five senses will be consumed and los t to you forever. For each question that is answered correctly, you will be able to recite the name of someone you know. That person will be found dead the next morning, with their flesh removed and th eir eyes missing. [edit] The Old Hotel There is an old hotel that has been around for hundreds of years. If anyone was to find themselves staying in Room 6 you would find yourself in an unknown place , where exactly at 12:16 AM the power will go out and you'll find yourself in ut ter darkness. If you chose to stay awake nothing will happen. But if you so much as close your eyes and fall asleep you will find yourself in an unimaginable pi t of despair, where creatures of fathomless shapes and sizes roam. You will be t rapped here for hours, until the sun comes up. It is rumored that this room is a gate into hell, and demons use the condensed evil of the room to escape into ou r reality through our minds. Those who have stayed in there rarely speak of it, for even recalling the night will put them in an uncontrollable frenzy. [edit] The Corner In almost every building, there is one corner, one small enclosure that no one e ver looks at. It's the corner in the basement that has been blocked by a disused sofa for years; the thin space in the attic between the wall and the stacks and stacks of crates full of junk you never use, but could never throw away. The sp ace that never sees the light of day, or any other kind of light at all. Where d arkness does not merely dominate, but practically oozes out from around the edge s of its prison. No one knows quite how long a space must remain concealed for it to acquire this particular property, nor if there are any specific conditions that it must meet . But it is a far more common occurrence than you might think. In newer buildings, when this happens, the residents often report feeling cold w hen passing by, even in attics during the hottest of summers. Whenever contempla ting taking a quick peek to see if there is anything actually there, an unnatura l dread seizes them, and they leave the room quickly, if not quite running. Once left behind, the feeling passes, and it is quickly forgotten, or laughed off. What actually happens in these forgotten sanctuaries of the dark? It is impossib le to tell. For while many such corners have been exposed to reveal absolutely n

othing, some brave souls have lost their sanity through nothing more than an ill -timed glance. The safest thing to do when encountered with such a phenomenon; c lose your eyes, rip away the area's covering in a single motion, then keep a tig ht hold on what you've pulled away. No matter what you hear or feel, do not get up, do not look around, and do not try to cover your ears. You might be one of t he lucky ones. [edit] Deeper Darkness There is a moment each leap year, at exactly three minutes past three on the mor ning of February twenty-ninth. If you possess the courage, await that moment in darkened room, with no other present. At that moment, the darkness will deepen. If you were to hold you hand directly before your face, you would not see a thin g. But you must not do so. No, for that would be to waste the moment. Instead yo u must reach out, into that impenetrable darkness. And it will reach out to you. An unseen hand will grasp yours. You must not flinch away, nor tighten your gras p. To do so will only slough away more of the decrepit flesh that covers it, and anger its unseen owner. Remain perfectly still, as the withered fingers move ov er your palm, tracing unknown patterns. Do not move an inch as it crawls slowly up your arm. And most of all do not even breathe as it caresses your face, touch ing what cannot be seen. Should you remain still through this, the hand will be withdrawn and a voice wil l speak, so close you can feel its breath on your face, smell the scent of decay it carries. It will ask you for one simple piece of information: your name. Ans wer truthfully. Answer truthfully, and the presence will retreat, leaving only a whisper in the air as the darkness lifts. "It is done." From that day on, untold good fortune will be yours, and mysterious power. You w ill lack nothing, and have everything. But in a year, perhaps two, your eyes wil l sting in bright light, you will feel your skin begin to decay, and the sweet s mell of death will be upon your breath... [edit] The House of the Mirrors In the heart of Washington, there s a house that used to be owned by a family of f ive. Nobody really knows what happened to them. Their neighbors at the time say that there were no signs of weirdness or fear in the family. The common testimon y is that one day there was nothing wrong. The night that followed, there were v ery loud noises coming from the house, and although people in the area came to i nvestigate what was keeping them up, the windows were blocked by millions of pos t-it notes, and the windows would not break. The following day, the house was em pty. Nobody has lived in that house since. But people have gone inside. In every bedr oom, there is a mirror facing the corner of the room. If you turn it around, it won t show your reflection. The area you ll be standing in will be empty. They say t hat on the rare occasion, you ll see the person who used to sleep in that room, mu tilated and bandaged from head to toe... [edit] The Third On the 3rd of December, find a hand-held mirror, just large enough to cover your face. Cover your face with the reflective side out, walk into the bathroom, tur n the light on, and stand in front of the larger mirror. At exactly 11:34pm, rai se the hand-held mirror above your head. What is in the larger mirror will not be staring back at you, nor will it be you r reflection.

Very carefully walk out of the bathroom, backwards, not lowering the hand-held m irror until the one in the bathroom is completely out of view. If you do not, what you saw in the mirror will notice, and realize what you have done... [edit] Benjamin Franklin A mason, Benjamin Franklin's links to occult secret societies have long been kno wn. In the clip below, the History Channel talks about his involvement in the He llfire Club, a secret society that conducted black masses and orgies. These biza rre, occult practices are still going on today in secret societies like the Bohe mian club. In 1998, workmen restoring Franklin's London home dug up the remains of six children and four adults hidden below the home. The London Times reported on February 11, 1998: "Initial estimates are that the bones are about 200 years old and were buried at the time Franklin was living in the house, which was his home from 1757 to 1762 , and from 1764 to 1775. Most of the bones show signs of having been dissected, sawn or cut. One skull has been drilled with several holes. Paul Knapman, the We stminster Coroner, said yesterday: "I cannot totally discount the possibility of a crime. There is still a possibility that I may have to hold an inquest." [edit] Ferrari A man saw a Ferrari at a used-car sale and asked for the price of the car. The s alesman lit up with a smile and said he'd give it to the man for $500 dollars. T he man bought the car instantly on the spot after hearing the ridiculously cheap deal. The man had the car for months now, but on a cold, winter day as he got into the driver's seat he was startled to see someone in the rear-view mirror. He quickl y turned around and saw nothing in the empty seat and quickly shrugged it off th inking he must have imagined it. As the cold days went by, the car doors started to lock up on him, the engine wo uld stall, and he would hear sounds of something hitting in the back. The man st arted getting anxious about this bad omen. That horror soon showed itself as he was driving to the airport to pick up his relatives. He looked up and saw 3 bloo dy bodies in the rear-view mirror staring at him. He screamed and realized that this car is really haunted and fled from the car. Later he heard the story of the car from the salesman. The police found the car 2 years ago abandoned in an empty airport parking stall where 2 dead bodies were found in the back seat and another one found in the trunk. [edit] Observe and Absolve There is an abandoned mental hospital at the top of a hill in Worcester, Massach usetts. Once every five years an old rusty box spring appears within the courtya rd of the hospital. If you can sneak inside and sleep through the night on the b ed, in the morning a man with a shirt that reads observe and absolve will take out his wallet and give you a picture. This picture will show you how you will die. If the picture is of the man standing before you, running won t help. [edit] The Decaying Mall There is a dead mall somewhere in Virginia that is in an advanced state of decay . For one reason or another, the mall still stands there have been several plans , some of them quite elaborate, to revitalize the area, many of them calling for the original building s demolition but none of them have ever come to pass. It is quite a shame, a sorry thing to look at today. In its heyday in the 1970 s a nd early 80 s, the mall was jampacked, the place to be on the weekends, especially

Saturday nights. It was upscale, fashionable, and always a happy place to go. Years went by, and bigger, better malls opened around the city. The mall slowly started losing tenants, until today it is completely empty. If you go in it nowa days, you will be astounded by the vast emptiness every step you make and every word you speak will echo loudly. Where once scores of people did their shopping, met for lunch, and got together, there is now only eerie silence. Over the year s, the happy, upbeat feeling of the place has darkened, more and more, until now many people avoid it but can never tell you exactly why. The story would end here, were it not for a very curious rumor: it is said on ce rtain Saturday nights throughout the year, something very strange happens. If yo u go to one of the entrances of this mall, it will be unlocked. Push open the do or, and it will give way and you may enter. Near a bench right in the entrance will be a shadowy figure casting a shadow tha t obscures than the darkness around it. This shadowy figure can be spoken to cal l out to it: I know your secret, and the secrets you keep. Where once there was sh adow, there will appear a face a radiantly pale, withered old man s face, with bla ck holes for eye-sockets. No, he will respond in a voice that will be like the slithering of maggots, for I k now yours. He will then ask a question the question will be about your life, or rather a de tail about your life, something that happened many years ago. The question he po ses will be one you should know the answer to but so obscure, it will be difficu lt to answer at first, if you can answer it at all. You will be forced to answer you simply won t be able to respond with I don t know .

If you get the answer right, the shadowy man will thrust a box into your hands, before dissolving back into the darkness. Open the box, and there will be a note , on which will be written the name of the person you were meant to marry or fal l in love with. Only rarely is it the person you think it will be. If you get the answer wrong, your body will be found the morning of the followin g Sunday, at the entrance to the mall you came in, mutilated and eviscerated so badly no one will be able to identify the body. [edit] Moonlight Films In many stores and establishments that provide videos of a less than savory mann er, a business card is kept. Some stores keep it well hidden, locked in a safe, and will deny it's existence. Others will show you if you ask for it by name. No ne will have it displayed in the open. On this card is a name, "Moonlight Films", and a contact number. It is always a local number. Go to any payphone in your city and dial the number. The answer wi ll be prompt but all you will hear is silence. Wait thirty seconds. Then you wil l be served. A dry, monotone male voice will ask you a question: "Is the road from life to de ath dark?" The correct response is: "It is moonlit." If you answer with anything but the correct reply, he will hang up on you. If yo u fail the first time, I'd suggest not trying again. But if the question is answ ered properly, the man will say one address in your city and then hang up. Go to this address and you will find that it is a small, dingy apartment. The ca rpet will be dirty, the wallpaper flaking and wrinkled, the windows cracked. It

will smell of tobacco smoke and decay. On the stained old coffee table there wil l be a paper bag. On this bag your full name will be written in red sharpie. Open the bag and you will find an unlabeled video tape. Take it and place exactl y $10.99 in the bag then leave. You can watch the tape if you like, but you don't have to. I warn you: it's not pleasant. You will see a room or chamber papered in dessicated skin, the furnitu re will be crafted from flesh and bone. The tape will last approximately 32 minu tes and will depict the murder of a person and the subsequent crafting of their body into furnishing -- lampshades made of skin, tables made of bone. After renting the tape for one week, you must return it to the apartment by slid ing it through the mail slot when the time is up. After that, never return to th e apartment and definitely don't call the number ever again. I'd also suggest you not keep the tape more than a week. The owners will not be satisfied with a mere late fee -- and you know, a good home can never have enoug h accessories. [edit] The Photograph One school day, a boy named Tom was sitting in class and doing math. It was six more minutes until after school. As he was doing his homework, something caught his eye. His desk was next to the window, and he turned and stared outside. It looked lik ed a picture. When it was home time at the school, he ran to the spot where he s aw it. He ran fast so that no one else could grab it. He picked it up and smiled. It had a picture of the most beautiful girl he had e ver seen. She had a dress with tights on and red shoes, and her hand was formed into a peace sign. She was so beautiful he wanted to meet her, so he ran all over the school and as ked everyone if they knew her or have ever seen her before. But everyone he aske d said "no." He was devastated. When he was home, he asked his older sister if she knew the girl, but unfortunat ely she also said "no." It was very late, so Tom walked up the stairs, placed th e picture on his bedside table and went to sleep. In the middle of the night Tom was awakened by a tap on his window. It was like a nail tapping. He got scared. After the tapping he heard a giggle. He saw a sha dow near his window, so he got out of his bed, walked toward his window, opened it up and followed the giggling. By the time he reached it, it was gone. The next day again he asked his neighbors if they knew her. Everybody said, "Sor ry, no." When his mother came home he even asked her if she knew her. She said " no." He went to his room, placed the picture on his desk and fell asleep. Once again he was awakened by a tapping. He took the picture and followed the gi ggling. He walked across the road, when suddenly he got hit by a car. He was dea d with the picture in his hand. The driver got out of the car and tried to help him, but it was too late. Sudden ly he saw the picture and picked it up. He smiled. He saw a cute girl holding up three fingers. [edit] His True Name Although the Jewish omnipotent entity we refer to by tradition as God was first

called Yahweh (I am) by the Israelites, legend has it that the high priest of Is rael passed from one to another his true name, made up of 72 Hebrew letters that , when spoken, would summon his presence before the speaker. This was required f or their annual ritual of asking for forgiveness of the nation's sins - by askin g face to face. So what would happen if you found this combination? And what could you petition? Well, Jesus did provide a warning, "Fear not those who can destroy the body and then do no more...fear him who, after killing the body, can destroy the soul." (Luke 12:4-5) [edit] Negative Energy Look behind you. What do you see? Invariably, there will be a wall somewhere in your view. Now stare deeply into the space on the wall that line up best with yo ur eyes. Nothing will happen, but make sure you are clear on where this particul ar spot is. That spot contains all the negativity in your mind. Whenever you are on your computer, reading scary stories or whatever you do, sometimes you will get spooked. What do you do when this happens? You check behind you, that s what y ou do. As you read this now, a feeling of dread will come over you. Check the sp ot. Nothing again, huh? That s because right now, all the evil is locked safely in your mind. Some people, upon learning of this "negative spot" resolve to remove the spot in an attempt to remove the negative energy. This is a grave mistake. You must nev er let harm come to this spot. If you do, you will have released the energy. Now when you sit at your computer at night, you will feel chills even in the summer time. The feeling of dread that only presented itself when you were genuinely s cared will now hang in the air constantly. Within a week you and your loved ones will have a string of bad luck. Within a month your computer will begin to act erratic and eventually break down . On the anniversary of the spot's destruction, you will dream of your most horr ible fears. The dream will seem to go on forever, and when you wake up you will notice your vision has darkened. Every year on the same day, the dream will repe at itself, and your vision will grow darker and darker. After you go totally bli nd, don t ever turn your back on that spot again. That is if you can still tell wh ere it is. [edit] Thirty-Third Birthday On your 33rd birthday, go to your local gas station and pick up the newspaper. T he classified ads will have a small segment commemorating your birth and asking you to turn around. Upon looking behind you, a man dressed in a black cloak will be advancing in your direction. If you choose to run away, he will hunt you for the rest of your life, eventually killing you. However, if you await his arriva l and show no intent of fleeing, he will give you a small package. Inside, you s hall find the object you most desire. [edit] An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away Have you ever heard the expression "an apple a day keeps the Doctor away?" Most assume, with no reason to think otherwise, that it is simply an easy-to-remember rhyme that stresses the importance of eating healthily to young children. But t he saying did not originate as a harmless reminder. It was born in a frontier to wn in the early years of the gold rush, where food was scarce and money even sca rcer. One August, when a bad drought had struck the region, a series of bloody killing s swept through the town. Every night, a single house would be broken into, and anyone who saw the invader would be swiftly, brutally slain. Nothing was ever st olen, save for a few scraps of food.

After two weeks of this, the local grocer set out a few apples and a glass of mi lk in the town square overnight. He then hid in the tower of the church, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone who came by. Fighting fatigue, the grocer waited for any sign of life below. Just after midni ght, he was rewarded by a chilling sight; a man, carrying a black bag stuffed wi th dully shining metal tools and covered from head to foot in cloth bandages, st aggered into view. He paused at the sight of the apples and milk, and then whipp ed his head around, as if looking for the one who dared to patronize him. Seized with fear, the grocer ducked out of sight, staying hidden 'til sunrise. The strange man had only taken one of the apples, and didn't even touch the glas s of milk. No houses were broken into, and no one was killed. For decades, the t own continued to place out an apple or two every night, even long after a single apple stopped disappearing. [edit] One For The Baron An odd occurrence has been rumored to happen in a certain pub at night in southw est Germany. If you sit in the stool farthest from the door while one beside it is empty, order a round for yourself and offer to "buy one for the Baron". The b artender will without question or expression will pour 2 beers from tap. He'll p lace one beside you and the moment the other one hits the table the room will go dark and silent, save for the sound of footsteps as a man in uniform sits besid e you. It is believed that it is indeed Captain Manfred von Richthofen, although no one is sure because they can barely see their own glass, much less the person's fac e. No one who's told this story has had the nerve you touch him or risk insult, and the figure does not say a word. But apparently if you were to ask him "So si r, what's the condition at the front?" he would tell you startling details about the region's future and sometimes how they connect to the world as a whole. Those who lived long enough after the fact claim that these events took place th e exact about of years from the date they asked as from the date Baron von Richt hofen died in battle. Yet this cannot be confirmed, because every time the figur e has been asked the question after 1964 he's only replied with a cold laugh. (Note: Manfred Von Richthofen was the Red Baron, German hero of the Great War.) [edit] Freakshow A young man and his new bride were honeymooning in Paris when his wife went into a restroom and didn't return. With time the man began to fear the worst and wen t to the police. The police thought it was most likely the girl simply had secon d thoughts about the marriage, but they checked it out anyway and found no evide nce of foul play. As weeks turned into months the man finally gave up on finding his beautiful wif e, but his life fell into a shambles, he was so filled with grief. Unable to hold a job or go on with his life, he took to wandering the world look ing for anything that might ease his pain. Years later in Borneo he came upon a freak show in an old shabby building, he went in on a whim. In the last filthy c age he saw a twisted, scarred and mutilated woman rocking back and forth and gro aning strange animal-like noises. He screamed as he recognized the birthmark on his wife's face. [edit] The Well If you ever find yourself in LA's Old Chinatown, head into the square, past the statue of Sun Yat-sen, past the hip ultramodern toy store called "Munky King" an d look for an import store next to what used to be a wishing fountain. Go into t

his store ad head all the way straight back, you'll see a selection of weapons, Look for a weapon called a Jiujiebian, a sort of multi-sectioned whip. It MUST h ave exactly nine segments, no more, no less. This will be called the "chain of n ight" as of now; there are 48 notches in its handle. It will cost you 29.95. Then after that, go outside and wait till dark, as the moon rises, take a quarte r from your pocket and cast it at the wishing well. as it lands focus on that sp ot exactly and slowly chant under your breath: "by the circles of Lao-tzu, the v oid inside of matter, I call forth the spirit that lingers here!" this phrase is best said in the original mandarin, but the spirit will understand a sincere su pplicant regardless of language. A girl will step out of the bottom of the fount ain, about nine years of age. She will ask you: "Where has my mother gone?" you must respond with: "She has long since gone from earth, but look to the sky, and see her there!" This spirit is not that of a little girl, but of a bog-hag, cursed to obey this one command regardless of who says it. At this moment, you must attempt to strik e the girl with your Newly Acquired Jiujiebian. SHE will then snarl and attempt to fight back. Should you win, all the money ever thrown into the fountain will await you. If you fail, all that the folks in Chinatown know is that a bloody Ji ujiebian lies at the door of the import store with a notch in it's handle. To da te, there are 48 notches in the handle. [edit] Truck Driver There's a dark forest deep in the heart of the Rockies, surrounded on all sides by mountains. In the center of the forest is a lake on the shores of which you w ill find a large black stone. If you swim out into the center of the lake, the s tone will drag you down into the darkness. You will emerge from shadows in the alley of a frightening dark city of heavily arched roofs and buildings built on stilts. You must not talk to a single citize n of this city, or you shall be trapped there forever. The citizenry is horrid a nd mutated, and they will leer and curse at you, and their hideous and deformed women shall offer you unknown and horrible lewdnesses. At the edge of this city is a highway. Walk down the left side of the road (yes, against traffic) with your thumb out and a man in a dark truck shall pick you u p and drive you back the way you came. The city will be gone, and he will take y ou to any place on Earth as long as you can name it and there's a road there. [edit] Baby Doll In rural southern Illinois a toy company began selling "realistic" baby dolls to expectant mothers. But apparently after the mother had her child the toy baby w ould start crying. Eventually the "rocking motion" advertised to calm it down wo uldn't work, and you couldn't get it to stop without shaking it. Eventually when it started crying the parent would have to beat it, and the beatings and thrash ings would have to get harder and harder to get it to be quiet. The only thing t hat seemed to shut the baby doll up permanently was the bash its head against th e wall to destroy whatever mechanism triggered the crying. On more than one occa sion though, neighbors called the authorities to report child abuse, and when th e police arrived they found the bloody remains of infants smeared across the wal ls and the floor. In most cases the mother couldn't understand why the police we re there, she just "got rid of the stupid doll" as she rocked a baby-shaped bund le in her arms. [edit] Grinning This morning I stepped out of the shower and this bathroom was fine: white walls , white tiles, sink and counter with toothpaste crusted all over. Three out of t 100 watt, clear bulb, blindi he four light bulbs over the mirror were still good ng bright in the small white room. Like always I was late, so I skipped shaving.

She liked it when I didn t shave, anyway. I was thinking about doing mutton chops . She d get a kick out of that. I passed the mirror and noticed I was grinning. I didn t even know I was grinning. I m in the bathroom tonight before bed and there s something wrong with the lights. All three are on again but they glow kind of brown and don t really light up the r est of the room. I should get more bulbs from the kitchen. I should, but I m busy. The date was shit and she shut her apartment door on me. You d think that would w ipe off the stupid grin from this morning. But I came back in the bathroom and, in the mirror, my face was still doing it. If I touch my face it doesn t feel like a grin, but there it is in the mirror. In the brown light it s hard to make out but have you ever actually counted how ma ny teeth show when you smile? I lean in close. One, two, three, four I didn t know my mouth was so wide nine, ten, eleven I can t do mutton chops after all. The cor ners of my lips are out to my ears. It still doesn t feel like a grin. But I keep counting, for curiosity. Thirty-six thirty-seven [edit] Nightmares thirty-eight...

A recent study by the National Psychiatric Institute in Boston, MA, concluded th at no activity can account for the phenomenon known as nightmares. Whereas many dreams come from unconscious desires, most nightmares seem to come from an outsi de source independent of the individual. In fact, when subjects are asked to rec all nightmares they are almost always found in the same memory section as actual physical memories, not the section where normal dreams are replayed. In other w ords, those aliens and creatures you see at night in your "dreams?" They're real . [edit] Notebook Somewhere in the world, there is a collection of books. Perhaps it's in a dusty, unpainted shelf in the back corner of someone's attic; perhaps it's in a set of musty boxes in the basement of some tiny, obscure library. It contains a few hu ndred volumes, all handwritten, ranging from leather-bound volumes with yellowin g pages two hundred years old through to modern spiral-bound notebooks. All of t hem are diaries, some by famous people, some by not-so famous people, but all by the most horrific madmen and murderers the world has ever known. And the collec tion is growing. For if you ever find it, you will hear a faint scratching sound , coming from the newest volume of the set. This volume will be new, and filled with blank pages, except for the first. On this first page, you will find the be ginning of your own diary, written in your own hand. [edit] The Corner If you stand alone at the corner of Church St. and Market St. in Charleston, Sou th Carolina at 3 AM, you see a man coming down Church St. wearing a black hat an d black cape with stringy white hair and weathered skin. He'll stop at one of th e two corners directly across from where you are standing and start to walk the corner directly opposite from where he is standing. When he reaches about halfwa y (dead center of the intersection) and nobody else has arrived, he'll stop, tur n, and look directly at you. If you do not blink for roughly 20-30 seconds he'll tip his hat to you and walk along his way, disappearing into the dark shadows of the trees that line the str eets. Nobody knows what happens if you follow him. If you do blink before he tips his hat, the very first thing you will see is the man standing directly in front of you. He'll grin maliciously at you and draw a blade hidden in the shaft of the cane and slash you across your throat, but you will not feel a thing. You will, however, pass out and remain in a comatose sta

te until the sun rises over the horizon. For the next six nights, you will have a recurring dream of the man walking down the street, appearing suddenly before you, and slashing your throat. On the sev enth night, the events will replay the same up until he stops in the middle of t he intersection. At this point, he'll say, "It's been fun playing with you, boy, but now it's time for you to go. Don't ever let me see you again." He'll then t ip his hat and walk away before you wake up. Nobody knows what happens if you visit the corner a second time. [edit] Cigarettes Go to any high traffic bathroom. It must be a high traffic bathroom; otherwise t he room won t have enough latent residual energy to carry out the task. A hotel ba throom is perfect. Make sure it's after 12am, and make sure you have 2 clove cig arettes. The stronger the cigarette, the higher your success rate is. Sit in the dark and begin smoking one of the cigarettes. Make sure there is a mirror prese nt, and that you look at your reflection at all times. The burning cherry should provide just enough light for this. When you ve smoked the cigarette within a 1/4 in of the filter, the room should be full of smoke. Your eyes will no doubt be watering, but don t blink. Don t take your eyes off of the mirror or your reflection whatever you do. To blink will make all you ve done at this point for naught. You ll begin to notice that your reflection will begin to fade into black. The ref lection of the cherry from your cigarette will begin to separate into two red ey es. The smoke in the room will begin to condense, and before you even realize it s happened, a shade will be sitting on the ledge of the sink. He ll ask you for a c igarette, which is why you re instructed to bring two. Give the shade a cigarette, which will light itself once he brings it to his withered lips. At this point, you can ask the shade any question you want, and he'll answer true. You can ask who shot JFK, who was Jack the Ripper. Anything you could possibly think of. Be sure to keep an eye on how much of the cigarette he s smoked. When it gets to the point where it will only take a few more hits to kill it, the smoke from the oth er cigarette will begin to define more of his features, making him more material than ethereal. At this point, stand up and snatch out his eyes in one sweeping motion. He shoul d still be mostly smoke, so your hands should pass easily through his head. If y ou let him finish the cigarette he WILL attack you, almost surely taking your li fe in the process. The shade will begin screaming and cursing you and the hand h olding his eyes will be burning intensely. DO NOT OPEN YOUR HAND! Even though th e eyes are disembodied, they can see if they are out in the open. Run to the lig ht switch and flip it on. This will banish the shades physical form and send him back into the ether. Leave the room and wait until 3:00 am to open your hand. T he burning will be unbearable until then, but to do so will blow all the lights out in your house, allowing the shade to return and seek vengeance. You will hav e 4 burn marks on your palm when you open it. All cauterized of course, and most ly healed. From then on you can never be in a dark room with a mirror, because the shade wi ll be able to track you through the burns in your hand. He'll have black hell do gs now, given his loss of sight, and they are far more terrible than the shade c ould ever be. The number of hell dogs depends on the strength of the shade you m ade contact with. After this, you ll always be cold, no matter how warm it is, and you ll be given the ability to perform minor miracles. Your dreams will always be nightmares, but in them, you will be granted a kind of third sight. You ll never be able to see anything good, only the most horrific future events. And these ev ents will only be known to you at a point where you can t do anything to stop them .

A small price to pay for absolute knowledge. [edit] The Closet Open your closet, . Step inside and is will not work. enough for slight don't turn on the light. Make sure you have one match with you close the door. If the lights outside of the closet are on, th Nor will it work if it is daylight. The only room you need is mobility.

Stand in the darkness for about two minutes, since that's all that's needed. Now , take the match and hold it in front of you and say, "Show me the light or leav e me in darkness." If you begin hearing whispers light the match immediately. If you don't hear anything, and the match doesn't ignite on it's own then don't tu rn around. If you light the match too late or not at all after hearing whispers, something will grab you from behind and pull you into what seems like a forever fall into darkness. If you do manage to light the match in time and nothing happens after, open the door slowly and get out, then close the door but do NOT look inside. From then o n, never look inside your closet without the light on at all. Some say if you le ave your closet open during the night you can see the demon watching you with tw o red eyes that glow like matches. [edit] The Subway Ride I live in the UK. A colleague at work heard this from her boyfriend. He works wi th someone who said that his sister's friend got the last tube (subway train) ho me a couple of weeks ago. When she got on there were 5 rows of seats empty but t he last row had three people sitting in them. As she was a little afraid, she we nt and sat opposite these people. She settled down and looked up to see the woma n sitting opposite her really staring at her. So she got out her book and started to read but every time she looked up the wom an was still staring. The train pulled into the next station and a man got on. H e looked up and down the carriage, took a look at her and the people opposite he r and came and sat next to her. As the train left the station the man leaned bac k and said quietly in her ear "If you know what's good for you, you'll get off a t the next station with me". She was scared but thought the best idea would be t o get off at the next station as he asked as there might be people around. The next stop comes up and she leaves the train with this man. The man says "Tha nk God, I didn't mean to scare you but I had to get you off that train. I'm a do ctor and the woman sitting opposite you was dead and the two men either side wer e propping her up". According to the guy who told this story, the girl and the d octor called the police who stopped the train at the next station. [edit] Dripping A couple was sitting in a movie theater watching a scary movie, and the female o f the group wasn t having a good time. She d obviously been bored out of her mind. I t d been a late showing, so there was practically no one there and the room was de ad silent except for the screening. About an hour into the show, she feels a dro p on her hand. Ignoring it, she quickly shakes off the feeling and continues to watch the movie , trying to enjoy it. Another drop lands on her hand and furious now, she hits h er boyfriend, thinking that he d purposely been messing with her, be it spitting o r throwing water on her. He doesn t move. She pushes him harder this time, throwin g in some obscenities, and to her horror, a red line that she hadn t noticed until now, starts to seep red and then his head falls off. Horrified, she lets out a silent scream and that s when she feels the drip again. Looking at her hand, she can barely make out the color of the liquid, but it s red

. Nervously, she looks up and is shocked to find a body hanging directly above h er, it s neck tied within a noose and the stomach torn open. [edit] Hide and Seek A young couple has just been married at a large family wedding. The reception is held at the bride's grandmother's house. After they have had dinner and cake an d such they all decide to play hide and go seek, which has been a tradition in t he bride's family for quite some time. The bride, knowing the house, decides to hide in the attic in a large chest, but when she climbs in she slips and the lid to it comes crashing down. It knocks her out and she is now locked, unconscious , in the chest. Meanwhile the rest of the family is searching for her and is starting to get wor ried. After hours of calling for her and searching the house they call the polic e, who are also unable to find the missing bride. The bride eventually wakes up but is unable to get out so starves to death. Years later the bride's younger sister is married and when she turns to hide in the very same chest she is horrified to find her sister's remains rotted away in her wedding dress, now covered in blood from her frantically trying to claw her way out. [edit] The Videotape During the summer of 1983, in a quiet town near Minneapolis, Minnesota, the char red body of a woman was found inside the kitchen stove of a small farmhouse. A v ideo camera was also found in the kitchen, standing on a tripod and pointing at the oven. No tape was found inside the camera at the time. Although the scene was originally labeled as a homicide by police, an unmarked V HS tape was later discovered at the bottom of the farm's well (which had apparen tly dried up earlier that year). Despite its worn condition, and the fact that it contained no audio, police were still able to view the contents of the tape. It depicted a woman recording hers elf in front of a video camera (seemingly using the same camera the police found in the kitchen). After positioning the camera to include both her and her kitch en stove in the image, the tape then showed her turning on the oven, opening the door, crawling inside, and then closing the door behind her. Eight minutes into the video, the oven could be seen shaking violently, after which point thick bl ack smoke could be seen emanating from it. For the remaining 45 minutes of video , until the batteries in the camera died, it remained in its stationary position . To avoid disturbing the local community, police never released any information a bout the tape, or even the fact that it was found. Police were also not able to determine who put the tape in the well, or why the height and stature of the wom an in the video didn't come close to matching the body they'd found in the oven. [edit] Pentagram Go into your bathroom late at night. Try lighting some candles in front of the m irror to form a pentagram. Get some lipstick or other marking substance that is red, and draw the pentagram, candles acting as vertices. Now pray your hardest t o Satan that your soul will be destroyed, and no light will reach you for the re st of your life. A phrase will be spoken to you in a hellish voice that resemble s hissing. A loud crash will be heard, DO NOT LOOK IN THE MIRROR. After the cras h is finished, quietly count from one to twenty. Do not make any noises or sudde n movements. Now say the name of somebody you dislike six times. A year from the summoning, they will die a horrible death, with a long object (pole, spear...) impaled through the right side of the chest, where the heart would be if it was on the right side.

I suggest you don't touch a Bible for a week after this. [edit] Nonexistence Do you ever wonder how scary death is? Think about it; it s the one thing that we truly know absolutely nothing about. Some people may cite religious beliefs of a n afterlife and others might claim they just focus on life, but it's really some thing that is totally and utterly foreign to us. And what if the religious peopl e are wrong? What if death really is nonexistence...that it s simply over once the brain dies? Terrifying, huh? Of course, the reasoning goes that you won't notic e it, since you won't exist. But...let's say a certain someone could expose you to nonexistence. Let's say th is person could actually let you experience the state of not existing and more i mportantly, let you remember it. He'd probably be able to get you to agree to an ything in order to avoid that fate. Tangentially, for certain people near death, their brain activity sometimes ceases completely for about three seconds and th en returns, only to shortly die in a more conventional fashion. As another aside, many hospital orderlies have noticed a man wearing a suit that they have never seen in any catalog or on any person before. Interestingly enou gh, when you ask them about the suit they will struggle for a moment, then reply that it s hard to describe, but they are sure they haven t seen it before. Ask them about the man however, and they will freeze up, spasm violently and reply, "Wha t man?" [edit] The Murderer You are home alone, and you hear on the news about the profile of a murderer who is on the loose. You look out the sliding glass doors to your backyard, and you notice a man standing out in the snow. He fits the profile of the murderer exac tly, and he is smiling at you. You gulp, picking up the phone to your right and dialing 911. You look back out the glass as you press the phone to your ear, and notice he is much closer to you now. You then drop the phone in shock. There are no footprints in the snow. It's his reflection. [edit] The Voice If you ever are in an area of absolute quiet, still your breathing and move not a muscle. After a few seconds, you will notice that the silence has a sort of "s ound" of its own, a kind of empty ringing tone. This is nothing unique; everyone will hear this, given the proper setting. An informed person will tell you that your brain is trying to interpret the lack of stimuli to your hearing and so cr eates a bit of a filler sound. This ringing sound actually serves a more arcane purpose, covering up a noise we are not meant to hear. This noise is not impossi ble to hear, and if you are persistent you can effectively "break" the cover-up sound. The next time you are silent and hear the ringing, shout at the top of your lung s for about half a minute, then be abruptly silent. It will be different for eve ryone. Some will hear nothing different for dozens of tries. Others might pick u p soft murmuring. A special few auditory heroes might clearly make it out on the first attempt. What you will hear is a voice that relays an account of events a bout to happen in the immediate future. It's like a sportscaster relaying the ev ents occurring 10 seconds into the future. As time goes on, you will be able to make out this voice under increasingly nois y circumstances, to the point that it can be heard at any time by just concentra ting. Such ability would doubtlessly be invaluable, no? You will be able react t o any immediate danger, relate to people around you with greater ease. No one wo uld ever surprise you. Now, of course you are wondering what sort of horrible ca

tch this ability entails. Perhaps the tone of the voice is so horrible that it w ill drive you mad, or maybe the voice will only predict your death over and over again. Of course this isn't the case, though, it s a normal voice, your ears receive it n o matter what, and it s simply a matter of noticing. But there is a danger. For yo u see, where there is a voice, there is a body. And just like you will notice ne w sounds, so shall you notice new sights. More importantly, you will be noticed. [edit] The Homeless Man Somewhere in New York City there is an old homeless man missing both his legs fr om the knees down, whose spot along the streets is the corner of Lexington and E ast 21st, near Gramercy Park. Approach him after nightfall, give him some change (NO pennies, NO dimes) and ask him, "What did you see on the other side?" He wi ll then tell you all about his travels to other realms and times, where he lost his legs, how he lost his money. It is up to you whether to believe him or not, but as you listen you'll find you rself being drawn in with every story. You must stay alert, or the old man will notice your inattentiveness, and with a scowl he will stop imparting his wisdom; he will chase you as fast as he can, tottering on his stubs. The other reason w hy you must stay alert is to check the time. Before midnight you must interrupt him (do NOT let him finish whatever story he's telling you at the moment) and sa y "I've heard enough, old man. Good day and good luck", then walk away. Make at least two left-hand turns around the block before going about your busin ess. You must do this, because anyone who has stayed to listen past midnight is never seen again, at least not in this particular plane of existence. [edit] The Medic In the winter of 1944, with overtaxed supply lines in the Ardennes, a medic in t he German army had completely run out of plasma, bandages and antiseptic. During one particularly bad round of mortar fire, his encampment was a bloodbath. Thos e who survived claimed to have heard, above the screams and barked commands of t heir Lieutenant, someone cackling with almost girlish glee. The medic had made his rounds during the fire, in almost complete darkness as he had so many times before, but never had he been this short on supplies. No matt er. He would do his duty. He had always prided himself on his resourcefulness. The bombardment moved to other ends of the line, and most men dropped off to sle ep in the dark, still hours of the morning - New Year's Day, 1945. The men awoke at first light with screams. They discovered that their bandages were not typic al bandages at all, but hunks and strips of human flesh. Several men had been gi ven fresh blood transfusions, yet there had been no blood supplies available. Ea ch treated man was almost completely covered, head-to-toe, with the maroon stain of blood. The medic was found, sitting on an ammunition tin, staring off into space. When one man approached him, and tapped him on the shoulder, his tunic fell off to re veal that large patches of his skin, muscle, and sinew had been stripped from hi s torso and his body was almost completely dried of blood. In one hand was a sca lpel, and in the other, a blood transfusion vial. None of the men treated for wo unds that night, in that camp, saw the end of January, 1945. [edit] The Other Watcher A man went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there. Especially no one should look inside the room, under any circumstances. So he followed the

instructions of the woman at the front desk, going straight to his room, and goi ng to bed. The next night his curiosity would not leave him alone about the room with no number on the door. He walked down the hall to the door and tried the h andle. Sure enough it was locked. He bent down and looked through the wide keyho le. Cold air passed through it, chilling his eye. What he saw was a hotel bedroom, like his, and in the corner was a woman whose s kin was completely white. She was leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. He stared in confusion for a while. He almost knocked on the doo r, out of curiosity, but decided not to. This disinclination saved his life. He crept away from the door and walked back to his room. The next day, he returned to the door and looked through the wide keyhole. This time, all he saw was redne ss. He couldn t make anything out besides a distinct red color, unmoving. Perhaps the inhabitants of the room knew he was spying the night before, and had blocked the keyhole with something red. At this point he decided to consult the woman at the front desk for more informa tion. She sighed and said, "Did you look through the keyhole?" The man told her that he had and she said, "Well, I might as well tell you the story. A long time ago, a man murdered his wife in that room, and her ghost haunts it. But these p eople were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which were red." [edit] The Tongue A young girl is left home alone with only her dog to protect her. When night app roaches, she locks all the doors and tries to lock all the windows but one won't close. She decides to leave it unlocked and goes to bed. Her dog takes its customary pl ace under her bed. In the deep of night she awakens to a dripping sound coming from the bathroom. T he girl is too scared to go check so she reaches her hand under the bed. She fee ls a reassuring lick from her dog and falls back to sleep. She reawakens to the dripping sound, reaches her hand down to the dog where she feels the reassuring lick and falls back to sleep. Once more she awakens to the dripping sound. She r eaches her hand down and feels the lick of her dog. Now curious about the dripping sound, she gets up and slowly walks towards the b athroom, the dripping sound getting louder as she approaches. She reaches the ba throom and turns on the light. She is greeted by a horrific sight; hanging from the shower nozzle is her dog with its throat slit open and its blood dripping in to the bathtub. Something on the bathroom mirror catches her eye she turns around. Written on th e bathroom mirror in her dog's blood are the words "HUMANS CAN LICK TOO". [edit] X-Ray Specs For a brief period in 1971, a New Jersey based company sold novelty "x-ray" glas ses through the mail via advertisements in the Marvel line of comic books. Peopl e who viewed their televisions while wearing these glasses reported seeing image s that were "hellish" or "like hell". It should be noted that this phenomena occ urred whether the televisions in question were turned on or not. The company qui ckly went out of business and investigations reveal that the company's address l eads to an old graveyard that had been abandoned decades before. [edit] Border Crossing There was a couple from Texas who was planning a weekend trip across the Mexican border for a shopping spree. At the last minute, their baby-sitter canceled, so they had to bring along their two year old son with them. They had been across

the border for an hour when the boy got free and ran around the corner. The moth er tried to find him, but he was missing. The mother found a police officer who told her to go to the gate and wait. Not really understanding the instructions, she did as she was told. About 45 minutes later, a Mexican man approached the border, carrying the boy. T he mother ran to him, grateful that he had been found. When the man realized it was the boy's mother, he dropped him and ran. The police were waiting for him. T he boy was dead, and in the 45 minutes he was missing, he had been cut open, all of his organs removed, and stuffed with bags of cocaine. The man was going to c arry him across the border as if he were asleep. [edit] Messages It's early in the morning. The sun won't be up for another couple of hours. You' re fast asleep in bed, lost in a dream, when the phone rings. Rather than waking up, you roll over and cover your head with a pillow. Hours pass. The sun rises. The phone is ringing. When you wake up, your alarm clock is blaring and the phone is ringing. By the t ime you will yourself to turn the alarm off, the phone has stopped ringing. You realize that it's been ringing all morning. You slide out of bed and press the b linking red button on your phone as you stumble into the bathroom. The phone bee ps, followed by the friendly, electronic voice. Hello. You have six hundred and sixty-six new messages. Message one. The phone beeps again, and you're not prepa red for what comes next. Screaming. You spin around, thinking that she's standing right behind you. There's pure ter ror in her screams, accompanied by other disturbing noises. You stand there, hor rified, for about ten seconds. Screaming gives way to hysterical, garbled crying before dying out with the sounds of spilling meat and tearing flesh. The phone beeps again. You're shaking. Message two. [edit] The Wishes An elderly man was sitting alone on a dark path. He wasn't sure of which directi on to go, and he'd forgotten both where he was traveling to...and who he was. He'd sat down for a moment to rest his weary legs, and suddenly looked up to see an elderly woman before him. She grinned toothlessly and with a cackle, spoke: "Now your third wish. What wil l it be?" "Third wish?" The man was baffled. "How can it be a third wish if I haven t had a first and second wish?" "You ve had two wishes already," the hag said, "but your second wish was for me to return everything to the way it was before you had made your first wish. That s w hy you remember nothing; because everything is the way it was before you made an y wishes." She cackled at the poor man. "So it is that you have one wish left." "All right," he said hesitantly, "I don't believe this, but there's no harm in t rying. I wish to know who I am." "Funny," said the old woman as she granted his wish and disappeared forever. "Th at was your first wish..."

[edit] The Static If you are watching television, and the signal cuts out to static, turn the TV o ff immediately. If you watch the static on TV for long enough, the static will s uddenly pause. All sound in the room will cease; even the white noise of the TV itself will disappear. If this happens you must not look away from the screen. Y ou will probably not notice at the time, before you lose your gaze on the TV, yo ur body will freeze as well. Time around and with you have paused completely. Sp ecks of the black and white dots slowly come to life, creeping slowly in seeming ly random directions. Not static as you know it, but organizing themselves into a moving picture again in front of you. As the static returns to normal, and the white noise of the TV comes back, you will regain control of your body. You must never watch that television again. It will only play static, even when unplugged. If you watch the static any longer, these same events will reoccur, b ut with disastrous results. What exactly happens is unknown, as it is obvious th at anyone that has been unfortunate enough to experience this has disappeared. I t is rumored that if one continues to watch the static again, or during their ex perience, looks away, the white and black specs will slowly start to move again, but you will not. Your eyes will then be permanently fixated on the screen as y ou watch the picture come back to life, and what seems to be your station's sign al return. You learn soon this is not the case, as all sound is still absent, an d the picture on the TV shows a familiar surrounding: the room in which you sit. The only thing you see next is movement on the TV, as you see yourself from behi nd, and subsequently, the cause of your disappearance. [edit] Gjoberdik In Gjoberdik, a small fisherman's village in the country of Bulgaria, on the daw n of January the first everyone closes their curtains and hold their breath for half a minute. Hours after the craze of midnight's celebrations, children look q uestioning at their worried parents, but can not help to shiver in the embrace o f their shaking parents. One can hear the sound of bells being struck exactly 25 times last year, in this short time span. The nearest church however, is over 32 miles away. You will fi nd no one out on the streets in these faithful 30 seconds, and even the birds wi ll stop whistling. Some have gone out of their houses, roaring boldly in disbelief of this century old tradition. On the first sunset of this year, two people gambled their fate i n the very first rays of sunlight. The next dawn, the bells will be struck 27 times. [edit] Peripheral Vision Have you ever gotten a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye? A ple movement caught in your peripheral vision. Most will simply dismiss this a shadow brought about by a flickering candle, or perhaps a pet jumping down m a piece of furniture. Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, these people are ht. sim as fro rig

But then there's that one elusive sight. It can easily be explained by the above conditions, but something feels wrong about it. A chill down your spine, a slig ht pain in your side. Maybe even a complete blanking of your mind, only to reced e moments later. Should any of these symptoms be felt, there may be cause for worry. Our peripher al vision is designed to catch motion, even in the dark. This was used to defend against predators in our early days, and as with many aspects of our human natu

re, it has remained, but weakened. This view out of the corner of our eyes still alerts us to danger, and although predators have dropped on the list of dangers we may face today, they still exis t. Should you ever feel that queer chill in your back, try not to focus on that shadow you saw in the corner of your eye. It might be better not to see. [edit] Grocery List You get a phone call from your Mother. Since her car has been in the shop, she a sks you to go to the grocery store and pick up a few odds and ends for her. Brea d, milk, cereal, and chicken breasts. After writing down a small list you reluctantly get in the car and pick up the i tems at the store. The lady cashier makes an odd remark to you, "You know, we're in no danger of a milk shortage." Upon arriving at her house you knock several times. No answer. You decide to try the door. It opens. You place the grocery ba g on the counter. Strange. There seems to be six other grocery bags, each with i dentical contents. In a couple, the chicken and the milk has gone bad. "Mom," yo u call out, but no answer. You make your way through the kitchen and into the li ving room. Sitting on the couch, with her head cut off and neatly resting on her lap, is your Mother. Naturally you call the police who come over to investigate. They mention that sh e has been dead for nearly a week. Furthermore, the police psychiatrist is at th e scene and talks to you after you give your initial statement. Sitting on the f ront steps, you overhear the psychiatrist talking with the crime scene investiga tor. "It's not uncommon for people suffering from schizophrenia to get locked in to a series of repetitive behaviors," he says. You think to yourself, "They can't be talking about me. Schizophrenia? Nah. Repe titive behavior? Do they think I did this?" Suddenly your cell phone goes off. " Hello?" "Hi hun, it's me. Could you stop at the store and pick up some chicken and milk. Ohh, and I need some bread and cereal too." "No problem Mom. I'll be right over..." [edit] Angel A few years ago, a mother and father decided they needed a break, so they wanted to head out for a night on the town. They called their most trusted babysitter. When the babysitter arrived, the two children were already fast asleep in bed. So the babysitter just got to sit around and make sure everything was okay with the children. Later that night, the babysitter got bored and went to watch TV, b ut she couldn't watch it downstairs because they did not have cable downstairs ( the parents didn't want children watching too much garbage). So, she called them and asked them if she could watch cable in the parent's room . Of course, the parents said it was okay, but the babysitter had one final requ est... she asked if she could cover up the angel statue outside the bedroom wind ow with a blanket or cloth, at the very least close the blinds, because it made her nervous. The phone line was silent for a moment, and the father who was talk ing to the babysitter at the time said, "Take the children and get out of the ho use... we will call the police. We do not have an angel statue." The police found all three of the house occupants dead within three minutes of t he call. No angel statue was ever found. [edit] Gloomy Sunday "Szomor Vasrnap" or "Gloomy Sunday" in English, is a hit song written in 1933 by H

ungarian composer Rezso Seress. It's more commonly known as "The Hungarian Suici de Song" because of hundreds (if not thousands) of suicides that had been inspir ed by listening to it. The song itself has been has been covered several times, most famously by Billie Holiday, and for the most part is considered an urban le gend and a brilliant marketing campaign. The version that reached radio waves, however, is not the version that was origi nally written. Rezso Seress originally wrote the song in order to woo his girlfr iend, who had recently left him. The song succeeded in bringing them back togeth er for a short time, before she jumped from his apartment window. Rezso had been out at the time. His girlfriend left a note for him: "Szomor Vasrnap." The song was changed before release. Rezso Seress himself committed suicide in J anuary 1968, jumping out of his window in very much the same manner his girlfrie nd did. [edit] The Pile of Photographs A young girl walking home from school found a small pile of Polaroid photos lyin g in the gutter. There were twenty in all, neatly wrapped in a rubber band. She picked them up, and as she walked she started to browse. The first photo was tha t of a ghostly white man on a black background, standing just far enough away fr om the camera that she couldn t make out his features. The girl slid the photo to the back of the stack and looked at the next one. The photo was of the same man now standing a bit closer. The girl flipped through the next several photos quickly. With each one the man in the picture came a bit closer and his features were a bit clearer. Turning the last corner to her house, the girl noticed that the man in the photo s seems to be looking at her even when she moved the stack from side to side. It frightened her, but she kept flipping them over, one by one. By the nineteenth picture, the man was so close his face completely filled the f rame. His expression was the most horrifying the girl had ever seen. Walking up the driveway, she turned to the last photo. This time, instead of an image, there were two words: "Close enough". Hearing a scream outside their house, the girl s brother rushed to the door and op ened it. All he saw was a pile of photographs lying on the doorstep. The top one looked like an extremely pale version of his sister, but she was standing too f ar back for him to be sure. [edit] Thanks It's 3AM on Hallowe'en night and you and your friends been up all night on a hor ror binge. You've watched your favorite scary movies, read your favorite scary s tories, and even attempted the old "Bloody Mary" trick in your mirror. After you r friends leave, you stretch and yawn, deciding now is about the time to hit the hay, so you move into your bedroom and lay down to sleep. After awhile, however, you realize that you can t get the images of some of the fi ctional creatures you saw on your television out of your head. "Meh...I m going to hate myself for this tomorrow," you say aloud as you flick on your bedroom lamp , knowing that having a nightlight used to help get rid of your nightmares as a little kid. Within minutes you're close to sleep, snuggled up comfortably under the blankets with your eyes closed and more pleasant thoughts on your mind... ...that is, until you detect something moving in front of the light, casting a s hadow over you. You blink, beginning to turn towards the lamp before a rotting h

and grabs hold of your shoulder. "Thanks for turning on the light, I was having trouble finding you in the dark." [edit] Please Come A 15-year old boy in a small town in Maryland sat down at his computer after get ting home from school one day. He turned it on and logged into an instant messag ing program, and was then surprised to receive a message from a classmate of his , who had been absent that day. It consisted of two words; "please come". Confused, the boy sent a reply, asking why he'd been absent that day. After two more messages and fifteen minutes with no response, he decided to get on his bike and head over to his classmate's hou se. It was a short ride, only about five minutes away. When he got to the house, he found the door was unlocked. Inside, partially drie d blood was splattered over the walls and floors, and an unrecognizable figure w as crumpled against the far wall. It was missing an arm and a leg, and bloody st reaks on the floor lead away from the body and into the kitchen. The boy slammed the door closed, and immediately called 911 on his cell phone. When the police arrived, they found three corpses, as well as tracks leading awa y from the house from the back door. The forensics report concluded that the ent ire family, the boy's classmate and his parents, had been killed sometime the pr evious night. THEN WHO WAS PHONE??? THEN WHO WAS PHONE??? [edit] Wristbands When you are admitted to a hospital, they place on your wrist a white wristband with your name on it. But there are other different colored wristbands which sym bolize other things. The red wristbands are placed on dead people. There was one surgeon who worked on night shift in a school hospital. He had jus t finished an operation and was on his way down to the basement. He entered the elevator and there was just one other person there. He casually chatted with the woman while the elevator descended. When the elevator door opened, another woma n was about to enter when the doctor slammed the close button and punched the bu tton to the highest floor. Surprised, the woman reprimanded the doctor for being rude and asked why he did not let the other woman in. The doctor said, "That was the woman i just operated on. She died while I was do ing the operation. Didn t you see the red wristband she was wearing?" The woman smiled, raised her arm, and said, "Something like this?" [edit] Missing It might happen one morning that you wake up home alone. This could be normal de pending on your situation, but this morning will be different. While your enviro nment will all seem exactly the same, you ll notice that everything is quieter tha n normal. If you go outside, you will notice a distinct lack of anything like bi rds, insects or people. As far as you travel, you will not encounter another sent ient human being. The entire world will be intact, empty except for you. There are currently over 100,000 missing persons cases in the United States. Som e are just normal cases of murder or kidnappings, but in others, the disappearan ce cannot be explained and no remains of the person are ever located. [edit] Copy You're at work alone, when you suddenly hear the copy machine start up. You walk out to take a look at what's going on and see several copies filling the tray.

Picking up one of the pieces of paper you discover that it is a copy of a pictur e depicting you sitting in your office chair, dead, with your eyes torn out and your throat cut. The others are the same picture, but taken from increasingly bi zarre angles. There is no original picture in the copy machine. In fact, the machine has been out of toner for a week. [edit] The Bad Dream "Daddy, I had a bad dream." You blink your eyes and pull up on your elbows. Your clock glows red in the darkness it's 3:23. "Do you want to climb into bed and tel l me about it?" "No, Daddy." The oddness of the situation wakes you up more full y. You can barely make out your daughter's pale form in the darkness of your roo m. "Why not sweetie?" "Because in my dream, when I told you about the dream, the thing wearing Mommy's skin sat up." For a moment, you feel paralyzed; you can't take your eyes off of your daughter. The covers behind you begin to shift. [edit] Thomas' Reflection I am Thomas' reflection. Every morning, he rises from sleep and walks into the b athroom....and he makes faces. I am so tired of the faces. He makes them for at least half an hour. Mocking, ridiculous faces. I have no choice but to mimic his every action, although inside I am seething with anger. He does this every day. ..well, used to. One morning he awoke as usual, and entered the bathroom. On thi s particular morning, against his will, he picked up a pair of scissors. On this particular morning, against his will, he gripped those scissors tightly in his fist... and he plunged them directly into his right eye. Thomas screamed, and sc reamed. I screamed and screamed too - with one difference. I can't mimic his pai n. Just his face. [edit] The Shadow Being When I was fourteen, my mother and father were divorced, and I went to live with my mother and a man she supposedly fell in love with several years ago. We sear ched for a house for all three of us to live in, and eventually found the perfec t house. A few months later, after finding out that my dad had Cancer, my mom we nt, engaged to this man living with us, to the very hospital and stayed with my father for about a week, leaving me to tend to myself as I remained in the basem ent, wasting my time on the computer. It was late, around midnight if I recall correctly, and the man living with us w ent off to bed, turning off every light in the house, except for the computer ro om in the basement. During this time we had one dog and one cat. I can't remembe r exactly where the dog was, but the cat was downstairs with me, doing what cats do, I guess. While typing away on the computer, it occurred to me, after severa l minutes had passed, my cat had been staring at the door, which was left wide o pen, for a long time. Her ears appeared to be pinned against the back of her hea d and I finally noticed her faint growling. Thinking that it was the dog, I turned around and called for her, only then to n otice something that took me completely by surprise. The door that leads up to t he second floor was left wide open. In front of it, taking the size of a three o r four year old, was this ominous being, made of shadow. As chills ran down my spine and fear completely took over my body, I watched thi s unearthly 'thing' with what little time I had, I absorbed any features possibl e, noting that it had small, beady eyes that were yellow, and this 'thing' had b lack tendrils on top of it's head, and on the sides of it's body, which didn't e xactly have a 'shape'. Whatever this thing was, it reacted quickly and hid by leaping over to the stair s, making it partially visible to my view. Then, I noticed that it leaned over a

nd peeked through the wall that hid it, quickly pulling away as it knew I was st ill watching. To this very day I don't know how, but I managed to muster up enough courage and quickly ran to the computer room's door, slamming and locking it. An hour later , I ran through the whole house, turning on every light possible, except for my mom's bedroom, and I went to bed with the light on. I didn't bother looking for the dog, and I never told the man about this strange occurrence. I just went int o my room and crawled into bed. I don't know how I fell asleep. But I did. Whatever the Hell that thing was, it was watching me. I didn't think that I'd ever get over it. But I guess I calmed down after a while. A week later, after staying the night at my brothers house, I was bored and deci ded to look this thing up. Oddly enough, what I saw that night matched the descr iption of what most people call a 'Shadow Being'. That scared the living Hell ou t of me, and I knew, without a doubt, that it was not my imagination that create d this thing. Ever since, I hated that house. That perfect house was no longer my home. I'm ho nestly surprised that I still stayed in that house, unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice. But I never saw the Shadow Being again. Never. Still, I was a fraid. Thankfully three months after, mom and I moved back in with my dad and the man l iving with us eventually moved away, and our so called dream home was up for sal e. Probably still is. I still have nightmares of the Shadow Being from time to time. Sometimes, it fee ls like it's watching me whenever I'm alone. I was never really afraid of the da rk until then. Now, I hate looking into the darkness. The darkness could be looking back at me. [edit] Eric's Mirror Eric was reaching for the towel when he saw it. Something in the mirror, darting out of his line of vision. He stared at the mirror for a while, trying to work out what he'd seen, letting the water drip off of him into the empty shower. The re was nothing but his own reflection. He began to dry himself, and he saw it ag ain. Flickering out the corner of his eye, something in the mirror. He stepped o ut of the shower and towards the mirror. Eric's wife, Sue, arrived home later that evening, but her husband was nowhere t o be found. After searching the entire house, all she could find to suggest he'd ever been there was a towel lying on the bathroom floor. She phoned the police. She didn't look at the mirror. Two days after Eric was reported missing, Sue disappeared off the face of the ea rth. The only clue to suggest she'd ever been home was the shower, still running long after she'd gone. [edit] The Echo It's there - just at the veil of sleep. That dull sensation of falling or spinni ng just before you fall to sleep. The next time you go to bed, try to hold yours elf there. Just as you drift off, hold onto that feeling. Hold on, and listen. L isten close, for you cannot hold onto that edge of sleep for long. There, in the space before sleep, is a sound: a gentle hum, a distant echo; like a sigh in a brick building. Listen well, and remember that sound. That is the sound of your last breath.

[edit] Lucid Dreamer Dreams are just your mind dealing with the day's events, right? Nothing paranorm al about that; everyone does it. I mean, there are places you visit often in you r dreams. A certain house, a shop, a school... But these places are just figment s of your imagination, right? Have you ever wondered about these places and the people within them? I know you're out there, "lucid dreamers". You're the ones who can control what happens when they dream. You are just beyond that film, that membrane that separ ates us. Lucid Dreamer, have you ever wondered what that beautiful woman in your dream fe lt when you suddenly decided you wanted to fuck her? Oh, she seemed willing enou gh, didn't she? Have you ever considered that you raped that woman, Lucid Dreamer? That she had no choice but to do everything you willed her to do while her mind watched on in horror? Remember, Lucid Dreamer, all those awful things you have done in your dreams... And consider what those who call dreams their home must think of you. What they wish to do to you in kind. I'm waiting, Lucid Dreamer, for those nights when your exhaustion keeps you from your power. Oh, the things I will do to you then. Sweet dreams. [edit] Nice Try Coffins used to be built with holes in them, attached to six feet of copper tubi ng and a bell. The tubing would allow air for victims buried under the mistaken impression they were dead. In a certain small town Harold, the local gravedigger , upon hearing a bell one night, went to go see if it was children pretending to be spirits. Sometimes it was also the wind. This time, it wasn't either. A voic e from below begged and pleaded to be unburied. "Are you Sarah O'Bannon?" Harold asked. "Yes!" The muffled voice asserted. "You were born on September 17, 1827?" "Yes!" "The gravestone here says you died on February 20, 1857." "No, I'm alive, it was a mistake! Dig me up, set me free!" "Sorry about this, ma'am," Harold said, stepping on the bell to silence it and p lugging up the copper tube with dirt. "But this is August. Whatever you are down there, you sure as Hell ain't alive no more, and you ain't comin' up." [edit] Loneliness Imagine the most solitary place you can imagine. The most isolated, lonely locat ion you can possibly conjure up: a claustrophobic, dirty cell; the peephole in t he door forever unused; an island eternally floating in a sea of darkness, the s hadows hiding everything you can, and can't, see; a quiet, wind-whipped plain wh ere no directions exist; a desert landscape, all sound muffled by the driving wi

nds and buffeting sands, where half-seen shapes roam the horizons. Imagine spending an eternity there. Terrifying thought, isn't it? Mull it over f or a while. An existence with no beginning and no end, alone with your mind and nothing else. Right now, it's a scary scenario. When you get to the afterlife, it won't be just a scenario anymore. Take it from me. [edit] Five Minutes Your cell phone rings, and it's a number you don't recognize. You shrug, and ans wer anyway. The voice on the other line says, "Can I have five minutes of your t ime?" You answer yes, and the caller immediately hangs up. Suddenly, you feel mu ch older. [edit] Immortality Life cannot exist without death, and death cannot exist without life. Everything will at some point in time fade away from this world because it is essentially "living" and therefore, essentially "dies". But what about immortality? Where do es that stand? Many a time this has been sought after, but there is only one tru e method of obtaining it. Those who believe that they will cease to exist after death will do so, but those who believe in an everlasting spirit are eligible to participate. These steps must be completed at midnight on your birthday (i.e. one minute afte r 11:59 p.m. on your birthday). First, set up a coffin in place of your bed. Mak e sure that the lid remains open and that once it is closed, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN. All that remains now is to wait until midnight. Make sure that you are al one and that all lights are off. At midnight, get into the coffin and close the lid, locking yourself inside. Then utter the following incantation: "Blackest De ath and Darkest Night, take my breath, and take my Life." The spirits of Death a nd Night will appear and judge your intentions. Make sure that you are asking fo r immortality and not the opposite. If your true wish is eternal life, it will b e granted to you, and the coffin will open. But if the spirits interpret them as a death wish, they will respond by leaving. [edit] Spoons If you've ever picked up a shiny spoon -any curved object would do- before, you' d see a strange phenomenon occur. It's your reflection... upside down. Science tries to explain that this is possible because the curve of the spoon is reflecting light upside down. It isn't. This is instead a reflection of you, when you're dead. The spirit inhabiting the object is disguising itself though, so you'd think it is just your reflection. The after life is said to exist in the 11th dimension, time exists in the 4th . So this means the after life exists outside of time- explaining how it can trave l back in time, to a period when you aren't dead. If you would want to see what you actually look like when hese instructions. Make sure all the lights are on, as to ject. Next, in a low pitched voice, chant the following, me through these deceptions, and show my true self. Then o make the shine pass through you reflection, and when it de, you'll see your dead self. you die, then follow t make a shine on the ob Glimmer of light, guide slowly turn the spoon, t passes to the other si

However, this procedure is not sure to always go as stated above. In some instan ces, this picture is not of the person's death, but is actually a depiction of h is after life's dead body. If this were to happen to you, when you die, you will not enter the 11th dimension like the rest of your friends and family, you simp ly leave this dimension, and cease to exist. [edit] Sever the Cord Many have speculated that the plane in which we live is not the only plane in ex istence. Those who say this will usually then go on to ponder realms of mystery and wonder. The truth is, there is a second plane, but it is not filled with the euphoric images that most people conjure up. However, it is not filled with hor rors, either, rather, it is a perfect emulation of our world. There is no differ ence at all. Whatever exists in our plane also exists on the Second Plane. Even you exist on the Second Plane. In fact, those "copies" of ourselves, those extra -dimensional clones, are bonded to us. Whatever action we take, they take, and v ice versa. That means that, in the other plane, that other you is reading this r ight now. In this Second Plane, there is only one difference. A God resides there, though some may call him a Devil, watching over the mirrors of those in Our Realm. This God has no mirror. He resides only in the Second Plane. Our "Copies" cannot see him, either, for unknown reasons. But he can see them. He knows what they are d oing. Therefore, he knows what YOU are doing. There is only one way to escape th is constant watching, but it could come at a terrible price. Stand before a mirror. You see your reflection? That is your Copy. Look him stra ight in the eye, and will with all of your might that what you see before you is not YOU; rather, it is a perfect emulation of you. As soon as you have made thi s mental breakthrough, turn off the lights. Wait a while, about two minutes shou ld do. Then, turn them back on. Your reflection will be gone. You have just seve red the bond between you and your Copy. You can no longer see him, but he exists . Now, however, you will be free to do as you please, without your Copy mirrorin g it, and without the God knowing what you are doing. You could murder a thousan d people, and walk without fear of retribution. However, it is not recommended that you do this. As you sever the bond, the same decay that effected the bond will eat slowly up the remnants of one side of the "cord". As it reaches whichever you was on that particular side, it will begin to eat away at its soul. Whichever version of you is effected will become sickli er, paler. It will stink of death, its movements will become stiff. As it nears the final stages of this illness, it will become merely a shadow of itself. It becomes a ghost. Cursed to forever roam whatever existence it resides in, a s hattered soul and lost cause. However, if it is not you that is affected by this illness, but your Copy, you will walk free. You will walk without judgment. You will be a God among men. But be careful, for if that disease eats up your side of the cord, you will fall prey to its effects. Trust me. I know. [edit] Reggae If you go to Woodstock every anniversary of the original concert at night, and s tart smoking pot, a hippie will approach you and ask for some of your weed. You must give him some, because no one knows what happens if you don't since no one had the guts to. When you do give him some, in return he'll give you a reggae sh irt, and will say, Spread the peace! Which is exactly what you must do; give it to someone else.

If you don't, and put it on yourself, the pattern on the shirt will become part of you. The shirt is usually a regular Tye-dye pattern, which will result in the blotches becoming blood, and you bleeding yourself to death. If you do give it to somebody, remember to tell arning can either be vague, or specific. If you 2-4 days. However, if they put it on, when they u gain all of their wealth, whether it be cars, of all of them. "EASTER EGGS" Turn out the lights. All of them. Shut your now useless eyes and focus on silenc e. Once you have blurred the noise around you, look inside. look deep into your heart for something that is not you. When you find it, ask its name. If it does not respond say to it "This is MY body and I am king in it. You will speak." the n ask again. Listen closely with ears you don't have to the voice you will hear faintly. Then pull it from its resting spot and fight it. A little known fact is that the Eisenhower Interstate system is built over major leylines. Rumor has it, that if specific conditions are met, weird phenomena wi ll occur. Phenomenon the first: Observed while driving westwards on I-80. Two oc cupants in car, middle of the night, no other cars around. The first sign of thi s phenomenon is that you will lose ALL radio reception, and devices such as MP3 players, Discmen, tape decks and other music players will cease functioning. You r heater will begin to only dispense cold air, regardless of setting. After the first mile of this, you will notice a fog growing at the edges of the road, and you will see no exits, regardless of whether they were supposed to be there. If you continue on, you will begin to see the occasional pedestrian. Some of them w ill gesture that they would like to hitch a ride. Under no circumstances should you stop for them, no one has ever stopped and survived. If you see lights appro aching from behind, and it is a hearse, do NOT let it pass you. No matter what. After 13 miles, the phenomenon will end, and you will be safe. There's a small building somewhere in north western America, up along the border between Oregon and Washington. It's just a short, little, old shack in the wood s, off the highway. Anyways, inside, there's a spiral staircase made of grating that goes straight down. If you go all the way down, you'll find yourself steppi ng out into an endless field of tall grass. There are many bones surrounding the bottom step of the stairs, and things move in the near distance. Nobody who has ever seen these things has come back to say what they are. There's a small, inconspicuous building called "Padraic Willoughsby (Willoughby? ) and Co." in the industrial district of Birmingham, UK. Most of the time, its d oors are locked and the windows are draped. However, on February 29th of every l eap year, there will be a small plastic container outside the front door contain ing business cards. On the front of the card it says in large capital letters, " PADRAIC WILLOUGHSBY AND CO. ENGLAND'S THAUMATURGICAL SPECIALISTS". On the back, in nearly illegibly small type it says "The blood of the innocent." Any night af ter midnight one can come to Paidraic Willoughsby and Co. and slide their card t hrough the door, and the door will instantly unlock. Inside there is an empty ro om with white walls. No light reaches this room, except for a small sliver from the other end of the room. When you approach this room you will find that it is actually another door. When you knock on it, a voice will ask "What makes a man become exalted?" and you must respond with the phrase on the back of the card: " The blood of the innocent." The door will open and you will come into another ro om, a kind of lounge. Inside it you will find around 5-10 people, depending on t he night, sitting around smoking and drinking brandy, all in late Edwardian peri them to pass the shirt on, the w don't you'll usually die within die their own horrible death, yo money, jewelry or a combination

od dress. There is absolutely no conversation at all in this room and, it is nea rly silent except for the phonograph which plays the exact same record over and over, ad infinitum. If you attempt to speak to one of the patrons, they will pro mptly ignore you and pretend as if you were not there. Towards the south wing of the room you will find a large, round table, slightly different from the others . On it will be a quill pen and a document. The document shows all of your perso nal information: name, birthdate, place of residence, criminal record, greatest fears, etc. At the bottom of the document is a long line that asks for your sign ature. No one knows what happens after you sign it. There is a book that has only been spoken of in terrified whispers behind closed and locked doors. It is said that only seven people have ever seen this book ov er the course of all of human history and only four have opened it. Only one man has ever read it. The book...isn't really a book at all, but a machine. The bin ding opens and locks, with a grate in the center where the pages can slide throu gh. When the book is opened, and the pages lie flat, they can be shifted into di fferent positions. Each page is made of metal, the words embossed on it. On each edge of the page is a specially cut design; no two designs are the same. It is said that one must find the proper arrangement of each of the five hundred and t hirty six pages and go to the "Rock of Chaos", where time is the only constant. It is a place of madness where lightning moves from all directions and the sky i tself burns with an insane blue fire. The Rock is the face of an immense cliff, the bottom of which can never be seen by mortal eyes lest they go blind and mad. Somewhere on the face of the rock there is a single hole, an opening just the r ight size for the book. Properly aligned, the book must be brought to this "keyh ole" at the exact moment specified by the stars and spoken of within the book. O ne places the book in the hole at the exact moment, and unlocks the Chaos Chain. This is a chain of pure ether, which runs from our world deep into that of the Void, and there, at the Throne of Darkness, the Chain binds that dark soul who r ules the Void and would wreak apocalypse on us all: Unenon, the Blind Angel of D arkness. What the book says...well, only one man ever read it, and it is said th at he locked himself in his room for thirty days before emerging, tome in hand, and swore to take the book to the ends of the earth before he died. He has never been seen or heard from since. If you are watching television, and the signal cuts out to static, turn the TV o ff immediately. If you watch the static on TV for long enough, the static will s uddenly pause. All sound in the room will cease; even the white noise of the TV itself will disappear. If this happens you must not look away from the screen. Y ou will probably not notice at the time, before you lose your gaze on the TV, yo ur body will freeze as well. Time around and with you have paused completely. Sp ecks of the black and white dots slowly come to life, creeping slowly in seeming ly random directions. Not static as you know it, but organizing themselves into a moving picture again in front of you. As the static returns to normal, and the white noise of the TV comes back, you will regain control of your body. You mus t never watch that television again. It will only play static, even when unplugg ed. If you watch the static any longer, these same events will reoccur, but with disastrous results. What exactly happens is unknown, as it is obvious that anyo ne that has been unfortunate enough to experience this has disappeared. It is ru mored that if one continues to watch the static again, or during their experienc e, looks away, the white and black specs will slowly start to move again, but yo u will not. Your eyes will then be permanently fixated on the screen as you watc h the picture come back to life, and what seems to be your station's signal retu rn. You learn soon this is not the case, as all sound is still absent, and the p icture on the TV shows a familiar surrounding: the room in which you sit. The on ly thing you see next is movement on the TV, as you see yourself from behind, an d subsequently, the cause of your disappearance. In almost every building, there is one corner, one small enclosure that no one e ver looks at. It's the corner in the basement that has been blocked by a disused

sofa for years; the thin space in the attic between the wall and the stacks and stacks of crates full of junk you never use, but could never throw away. The sp ace that never sees the light of day, or any other kind of light at all. Where d arkness does not merely dominate, but practically oozes out from around the edge s of its prison. No one knows quite how long a space must remain concealed for i t to acquire this particular property, nor if there are any specific conditions it must meet. But it is a far more common occurrence than you might think. In newer buildings, when this happens, the residents often report feeling cold w hen passing by, even in attics during the hottest of summers. Whenever contempla ting taking a quick peek to see if there is anything actually there, an unnatura l dread seizes them, and they leave the room quickly, if not quite running. Once left behind, the feeling passes, and it is quickly forgotten, or laughed off. What actually happens in these forgotten sanctuaries of the dark? It is impossib le to tell. For while many such corners have been exposed to reveal absolutely n othing, some brave souls have lost their sanity through nothing more than an ill -timed glance. The safest thing to do when encountered with such a phenomenon; c lose your eyes, rip away the area's covering in a single motion, then keep a tig ht hold on what you've pulled away. No matter what you hear or feel, do not get up, do not look around, and do not try to cover your ears. You might be one of t he lucky ones. Typing in a certain phrase on /b/ with your e-mail address on the second line wi ll cause you to get an e-mail. It won't say what address the e-mail is from, jus t 'OTHER'. Don't open the e-mail. Delete it. Opening it will give you a clue as to where you should to 'recieve your reward.' This clue will haunt your dreams f or eternity unless you follow it. If you ignored my advice to delete it, then do n't follow the clue, no matter how bad the dreams get. If you do follow the clue and find the location, then you will find where the person who sent the message lives. If that person asks 'if you want your reward', say no. The 'reward' is h eaven and hell contained within your hands. So to speak. There's a dark forest deep in the heart of the Rockies, surrounded on all sides by mountains. In the center of the forest is a lake on the shores of which you w ill find a large black stone. If you swim out into the center of the lake, the s tone will drag you down into the darkness. You will emerge from shadows in the a lley of a frightening dark city of heavily arched roofs and buildings built on s tilts. You must not talk to a single citizen of this city, or you shall be trapp ed there forever. The citizenry is horrid and mutated, and they will leer and cu rse at you, and their hideous and deformed women shall offer you unknown and hor rible lewdnesses. At the edge of this city is a highway. Walk down the left side of the road (yes, against traffic) with your thumb out and a man in a dark truc k shall pick you up and drive you back the way you came. The city will be gone, and he will take you to any place on Earth as long as you can name it and there' s a road there. There are seven words in every Gideon's Bible - the one they stuff in every hote l room - that can't be found in any other bible. If you repeat those seven words to yourself while grasping the doorknob to your room, the door will open to any hotel room in the world. Of course, if you want to control where you're going, you'll need to know the Gideon's Key - one more inserted word, unique to each co py, which acts as an index for each room. There's a movie theater in downtown Phoenix, Arizona that only plays movies from 1987. If you pay for 3 tickets and buy a large popcorn, they will play a film t hat shows you your future. If you watch the entire film completely, you will hav e sleeping problems for the rest of your life. Legend has it that if you come face to face with your doppelganger, it's an omen or warning of death -- for both you and your twin. Because of this, if you see a replica of yourself, run for your life. If you keep seeing your doppelganger,

chances are that your days are numbered, because you'll soon see your demise. Th ere are many stories regarding encounters with doppelgangers, none of them pleas ant. Often, a person does not actually see their own doppelganger, but someone e lse does. Can you be two places at once? No, but it's a very strange feeling whe n someone who knows you very well insists that they saw you just thirty minutes ago -- and you were nowhere in the vicinity. Imagine this happening time and tim e again and you'll soon go insane. Hence, the myth that a doppelganger will prec ede the arrival of the real person. Many stories explaining their experiences wi th these apparitions have this in common. Perhaps he's one step ahead of you? If you watch every State of the Union Address since it's been filmed and availab le on tape, you'll see that halfway through--exactly halfway through--the Presid ent always says the same word. Most say it under their breath during the standin g ovations, but some are forced to work it into the speech itself. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean is an island, surrounded by a swamp filled with t he carcasses of fish and other, less recognizable things poking out of the mud. The mire extends as far as you can see. Every so often, the mud will dry enough under that you can walk on it; about a days travel from shore is a large mound, at the top of which is an immense canyon, the bottom of which cannot be seen, al though if the moon is large enough you will be able to see the slope of the cany on, and eventually the bottom, which is covered by a strange body of water. Risi ng from the water is a monolith, which is covered in bas-reliefs. There is a village somewhere in England that has not been inhabited for over 20 years. It has long since been forgotten off of most maps, and only has one road in and out of it. If you manage to find it, it will seem a peaceable enough plac e, the derelict buildings being overgrown and nature taking back the land for he rself. However somewhere within the village is a vending machine which still has power. it will still have it's original look and sell ordinary brands of drink (though with 20 year old packaging) however the one at the very bottom will be m arked "E". pay only in 10p pieces to buy this drink. When you recieve it, before drinking it, peer inside the can to check it's colour (do not try to pour some out. it will refuse to leave the can despite vigorous shaking). if it's green drink heartily, it will g ive you an unnaturally long lifespan and go luck in everything you do. if it is red, however, it will spread a horrific pestilence over you, claiming one of you r senses every 10 years after you drink it.673 At the edge of the Pacific Ocean, on some abandoned beach in the tropics, there is a large, smooth rock that sits just beyond the reach of the highest tides. It is not cracked or marked in any way, and the smooth black stone reflects even t he faintest of light. It's curved and formed in just such a way that if you are very careful, you can climb on top of it from the side, and stand on a flat area at the top. If you stand on the rock when the moon is full and shining, and the water is at its highest point, you can see something in the sea below you. A fa int shimmer of light, a flash of something you can't quite identify. It gets bri ghter, easier to see as you kneel down and lean closer, over the edge of the roc k. Once you are leaning out further than would probably be safe, your left leg w ill slip on the slippery stone, and you will fall forward into the light. There is no splash, no sound; you simply disappear into the ocean. No one knows what h appens after you disappear. But there are some who claim to have fallen off the same rock, what seems like a lifetime ago. According to the earthly calendar, th ey were gone for one day, and then washed up on another beach, sometimes half a world away. But their eyes are hardened, and they rarely speak anymore, only occ asionally muttering of fiery paths and gibbering demons. The lottery gives you a three digit number and a four digit number each day. Wha t else has seven digits split into three, then four? It's a phone number. The lo ttery is a telephone oracle. Whoever is on the end of the line when you call tha

t number knows something that you need to know, though sometimes getting the pro phecy out of them can be difficult. It helps if you have a winning ticket, I bel ieve. If you kill a person at midwinter, and then bathe in its blood two days later yo u will live as long as the other person would have lived if you hadn't killed hi m. This only works for people of your own gender, though. Bathing in the blood o f another gender will kill you, and bring the person you killed back to life for as long as you would have lived. Everyone has a ceramic egg that is right for them. It's hard to explain what's ' right' about the eggs, but you'll understand when you find it. In the most deserted part of Wyoming there is a restaurant. There are no roads l eading to it, no signs advertising it. It's just there, in the open. Walk inside however, and you will learn two things. One, it's jam packed with people talkin g, eating and enjoying themselves. Two, the entire place looks like it's a scene from the 50's including the people, the food, the newspapers, the music, everyt hing. Take a seat, observe the atmosphere, relax. When the waitress comes to get your order, make it a cheeseburger with mashed potatoes. Afterwards, a red-hair ed lady should ask you to date to a tune on the juke-box. Find the song on it th at has the same number as your current age, pick it, then dance you heart out. W hen the song ends, a flash of light with engulf the whole scene, and you will be standing outside your home the following morning.You now should have the power of clairvoyance for the remaining year. If you did not, then woe is you. For you also missed out on the best fries and shake you'll ever eat. They say that the olfactory senses (the sense of smell) is the sense closest lin ked to memory. Go on eBay, or to a high-end antiques dealer. Find an item made a good amount of time before you were born that was hermetically sealed, vacuum p acked or tightly packaged in some way. Make sure you are in surroundings of comp letely neutral smell with little or no wind. Open the package. The smell should hearken back to your collective subconscious or memory of a past life. If you ar e successful in choosing the right item, with the right smell, you will have at least a memory flash, or likely a memory flood of years before you were born. Rumor has it that every Halloween during the hours of 2am and 5am, there exists a void. You must stand in front of a mirror in a pitch black room with your gaze fixated on the mirror. If you remain in the room when the moment arrives, you w ill feel a chill seize your body. Place your right hand on the mirror and whispe r "I accept." If done correctly, in the mirror there will be a faint image of a fleshless infant with pitch black eyes. He will stare directly into your soul an d you will hear the buzzing of flies and nervous whispering. You will not be abl e to make out the image in the mirror but you will be filled with unspeakable te rror. The infant will ask you five questions about events that have occurred wit hin your life. His voice will sound like the rubbing of sandpaper and will be de void of all emotion. For each question that you answer incorrectly, one of your five senses will be consumed. For each question that is answered correctly, you will be able to recite the name of someone you know. That person will be found d ead the next morning, after a night of unimaginable horror, with their flesh rem oved and their eyes missing. At 12:17 am, on any given night, arises the opportunity to awaken an alternate s oul. The most common way of viewing them? Through a mirror. It is through said medium that the process must take place. Begin at exactly mid night. By no light but that of a single candle, stand before the selected mirror . For ten minutes you must concentrate in silence, focused entirely on your refl ection. Do not look away from the eyes; for it will be interpreted as weakness a nd you will be overcome. After ten minutes have passed you must draw blood to smear in a line across the

eyes of your reflection. Doing so will blind it, and you will watch as your own features begin to warp. Slowly, gradually, they will mutate into a frightening c reature--one beyond the comprehension of those who have not experienced it. You must not look away through the entirety of the change. Soon the writhing movements of the image will cease. By now an echoing, inhuman sound will resound all around you--the creature will begin to ease toward the mi rror's glass. You must keep watching as it approaches. If you do not extinguish the candle at exactly 12:17, the creature will escape. Be warned, should you succeed; through any polished surface--be it mirror, wood, or window--your reflection will always be watching. A secret society meets once every three years at a small diner in West Virginia. To join, you must come to the American Grill diner located in Cricket at 9:30 P M on September the twenty-first. The only uniform is a heavy overcoat and a gree n tie. Order an "Eggs and bacon platter with coffee." The waiter will tell you t hat the breakfast menu is unavailable, reply, "Well, just the coffee then." You' ll be allowed to stay after closing time for the meet. The meeting itself is a m eeting of minds and philosophy regarding immortality. The society is called "The Socratic Method." They hoist their mugs at the beginning and end of the meeting and say "Death to Socrates." It's rumored a little hemlock is added to the firs t cup, and an antidote to the last. They say that somewhere in western America, some say in Utah, others say on the California coast, there's a small motel on the side of the road. When you go ins ide, it's decorated in very common hotel attire, with the paneling and old fashi oned key-lock doors. The thing is, there's a room in there for everybody. Everyb ody has a reservation for exactly when they show up, and the number of rooms ava ilable is always one more than the number of people there. One person to a room, that is the rule. On the east bank of the Susquehanna River somewhere in central Pennsylvania, the re is a small patch of ground where no plants will grow. At the right time of da y, at the right time of year, the sun shines directly on this spot. If you stand there at precisely this time, a whirlpool in the river will appear, revealing a trap door leading to a system of identical tunnels. If you can successfully nav igate through the maze of tunnels, you will find yourself face down in an alley behind an Irish pub called Kelley's just outside Boston, with no memory of how y ou got there. In your pocket, you will find a day planner. Important events of t he future are described within, but in random order and no dates. Look behind you. What do you see? Invariably, there will be a wall somewhere in your view. Now stare deeply into the space on the wall that lines up best with y our eyes. Nothing will happen, but makes sure you are clear on where this partic ular spot is. That spot contains all the negativity in your mind. Whenever you a re on your computer, reading scary stories or whatever you do, sometimes you wil l get spooked. what do you do when this happens. You check behind you, thats wha t you do. As you read this now, a feeling of dread will come over you. Check the spot. Nothing again. Thats because right now, all the evil is locked safely in your mind. Some people, upon learning of this "negative spot" resolve to remove the spot in an attempt to remove the negative energy. This is a grave mistake. Y ou must never let harm come to this spot. If you do, you will have released the energy. Now when you sit at your computer at night, you will feel chills even in the summer time. The feeling of dread that only presented itself when you were genuinely scared will now hang in the air constantly. Within a week you and your loved ones will have a string of bad luck. On the anniversary of the spots dest ruction, you will dream of your most horrible fears. The dream will seem to go o n forever, and when you wake up you will notice your vision has darkened. Every year on the same day, the dream will repeat itself, and your vision will grow da rker and darker. After you go totally blind, don't ever turn your back on that s pot again. That is if you can still tell where it is.

There is a house somewhere in China, built some time after the First Emperor has unified it. The house is built in treacherous terrain, and has not been seen by human eyes for some time. The architecture is typical of Imperial China, but th at's not the strange part. If you stay in the house, you'll notice something ver y strange. If you take measurements, you'll find that the inside of the house is larger than the outside. First it'll be a fraction of an inch, than an inch, th en a foot, then a yard...you'll even notice features from the inside that are im possible to find externally, like extra rooms and hallways. Going within these i s safe, and you can see the outside, but strangely enough no one AT the outside can see you or the feature. Most people get out at this point, but their vision is forever altered; the world keeps distorting in dimensions and size in their e yes. Then there are those who choose to stay further, and have never been seen a gain. It is said that they occupy the parts of the building that only reveal the mselves to those who stay longer. There is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea that does not appear on any map . It cannot be seen from any other island, nor can any other land be seen from i t. On this island is a lighthouse, rotting from age and sea water, which is neve r lit. There is nothing inside it, save for a spiraling staircase that leads to the top, and an ancient, dusty bookcase. The case is filled with unmarked books; bound in ancient leather, save for a single space. If you remove a book from th e shelf, it will fling itself open in your hands, and the words inscribed in it shall start screaming to the air. You must wrestle the book closed and shove it back on the shelf, or the immortal evil contained within its pages shall break f ree, and you will be forced to take its place, with pages, ink and binding craft ed from your own flesh and blood. However, if you bring the correct book to the island, and place it in the empty space, the lighthouse will light. As long as i t is lit, the world shall enjoy an unending paradise, for all the evil in the wo rld will be contained in the lighthouse. And while it is lit, nothing can go in or out. The only problem; you will be trapped for eternity with all the evil eve r known or conceived, by man or god. And the only way to escape is to douse the light. There is a moment each leap year, at exactly three minutes past three on the mor ning of February twenty-ninth. If you possess the courage, await that moment in darkened room, with no other present. At that moment, the darkness will deepen. If you were to hold you hand directly before your face, you would not see a thin g. But you must not do so. No, for that would be to waste the moment. Instead yo u must reach out, into that impenetrable darkness. And it will reach out to you. An unseen hand will grasp yours. You must not flinch away, nor tighten your gra sp. To do so will only slough away more of the decrepit flesh that covers it, an d anger its unseen owner. Remain perfectly still, as the withered fingers move o ver your palm, tracing unknown patterns. Do not move an inch as it crawls slowly up your arm. And most of all, do not even breathe as it caresses your face, tou ching what cannot be seen. Should you remain still through this, the hand will b e withdrawn and a voice will speak, so close you can feel its breath on your fac e, smell the scent of decay it carries. It will ask you for one simple piece of information: your name. Answer truthfully. Answer truthfully, and the presence w ill retreat, leaving only a whisper in the air as the darkness lifts. "It is don e." From that day on, untold good fortune will be yours, and mysterious power. Y ou will lack nothing, and have everything. But in a year, perhaps two, you will feel your skin begin to decay, and smell the sweet smell of death upon your brea th... There's a tent in a traveling circus in the India. Inside this tent there's a ma n who is an expert in poker, you can recognize him because he always bets exactl y 2 U.S. dollars and 31 cents. If you beat him after 3 rounds, he will bet his s oul on the 4th round. Nobody has ever beaten this man on the 4th round, and if y ou lose well... You don't want to know.

Somewhere in Ohio, there's a soda-vending machine that instead of selling root-b eer, inside the can you'll find the cool, carbonated blood of people who go miss ing on roads in the middle of the night. It does not take paper money, despite h aving the apparatus necessary. In a small suburb of western Detroit, there is a manhole on the road which leads directly down to a dead end. The manhole was originally a large pothole created by two fathers who'd been dared to dig a hole in the middle of the road. They h it a natural shaft leading downwards, and plummeted 200 feet to their death. Som etimes, when homeless people are looking for a warm place, the crawl into the se wers. When the crawl into that manhole, they fall to the bottom, and die. During the noon of a day of June, a rare, one-in-a-year light phenomena provokes a raindow-colored circle appear around the sun. This phenomenon makes it possib le to stare at the sun without harming your vision. The rumor says that if you s tare at this circle for exactly 1 minute and 3 seconds, your lifespan will incre ase for 1 year and 3 days. However it will be followed by 2 months of impotence. In the town of St. James, Missouri, there is a surplus store where the back room is always kept unlocked. Behind one of the shelving units is another door. Behi nd that door is the secret of perpetual motion. But this secret would destroy yo u. If you bathe naked a whole night under the light of the full moon, you'll be abl e to attain a 3 hour erection the following day. There's a band of roving pirates somewhere in the world, it doesn't matter wheth er you are on the high seas or you're a landlubber, they have been known to be a ble to plunder anyone, anywhere on the planet Earth. Only their captain knows wh ere they will strike next. If you go to Montpelier, North Dakota, you will find a small school. If you go i nto the school, and then proceed to the basement, you'll find yourself in a boil er room. Go into the boiler room, and you'll see blood spattered on the walls. O n closer inspection, the blood forms a pattern... Words. Before you can read the blood, the lights turn off. You try to leave, but the door has slammed shut and is locked. It is said that fifty years ago, some punk kids locked the janitor i n the boiler room while it was malfunctioning, exploded, and killed the janitor and the children. The spirit of the janitor now haunts the school, and lures chi ldren into the boiler room where he murders them in an act of revenge. There is a Wal-Mart somewhere in Indiana, with a concealed trapdoor in the froze n food section. If you tap on the door three times with your left foot, a voice will ask you for a toll. Open the trap door, put three lemons inside, and close the door. After ten seconds, you will hear a knock on the trapdoor and find a re d piece of paper that tells you two of the following three things: the exact loc ation of your death, the manner of your death, or the exact date and time of you r death. Every 23,375 days, exactly at 12:04PM (at exactly 64 equal rotations of the plan et) at zero degress latitude, and zero degrees longitude, the tide of the ocean will suddenly drop, a building roughly the size of three city blocks, covered wi th bas reliefs will rise suddenly from the depths. This building will then begin to sink immediately, and will submerge completely within 2 minutes. According t he eyewitness accounts, the reliefs depict certain famous events in human histor y, including events that had not yet happened. Every version of the Old Testament contains instructions for creating a real gol em hidden in the text. Rumor has it that the principal ingredient is semen spill

ed during an act of incest-by-marriage, in much the same way that Onan did. This is difficult to research, however, as Israel tracks down and kills anyone who t hreatens to become too successful and steal their monopoly. Investigated by the witnesses after they read instructions they found in a book, left behind in a rest stop bathroom. Participants must mix a shot of whiskey, a drop of their own blood (One drop for each participant), a pinch of salt, and a small amount of used engine oil. Mix with water from a rest stop fountain in a glass bottle, and smash it on the interstate in the evening or morning. If the i nstructions were followed correctly, the way will become densely foggy. an unmar ked exit will appear, and if you pass it by, it will be closed to you for six ye ars. If you take the exit, go left and under the interstate. half a mile down th e road, is an old gas station. Inside, it is said that a full glass the coffee s old there, will keep you awake all night, and the other food and beverages are p urported to have various properties themselves. Pay the proprietor only in metal . No bills, no checks, no cards. There are also an old fortune telling wizard in a glass case, in the back of the store. He knows how you will die. Accept no se xual favors that are offered to you while there, and do not anger anyone. In the hills surrounding the town of Bodega Bay in California, there is a tree, sitting right in the crook of two hills. Scattered 10 paces around it are 7 diff erent fresh-water springs. It is said that one of them cures any disease, anothe r grants immortal life, 4 will kill you instantly and cause your body to dissolv e into powder. But the last spring is special. If you bottle water from this one and take it to a small cave hidden in the hills north of the tree, you will fin d a single large stone at the back of the cave. If you then splash the water on the stone, it will dissolve, leaving you a baseball-sized red stone. As long as you have this stone in your possession, you will always be in the right place at the right time. If you pour water from any of the other 6 springs on the rock, the cave will seal up, and you will be lost forever under the earth. All mirrors are actually windows to another world. This world cannot be reached, and shouldn't be reached, as all our mirror-selves are extremely malicious. Try watching the edge of the mirror after sneaking into a room. The images we see i n the mirror are the pure incarnates of evil. They are only allowed to exist in the area reflected in the glass. They only come to exist, though, once a person has gazed into them. To them, life is like a never-ending hell, rotting away in the same room day after day. The only release from this purgatory is death, and the only way for them to die, is if you die. They are bound by a code, though. Y ou are their master, and they must mirror your every movement and expression. To do otherwise would break an unbreakable law, unraveling existence. However, the re is a loophole, and it can only be triggered by you. To force them into error is to free them from their contract; by letting them out of your view. Know this : when you watch them, they're watching you back. They're watching. And they're thinking. There was a time, though, when things weren't always like this... If you go to New York and order a deli sandwich "with several travesties" (any d eli owner worth his salt will know what you are talking about), they will slip a n envelope between the turkey and they cheese. If you can remove it without expo sing it to any mayonnaise, the secrets within will be yours forever. There is a certain road near the Everglades in Florida, which, if you drive down it alone in the rain, day or night, you will suddenly have a very real feeling of being completely lost. Your radio will turn to static, your CDs will skip, an d your tapes will play slower than normal. If you try to find a map in your car, it will have mysteriously vanished. If you continue forward down the road for more than a minute, you will find that you can't turn around, and everything behind you is pitch dark. There are no ot her roads and no other cars.

Continuing down the road, you will come upon a fork with no signposts. In the mi ddle of the fork, there will be a man, covered head to foot in various pieces of clothing. The only skin visible will be around his eyes, which will be bright g reen. You must get out of your car, but do not turn it off or close the door after you . You must approach the man, but stop at least three feet away. You must stand t here silently, waiting for him to speak first. If you break the silence first, y ou will find yourself back on a main road, but you will die within 24 hours. If he speaks first, he will ask you what you require. Tell him that you need to know which road will take you to your destination. He will then ask you what you will offer him in exchange for his assistance. If you offer him a ride, he and your car will disappear, and you will become the new guardian of the crossroad. If you offer him an umbrella, he will take it and stab you through the chest. If you offer him your love, he will take your heart still beating from your chest and eat it, condemning you to walk the earth without a heart, insane from the pa in and loss. You must offer him your loyalty and kneel before him. If you do this, he will cl ose his eyes and bow in return, extending a hand to whichever path will lead you back to safety. If you try to run from him, you will be dead before you reach your car, and your body will be found back in your car in some random location. On the farthest point of Long Island, the last scrap of land that still counts a s New York, there sits a tremendous, abandoned building. Protected by its own is olated location, there is also at any given time two to three Security Guards th ere. However, if one approaches the cast iron gates on the night of December 4th , even those few security guards refuse to work. The gates are left unlocked, an d the wind will be utterly still, a nearly opaque fog filling the peninsula. Go directly to the main doors and step within, there will be a single long hallway , the end occluded by that fog. If you look to either side upon entering, you wi ll see a modern operating room through a glass door. The farther you walk, the o lder the equipment will get, the more old fashioned the doctors will be dressed. As you can finally see the end of the hallway, the screams of the patients will be nearly deafening. The hall will terminate in an open door leading to a singl e wooden table, a man in woolen medical clothing, stained brown from blood, will be bent over a corpse. The body's face will be covered, and the man will turn s ilently, screwing the top onto a cloudy jar of liquid, filled to the brim. He wi ll hand this abnormally heavy object to you, before turning back to his work. In stantly, you will be outside of those cast iron gates. From that point on, disea se and injury will never affect you, but if you ever open that cloudy jar and pu ll out the contents... you will find a heart, pulsing and beating loudly in your palm. A sudden feeling of horror and revulsion will pass through you as realiza tion strikes, that you have just pulled your own living heart from your chest. In New York City, there exists a pathway somewhere on the FDR drive that is only accessible at 2:30 A.M on either the winter or summer solstice. During any othe r day of the year, this pathway does not exist. Furthermore, the only way you can enter this pathway is mainly, by accident, sin ce consciously thinking about it will prevent it from emerging. It is said that somewhere in the desert, no one knows which desert but it is wit hin a desert or at least a large place wholly made of sand. There stands a singl e unwithering red rose. Of course you could just pick it and keep it but that wo uld just give you a never withering rose. The true power lies within the fact th at if you bring it ten rose petals (Three from a pink rose, Two from a red rose and Five from a white rose.) on a new moon, a new never withering rose will spro ut and you can pick it. You can repeating this trick as long as you like and yes the roses themselves are not fake and they never wither so they make for a grea t gift, the only problem is that you have to find the right rose in the right de sert. It is said though if you give it a black rose and the blood of a new born

goat a black rose will sprout, once that is picked, it is rumored that you will receive a rose whip but no one knows if this has never been tried. If you wait at any given train station and keep watching a train will show up th at isnt on the train schedule. If you get on the train you will find that the in side of the train, despite what the train looks like on the outside the inside w ill be very elegant and old fashioned. Have a seat and enjoy the train ride. By this point there is little you can do t o save yourself and you should enjoy this short period of luxury that precedes t he horrors you will face. The train is full of other passengers dressed very fancy and in an old fashion. there will be waitresses and waiters that will serve you. When the train makes a stop get off the train. If you do not get off at this stop then the train will continue on but all the passengers will be rotting corpses and the train will ne ver stop, the entrances will be sealed and you will be stuck until you die in th at rancid train filled with quietly rotting corpses. After you get off the train you will be in another train station this one is com pletely empty and decrepit. A man with a pocket-watch hanging by a chain will co me up to you and simply say "you are late." At this point you must apologize for being late, then blame the train. If you re spond in any way other then this, the man's appearance will distort right in fro nt of you: his face will be rotting, discolored flesh and one of his eyes is out and hanging by the optic nerve. You will find yourself paralyzed where you stand. Slowly, his mouth will begin t o open until it is roughly the size of your head. His head will begin to lean i n, and then the mouth will begin to cover your head. At the point where your he ad is fully in his mouth down to the neck, his yellowed sharpened teeth will clo se around your neck and cut it off. The pain will be excruciating, and yet you will remain fully conscious until he swallows you. However, if you responded correctly he will hand you his pocket-watch. By merely holding this watch you will be able to go to any train station. Once there, a train will arrive that can take you to any train station in any time or location that you desire. However, should you forget to wind the watch and it ever stop, NEVER take that train again. If you do, you will arrive in the train station once again with that man who gav e you the watch--and this time he will not bother asking any questions. In four different subway stations around the world, there are four different hob os. If you speak to one for a while, they will start to recount tales of incredible treasure that they accumulated back in the 1800s. Now, they could just be crazy bums, but... All of their stories are exactly the same, in every detail. Except for where they hid it. If you watch long enough, under certain conditions, shadows grow impatient. When in a room alone with your a small light source, focus on it. The shadow will sl owly close in on you, until you move. Of course, it is afraid of the light, as d ark cannot snuff out light, but light can indeed destroy the dark. Watch sometim e in a room with only internal light. If you stare at them for long enough, the shadows will begin to move. Sometimes you can make out shapes. These things have lived with you your whole life, and will follow you wherever you may go, unless you command them in the proper authority to leave, and ensure they have no lega l right to be there. Few know and understand the proper authority, and even fewe r know just what to do. The shadows are always watching. There is a snake that lives in Burma that is believed to be an actual naga; if o ne is bitten by it one or two things happen. If the person is kind they themselv es become a naga, but if the person is heartless and cruel they die by the venom

. In a private terminal at the Port of Boston there is a houseboat. This houseboat has been anchored there, permanently, for at least 50 years. The eccentric owne r has maintained all fees and taxes and is in good standing with the Port Author ity. Still, even if the owner wasn't finacially responsible, no one would ask them to depart. Despite the owner's friendly, hospitable, if odd nature, there is a per sistent air of unease around the boat and the area of the Port surrounding. Very few people have taken the owner up on offers of hospitality, but those who do recount a wholly unbelievable tale: When you step into the houseboat, it's as if you're sent backwards 50 years in t ime. Looking out windows depicts a cityscape of antiquity and the television rec ieves live broadcasts of programs of the era (including news programs). If you l ook out the open door, you see the city as it stands today. When the door closes , you can see the 50 year old skyline through the port opening. Some visitors who spend time with the owner notice something particularly distur bing: an almost uncanny resemblance to their host, despite obvious age differenc es. Though this is odd, the owner is friendly and trustworthy (ignoring the air of unease most feel), so it isn't surprisng if casual friendships build between a guest and the proprietor. All this would, of course, be very strange and worthy of note, but dismissed as some form of elaborate hoax or illusion, if it weren't for one additional detail . Whenever someone elects to spend the night in this houseboat after an evening of conversation and a few drinks, they are never heard from again. When the guest awakens in the morning, the owner is nowhere to be found and sudd enly, the city skyline never changes back to its contemporary appearance when ex iting the boat. Under the bed there is a briefcase full of $100 bills with a letter stapled to a list. The letter simply reads, "You have 50 years to follow these instructions if you wish to free yourself from this hell. The clock is ticking. Get to work." There is an abandoned mental hospital at the top of a hill in Worcester, Massach usetts. Once every 5 years an old rusty box spring appears within the courtyard of the hospital. If you can sneak inside and sleep through the night on the bed, in the morning a man with a shirt that reads "Observe and obsolve" will take ou t his wallet and give you a picture. This picture will show you how you will die . If the picture is of the man standing before you, running won't help. If you need to get home quick , there's a special bus that only runs a north-sou th route. Tell the bus driver, "I need to catch the sun before it sets." You won 't have to pay fare and he'll make a special stop along his route. Another bus w ill be waiting for you, heading west. After five minutes and fifty five seconds you'll end up in the town you were born at sunset. If you wake in the middle of the night, don't move. No matter how uncomfortable you get, you will eventually lose the urge to move. Soon after, you will be awake, but you will be unable to move. You will not be a ble to feel the bed against your body, or your own breathing. As you do this, yo u are watching yourself fall asleep. In your mind, say to yourself: "I welcome t he servant and the watcher." Once your body falls asleep, you will be visited by two people that you know ver y well. If you have treated these people well, they will bring you a gift. This is a gift of the mind, which you must never misuse, or speak about. If you have mistreated them, they will bring you something which you have never seen, but will recognize instantly. You will wake up and forget the object. You will see that object one more time.

During the spring of 1902 in the Dry Tortugas islands off of the coast of Key We st, a man was shot and the bullet protruded slightly from the back of his skull into a tree (which he had his back against at the time). As time passed and the three continued to grow, his putrefied corpse was lifted into the boughs as his skull was still attached loosely to the tree by the bullet. As time passed, the tree grew around the skeleton. If you can find this tree on one of the Islands, tap it thrice with the heel of a cow hide leather boot, you will be granted the ability to make anyone forget anything at will. There's a mail box somewhere in the city which can solve your direst problems. W hich city? That depends on who you ask. There may even be more than one, who kno ws? Anyway, this mail box isn't emptied anymore - the mail service has completel y forgotten about it. But it clings on. It is located in some relatively unlikel y place so you won't spot it immediately. Mail you put inside it won't go anywhe re. But the box is special. Write a letter about your most pressing problems to the persons in charge of dealing with it: write to your significant other, your boss, the IRS, and get it all off your chest. Ride yourself into deep shit with that letter. You'll see that the problem will dissolve soon, in some way you had n't thought likely. Of course, you can't really be sure whether you have found t he right mail box until you try it. And if you haven't things are going to get m uch worse once your letter gets delivered... There is a child in a hospital in Decard, Tennessee. The child is a quiet toddle r that remains in the nursery with all the other newborns. If you ask the staff, they will ignore you, but the tag on his arm is yellowed and marked 1948. He wi ll not cry, only rock quietly. If you speak the name on his tag, his eyes will o pen, something you don't want to happen. Remember this Should you ever despair of life so much that you want to die, you have the means at hand and yearn to end your life, you have written a suicide note to those yo u will leave behind and you are prepared to die....at that moment, stop. Get a pair of scissors. Cut away at the note until you end up with a piece of pa per in the shape of a key. Go to a door, any one will do. Push the paper key for ward and turn your hand as if unlocking an imaginary lock. The lock is real. Open the door. There you will find it. The other earth. The on e that waits to replace this one when it dies. That death is inevitable, but in the meantime the other earth will belong to you. Be warned: the other earth is very different from this one. There is a doorway, one that can be any door, at any time. This door leads nowhe re, yet there lies a realm of twisted reality to the opener. This door exists fo r everyone - some never encounter it in their lives, others unknowingly open it and step through. The problem is you can't tell if the door is open to you, unti l years after you step through it. You'll see them, and they'll finally see you. In Council Crest Park in Portland, Oregon, at the top of the knoll there is a la rge paved circle enclosed by a short stone wall. The area has a couple dedicatio ns on it, and there is a massive compass of inlaid marble paved into the area, s o you know which way you're looking. Stand on the west compass point and walk ov er to the wall it is pointing to (this is easy because there's a line in the pav ement coming out from the point to the wall). Now look at the stones that the wa ll is made of. Moving south along the wall, count 10 stones along the bottom row and then give the 11th stone a nice hard kick. As you will easily hear, this st one is hollow. Feel free to kick all the other stones everywhere else in the wal l... the 11th stone is the only hollow one. What's hidden inside? As yet, that r emains a mystery. Go into a Subway and tell the clerk you want to order the sandwich they'd always

wished a customer would order. They will quickly, quietly, and without expressi on, craft the sandwich from many different ingredients. The sandwich will be the best thing you've ever tasted. This only works once per clerk. If you ask them to make it again, they will not recollect how. If you attempt to re-construct it , you will fail. Go to any high traffic bathroom. It must be a high traffic bathroom; otherwise t he room won t have enough latent residual energy to carry out the task. A hotel ba throom room is perfect. Make sure its after 12pm, and make sure you have 2 clove cigarettes. The stronger the cigarette, the higher your success rate. Sit in th e dark and begin smoking one of the cigarettes. Make sure there is a mirror pres ent, and that you look at your reflection at all times. The burning cherry shoul d provide just enough light for this. When you ve smoked the cigarette within a 1/ 4 in of the filter, the room should be full of smoke. Your eyes will no doubt be watering, but don t blink. Don t take your eyes off of the mirror or your reflectio n whatever you do. To blink will make all you ve done at this point for naught. Yo u ll begin to notice that your reflection will begin to fade into black. The refle ction of the cherry from your cigarette will begin to separate into two red eyes . The smoke in the room will begin to condense, and before you even realize it s h appened, a shade will be sitting on the ledge of the sink. He ll ask you for a cig arette, which is why you re instructed to bring two. Give the shade a cigarette, w hich will light itself once he brings it to his withered lips. At this point, yo u can ask the shade any question you want, and he'll answer true. Anything you c ould possibly think of. Be sure to keep an eye on how much of the cigarette he s s moked. When it gets to the point where it will only take a few more hits to kill it, the smoke from the other cigarette will begin to define more of his feature s, making him more material than etheral. At this point, stand up and snatch out his eyes in one sweeping motion. He should still be mostly smoke, so your hands should pass easily through his head. If you let him finish the cigarette he WIL L attack you, almost surely taking your life in the process. The shade will begi n screaming and cursing you and the hand holding his eyes will be burning intens ely. DO NOT OPEN YOUR HAND! Even though the eyes are disembodied, they can see i f they are out in the open. Run to the light switch and flip it on. This will ba nish the shades physical form and send him back into the ether. Leave the room a nd wait until 3:00 am to open your hand. The burning will be unbearable until th en, but to do so will blow all the lights out in your house, allowing the shade to return and seek vengeance. You will have 4 burn marks on your palm when you o pen it. All cauterized of course, and mostly healed. From then on you can never be in a dark room with a mirror, because the shade will be able to track you thr ough the burns in your hand. He'll have black hell dogs now, given his loss of s ight, and they are far more terrible than the shade could ever be. The number of hell dogs depends on the strength of the shade you made contact with. After thi s, you ll always be cold, no matter how warm it is, and you ll be given the ability to perform minor miracles. Your dreams will always be nightmares, but in them, y ou will be granted a kind of third sight. You ll never be able to see anything goo d, only the most horrific future events. And these events will only be known to you at a point where you can t do anything to stop them. A small price to pay for absolute knowledge. Get on any passenger bus that travels a long distance; Greyhound is usually a go od pick. Anything that's on the road for longer than 24 hours. Get a window seat facing west, then stare at the sun, waiting until sunset. Just before the sun t ouches the horizon, close your eyes. Hard. Do not turn away, don't look at anyth ing else. Cover your ears if you have to. After a while, you'll notice that the bus has stopped moving. That's the signal that you can open your eyes. When you do, you'll see a gas station, illuminated only by a few flickering flourescent l ights. There will be no sun, no moon, no stars in the sky. The convenience store will have its windows boarded up, but the sign will say 'Open.' If you feel you can't go through with it, get back on the bus, return to your seat, and fall as leep. You'll wake up at sunrise the next day, well on your way to wherever the b

us was going. If you enter the store, the door will slam shut behind you. You wi ll spend an unknown amount of time there, living out your worst nightmares made real. If you survive the ordeal without going mad, you will awake back on the bu s, as it reaches its destination. Nothing will ever scare you again. Some say th at after this ordeal, anything else simply pales in comparison. Others say that all that room contains, is all the fear you will ever feel in your entire life, and exposing yourself to it all at once keeps you from feeling any more. This, h owever, can only be done once. There are some exceptions to the ability, as well ... In the heart of the Rockies, lies a grove of trees growing in a perfect circle. A grove that, aside from this geometric oddity, appears perfectly innocuous from the outside. If one should step foot into this grove however, the inside with b e as dark as any moonless night in those mountain woods, even on the brightest s ummer's day. Those who have mistakenly wandered into the grove are rarely in any condition to say what happens inside, many simply never come out. However, if y ou are very brave, or very foolish, you can attempt to camp within the grove. Go in with your eyes shut tight, lie down in your sleeping bag, and no matter what you hear, no matter what you feel, do not open them again. If you somehow manag e to find your way to sleep before the grove takes your sanity or your life, you will awaken in the middle of the day to the light of the sun on your face in a the middle of a grove; a grove that, aside from growing in a perfect circle, and containing your heart's one greatest desire, is perfectly innocuous. If one sho uld step foot outside this grove however, they will find the outside to be dark as any moonless night in those mountain woods. In a cave, somewhere, is a severed mummified head. If you remove your own head and replace it with the severed mummified one, you w ill be imbued with immeasurable arcane power.

There is a special word in each holy book of all the great religions; The Koran, The New Testament, The Torah, The Bhagavad Gita; and nine other forgotten books spoke of in the Dead Sea Scrolls. If all these words can be collected and spoke n backwards in their native tongue, then you will vanish to Elysia, the most bea utiful of the heavens. You can stay forever, or return to Earth. If you stay too long, you will forget your life, but if you leave, you will have to kill a chil d at each full moon to survive. However, while you live you will have untold pow er over the secrets of the Earth. You will also know the location of "The Soft P laces", the lands between dreams and waking.

In Central Australia, there is an unremarkable service station along a straight and barren stretch of road. If you walk straight in and ask for the key, you wil l be given an unremarkable key attached to an unremarkable piece of wood. The ke y will unlock a door at the service station, leading to an impossibly long stepp ed corridor, dimly lit from an unseen source. If you follow these stairs, you wi ll begin to hear hungry cries of birds of prey that grow louder as you descend. After an amount of time, the light will vanish, leaving you in the dark, and a r asping voice will ask for your desires. For each desire, you will experience all the sensations, unforgettable, branded into your memory, of bodily mutilation, of being torn asunder by impossible strength, of having an arm slowly flayed, ea ch nerve individually pulled from your flesh. You may speak as many desires as y our sanity can take. Then you must turn and return up the steps and never look b ack. Return the key and go about your life. Your desires will be granted, but yo u will always have to live with the memories given to you in that dark place.

If you travel to the furthest glaciers in the south, it is said you can walk int o the canyons of ice there. If you find the junction of two canyons that form a perfect square, you can lie down in the middle there and feel no cold. If you li sten, the ice will speak and what it says will make poor men rich, and sane men mad.

An odd occurrence has been rumored to happen in a certain pub at night in southw est Germany. If you sit in the stool farthest from the door while one beside it is empty, order a round for yourself and offer to "buy one for the Baron". The b artender will without question or expression will pour 2 beers from tap. He'll p lace one beside you and the moment the other one hits the table the room will go dark and silent, save for the sound of footsteps as a man in uniform sits besid e you. It is believed that it is indeed Captain Manfred von Richthofen, although no one is sure because they can barely see their own glass, much less the person's fac e. No one who's told this story has had the nerve you touch him or risk insult, and the figure does not say a word. But apparently if you were to ask him "So si r, what's the condition at the front?" he would tell you startling details about the region's future and sometimes how they connect to the world as a whole. Tho se who lived long enough after the fact claim that these events took place the e xact about of years from the date they asked as from the date Baron von Richthof en died in battle. Yet this cannot be confirmed, because every time the figure h as been asked the question after 1964 he's only replied with a cold laugh. Out in the barrens of western Montana, there is a rock shaped like a raven's hea d with half of the beak broken off. If you use your forearm to complete the beak and hold the position for seven minutes and 26 seconds, you will feel a tinglin g sensation in your arm. You must then get at least 1 mile away from the rock wi thin the next 66 seconds. If you do this, you will be able to shape shift into any bird, at will. If you begin the process and fail, you will turn into a crow and never be able t o return to human form. There is a forest somewhere in the Northeast that takes on a certain quality in the dark of the witching hour. If you go to a certain spot between three granite rocks at precisely midnight, a man in a white suit will appear with a contract written in an unknown arcane tongue.If you sign it, you will lose all your memor ies, except for one. You will only know the bloodstained path to immortality. Of such great powers or beings there may be conceivably a survival... a survival of a hugely remote period when... consciousness was manifested, perhaps, in sha pes and forms long since withdrawn before the tide of advancing humanity... form s of which poetry and legend alone have caught a flying memory and called them g ods, monsters, mythical beings of all sorts and kinds... It awoke. A voice of ages. It had no name but the names men gave it, names held little meaning. Yet, it gav e it pleasure to hear those names uttered forth from the lips of men - men who o ften came to such varied and deliciously painful ends. It reveled in death for death was its purpose. An existence without end was wasted without purpose and the one constant without end was death. Death became its purpose.

It had seen the universe die uncountable times and the inevitable rebirth countl ess more. Dark unto light, death unto life. This was the way of all things and i t gave it immense satisfaction to be part of the grand clockwork of existence. Throughout its existence and all the varied incarnations of the universe which h ad been no creature had fascinated it more than man. It seemed they shared a com mon purpose for man was elevated to the pinnacle of greatness amongst the ecstas y of carnage. For this reason it pleased it greatly to accompany man when he sou ght perfection. It presented itself in varied forms, but became tangible only on the rarest of o ccasions. Periods when its influence was strongest and death and conquest grew h eavy on the minds of men, prized jewel of a Trojan female, Roman spear, Mongolia n Warlord - amongst others, these were some of its more noted and fruitful forms . An endless existence yielded many moments for introspection. It questioned the path it had taken, was death truly the alpha and the omega? Fo r an infinitesimal moment in time it pondered the nature of death and imagined a universe without it, reviewing its actions in turn and assessing the very natur e of existence. Yes. Death was the only path. INDEX THE MIRROR BOX Though written about in fiction occasionally, the mirrored box is quite an old i nvention. Currently it is an often simulated in computer graphics; however rarel y do people try to reconstruct one for a real person under appropriate condition s. The event can be enlightening or traumatizing for the witness who bears its b urden. The procedure is actually simple, though finding and preparing the materials req uired might take months: -6 square metal sheets, slightly taller than the witness. The length should neve r exceed the height of a witness with raised hands. One of them should be larger than the rest by at least the thickness of the sheets themselves. The material should preferably be made of graphite or lead alloy for the most prominent effec t (it's unknown why). -Five nearly perfect aligned mirrors sealed upon the metal plates. Each of the 5 will form the sides and bottom of the inner box. One larger mirror should be at tatched to the large metal plate, which will be used for the top. -A simple lightsource, of pure white or bright yellow. The lightsource should em it in almost all directions (a 90 degree cone may be left for the bottom). Candl es can be used, but a few early witnesses died from carbon dioxide and monoxide poisoning. The light source should not be planted upon the mirrors or receive an y outside energy. Construction techniques are left up to the witness. It is high ly suggested the sides be epoxied with strong L brackets. Though intuition might lead one to believe loose sides to be more "safe", past constructions with coll apsable sides have lead to horrific accidents. -Two or three alarm clocks. It may be digital or mechanical. However, digital cl ocks should not emit radio waves (some radio noise is OK, but only from natural resistance) and should be battery powered. It's highly suggested the witness bri ng both mechanical and digital, for redundancy (which will be needed). An extra alarm clock of any kind is also needed. Watches are OK, but not suggested due to the small type face and hands. - Wear simple clothing. Do not wear anything which does not "breathe" (i.e. NOT leather, plastic, etc.), or contain strong seams. If the witness' light source i s a candle, it is highly suggested that clothing is not taken inside. -Do not bring any other objects. Witnesses have often crowded the box. Such boxe s either become highly useless or highly dangerous. This includes jewelery, food , weapons, or religious materials such as beads and crucifixes, etc. -An assistant is required to help the witness in and out of the box and get help in case of emergencies. The assistant should be trusting and as strong willed a s the witness.

-Two 6' (or 2m) ladders -Several Blankets, water, aspirin, and a first aid kit. Once the necessary items have been aquired. Prepare the alarm clocks to ring aro und 10 minutes after the witness' planned entrance. Depending on the material us ed for the box itself, the time of day will not matter, but a night during a new moon is suggested. Despite intuition, sound does not play a large role in the e vent. Remove ALL electronics (except the clock or lightsource) before entering. The removal is especially important for radios or cellphones. The witness should use a small unattached ladder to enter the box. The top should already be place d upon the box at a diagonal angle, with a hole large enough for the witness to enter. Once inside, the witness should be handed the light source and the clocks (one s hould be kept with the assistant). The outside assistant should ask sincerely wh ether the witness is OK. Once confirmation is given, the top should be moved to seal the box. The witness may turn on the lightsource once the box is sealed. At any point should the witness ask to leave the box (if soundproof, tapping shoul d be used), ONLY the top should be opened. The witness may do it themselves, sin ce the top of the box should be easily reachable. Again, collapsable sides are n ot suggested. Once ten minutes are up, ALWAYS remove the top, regardless of what the witness says. Some witnesses may plead to stay inside the box, even suggest ing great danger should it be opened. The assistant should never trust those ple as. Suffocation is only one of many concerns should the witness stay too long in the box. Once the top has been slid opened, place the second ladder in the box to allow the witness to leave. Allow the witness to use the blankets, water and aspirin as needed. If the witness is feeling weak and cannot exit the box safely on the ladders, cover two adjacent sides of the inner box wall with the blanket s, and allow the witness to use the extra blankets, water and aspirin as needed. If the witness has any serious wounds, or discoloration, call for medical help. Good luck. Should you happen to meet a true witness, never trust what they say a bout their experience, and never ask them for the time or where the antumbra mee ts. INDEX MEL'S HOLE Mel asserts that, for years, locals had known about the "bottomless" nature of t he hole, dumping garbage down the hole, including dead cattle, truckloads of old auto tires, and large appliances like refrigerators and TV tubes. When garbage was dumped in the hole, no sound of the object hitting the bottom was heard. Mel claims he began a series of experiments with the hole on his property, inclu ding one where he lowered a roll of Life Savers into the hole, to detect if any water was at the bottom of the hole, at the end of progressively longer lengths of fishing line, up to the 80,000 foot (over fifteen miles) length of the last a ttempt. At that point, in 1997, Mel sent a Fax to the Coast to Coast AM show describing the hole, and shortly thereafter appeared on the show. Soon after the broadcasts, Mel claims that men he identified as government agent s told him that there was a plane-crash nearby and that he could not approach th e hole. He says that the government then offered to pay him a large monthly stip end to lease the land in perpetuity, which he used to move to Australia and fund a wombat-rescue operation. These alleged payments are said to have continued fr om March 1997 through the beginning of 2000. In December 1999, Mel returned to the US. While on a bus to Olympia, Washington, Mel claims he witnessed an altercation between police officers and another pass enger, after which he was taken off the bus to sign a police statement. Accordin g to Mel, the next thing he recalls is walking around San Francisco, twelve days later. He claims he had been physically beaten and his rear molars were extract ed. An alleged IV scar on his arm convinced him that he had been drugged.

Mel claims that he later returned to the hole, at which time he was served with papers indicating that his ownership was now in question, due to modifications t hat had been made, presumably by the government tenants. Mel alleges that his as sets were frozen for unstated reasons and that his wombat rescue facility in Aus tralia was dismantled. On his appearances on Coast to Coast, Mel Waters described the hole as being rou ghly nine feet across and at least 80,000 feet deep. He also claimed that it had numerous supernatural powers. According to Mel, a dead hunting dog thrown into the hole by a local was seen much later running through the woods, as if hunting with somebody else. After his appearance on Coast to Coast in 2000, Mel claimed on a subsequent appe arance that he had found a second hole. This second hole is alleged to be on pub lic land in Nevada, under the management of the Federal Bureau of Land Managemen t. According to Mel, the land nearby is used by Native Americans as well as "mem bers of the Basque community" who were using the land for grazing sheep. Mel described the second hole as being 9 feet in diameter, the same dimensions a s the first hole. Unlike the first hole, however, Mel claims that the Nevada hol e has a solid metal liner, or "collar" sticking out of the ground, 2 feet high, 2 feet deep, with several notches in it. Mel speculated on Coast to Coast that, "in my estimation... it could possibly be a locking collar... something could be lowered onto it and locked into place." Mel claimed that the alleged second hole's collar was composed of a substance wi th the following unusual paranormal properties. * Mel claims that he dropped a box wrench on the metal collar, but that the impact did not make a noise. He says this implies that the collar absorbs the so und or energy. * According to Mel, the hole is "solidly lined" with this metal as far as on e can see into the hole. * Mel claims that even in winter, the area around the metal collar is warm t o the touch and will keep nearby tents warm. He says the collar is not hot to th e touch, however. According to Mel, local Basques say the hole has been there, in its current stat e, for their community's entire existence, dating back to the 19th century. He c laims one man had personal recollection of the hole since he was young, over 70 years ago at the time of the interview (since around the 1930s). In addition to his claims regarding the Basque community and the second hole, Mel has also spec ulated about a Basque connection to the second hole: He claims he found a whale bone near the first hole, which he asserts could have Basque origins to a histor y of whaling in Basque culture. Mel further claims that the hole occasionally emits a "black beam". He acknowled ged that, "this is a contradiction, but a black beam of light, okay, comes from the hole. It lasts a very short time, but it just goes directly up to the sky... if you had a flashlight, and it was capable of throwing up a solid black..." Ho wever, Mel admits that he has "never personally witnessed the black beam." Mel claims that he and assorted Basque locals performed an experiment with the N evada hole, in which they lowered in a bucket of ice they bought from the grocer y store. Allegedly, one bucket of ice was lowered 1500 feet into the hole, and t he other bucket of ice was kept at the surface as a control. By the time half th e ice on the surface bucket had melted, the bucket in the hole was to be retriev ed. According to Mel, the ice in the lowered bucket had not melted, and additionally

, was no longer cold to the touch. He claims that the ice had been changed in an undefined way, and described it as having a texture like silica desiccant found in packaged food. As a further experiment, Mel claims they placed the alleged bucket of unmelted i ce on a cooking fire, and instead of melting, the ice allegedly began to "burn." Mel Waters described the fire as "not so much a flame, as kind of a... have you ever used a gas stove? it was like the barest turning of a gas stove on. It was like that last flicker before you turn it off." According to Mel, additional trials of the same experiment have resulted in melt ed ice, unchanged ice, and occasionally (about one out of three times) more of t his supposed "burning ice." Mel goes on to claim that this new substance could be used as a source of heat, saying that "one guy took some stuff home, he put it in his wood stove... and th e thing's been keeping his place warm" for over three months (September to Janua ry). Mel claims this man also reported that steam from a nearby kettle was absor bed by the burning ice, and that the area surrounding the burning ice was always very dry. According to Mel, after a few months the stove with the burning ice crashed thro ugh the floor of the man's cabin for unknown reasons, and that the man returned weeks later to find the entire cabin collapsed into "wood dust." Mel attributed this alleged phenomenon to all of the moisture being sucked out of the wood by t he burning ice. He claims that on a later visit, the stove with the burning ice had sunk 5 feet into the ground. Mel claims that a team of unknown researchers, which he speculated as possibly b eing related to the government, appeared later at the site of the cabin and atte mpted to use construction equipment and metal chains to remove the stove. He all eges that upon pouring water into the hole created by the stove, the metal chain s fused with the stove, after which it was successfully lifted by multiple const ruction cranes, loaded onto a large truck and driven away by the unknown researc hers. Another experiment Mel claims to have performed on the hole involved lowering a living sheep to a depth of 1500 feet, resulting in the death of the animal and t he appearance of a mysterious "seal-like" entity. Mel claims that the sheep was led to the hole, but became agitated when it appro ached the hole and had to be stunned and placed in a crate. According to him, th e sheep awakened as it was being placed over the hole and began trashing around in its crate and making "screaming" noises. The crate was allegedly lowered to about 700 feet, at which point Mel claims tha t the vibrations caused by the sheep's agitation could no longer be felt. He cla ims that when the cable had been lowered to its full length of 1500 feet, the me tal collar around the hole began to vibrate. According to Mel, the sheep was lef t at this depth for thirty minutes before being winched back up the surface, whe re it was found to be dead. Mel claims that from an external perspective the dead sheep appeared the same as when lowered, but that inside, "the sheep looked like it had been cooked." In a ddition, Mel claims that he then observed a jellied blob that filled the body ca vity where the internal organs normally would be, which he described as looking like a "huge tumor." According to Mel, the alleged "tumor" was removed, and the experimenters believe d they saw some movement inside it. He claims that when the tumor was cut open,

it released a "fetal seal," with human-looking eyes, connected to the tumor with an umbilical cord. Mel explains that the "seal" seemed to have a hold on those present, and that it and the human experimenters viewed each other for over two hours. Mel claims that the seal nd that after nodding at r and sheep remains were le, thereby removing any seemed to him to be a being "filled with compassion," a the experimenters, it dove back into the hole. The tumo allegedly bundled in a tarp and thrown back into the ho evidence of the experiment.

Mel claims that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer prior to his experi ence with the seal, but that afterwards the cancer was entirely gone, with no ev idence it had ever existed. Mel feels that he was healed by the seal-like entity from the sheep carcass. In a later interview, Mel claimed the seal entity was now making regular visits to the Basque shepherds camping around the surface of the Nevada hole. He claime d that the seal was able to communicate with the shepherds through a portable ra dio. However, when recorded, Mel says that the result was only a series of unint elligible sounds, as one might hear in interference on a short-wave transmission . Mel claims that a new species of bird has been spotted in the area of the second hole shortly after his alleged encounter with the seal. The bird was said to be bright red with a bluish beak and an estimated wing span of 14 inches. He claim s that at least six individual birds have been seen in the airspace around the h ole since the seal incident, but that no professional can name the species from a distance, and said bird has not been captured as of yet. It developed into an urban legend, and gained the nickname SunBird. Mel claims t hat the so-called SunBird never lands, except near the rim of Mel's Hole. He spe culates that the bird comes from deep within the hole and he claims that the loc als believe that these birds are the cause of the sheep's death, and the tumor t hat produced the seal entity. Mel professes that he himself has shot at one of t he birds, in an attempt to bring it down for possible analysis and perhaps disse ction, but that after being hit directly twice, and tumbling twenty feet, the bi rd pulled out of the fall, and continued flying. According to Mel's story, no bi rds were seen until three days later. Mel reports finding two crushed bullets in his yard. He says it is inconclusive if they are the same two bullets shot at t he bird. * Mel claims that a local Basque man volunteered to be lowered into the seco nd hole, but that the man was convinced to reconsider by Mel and the other exper imenters. * Mel expressed his wish to have his body thrown into the Nevada hole after his death. * The Handsome Family recorded a song inspired by Mel's hole called "The Bot tomless Hole" on their 2003 CD Singing Bones. * The description of Mel's 2nd Hole in the Nevada desert bears a strong rese mblence to the hole or bottomless pit believed in by The Manson Family and discu ssed in the various court proceedings. Manson preached that a bottomless pit wit h mystical powers existed in the Death Valley area. The Manson pit figured promi nently in his end times predictions. Mel Waters initially appeared on Coast to Coast on February 21st, 1997, and agai n on February 24, 1997. His next appearance was in April of 2000. There was then a hiatus for about two years, until January 29, 2002. Mel last appeared on Coas t to Coast on December 20, 2002. INDEX UA: BEKS

Black Eyed Kids (sometimes called Black Eyed Children or BEK) are said to be chi ldren with eyes that are solid black, with no differentiation between sclera, pu pil or iris. Those who report encounters with them often feel that the children were somehow supernatural and very dangerous. The first known sighting was recou nted in a 1997 usenet posting by journalist Brian Bethel. In his initial post, Brian Bethel reported of a meeting with two unusually confi dent and eloquent children who attempted to talk him into giving them a ride in his car. Bethel said in his post that he nearly opened the door to admit the chi ldren, even though he found them vaguely unsettling, until he realized that thei r eyes were completely black, with no iris or sclera. He reports that, as soon a s he realized this, the children became angry and insistent, and he drove away q uickly. His posting implies that the children may have been using some form of l ow-level mind control to induce him to open the car door. Since Bethel's original post, there have been other reports of similar experienc es in other parts of the country. These accounts are similar to Bethel's in that they generally involve the children's request that the person let them inside t heir car or house, frequently using an excuse such as "I need to get home to my mother" or something that implies the child is in need of assistance. Experiences involving the Black Eyed Children generally do not explain the cause of the children's eye color (not to be confused with Aniridia which is the lack of iris; Black Eyed Children have no sclera or white either) or the origins of the children themselves. Some imply they could be ghosts or demons, specifically vampires: the encounters frequently emphasize that the children must be volunta rily admitted or invited into the house or car in question, and in this way are reminiscent of some vampire legends. INDEX UA: BEK ENCOUNTERS Black-Eyed Car Encounter (first account, mentioned above) I don't really know what I'd call this story if I was submitting it for publicat ion in Fate or something of its ilk. "Brian vs. the Evil, Black-eyed, Possibly V ampiric or Demonic But At Least Not Bloody Normal Kids" doesn't have much of a r ing to it. (Shrug.) original.gif But that's at least an accurate title. As so many things do, it all started out innocently. My Internet Service Provider used to have offices in a shopping center before th ey moved to their (comparatively) lush accommodations elsewhere. There was a dro p box at that original location. The monthly bill was due, and thus, there but f or the Grace of the Net I went. It was about 9:30 p.m. when I left. From my rela tively isolated apartments, it's about 10-15 minutes or so to downtown (Abilene has a population of about 110,000). Right next to Camalott Communications' old location is a $1.50 movie theater. At the time, the place was featuring that masterwork of modern film, Mortal Kombat . I drove by the theater on the way into the center proper and pulled into an em pty parking space.Using the glow of the marquee to write out my check, I was sta rtled to hear a knock on the driver's-side window of my car.I looked over and sa w two children staring at me from street. I need to describe them, with the one feature (you can guess what it was) that I didn't realize until about half-way t hrough the conversation cleverly omitted. Both appeared to be in that semi-mysti cal stage of life children get into where you can't exactly tell their age. Both were boys, and my initial impression is that they were somewhere between 10-14. Boy No. 1 was the spokesman. Boy No. 2 didn't speak during the entire conversati on -- at least not in words.Boy No. 1 was slightly taller than his companion, we aring a pull-over, hooded shirt with a sort of gray checked pattern and jeans. I couldn't see his shoes. His skin was olive-colored and had curly, medium-length brown hair. He exuded an air of quiet confidence.Boy No. 2 had pale skin with a trace of freckles. His primary characteristic seemed to be looking around nervo usly. He was dressed in a similar manner to his companion, but his pull-over was

a light green color. His hair was a sort of pale orange. They didn't appear to be related, at least directly."Oh, great," I thought. "The y're gonna hit me up for money." And then the air changed. I've explained this b efore, but for the benefit of any new lurkers out there, right before I experien ce something strange, there's a change in perception that comes about which I de scribe in the above manner. It's basically enough time to know it's too late. wi nk2.gifSo, there I was, filling out a check in my car (which was still running) and in a sudden panic over the appearance of two little boys. I was confused, bu t an overwhelming sense of fear and unearthliness rushed in nonetheless. The spokesman smiled, and the sight for some inexplicable reason chilled my bloo d. I could feel fight-or-flight responses kicking in. Something, I knew instinct ually, was not right, but I didn't know what it could possibly be.I rolled down the window very, very slightly and asked "Yes?"The spokesman smiled again, broad er this time. His teeth were very, very white. "Hey, mister, what's up? We have a problem," he said. His voice was that of a yo ung man, but his diction, quiet calm and ... something I still couldn't put my f inger on ... made my desire to flee even greater. "You see, my friend and I want to see the films, but we forgot our money," he continued. "We need to go to our house to get it. Want to help us out?" Okay. Journalists are required to talk t o lots of people, and that includes children. I've seen and spoken to lots of th em. Here's how that usually goes: "Uh ... M ... M ... Mister? Can I see that cam era? I ... I won't break it or anything. I promise. My dad has a camera, and he lets me hold it sometimes, I guess, and I took a picture of my dog -- it wasn's very good, 'cause I got my finger in the way and ..." Add in some feet shuffling and/or body swaying and you've got a typical kid talking to a stranger. In short, they're usually apologetic. People generally teach children that when they talk to adults, they're usually bothering them for one reason or another an d they should at least be polite. This kid was in no way fitting the mold. His c ommand of language was incredible and he showed no signs of fear. He spoke as if my help was a foregone conclusion. When he grinned, it was as if he was trying to say, "I know something ... and you're NOT gonna like it. But the only way you 're going to find out what it is will be to do what I say ..." "Uh, well ..." wa s the best reply I could offer. Now here's where it starts to get strange.The quiet companion looked at the spok esman with a mixture of confusion and guilt on his face. He seemed in some ways shocked, not with his friend's brusque manner but that I didn't just immediately open the door. He eyed me nervously. The spokesman seemed a bit perturbed, too. I still was registering something wrong with both. "C'mon, mister," the spokesm an said again, smooth as silk. Car salesmen could learn something from this kid. "Now, we just want to go to our house. And we're just two little boys." That re ally scared me. Something in the tone and diction again sent off alarm bells. My mind was frantically trying to process what it was perceiving about the two fig ures that was "wrong." "Eh. Um ...." was all I could manage. I felt myself digging my fingernails into the steering wheel. "What movie were you going to see?" I asked finally. "Mortal Kombat, of course," the spokesman said. The silent one nodded in affirmation, s tanding a few paces behind. "Oh," I said. I stole a quick glance at the marquee and at the clock in my car. Mortal Kombat had been playing for an hour, the last showing of the evening. The silent one looked increasingly nervous. I think he saw my glances and suspected that I might be detecting something was not above-b oard. "C'mon, mister. Let us in. We can't get in your car until you do, you know," the spokesman said soothingly. "Just let us in, and we'll be gone before you know i t. We'll go to our mother's house." We locked eyes. To my horror, I realized my hand had strayed toward the door lock (which was engaged) and was in the process of opening it. I pulled it away, probably a bit too violently. But it did force me to look away from the children. I turned back. "Er ... Um ...," I offered we akly and then my mind snapped into sharp focus. For the first time, I noticed their eyes. They were coal black. No pupil. No iri s. Just two staring orbs reflecting the red and white light of the marquee. At t

hat point, I know my expression betrayed me. The silent one had a look of horror on his face in a combination that seemed to indicate: A) The impossible had jus t happened and cool.gif"We've been found out!" The spokesman, on the other hand, wore a mask of anger. His eyes glittered brightly in the half-light. "Cmon, mis ter," he said. "We won't hurt you. You have to LET US IN. We don't have a gun .. ." That last statement scared the living hell out of me, because at that point by h is tone he was plainly saying, "We don't NEED a gun." He noticed my hand shootin g down toward the gear shift. The spokesman's final words contained an anger tha t was complete and whole, and yet contained in some respects a tone of panic: "WE CAN'T COME IN UNLESS YOU TELL US IT'S OKAY. LET ... US .... IN!" I ripped the car into reverse (thank goodness no one was coming up behind me) an d tore out of the parking lot. I noticed the boys in my peripheral vision, and I stole a quick glance back. They were gone. The sidewalk by the theater was dese rted. I drove home in a heightened state of panic. Had anyone attempted to stop me, I would have run on through and faced the consequences later. I bolted into my house, scanning all around -- including the sky. What did I see? Maybe nothin g more than some kids looking for a ride. And some really funky contacts. Yeah, right. A friend suggested they were vampires, what with the old "let us in" bit and my compelled response to open the door. That and the "we'll go see our mother" thin g. I'm still not sure what they were, but here's an epilogue I find chilling: I talk about Chad a lot. He's still my best friend, my best ghost-hunting companio n and an all-around cool guy. He recently moved to Amarillo, but at the time thi s happened was still living in San Angelo of Ram Page fame. I called him and tal ked to him briefly. He had two female friends with him at the time, both profess ing some type of psychic ability. I started telling him the story, leaving out the part about the black eyes for t he kicker. One of the women (we were on a speakerphone) stopped me. "These child ren had black eyes, right?" she asked. "I mean, all-black eyes?" "Er ... Yes." I said. I was a bit taken aback. "Hmmm," she said. "One night last week, I had a dream about children with black eyes. They were outside my house, wanting to be let in, but there was something wrong with them. It took me a while to realize it was the eyes." I hadn't even gotten as far as them wanting to come in. "What did you do?" I ask ed. "I kept the doors and windows locked," she said. "I knew if they came in, th ey would kill me." She paused. "And they would have killed you, too, if you had let them into your car." Well, there you have it. I'll write some more later. But for now, your comments are welcomed as always Black-Eyed Waitress First, I just want to say that I have never been a believer in the supernatural, paranormal, etc. I think that everything has a logical explanation that maybe o nly seems "bizarre" because of a certain kind of over excitement that many peopl e have about "an experience from the other side," or what have you. There is abs olutely no explanation for what I'm about to share with you, and it absolutely s cares the crap out of me. Just recounting this is giving me a really creepy feel ing that I don't think I'll be able to shake, maybe ever. About three years ago, I was sitting in a local coffee shop in upstate New York during a little road trip. The restaurant was empty except for me and the night waitress. She was really pleasant and talked a lot; she was offering places to c heck out while I was in town and seemed amazingly astute. In fact, she seemed al most prescient, even guessing my age almost to the day and month and even certai n things that I was actually planning to do the next day. It was so light-hearte d, I thought I really lucked out by meeting a easy-going, smart young lady quite out my my normal way. At closing time, she went to the back to, I guess, put some cash in the safe or something. As I was sitting there wondering what time I wanted to get up and hit the road again the next day, I momentarily thought I might even invite her for

a few hours of "R&R." I decided instead to just remember the store and next time I passed through the area, to remember to stick my head in a say "hi" (no reaso n, I just wanted to play it cool and not seem overanxious at very first). So, I got up and knocked on the door in the back of the coffee shop where she we nt in. At this time, there were only two dim lights in the main eating area, and barely any lights in the back room where she was. I opened the door. This woman who I just finished talking to was standing facing me, JUST STANDING THERE in t he back of this dark room when I opened the door. Her skin was suddenly a clammy , cracked olive color, and her eyes were just BLACK. I mean, no white at all. He r eyes and mouth was open really wide, and she was screaming in the most spine-c hilling sounds, something I couldn't understand, but it definitely wasn't sounds of goodwill. I literally SCREAMED myself, and she started moving from one spot to the other t hrough the room. Not running, just MOVING. Her clothes now looked all old, and s he moved so fast; the back of the room must have been 15 feet or so back, and sh e just DARTED from one side of the back of the room, still facing me, to the oth er side, at an IMPOSSIBLE speed. Then she ran directly straight at me as I was n ow standing away from the door in the middle of the restaurant. I got the hell out of there, and jumped in my car still seeing her nightmarish f ace in the restaurant, darting it seemed to every window at this impossible velo city. The worst thing was, as I tore out of the parking lot ... I looked in my r ear view mirror ... and she was SITTING IN THE BACK SEAT, still with that nightm arish expression, still screaming. Then she just vanished as I was panicking aro und. Just gone. I don't know what that was that spoke to me in the restaurant th at day, but I know that it wasn't a prank. I swear at night sometimes I see her shadow moving in the dark in my room, just grinning a really ugly, evil grin. I haven't slept properly since. Black-Eyed Children - Knocking at Your Door Adele was at home when she had her experience with the beings. More unnerving, p erhaps, they were small children. "I was sitting in my bedroom reading a book," Adele says, "when at about 11:00 p.m. I heard a knocking a slow, constant one. I got up out of bed to see what it was. I looked out of the window and to my surpr ise saw two children. I opened the window and asked them what they wanted at thi s time of night. They replied by saying simply, 'Let us in.' I said no and asked what for. 'We want to use your bathroom.' "I was quite shocked that children of about 10 years old wanted to use a strange r's bathroom at this time of night. I told them no, closed the window, but looke d at them through the glass. I glanced at their eyes... and I have never ever se en eyes like them. They were black, completely black. I got the feeling of evil and unhappiness. It surrounded me. It was horrible." Black-Eyed Airline Passenger I retired in 1999 and a few years before retiring, crews were needed to man dome stic flights. In reality, I only flew international, mainly to Asia. I was the s enior crew member and the flight destination was LaGuardia, N.Y. It was a turn, meaning flight "6" was "7" on the return. The layover was to be about an 40 minu tes. It is customary to be briefed by the captain on weather conditions, their meal p references and flight time. I offered pre-flight beverages. Making coffee with c ream, and getting two cans of coke and Aqua for the other two pilots, I squeezed past two passengers getting off the aircraft. I glanced up just in time to see a late arriving passenger, noting his well-appointed leather jacket, pants and s hoes all were nice complimentary shades of brown. His haircut was in the Europea n cut with tendrils on the nape, instead of the precise American haircut. I froz e as I looked into his eyes. They were black in entirety. He looked European or a light Arabian. I don't remember seeing the white part of his eyes. I sniffed h ard in fear and told the pilots as I gave them their drinks, "We got a weird one on board, sir." Macho old captain lolled around and said, "Is he bothering anyo ne?" "Negative!"

Here comes the cutesy blonde who had been taking tickets. She puffs, "We're full , and by the way we got us a weird one, with green eyes on board and he asked wh o was the chief flight attendant. Meanwhile, the gal in the back was making coff ee, etc. and her final pre-flight is to give me an accurate count of passengers. I noticed as she gave me the information of two empty seats -- meant full minus two passengers, no babies. She was tight-lipped and pale white looking, no colo r what soever in her face. She then announced there's a man in..... I added "6F" and she answered, YES!! He has the strangest blue eyes! The cockpit door closes and we are latched down for departure. I give the safety announcements and I am noticing that the fourth girl keeps looking back at me a nd she is trembling. I finish and she returns to sit with me on the jump seat. " That man is very scary, I am so afraid." I was very frightened too, ready to pee my pants. I laid my arm on the door ledg e and watch out the porthole and wondered if we would survive this trip. The fee ling was unanimous with the other girls and we were on total edge. I was ponderi ng why each of us thought his eyes were a different color. I didn't like this. W e were spooked to the ninth degree. I told the captain, something isn't right ab out this man. It was then we realized that the passengers who had seats next to him had gotten off the flight. I MADE the girls do the breakfast service and tol d then, do nothing else but remain on high alert and stay in the back. New York flights are very noisy flight; this day there was absolute silence. Nobody rang for us. There was a great sense of doom. We were so distressed that the Captain put on his hat to come out for a look. Th at passengers closed his eyes and appeared to be sleeping. We landed without ado and matter of fact, the airplane emptied in world record time about 2-3-minutes . This man was coming and the Captain was saying goodbye. I refused and hopped b ack into the galley. I whispered, "Here he comes and I watched the Captain as al l the color drained from his face, when the man passed out the door. The captain said, WOW...whoa that was a strange man! I said, "Captain, he's not through with us. He's coming back on our flight and if he does, I'm off this fli ght right now!" Captain pooshed that and, sure enough, I followed at a not-too-c lose distance to see where that man went. I didn't see him. I sat down in the bo arding area behind a pillar and waited, because I saw his bags, one on the floor and a hefty one on the seat and it was wide open with all kinds of camera, radi os and other quite sellable items, if stolen... nobody touched that bag. Momentarily, I saw him coming and he got RIGHT IN LINE for a return trip to Chic ago. I flew to the phone and informed the passenger agents that this man just ca me in on our flight and no way should he be allowed back on our flight. If he wa s, I was outta here! I won't tell of the steps taken to prevent him from the ret urn, but we were on edge until the doors were latched down and we were taxiing i nto take-off. I never forgot him, and when 9/11 occurred and one of the gals who registered th e pre-hijackers for flight lessons, I realized that when she said, one of them j ust gave her the absolute creeps... his totally black eyes freaked her right out , I knew in my heart, there went THAT MAN into the twin towers with a dear in fl ight friend of mine. Now all were dead. Now I know that some of the terrorist we re coming into our country from Canada through Maine and I saw that on his ticke t. Black-Eyed Man In Elevator I am an executive of a bank in Australia. After being told about this site by a friend, I found to my surprise that a few people have had similar experiences re garding people with pitch-black eyes. Unlike some, though, I didn't feel a sense of dread or a feeling that I was about to die. I felt more an awareness and dis comfort, like when you see someone advance angrily toward you only to walk past you. Anyway, it was September 2, 2000, and one of the roles as an executive is you so metimes have to put in really late nights. My office was on the fifth floor and it was coming up to 12 in the morning. I was the only employee, as far as I know , on the first five floors apart from Ben, another fellow banker on my floor and

Stan, who is a security officer. I decided after finishing the files I was doing that I was going to go home. I s aid farewell to Stan, who more or less grunted and took the hall to the elevator . I then pressed the B2 level as the B levels are the car parks. As I'm descendi ng, the elevator flashes that it has been called to floor 2. I thought it was ve ry strange, seeing as I said the only other two people on the first five floors where me, the banker and Stan. Regardless, the elevator stops at floor 2 and in comes a tall man with more or less a black crew-cut. The first thing i did was open my mouth to ask what sector he was from and who g ave him permission, but as I looked into his eyes they where entirely black. The pupils, the retinas everything. I remember not really being spooked about his e yes. To be honest, I just thought he might've had a disability in his eyes. As t he elevator slowly starts up moving back on route, he asked me where I was going , and I simply replied, "home." He then asked why, and I more or less laughed an d just said I want to go to sleep and see my wife. He then just mummered very so ftly, like he was talking to himself, "It must be nice to have a home." I figured he was just being friendly and that he must be renting. As we got to B 1, I realized he hadn't pushed the button on where he was going, so I asked, "Wh ere are you going?" to which he replied rather angrily looking at me with his cr eepy eyes, "Nowhere." Feeling a little annoyed with his outburst that made zero sense at the time, I w as glad to leave when we reached B2. As I walked to my car, which was roughly 10 meters from the lift, I saw that he didn't get out; in fact, he hardly moved. H e just kept staring at me and where I was walking to. Starting to get freaked ou t that the guy was some warped-out creep, I ran the little distance to my car an d turned to see the lift was on a ascent up to floor 6. Feeling a little relieve d, I drove up the ramps and coming to the security door I swiped the card and dr ove out onto the road. Now the real freaky part. As I drove down the street, all the lights were out and this is in Sydney (city of NSW). Then I turn... and guess who is walking jus t ahead of the car - our favorite black-eyed man! No need to say, I sped home, p robably breaking five road laws. How could he have left the building and be ahea d of me when he had no car, and went up to floor 6? It gets weirder. On the videotapes and records, there shows no one using the ele vator at that time apart from me. Black-Eyed in Starbucks The story of the Black-Eyed Kids inspired me to send in my story because I think I ran into the adult version, though there was no feeling that I would die: It was a nice sunny day in November and I had been out running some errands. I d ecided to stop at Starbucks on my way home to get some tea. There were a lot of people at Starbucks, no surprise. I got my tea, headed out the door, had to stop and organize myself as my keys migrated to the bottom of the purse and I still had to get my wallet in! So I plopped the stuff down on an open table and tried to get my act together. I felt like I was being watched, so turned around to giv e whatever to the perv that I assumed was watching me, and the smart aleck remar k died in my mouth as I caught sight of him and made (inadvertent) eye contact. I should note here: I did not see anything unusual in his manner of dress. Jeans , black shirt, lightweight black jacket, (no hat, no overcoat) not unusual dress . His hair was almost black, but didn't look any darker than my boyfriend's hair (boyfriend is of Japanese descent). His skin tone was a bit olive and pale but not overly so. It was the eyes and the aura, coming off of him that scared me. The eyes, blacker than black, no white at all, wall to wall black, and I just fe lt a darkness around him, an evil. As I looked in his eyes, I somehow KNEW that was not a human soul occupying that body, and I felt that he knew that I knew th at he was not human. Interesting side note: three open tables around the table "he" was sitting at, w ere empty, and stayed empty. People would just come out the door, look in that d irection, and leave. No one would sit near "him". I got the feeling that "he" was amused by this. That he could keep humanity away

and he was challenging me, "Are you going to run away too?" My reply was "I am leaving because I was planning on leaving." (All this was telepathic.) I then broke eye contact, deliberately, and proceeded to get my stuff organized and walked back to my car. Somehow, I felt that it was important that I show no fear as he was still watching me. So I held it to a walk, a fast walk, but a wal k. I got in my car and left. It spooked me pretty badly, but I now know that we are not alone in this world. We share our world with others, non-human. Black-Eyed Kid I am a 47-year-old woman. The day in question was a normal day for me. I am an a partment manager of over 20 years experience and open my door to strangers every day. Sometimes I don't like the looks of the people that come to my door to see available apartments, but I will still make myself available to show the ready and empty apartments to rent. On this day, however, I was not willing to even step out of my office door to sh ow to the very creepy young boy who had knocked at my door. He had come in the e arly afternoon and knocked on my office door. I opened the door to see who it wa s. He was young boy of about 17 or 18, approximately. He asked me about an open apartment for rent. I remember feeling very scared and shaken by his appearance. He did not look weird by his dress or such. It was his eyes. I remember feeling the hair on my neck stand up, and I was shaking just from looking in his eyes. I have never felt like this before in all the years I have done this job. I coul d not look him straight in the eyes. I felt like I was about to die. My instinct s told me this. I noticed he was on a bicycle, not in a vehicle. He was not movi ng toward me or anything, but he was just waiting for me to invite him in or tak e him to the empty unit. Now, some people may think that I was just over-reactin like there was no real pupil. g or something, but the eyes were completely black He spoke normally to me, but I had to just shut the door in his face and get as far from him as I could. I felt like I was in extreme danger. Only because of t he eyes. I think if I had looked any longer into them, I would have not been abl e to shut that door. I shook for hours after that. I called my daughter at work and told her about it . She told me about the "black-eyed kids." I am still afraid of that image of hi s eyes. The black-eyed kids are some young kids that try and get people to invit e them into their cars or homes,etc. and the people end up dead. There were two incidents that occurred in Portland, Oregon here that I heard abo ut. I just tried to look up anything I could about them, but there isn't a lot o f info on them. Just be warned, do not allow any kids with the dark eyes inside your home or vehicles, no matter how young or persistant they are. My daughter, who is a fan of Art Bell, told me about your site. I just felt moved to write my story. Black Eyed Woman This incident happened a little over a year ago, and I've never forgotten it. My husband and I were on our way up north on I-75 during the afternoon. Luckily, i t was not at our normal time in the evening. We have a little place in northern lower Michigan, and often go up there for the weekends. As was our custom, we pu lled in at our usual rest stop, and I went into the women's restroom. As I was preparing to leave the room, I suddenly noticed a thin, dark-haired wom an standing alone and starring directly at me. I instantly felt a terrible sense of dread, as though there was something deeply unnatural about her. I then noti ced the eyes which had been staring coldly at me, and they were completely black . I saw no color whatsoever, and no pupils. I felt an extremely strong need to g et away from her as quickly as possible, as there was something quietly threaten ing about her. Her stare was devoid of any emotion other than something very col d and disconnected. My instant and unwavering feeling during this whole experience was that she was not human. I don't know what me made feel this so strongly, but it was my most s ingular, strongest sense while looking at her. There also was something almost p

redatory about her, as though she was homing in on prey while she stood there so still. I also had a strange sense of her feeling superior or stronger in some w ay. Again, the sense of a predator watching its prey. I left as quickly as possi ble, showing as little reaction to her as possible. It seemed important, for som e unknown reason, for me to act unaffected by her while in her presence. I felt a huge sense of relief as I got back into the car and left. I have to say that t his was one of the most memorable brief experiences I've ever had around a perso n, especially a stranger. I have never been able to shake the unexplainable feel ing that she wasn't human. Black-Eyed Devil I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States, and this is where this ev ent took place in February of 2007. The biggest club district in Indy is Broad R ipple, about 60 blocks north of downtown. Myself, my girlfriend, and a couple of friends were out bar hopping on a Friday night, just having a good time. I ran out of cash and had to run to the ATM at the bank down the block. (There were pl enty of ATMs around, but I was willing to walk a couple dozen yards to avoid the fees.) I made it to the ATM and withdrew some cash, and this was when things go t weird. I turned around and saw that across the street was a man leaning against the tel ephone pole on the corner. He was dressed well, in a black suit with an open-col lar maroon shirt. He was tall, maybe 6'4", and was white with short, jet-black h air. I'm couldn't be sure at that distance, but I firmly believe that his eyes w ere completely jet-black. (I've read the other stories about black-eyed people ( BEP) and I believe them now.) The scariest part was that he was staring across t his crowded intersection at me with this incredibly smug look on his face. Now, I was in the Army and I spent sixteen months in Iraq. I'm only about 5'7", but I 'm solidly built, and I can handle myself. I've been frightened before, but the only word for what this man inspired in me is abject terror. His appearance was absolutely impeccable and he was just standing there, like he knew something I d idn't, and as if it were something I wasn't going to like. I didn't want to hang around any longer than I had to, so I took off at a quick pace back toward the club where my friends were. After several yards, I allowed myself a glance backward and saw that he was following me across the street. I r eminded myself that nothing could happen with people all around, but I didn't re ally believe it. I reached the club, but there was a line in front of the bounce r who was checking IDs. I stood there shaking with fear as I saw the man pause o n the other side of the street, look both ways, then calmly begin crossing towar d me. Every move he made was precise and deliberate. I knew that when he got to me something horrible was going to happen, and it was only with great effort tha t I managed to maintain my composure. Just then, another man walked up to me from the other direction. He was in his l ate 20s or early 30s (several years older than me), wearing jeans, sneakers, a b aseball cap, and a hooded sweatshirt from a local university (UIndy, my alma mat er). He touched me on the shoulder and I immediately felt calmer. Then, he said, "Don't worry. You're all right. We have everything under control." I glanced ba ck at the man in the suit and he had paused in the middle of the street. It's am azing that he wasn't run over. The sweatshirt man turned away from me to face th e man in the suit. It was clear to me that this was a showdown. After a moment, the man in the suit sneered at us, in frustration, it seemed. Then turned around , and walked away. The sweatshirt man turned back to me with a reassuring smile, patted my shoulder and walked on. I wish now that I had followed him and asked some questions, but the bouncer bec koned me inside and I really wanted to get back to my friends. When I found them in the club, my girlfriend immediately knew something was wrong, but before she could say anything, another friend, Scott, said, "Did your friend find you?" I replied, "Who?" Scott explained that they had run into a guy who was asking abou t me. That he had said we had gone to school together, and that he really needed to find me. When I pressed for details, they described the sweatshirt man (of c ourse.) I don't know who either man was, but I truly believe that I was targeted

by something evil, and that my guardian angel (or something) protected me. BEK Encounter I'll give you the story, I live in southern California, Encinitas to be exact. Nothing out of the ordinar y ever happens here. The only haunting we have is an old theater that supposedly has a ghost that inhabits it after someone was murdered there. Personally I nev er believed in the paranormal until about a week ago. I work at the local YMCA as a youth counselor, one night as I sat in the parking lot clearing room on the seat next to me for my friend to sit down this kid com es up to the side of the car, immediately as this kid gets near us we can tell s omething is wrong, my friend just hopped into the back of the car and we lock al l the doors. The kid didn t say anything, but before I realized it I had rolled do wn the window, when I got a closer look at the kid I was alarmed at how young he looked, I d say about 7-10 years old. He was your average very blonde white kid, pale skin, but he gave off a terrible aura of bad things. He told me to let him in the car, never giving a reason, I was compelled by some force to open the door, but my friend kept telling me there s no more room The kid began to repeat this phrase back, sounding very angry. NO MO RE ROOM, NO MORE ROOM at this point he and I made eye contact, I saw that his eye s were fully black, no whites to them at all. He grabbed my arm through the wind ow, and dug his fingernails into my forearm, his skin was cold. I shoved him fro m the window and shouted THERE S NO MORE ROOM and slammed my foot on the accelerator . We drove over the curb and flattened a bush before leaving the parking lot, as we sped towards my friend s house we saw this kid twice, once at a fruit stand, a nd again at a red light. We sat in my friend s garage for about an hour before get ting the courage to go inside; we immediately set about locking all the doors in the house and closing all the windows. We grabbed all the kitchen knives and pl aced them around the house so that we could get to them fast, a silly precaution because we both admitted we were either seeing things or we'd be dead if it cam e into the house The next two days passed without incident, then on a Friday night I was sitting at home watching a movie with my girlfriend, -quick side note: I own three cats, two who are extremely friendly, and one that is not so much, she never lets me pick her up or even pet her.The big friendly cat is curled up on my girl, and the one that is afraid of me i s curled up on my lap. The little friendly one is nowhere to be seen. Which is n ormal, he s usually asleep on my bed, or on my desk. Anyways, it s maybe 2 in the mo rning and we re watching labyrinth on the couch together when she hears something, I didn t but she wants me to go check it out. I say it s probably nothing but go ge t my knife, after the experience with that kid I m nervous as hell. I go out in my backyard and nothing s there, my neighbor is sitting in his lawncha ir playing guitar though, so I decide to go back in. We go back to watching the movie when there is a knock on the door. Not just one or two, but a knock that y ou get when someone is angry with you, like when the government comes in all the movies. I look out the peephole and see no one, so I opened the door. Standing there is a teenage kid, pale skin, jet black hair. I ask him if he needs help, a nd he told me he needed a telephone. This kid looks fairly straight-edge, he loo ks like the type you can trust, I get no bad aura from him, and I m about to let h im in when I notice his eyes. Deep black, just like the kid in the parking lot. I slam the door in his face, and look out the peephole, I still see no one throu gh it. I decide that going back to watching the movie is the best thing I can do right now. We finish the movie, and we re getting ready to go to bed when the phone ring s, It s my neighbor on caller ID so I answer it. He tells me he just chased some t eenager out of my yard, I thank him and hang up. I have not had a run-in with either kid since. I have seen them on street corner s when I am out driving, and once I saw the teenage on watching me while I was a t work (I work outside, he was leaning on the chainlink fence)

Tell my /x/, what did I see? Were these shadowpeople? I m scared shitless. (Ps. my cat did not come back, I'd like to know if some bastard got him, or if h e still might be out there, or if these people got him) *Soon after this, another member of the forums who happened to live in the same town/close by explained that he knew someone else who had a similar account, but hadn't heard from them again. He then proceded to track down the mother of the missing person, and spoke with her. Here is a retelling of the events. Ok Op I got back from meeting David's mom, She was at first a little hesitant be cause she never met me before and the fact that I really didn't know her son all that well. So when we met I just cut to the chase asking if David was making up these stories of little kids with black eyes. Her eyes lit up once I mentioned the BEK's and she looked around first and invited me inside to talk about it. Sh e explained that when David was living there, they would have frequent visits fr om them eventually resulting in her calling the cops. Apparantly it went on for about 3 months not every night but some weeks 3 or 4 visits and other weeks none at all. Once the cops were called they patrolled in front of the house but saw nothing. At first she didn't believe David was telling the truth then after a fe w weeks David had an increasingly black rings under his eyes from lack of sleep. She said she started to believe he was seeing something but she couldn't tell i f it was real or just in his head. Then the following week she got a day off and she heard the door knock when she went to check it there was nothing, and she t hought it was just some neighborhood kids dinging and ditching. A few min later it happened again, and same result. Then when it happened again she started to f eel really scared, and this wasn't normal because she would usually get pissed o ff. She felt an overwhelming fear make her whole body shake as she went to the d oor when she looked out there was this young white child not older then 13 he ha d a very pale and white face and was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt the hood w as pulled over his head. At first he looked very sad, with his head down a bit i t looked like he was in need of something. As soon as she opened her mouth to as k if there is anything he needs, The boy spoke asking If David could come out an d play. She was puzzled by this because David was 18 and wouldn't normally play with kids this young. She was surprised when She said, David isn't here right no w, but he might be home later. She usually wouldn't tell just anyone that inform ation especially since she was completely frightened. It was late and started wo ndering for some reason why a young kid would be out roaming around. The kid gre w a big grin and it quickly faded as he just asked? Can I come in to wait for Da vid? She responded almost automatically, in almost a yell No. The kid then looke d up at the peephole where the light can shine on his face and said. Then will y ou let me use the phone. This is when she saw his completely black eyes, her han d threw the lock on the door suddenly and then put the bolt lock on and went to go phone for the police. She said she had never felt so terrified. Even though s he didn't let him in she felt like he was inside the house. And she wouldn't go look through the peephole again that night. When David did get home she told she was sorry for doubting him. David would tell her on many occasions that they ha d been outside watching through the windows. And that they were following him, H e couldn't sleep anymore and was constantly figity and paranoid. She said that s he understood why. Her and her ex-husband discussed what was happening and they agreed it would be best for David to go live with him. She said that they came a few times after that and then they just stopped the last time she saw one it wa s two boy's and they asked if David was there she said, He moved away and he won 't be coming back. The two boys looked angry and said, Let us in. She said no an d left the door. They haven't been back sense. However when I asked if I could h ave David's number she refused too. I told her I understood and thanked her for her time. She then asked before I left if I believed her, Now keep in mind even when this thread popped up I didn't think much about it because anyone could mak e up crap and I was skeptic but after hearing her story I believe her. Ok, /x/... well I met up with my friend, the one who was telling you guys about the BEK - he told me about it too, but with a bit more detail than he told you g uys heard... or so he told me. I m back and I m fucking scared to HELL.

Just a note /x/ I wrote this all over the past hour or so I ve been too scared to ac tually do much else, and I had a lot to correct because of my hands shaking so m uch. I met up with him, we hung out, shit like that. He seemed different though... Ki nd of like... freaked out different. He was always darting his eyes back and for th and I noticed that his hand was shaking a lot when he was holding a soda. I a sked him what was up, and he said that the BEK sees him everywhere, and that he can't do anything without seeing it. That's right, a single BEK. He told me that the three he saw were NOT all different BEKS - they were all one in the same, apparently they can shift their shapes at will. He said that on th e 5th... visitation... by the presumed "BEKs," it asked him why he had not let i t in the previous 4 times, proving that the BEK was a single entity. Anyways, he said he couldn't do anything without thinking he had seen it. When h e went outside, it was watching him, he said it was everywhere. He said that yesterday he couldn t even turn on his computer he was so scared. The only reason he hung out with me was because he thought that maybe there would b e some security with large numbers of people around. I didn t see it the time we h ung out at the mall, so I presume that his assumption was right. So we hung out there for about 2 hours, when we decided to head back to his house for some gami ng and stuff It was a BIG fucking mistake. I swear, I was scared shitless tonight after going to his house We went to his house and started playing some 360, nobody else was home (his par ents were out and his brother was having a sleepover elsewhere), and some weird shit started happening. A quick rumbling, and then a power outage looked out the window to the house next door, and the lights were functioning there. He grabbed a flashlight and went to grab his camera a pic for you guys, but when he came ba ck down with his camera, he said a piece of the ceiling fell down on his desk an d shattered the lens it sounds like bullshit /x/, but it isn t. This camera was as good as a piece of garbage now. Instead, he took the flashlight and shined it outside the window to his back yar d and that BEK was fucking there it was a small, young, shot-black-haired girl thi s time. But those fucking eyes you couldn t tell who they were looking at just from a glance but I could just feel this thing looking through me and Encinitas. Enci nitas went over to the glass sliding door and opened it, but left the screen doo r closed I could tell he had nearly shit himself he was completely pale white. He asked her what she wanted, and she said in a sweet-as-sugar voice I have been asking to come in so many times, who won t you let me in? I just need to use the p hone. That fucking voice was the most hollow, empty thing I have ever heard, rega rdless of the sweetness coming from it. Encinitas looked at me I think I was hidi ng behind his couch or something like that and when he turned back around he slam med the door in the BEK s face, screaming No you fucking thing! When he did, the BEK started running around looking for more open places to try and coax Encinitas t o let her in, but all the window shades were drawn. After several minutes of rus tling from all around our house, everything died down. and fucking went to hell. The entire house started rumbling, and from outside we heard a voice i can t even fucking describe it demonic say I will kill anybody whom you have told about me if you do NOT let me in! And then the rumbling stopped, just suddenly. Both of us we re, needless to say, scared out of our minds, but decided instead to get the hel l out of there. We took his car, and bolted out of there. I was driving because he was pretty much in the fetal position, and I was near insanity because I was imagining I was gonna be maimed in my sleep by a fucking black-eyed, pale as hel l kid. We went back to my house, and he s sitting here, now, moaning gibberish and laying on the floor. I ve been looking out my window every 5 minutes, and I see a different kid every time, but with those same fucking black eyes, watching my r oom. I lost my camera years ago so I can t get a pic for you yet. Tomorrow if I can, I m gonna go and buy a cheapo one. Well, Encinitas here is finally turning sane again I guess he ll be staying at my p lace tonight. He seems really tired though, he s probably gonna fall asleep right

here on my floor, and I don t think he d be up for questioning anyways. I think the BEK is gonna stay outside my room all night, waiting for me to let it in I m just g onna ignore it. Fuck, /x/ this is scaring the shit out of me BEK Encounter So, I went to my grandparent's house today to do some work in their garden (my g randfather was involved in an accident and can't do it any more). So, after clea ring out some weeds and other crap from the garden I came back in for lunch, and then we got talking. Several days earlier, late in the evening, someone rang the side doorbell. My gr andparents bungalow has both a fron door and a side door out from the kitchen, a nd they tend to attribute the side doorbell as being someone they know. My grandmother opens the door, and there is a young girl standing outside. She a sked to use the phone. You know this part I think. Gran first asks why this girl is out so late. She eludes the question. Then she asks her who she wants to phone. She says her father, in a city about 60 miles a way. In spite of her suspicion she nearly lets the girl in, but before she can m y grandfather comes into the kitchen, and I reckon he pretty much saved them bot h. He's blind you see. He went up to talk with this girl, asked her the same questi ons and then some, and simply said no. My grandmother would be the first one of the two to help out a kid, but I guess, in a way, my grandfather "saw" that some thing was wrong. Once they mentioned the child I asked them all sorts of questions and got the wh ole story. Annoyingly, my grandmother didn't notice the kid's eyes, and ofcourse my grandfather couldn't. Do you think this is how they work their magic? INDEX UA: SHADOW PEOPLE Shadow people (also known as Shadow men, shadow folk or shadow beings) are said to be shadow like creatures of supernatural origin that appear as dark forms in the peripheries of people's vision and disintegrate, or move between walls, when noticed. Reports of shadow people are similar to ghost sightings, but differ in that shad ow people are not reported as having human features, wearing modern/period cloth ing, or attempting to communicate. Witnesses also do not report the same feeling s of being in the presence of something that 'was once human'. Some individuals have described being menaced, chased, or (more rarely) attacked by shadow people . There have also been reports of shadow people appearing in front of witnesses or lingering for several seconds before disappearing. Witnesses report that enco unters are typically accompanied by a feeling of dread. Most accounts of shadow people describe them as black humanoid silhouettes with no discernible mouths, noses, eyes, or any expression whatsoever, though purport ed witnesses have also described child-sized humanoids or shapeless masses. Some reports also include glowing red eyes. Generally, they are described as lacking mass, though their specific nature varies from a two-dimensional shadow to a va porous or distorted three-dimensional form. Their movement is often described as being very quick and disjointed; they may first move slowly, as if they were pa ssing through a heavy liquid, and then rapidly "hop" to another part of a witnes s' surroundings. Some witnesses describe this movement as though the shadow enti ties they have seen "danced" from one wall to the next, or as moving around the room "as if they were on a specific track". Some accounts differ from the above and instead describe a completely black creature with red eyes,a cloak, and a g entleman's hat. This variation has become known as "the hat man". Various depictions and artists rendering have been posted on the internet.

Several explanations have been proposed for the appearance of shadow people. Explanations for shadow people have been drawn from the fields of parapsychology , metaphysics, cryptozoology, demonology, religion, and the occult: * A creature/s in an alternate reality whose dimension occasionally overlaps with ours, allowing it to be partially visible. * A Manifest Thoughtform (egregore), ghost or demon created by negative psyc hic energy and related to a places or event in which extreme emotional or physic al stress/trauma has taken place. * A creature in some way linked to Grey and Reptilian aliens * An unattended shadow or shade (mythology), said in some cultures, to be si milar to that of a ghost, a flicker of a life unable to end for some reason. INDEX UA: SEPHIRON Sephiron are creatures with a killing lust, sometimes also mistaken for "white s hadow people". They almost always only hunt in packs of 3 or 4, are distinguishable by cat like eyes, and a very smooth stride which can almost give the appearance of floating . Their existence is due to an exposure to a plant, which releases spores as a nat ural defense. It causes any nearby herbivores to obtain a light skin rash, follo wed by swelling of the cerebrum, which in turn is shortly followed by death. Humans, however, are affected more severely. The swelling ceases at a certain po int, causing the infected to slowly lose sanity. At 2 days after exposure, they will obtain an urge to kill, but it is controllable at this point. They will sub -consciously begin to scout local neighborhoods, planning murders. Within 3-5 da ys after exposure, their eyes will change and give off a cat-like appearance, as well as the change in stride. After 8 days, the disease can become contagious. Any contact with the rash will spread the condition. After 11-15 days, they will become aware that they cannot control themselves from killing and seclude thems elves. In this period of seclusion, they will begin to admit a strange pheromone. While humans cannot smell it, dogs, and other infected are able to sense it, and will be drawn to it. The infected will wait until all those with the condition are d rawn to it. When gathered, frequent homicides will occur. At this point, the con dition is no longer contagious. The rash is gone, and they will simply continue to kill until they are disposed of. INDEX UA: ANGELS To homeless children sleeping on the street, neon is as comforting as a night-li ght. Angels love colored light too. After nightfall in downtown Miami, they nibb le on the NationsBank building -- always drenched in a green, pink, or golden gl ow. "They eat light so they can fly," eight-year-old Andre. Andre explains that the angels hide in the building while they study battle maps. "There's a lot of killing going on in Miami," he says. God fled Heaven to escape an audacious demon attack -- a celestial Tet Offensive . The demons smashed to dust his palace of beautiful blue-moon marble. TV news k ept it secret, but homeless children in shelters across the country report being awakened from troubled sleep and alerted by dead relatives. No one knows why Go

d has never reappeared, leaving his stunned angels to defend his earthly estate against assaults from Hell. "Demons found doors to our world," adds eight-year-o ld Miguel, who sits before Andre with the other children at the Salvation Army s helter. The demons' gateways from Hell include abandoned refrigerators, mirrors, Ghost Town (the nickname shelter children have for a cemetery somewhere in Dade County), and Jeep Cherokees with "black windows." The demons are nourished by d ark human emotions: jealousy, hate, fear. The homeless children's chief ally is a beautiful angel they have nicknamed the Blue Lady. "The demons made it so she only has power if you know her secret name ," says Andre. "If you and your friends on a corner on a street when a car comes shooting bullets and only one child yells out her true name, all will be safe. Even if bullets tearing your skin, the Blue Lady makes them fall on the ground. She can talk to us, even without her name. She says: 'Hold on.'" A blond six-year-old with a bruise above his eye nods his head in affirmation. " I've seen her," he murmurs. INDEX THE HOLDERS In any city, in any country, there's a mental institution or halfway house you c an try any of these in. There were 2538 of these, but 2000 were lost. They must never come together. Ever. Holder of the End In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the End". Should a look of child-like fear come over the workers face, you will then be taken to a cell in the building. It will be in a deep hidden section of the building. All you will hear is the sound of some one talking to themselves echo the halls. It is in a language that you will not understand, but your very soul will feel unspeakable fear. Should the talking stop at any time, STOP and QUICKLY say aloud "I'm just passin g through, I wish to talk." If you still hear silence, flee. Leave, do not stop for anything, do not go home, don't stay at an inn, just keep moving, and sleep where your body drops. You will know in the morning if you've escaped. If the voice in the hall comes back after you utter those words continue on. Upo n reaching the cell all you will see is a windowless room with a person in the c orner, speaking an unknown language, and cradling something. The person will onl y respond to one question. "What happens when they all come together?" The person will then stare into your eyes and answer your question in horrifying detail. Many go mad in that very cell, some disappear soon after the meeting, a nd a few end their lives. But most do the worst thing, and look upon the object in the person's hands. You will want to as well. Be warned that if you do, your death will be one of cruelty and unrelenting horror. Your death will be in that room, by that person's hands. That object is 1 of 538. They must never come together. Never. Holder of the Beginning In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls herself "The Holder of the Beginning". A small smile will work its way over the persons mouth, almost seeming to say, "You fool. You will be taken down a hallway, seemingly leading out into a place it shouldn' t. This place will seem to exist nowhere in the institution, but it will. The ha

ll will be silent, even if you try to make noise. Screams will die before leavin g your mouth, footsteps will be muffled. Your guide will simply point to the doo r. If you enter, you will find a cozy room, full of a pleasant, though unidentifiab le, perfume. There will be a pretty lady sitting, holding nothing. No sounds wil l be made in this room, no matter how hard you try, except for one question. "Wh y were they separated?" The lady will then explain, in detail, the reason. It wi ll be every horrific event in history, every beating, every war, and every rape. Everything. Then, all will fall silent. It is up to you to do what you will wit h this information. That lady is Object 2 of 538. It is up to you if they should be joined or not. Holder of Eternity In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Eternity". A sigh might escape the worker as they lo ok upon you with the utmost pity. They will take you down a flight of stairs int o what should be the basement of the building, and yet isn't. As you press deeper and deeper into this under layer of the institution a chorus of screams will begin to be audible. Softly at first, as if from a great distan ce, but the closer you get to the end of the hallway, the louder it becomes unti l it drones so loud that it seems to consume all other noises, until you begin t o claw at your own ears in pain. The worker will show you a door, covering both their ears. As swift as they can, they will unlock the door and run, leaving onl y you in this cramped, dark hallway. This is your last chance to run. If you decide to continue, and open the door th en the piercing wail will end abruptly, leaving your ears ringing. The room is c oated in an almost tangible, all-consuming darkness but for the far end of the r oom. There, manacled to the wall is an emaciated figure, covered in raw lashes. He stares directly at you, with a grin plastered to his face despite festering w ounds and a scalpel still half-protruding from his chest. Now is your only chanc e to save yourself, and the only way is to ask "Who created them? He will cackle, in a manner befitting the death throes of an animal before respo nding. His tale will be the most horrific tale you have ever heard, beyond such primitive concepts such as pain and death, into the very essence of wrong. Of ev il. It is up to you to end this man's life, to release his terrible burden. Remove t he scalpel, and he will shudder once in agony before falling silent forever. That scalpel is Object 3 of 538. It is up to you if the rest should be protected or destroyed. Holder of Nothing In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Nothing". Should a look of sheer, primal disgust mar the workers expression, you will then be taken to a separate building, which ap pears to be an old, wooden outhouse. Inside will be a seemingly endless corridor far, far longer than the length of the outhouse. There will be no sound in the corridor. Attempting to make any at the wrong time is a grievous, grievous mistake. You will notice the lights in the corridor get brighter and brighter as you make your way down towards the end, becoming nearl y blinding. If at any point the lights go out, QUICKLY shout out "No! Stop! What you are doing is wrong!" while backing away. If the lights do not come back on,

bolt for the door you came in through. It should still be open and hopefully yo u aren't far enough down the hallway for them to close it on you. If they manage to close it, hell itself would be preferable to what you will suffer. If the lights come back on, return to walking forward down the corridor. Upon re aching the cell, the worker will open the door for you while glaring at you in d isgust. Inside the cell will be a mad pastiche of colors, arranged in several ha rlequin-like formations. You must not be distracted by them; for at the center o f a room is a naked young woman, slathered in blood and bound by strips of human sinew. If you take your eyes off her even for a moment, she will destroy you ut terly. She will only respond to one question. "What were they when they were one ?" She will then stare into your eyes, and t will be unlike anything you have ever th ecstasy and agony at her mere words. selves in the euphoria. The worst thing ttoo on her chest. It will pull at your f you do, you will be hers. speak the answer in incredible detail. I heard and you will be on the verge of bo It is not uncommon for most to lose them you can do, however, is look upon the ta mind to gaze upon it, but you mustn't. I

She will flay you alive and add your mutilated flesh to her bindings, and you wi ll remain trapped with her, fully conscious, for the rest of time. That tattoo is object 4 of 538. They desire to be one again. But they mustn't. Holder of Light In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, close your eyes and ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Light . You will be guided to a si ngle door leading to a long winding hallway. You will be told to open your eyes. The hallway will be complete darkness, narrow enough only for you to feel the w alls and navigate yourself forward. If at any moment along the way the lights should come on, shut your eyes immedia tely and quickly make your way back to the door you came in. If your eyes stay o pen for more than a second, what you see will force you to instinctively tear th em out. If the lights stay off however, you will make your way to the end of the hall an d another door. If there is a light from under the door leave immediately, what you came for is not there. If there is no light from under the door, carefully t urn the handle and enter. The room will be completely dark, aside from the lone candle in the center. What little light it brings reveals an outline of a cloak hovered over it. The man u nderneath the cloak is completely still. If you say anything, the man will tear out your eyes and devour your soul, and you will be forced to take his place und er the cloak for the rest of eternity. There is only one question that the man w ill respond to, What can protect us from them? If you proceed to ask this question, a piercing scream will ring out from the ca ndle and a series of lights will illuminate the room, revealing the images of th e most horrifying thoughts, fantasies and memories from all consciousness throug hout history. Most people cannot handle this event, and will go insane or die in stantly. However, if you should somehow manage to survive this, the man in the c enter of the room will rise slowly and put his hands to your head. You will be f orced to look at his face. His face appears young, with the exception of two lar ge cavities where his eyes once where. At this point you must not look away or y ou will be forever forgotten in time. He will then open your hand and place a sm all, round object into your right hand. You will be left feeling no pain, but th

e horrifying images will be burned into your memory for all eternity. The eye you hold in your hand is object 5 of 538. The awakening has begun; they must not be brought together. Holder of Song In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder o f Song . You will be guided to a single door leading to a long winding staircase. It will seem to take you up higher than the building should stand. There will be a door at the top of the stairway that opens into a dim hall. Heat will wash over you. Proceed down the hall, and at one point, it will sudden ly get much colder. When this happens, you must stand perfectly still and make n o sound. If you hear a baby crying, turn around and run away. The baby's cry wil l follow you. If you hear it for the rest of your life, you're lucky, for when i t stops, your first-born child has died. If there is no cry and the heat returns, proceed to the door at the end of the h all. Open it. The room will be awash in green light. In the center will be an old woman turnin g a music box that produces no sound. Her legs have both been severed at the kne es. When you speak to her, you must look her in the eyes. She hides a spear fash ioned from the bones of her legs, and if you break eye contact, she will impale you and leave you in agony to bleed to death. She will respond to only one quest ion. Ask her, "What was the song they used to play?" The old woman will begin singing. The song is in a different language, but the m elody is beautiful; serenity will wash over you. You will be presented with the image of children playing and singing. Things will turn grimmer. The children wi ll begin fighting, then killing, then disemboweling each other with sharp rocks. The image will continue of children spreading death and destruction more horrif ic than you could ever have dreamt. But still, you will remain calm and peaceful . You will see a naked boy drenched in blood, singing with delight as he runs th rough a hellish wasteland, pursued by unspeakable monsters. They find him, and m utilate him utterly. Still, the song will continue from his dead lips. An intense pain will stab at your chest. Your heart will feel like it is about t o explode. But still, you must not break eye-contact with the old woman; if you do, an exploding heart would become your happiest dream. If you don't shift your gaze, the pain will cease. The woman will stand up (you will know not how) and place the music box in your hands. The music box is object 6 of 538. When its song plays again, they will all come together. Holder of the Path In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Path". The worker will try his best to keep a lo ok of indifference while handing you a key, which he explains belongs to an unus ed supply closet in the building. If only it were that simple. Upon locating and unlocking the door you will find a narrow and winding road suspended in an endl ess void; only occasionally disrupted by the massive outlines of things best lef t unsaid. To fall off the path is to be thrown out of reality itself. A nightmarish eterni ty of unconceivable horror awaits anyone who either stumbles into the void by th eir own error, or is dragged off the path by the timeless monstrosities that res

ide on the outskirts of creation. If you should ever feel as if you are being wa tched while traveling through this piece of oblivion, the best chance you have i s to immediately freeze in place and hold your breath. Continue to do so until e ither your audience loses interest and moves on or moves in to claim you. If the latter, feel free to scream as hard as you want. Eventually the path will end at a door, and upon opening it you will find a smal l, dirt-caked room. Propped up against the far wall will be a heavily emaciated corpse, with what s left of it s skin long since blackened with necrosis. There will be nothing else unusual about it unless you approach it and ask one question: " How did they acquire guardians?" If said line is spoken, the corpse will begin to stir. A subtle red glow will come from its eye sockets as it lifts its head and begins to whisper the long and ma cabre history of the holders. It will speak of unholy pacts and unspeakable atro cities. Within time its tale will touch upon every form of evil known to man or God, and then a few more. Furthermore, if given the title of any holder, it will reveal its history and the meaning of the object that it protects. Well, almost any holder. You see, it will never go into detail about itself. Thi s is because the ghoul hopes that its visitor will not question why it seems to be lacking an object. In truth is that its piece was somehow sealed inside the c reature s skull, and the ominous light in its eye sockets is actually that of the object s shining through. That object is 7 of 538. And its holder will do anything to keep you away from i t. Holder of Wealth In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Wealth." The worker will raise one eyebrow. Ask a secon d time, and the worker will shrug and take you across the street, where an opule nt mansion awaits. The mansion was not there before, but do not preoccupy yourself with the mansion 's origin. Its owner would rather not scare you away. Inside the front door, there is a grand staircase, spiraling up across the foyer . The walls are covered with fine paintings, and a large marble statue rests on a pedestal by the base of the stairs. The statue's eldritch features evoke an im age of a truly horrific beast, a creature at once both alien and evil. Admire it all you want, but don't touch it. Touching it will wake it, and it hasn't eaten in a while. Ascend the staircase. As long as you touch nothing, you are in no danger. Don't panic. At the top of the stairs is a small, unassuming wooden door. It will open for you, if you are not afraid. Standing there, behind a large desk of what appears to be mahogany, there stands a man with a pointed goatee and short, cropped, gelled hair. He wears a suit th at at once appears to be made of human flesh and Italian silk. He may speak, and at great length. He will talk about his amazingly beautiful house, and the love ly statue of his concubine resting downstairs. Do not interrupt him, and do not answer any questions he may ask. When he is finished, steel yourself, and confid ently ask, "May I have my salary?" He will proceed to explain to you, in great detail, the value of life. He will t alk of things worse than death, and he will tell you exactly what he expects you

do to do. The fabulous interior of the room will rot away, and the floor will t urn from French weave to feces. His own appearance will become unimaginably cycl opean and ungodly. He will then fish out a small bank note from the inside of hi s human suit and hand it to you. That note is object 8 of 538. Its holder is counting on you to spend it. Holder of Wisdom In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Wisdom." The worker will chuckle and you will be guided to an empty room. The worker will hand you a key and tell you to wait some time in the room until you hear a bell ring. Then you have to lock the door, wait un til a second ring and unlock it. It will open all by itself and reveal a long hallway, with all colors you may or may not know painted onto the walls, ceiling and floor. Follow the hallway unti l you hear a little girl singing. Stop, close your eyes and stay where you are u ntil the girl finishes the song, even if you think that it will drive you mad. I f you do move, run. Run back to the door where you came from, as fast as you can . Jump through the window of the room where you waited before and you might live . Should you be unable to reach the window in time, a horrible creature will dra g you back into the hallway where you will die a death that is as horrible as th e creature that caught you. If you do not move and the song ceased, you are free to turn around and leave fo rever, or walk deeper into the hallway, until you reach a door in the shape of a human. Open this door with the same key that was given to you earlier, walk ins ide and close it behind you. In the middle of the room you will see a desk with a bright candle and behind the desk will sit a man, with his face hidden by the shine of the candle. Walk closer, but always keep the flame between you and the man's face, for you will surely feel the urge to empty your stomach should you w itness how he looks like. Stop when you are five steps away from the desk. The man will raise his hand and gesture you to come closer, but do not step any further than this. Close your e yes and ask him one question, nothing else. "Who will bring them back together?" You will hear the man rising from his chair and he will begin to pray. It will be a language you will not understand at first, but after two minutes, you will hear a name. Should you hear 'Anubis', then pray that your death will come quick ly. If it is 'Thor' you hear, you may open your eyes. The man's head will be on the desk, cut off of the body, but still talking. After another three minutes, h e will stop and begin to tell you how you will die. He will describe every tiny detail of your horrible death, and you will be unable to move. He will also desc ribe who kill you and why he does it. Finally, the man will stop talking. His head is object 9 of 538. It is up to you what you do with the knowledge of your death, for it now is inevitable. Holder of Forbidden Tongues In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of forbidden Tongues". The worker should bow before you , and then give you an urn. Now walk into an empty place inside the institute, p referably an unused supply closet. There, where nobody is watching you, open the urn and look into it. Raise your head again. You should find yourself on a wooden stairway that leads downwards into a corridor. Go down the stairs, as there is no turning back now. After a while, you will hear something that sounds like a chorus, sung by monks,

speaking a foreign language. Immediately cover your ears with your hands. If yo u hear too many words, a hideous creature will haunt you for the rest of your mo rtal existence. As soon as you reach a door, the chorus should stop. If it doesn 't, quickly turn around and shout "TACITE!"- This is the Latin Word for "Silence ". Now the chorus should stop at last; if it doesn't, pray to every god you have ever heard of for a quick death, and hope they listen, for if they don't, the s inging will grow louder and louder until it drives your soul insane. Step through the door. Inside a person is waiting for you. A masked monk in a re d cloak. He will greet you in Latin with "Salve! Do not say anything and wait a f ew seconds until he puts on the light. There will be inscriptions on the walls, on the floor and on the furniture. The Monk will stand at the wall on the other end of the room and wait for your question. Don't try to read the words on the W alls. If you do, you will, within seconds, go insane. Walk to him and ask him on ly one question. "In which language were they talking?" That and nothing else. H e will then hand you a book and disappear. Do not open the book. If you do, you will release horrible demons that will torture you for an eternity. After you go t the book, turn around and there should be two urns on the table. One will take you back to the place you call home. The other one will drag your soul into pit ch darkness. It s up to you if you pick the right one or not. The Book is Object 10 of 538. Do not dare to ever read it. Holder of Life In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Life". The worker will try to suppress a groan a nd you will have to ask again. He will then lead you to an operating room that l ooks just like any other you might or might not have seen in your life. The work er will give you a scalpel and then leave you alone in the room, locking the doo r behind him. You will have to wait. Wait for almost an hour. Then the door will open and seve ral people will enter the room, including a pregnant woman. The woman will lie d own on the operating table; the other people, who will look like doctors, will p repare everything for the child's birth. While they do that, you will be able to ask the woman one question. Ask "How can they be reassembled? nothing else, or t he doctors will begin to skin and disassemble you. You will be fully conscious w hile they do this. If you have asked the right question, the woman will begin to scream, the child is about to be born. You will have to wait until it's over, and one of the docto rs will give you the child, moving his mouth, but without sound coming from his lips. As soon as he finishes 'talking' and smiles, you will have to throw the ch ild to the ground and ram the scalpel into its head, else it will smash your rib -cage and rip your heart out with inhuman strength. If you have thrown the child to the ground in time, it will, despite the scalpel in its head, answer the question you have asked earlier. It will speak with a d emonic voice that might drive you mad. While it is talking, the other people in the room will vanish without leaving a trace. After the child finishes talking, it will simply die and the door of the room will unlock. You are now free to go, if you have not been driven mad by the voice. The dead baby is object 11 of 538. Dare you not remove the scalpel? Holder of Death

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Death". The worker's face will turn white as if he j ust saw a ghost. He will then guide you to a wooden door and leave you afterward s. You will have to knock thrice. Should you hear an old man saying "Come.", you may enter and will find yourself in a forest. If you hear a young man saying "No, thank you. run. Run and leave th e city, the country as fast as you can, for unspoken evil will haunt you, should you stay. Now that you are in a forest, look up to the sky. If it is day, follow the sun. If it is night, follow the moon. Follow them, and do not leave the path you have taken, no matter what kinds of beauty or horror you might see. Should you ever leave the path; your soul will be tormented for eternity after the body has died a horrible death. You will, after some time, notice that you are walking to a m ansion. Ignore it; keep walking, for it is an illusion made to confuse you. Finally, you will reach a small wooden hut. Enter the hut and immediately turn a round, should you desire to over live the sheer horror you will experience by lo oking at the man who now is behind you. Ask him a question. "What will end them? " He will begin to talk with a voice that is gentle and kind as well as brutal a nd deadly. Listen carefully to what he says, as you might soon be the only one k nowing their destiny. As soon as the man finishes his small tale, he will ask yo u to turn around, as he wants to give you a gift. Do not do this. Close your eyes take the gift. u came from. As ut. You will be Instead, walk backwards until you reach something hard, a desk. and partially turn your body so you can reach out to the man and When it touched your hand, close it and walk back to the door yo you open it, say the words "We will meet another day" and walk o back in the mental institution.

Now, open your hand and look at the gift. The bone-finger is object 12 of 538. Holder of Darkness In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls himself "The Holder of Darkness." The worker will mock you but you have to stay as calm as possible. Keep asking him until he stops denying and withdraws from his counter to guide you through the corridors. As his behav ior changes radically, stay on guard, for if you start hearing one single tiny s inister hiss, you should turn around and flee as far as you can, covering your e ars, because the time was bad. If you do not escape in time, the faint sound wil l turn into a dreadful growling, that will soon merge into a continuous shriek o f sheer pain, until madness floods you and leaves you to die in a deafening agon y. If the warden remains silent, he will lead you to a closed door with neither han dles nor lock. As he pushes it open effortless, you will see an ascending windin g staircase which can t possibly lead to any upper floor of the establishment. The door will close behind you and you will not be able to push it back. Past this point, climb and do not turn back, or you will fall into a bottomless pit only w aiting for a living prey to chew upon. Do not count the steps, for knowing how m uch there is will drive you into insanity. One will then creak, and so you shoul d stop. Another door should appear on your left. If it is on your right, then pr ay for a swift passing. Enter slowly into the room, and a total obscurity shall fall unto you. You will be required to walk straight forward, for slipping will only lead you to be devo ured by the roaming and unknown creatures observing you with blinded purulent ey

es. You will know you have arrived when coldness grips you. At that very moment, freeze, or you will die by the hands of the holder who is standing right in fro nt of you. In complete darkness, even closing your eyes will not prevent you fro m his horrid appearance. It will form into your mind as the most outrageous mons ter ever conceivable, and madness will try to creep into your brain as worms ove r a decayed corpse. His fulminating breath and constant mumblings would be enoug h to make you cry, but be advised to not utter anything louder than a weeping, f or you might wake what must not be awaken. The only question you will be able to whisper without being torn apart should be What do they fear? You will feel movements all around you, as shudders animate your opponents. You will hear what nameless and incurable diseases will strike the world if they wer e to be frightened, the countless terrors their own fright will unleash on those with a weaker mind than theirs. Amidst the atrocious enumeration of the endless sores the world will suffer, you might hear the simplest, almost ridiculous, ye t, implacable and certain truth they all fear. Do not move again. And when your head is about to implode, it will stop. If you are still able to move, you will find a door in front of you which leads you outside of the ward. There, in the o pen, in the grass, a broken hourglass will wait for you. You are free to pick it up. It is object 13 of 538. Your knowledge of theirs fea rs is up to you to share, but you might not want to use it as a weapon against t hem. Holder of Dance In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. Reach for the reception and ask if you may visit someone who calls itself The Holder of Dance. The clerk will shrug it off while telling you t o go to the next theatre down the road. If you obey her, you ll then discover she has sent you to see The Lord of the Dance , and that she hasn t understood properly y our question. So ask for it twice. Her face will at last light up as she gets it right. Silly me she ll mutter, and then fool of you, too when she starts walking towa rd a long hall. You ll pass through the garden, onto a small brick-built reserve, while being gazed upon by the mental patients around you. Heavy chains will be r unning athwart the rusty metal door. A key will be handed to you, and everyone w ill back up into the building, closing doors and windows and shutters. You d be le ft in the silence of your own demise. You can still go away, but from the inside now raises an appealing sound. Calling you, tempting you. Your mind must not fl icker, or it will be lost, forever swallowed in a false sense of bliss while you r e left to be shredded alive. As you control yourself and enter the place, a wide descending flight of stairs awaits to be taken. Echoes of commotions reach your ears in troubled moans, wher e you can t tell if they re from pains or pleasures. You ll come to an underground lev el, with fluttering or broken neon s lights. It would look like a corridor, with m ultiple doorless rooms. Then, they ll start coming out. Shallows and diaphanous fi gures, slouching aimlessly. They ll be ghosts of different shapes and different ag es and different sex and in different states of decay. On the other side of the room, far away but it won t be far enough, you ll think in panic stands a shape with a point of light. It will be your only chance to ask What makes them dance? You ll then see the dead all around you shaking nervously, and the silhouette afar coming near. The naked body of a female will be walking for you, half-beheaded, her throat pumping and gurgling blood, while her head bended on the side start talking in a disembodied voice the mayhems she witnessed and accomplished. You w ill see slaughter and rotting battlefield full of corpses, as a rhythm grows in you. You ll want to dance with the dead all around, but you must not yield into it . You ll have to suppress the beating of your foot. And to not let your heart goes in cadence, for when the dance will stop, so will it. The bare bloody lady will tell you more as she approaches you, tales of carnages and tortures that was th

eirs joys when they were one. In her left hand she ll be stroking her turgescent m anhood at you, while in her right flagging hand will hang an old squared lantern shining a pale blue. The Lantern is object 14 of 538. Its holder will not let it go easily. Holder of the Past In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Past". At the last syllable of your sentence, hi s eyes should open wide and stare at you as if he was attempting to see past you r skin into your soul. Don't ask any questions, because he won't speak to you, a nd in the case that he does, you will wish he hadn't. He will take you down a lo ng hallway and you will walk with him for what will seem like hours. Stare STRAI GHT AHEAD the entire time, for if you look at the floor, walls, or ceiling of th e hallway, you will run into a dead end and the worker will pursue you with a he llish bloodlust until you are completely disemboweled. After exactly 350 paces the worker will stop, turn around, and pull a watch out of his pocket. He will turn the dial backward one hour and at that point, you wi ll have one hour to complete your task. If you don't, then there are no words to describe your fate at that point. The lights will go out for exactly 3 seconds, and when they turn back on, you will be in a room with no doors and a red-tinte d skylight shaped like a pentagram. This will cast a blood-red star in the middl e of the room where a splintered cherry table with two seats will be. Sitting at the seat closest to you, look up. Look down again, and a man with long, dirty b lack hair will be face-down on the table. He will answer to one question: "Where did He once stand?" The man will speak of a place that has no place on any map, but will describe th e room in painfully grotesque detail. Pay very close attention, he will enumerat e exactly how many of what horrible object hang from spears protruding from the walls. You have the rest of the hour to find the room and sit in His throne. If you fail, I suggest you become armed; heavily. His Throne is object 15 of 358. If brought together, he may once again return. Holder of the Future In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to see someone who calls himself the "Holder of the Future". If the attendant offers to show you the way do not follow him, for he is not the true guide and will only deliver you to mad ness. The true guide will fall silent and hand you a sheet of paper on which the way forward is written in lines of blood and fire. Concentrate on this and walk forwards. As long as you do not waver you will pass through the desk and the ma n and find yourself in a long disused hallway. Once it was opulent with colors a nd promise, but the walls are now stained and the carpet black with filth. Image s will flash at the windows as you pass, out of the corner of your eye you may s ee long dead friends beckoning or lovers far past offering themselves to you aga in. Voices will whisper to you that through the windows are second chances to ma ke things right. They will tell you that you can choose again and never set your self against them. Do not look up from the paper in your hands, for if you do yo u will see what is just outside watching you. No god can help you then. It canno t be known how long this hallway is, some say that you have to pass all your pos sible futures, some say that it grows shorter as the time of the uniting comes c loser. For all our sakes, may you find the hallway longer than you can bear. Only once you reach the end may you lift your eyes, but never look behind you. O

pen the door in front of you into a ballroom, once bright and elegant, now cover ed in the same filth and despair. Move forwards into the gloom until the door is lost behind you and all chance of escape with it. Walk with care, the Holder wa tches you even now. Your path forward once stood in the center of this room, but the center has not held and the way has drifted. If it has drifted too far then you may never find your way, you will spend the rest of your life wishing you h ad given yourself to the temptations offered before. You will spend a long, long time wishing that. If you are fortunate, you will find one point in the room wh ere the little light remaining fades away completely. Find that place, close you r eyes and wait, no matter what happens next. If you have pleased the Holder, yo ur ears will be filled with the sound of a cats purr, and you will feel it twini ng around your feet. You must keep your eyes closed until a voice asks you "What will you do m?" Any answer will turn the purrs to snarls and set a thousand razored your throat. The voice will ask again, insistent this time. Only after sked for a third and final time may you open your eyes. If your god has abandoned you, you may still be able to. with the claws to it has a not yet

In front of you will be a woman lying on a bed. Once, long ago she was beautiful , now she is naked and obese, her skin pockmarked with bedsores and blooms of sy philis. Around her cluster hundreds of cats, with one standing at your feet. Spe ak only to him; tell him "I will do what I must". He will then teach you the lan guage of the cats; they will tell you a secret that was never meant for human ea rs. Never reveal it until the times comes when you have nothing else to give, fo r cats are jealous creatures and delight in the pain of their victims. That secret is the 16th of 538, and I may speak no more of it. Holder of the Present In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Present." The worker will look a t you vaguely; you have to ask him again. Once the worker understands your quest ion he will lead you through a door into a hallway that looks like it's an exten sion of Hell itself. In this hallway you will find noting but darkness and the feeling of unimaginabl e horror. If you should hear a shriek coming from the left of you, start running towards the door you just came from or you will be devoured by demons yelling i ncomprehensible babble from mouths awash with vile poison. If you should hear a shriek coming from the right of you, start running towards the door that your path leads to. Ignore the worker and keep running until you r each the door. If you should hear another shriek coming from anywhere around you , close your eyes and pray to the gods that your death will be a swift one. Should you not hear a shriek, just follow the worker until he unlocks the door a t the other end of the hallway. He will now ask you to enter, and he will leave. In this room you will only find two things: a naked girl whose left hand is a ma ngled stump, seemingly torn to shreds by an otherworldly maw, and the rusted key chain she is holding. You must look at the key chain and may not avert your eye s from it. You can say nothing, except ask her this one question: "Why do they b elong together?" Now move eyesight to the face of the girl. She will look at you and tell you the most gruesome story of the present, how this present has come to be, how it is now and eventually how it will be. The girl will slowly move towards you, do not move, and stay still until she is but one footstep away from you. She will put

the shredded piece of rot that was once her left hand on your shoulder. She will then whisper into your ear, "The time has come, and now you must die." Do not r eact to this statement. Just keep staring into her eyes and eventually you will feel something being pushed into your hand. The key chain is object 17 of 538. Only the keys that are meant for it can be pu t on it, and all other keys shall be repelled. Holder of Passion In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls himself "The Holder of Passion." The worker will blush and daydream; you will have to ask two more times until he finally nods and gestures you to follow him. He will lead you into a hallway. You will hear a muffled diesel engine, but for the moment, it does not matter. Ignore it for now. Instead, listen to any whispe ring you hear. If it stops, it is vital for your sanity that you shut your eyes, for a horrifying creature will emerge from the ground and after a short time le ave through the ceiling. Should you hear the whispers in unknown languages until you and the warden reach a door made from stone, you are safe. Now, listen to the engine. If it keeps ru nning, proceed and open the door. Do not even try to imagine what happens when t he engine stops; nobody has ever been able to tell after it has stopped. Now, if the door has been opened, the worker will leave you alone. Enter the doo r and walk straight forward until it closes. Now, you have to say the words "Exc use me, I'd like to learn from you. If you did anything wrong, you will be dead b efore you even realize it, so do not worry much about this. Should nothing happe n for several dozen seconds, you may resume walking. Do this until you reach a h eart that is as big as your head. Do not touch it, instead, turn around. You wil l see either the most beautiful woman or the most horrific creature your eyes ha ve ever witnessed. The latter only appears if you have touched the still-beating hear. Its sight alone will almost drive you insane and haunt you for the rest o f your life. Should you see the woman, look at her eyes, nowhere else, even if she does not w ear any clothes. The beauty will literally blind you and you will be forced to w ander around in her realm until the end of your life. If you are able to keep lo oking at her eyes, you may ask one question: "Are they alive?" The woman will su ddenly moan soundly and lay down on the ground, beginning to satisfy herself. Yo u must now quickly close your eyes and hold your ears shut with your hands, as h er moaning will slowly destroy your mind and body, should you hear it clearly. After some time, you will feel someone touch your right shoulder. You may now en your eyes and lower your hands. Do not turn around to whoever touched you. stead, look at where the woman was. She will now be gone, only ash is what is ft of her. Search within the ash for her uterus. Take it and close your eyes. en them again after you felt something cold touch your head. You will be back the mental institute, behind the warden who guided you to the stone door. The uterus is object 18 of 538. It has one child left to bear. Holder of Innocence In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls himself "The Holder of Innocence." The worker will say noth ing, but a single tear should fall from her eye. op In le Op in

She will guide you to a forgotten hallway in an abandoned wing of the run-down i nstitution. She will not enter the hall with you, but will only look into your e yes with a cautious hope, her own expression seeming to beg for salvation. Shoul d you enter the hall, you will not see much, save for the dirty, broken fragment s of what were once beautifully carved ivory statuettes. Before long, you will h ear a soft whimper from the other side. Pay close attention, for if the whimper stops, then all hope is already lost. There is no use in running away. As you turn the handle of the simple wooden door on the other side, a warm and c ozy light will greet your face. You will find yourself in the bedroom of a young girl of eight and a half years. The girl herself will be sitting cross-legged o n the floor at the foot of the bed, her only garment an open night-robe, exposin g the entirety of her pure body. She is the source of the tortured whimpers, and nothing you say to console her will end her torrent of stifled wails. Only, if you ask her What happened when it was first created? she will become sile nt to glance up towards your face. Her beauty will render you breathless, and if you are still capable of any thought it will be only the realization that in he r you see everything in this world that you truly love. Suddenly, you will reali ze that the girl is bleeding from her nether regions as a grotesque phallus emer ges from the petit orifice between her legs. The object will pulsate with its ow n life, and you will find that it is hypnotizing you. Do not look away, for you do not wish to try its patience. Soon, the room will disappear before your eyes, and you will be standing in the most serene clearing you have ever witnessed, and all of nature s fauna that you r ecognize will go about their lives around you, with no fear of anything, not eve n death. Suddenly, though, a shadow will fall over the meadow, and you will witn ess the forest all around burst into a pillar of flame. What happens next, no ma n can dwell on for long before going insane, but in the strength of the human mi nd you will endure. In the end you will hear screams and moans and groans, but w hat will overcome you more than anything are the quiet whimpers, the stifled cri es, of all the sullied innocents of the world that was. You realize that these c ries will continue to be heard all across the globe until the world s end. None ca n endure those near-silent pleas and still maintain the slightest hope for the f uture. The illusion will fade, and you will find yourself back in the room. You will fi nd the girl lying dead on the floor, her face a mixture of agony and horror, her already decaying body feeding the now towering phallus and giving it a sinister glow. That is object 19 of 538. If you touch it then it will be yours, but if you let it master you then it will use your body to seek and assemble all the pieces, no matter what the cost. Holder of Deception In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to alls himself "The Holder of Deception." The worker will look ession of shock on her face. Then, with superhuman speed she h her baton. If you are not knocked unconscious by the first , for they will know what you are after. halfway house in yo visit someone who c at you with an expr will attack you wit blow, flee the city

When your consciousness returns, you will be in a magnificent courtyard on a sta rry night. There will be a great stone staircase that appears to ascend to the h eavens themselves. Climb this staircase, but never look behind you. If you do, t he stairs will begin to crumble and you will plummet into the void for an eterni ty.

After what will seem like days of climbing, you will come to a landing overlooki ng a great marble amphitheatre styled in the ancient Greek fashion. Descend to t he bottom of the amitheatre. An old man in opalescent robes will be waiting for you on a dias in the center. This storied old man will be lecturing as if there was a great crowd - however, you must not listen to him, for not a word he speak s is true. If you are drawn in by his charismatic speaking, your mind will be co mpletely subjugated by his deception and you will be his slave for eternity. He will only react to one question: "What is the only truth you are permitted to sp eak of?" The man will look down at you with a look of great sadness. He will then impart on you a story that will shake the very foundations of your soul with great sorr ow, but will leave you knowing one important truth: the number itself is not as it seems. He will then motion you towards an exit from the amphitheatre, and con tinue his lecture. Turn away from him quickly, for you will now be able to see t he legions of horrific, twisted demons sitting on the seats of the amphitheatre. Do not gaze towards any of them longer than a moment, or else they will tear yo u apart and add you to their collection of souls. Walk to the exit as quickly as possible. There will be a great grimoire on a stand next to the door. Take the grimiore and exit through the door. You will find yourself in the back alley beh ind the asylum. The grimoire you clutch, with its pages firmly strapped shut and locked with a g reat steel padlock, is object 20 of 538. If you wish to see past the deception a nd reunite them, you must find the key. Holder of Rage In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Rage". The person will appear shy as they show you t o a door, and then walk away. When you enter the door, you will be looking down a staircase that descends into darkness. As you descend the stairs, you will beg in to hear screams. The screams will come from a throat of indeterminate origin. If the screaming stops at any time, shout to the darkness "Resume your business! I do not wish to intrude!" If the screaming does not come back, there is nothin g you can do, for you will be dead before you know what happens. If the screamin g continues, you may move on. Eventually, you will see light coming through the cracks in a door. Go through t his door and you will be in what appears to be a medieval dungeon. Hollowed out skulls filled with candles serve as lanterns, and skeletons line the walls. Ther e will be a wooden table in front of a fire inside a fireplace. On this table is the severed head of a 4 year old girl, staring ahead with glassy eyes. Step up to the table and ask "Who will stop them es and tell you the tale violent birth to what he in horrifying detail. He and he is just as mad. look the head in the eyes. In a clear, commanding voice from coming together?" The head will look you in the ey of a man. She will tell you his entire story, from his is doing that very moment. His deeds will be recounted is a murderer of which the likes have never been seen,

If at the end of the story, the head tells you "He is listening to our conversat ion," you will be dragged out of the room and never be heard from again. You wil l experience all of the most horrifying things ever conceived, and you will kept alive until you have experienced them all. If she tells you he is elsewhere, he is now looking for you. He will not stop un til you are dead or the objects come together. She will tell you to pick her up. Pick the head up by the hair and look at the table where she was. Sitting there

will be a needle, covered in dried blood, semen, pus, and countless unidentifia ble substances. That needle is object is 21 of 538. The hunt has begun and the clock is ticking. Holder of Chaos In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who ref ers to himself as "The Holder of Chaos". The clerk will begin to shake his head and pound his fists upon the desk. Ask him thrice more and he will stand up quie tly and lead you to a room with only one door, the one which you entered through . You must close your eyes, if you don't you will forever be stricken blind and the only thing you will see is a constant sight of utter chaos. If you have closed your eyes in time, after an hour of standing in confusion, yo u will hear a soft voice call out, "Do you have them?" Do not answer this questi on. Instead, stomp your foot upon the floor seventeen times, you may then open y our eyes. If you see a long, stretching field in front of you, then you have suc ceeded in the first half of your endeavor. If you see a fiery plain of death and mutilation, then it is too late for you. You will be devoured by your own thoug hts of your greatest fears. Walk towards the setting sun in the grassy field for one hour until you reach a tree with no leaves on its branches. As you get closer you see that the tree is constructed out of bones and it is surrounded in a pool of blood. Submerge yours elf fully in this blood, and when you surface once more, you will feel a bone ha nd press something into your palm, it is a small vial. Drink from the vial and y ou find yourself standing in the lobby of the mental institution. This vial is object 22 of 538. The hour is nigh and the demons are calling. Holder of Hate In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the "Holder of Hate." The attendant will give you a firm handshake, look you straight in the ey es, and say "It took you long enough." They will hand you a key to room 532 and tell you to go down the left hall. As you walk down the hall you will hear insane cackling. Should it stop, yell "I do not fear you!" If it does not begin again, run as fast as your legs will car ry you. Should it continue, keep walking. Stop when you reach room 532. The door will be covered in scratches, gashes and all manner of burns. There will be a small, strangely unscarred glass panel in the door. Peer inside. If there is a figure standing with his back to you, retreat as quietly as you c an. If the room is empty, unlock the door and enter. A red light will be shining out of the sole window in the room. Should you gaze out of this window your eye s will soon burst from your sockets and your screams will be your only utterance for all eternity. The room is small, the walls covered in blood, and a small cl oaked figure sits in the middle. It will respond to only one question: "Why do t hey hate?" The figure's cloak will fly into the air revealing a grotesquely disf igured being. It will answer your question in horrific detail. Upon finishing th e story it will collapse, as if a tremendous burden has passed from its shoulder s, and crawl into the corner. You will begin to hear strange, unearthly shrieks from beyond the door. They will be getting nearer by the second. Your only hope is to wrap yourself in the cloak and hurl yourself out the red window. If you we re not followed you will wake up on the lawn of the hospital the next day, wrapp ed snugly in the cloak. The cloak is object 23 of 538. It will hide you from their hate. Holder of Love

In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who ref ers to himself as "The Holder of Love". The legends of this Holder have been los t to all time, for no one has ever returned. Fear the love of the end times. If you can steel yourself to press forward alone and without guidance to meet this guardian, and ask the correct question, you will be rewarded with an object of p rotection both divine and demonic. You may survive the quest yet. This object is 24 out of 538. It longs for the company of the rest. Holder of Creation In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who ref ers to himself as "The Holder of Creation". The clerk will look into your eyes, horrified, before standing up. She (and only a she) will lead you to the materna l ward, and push you into a locked door, which you will glide through. Once insi de the door, there will be two doors, one to the left and one to the right. You must chose the one with which you are more accustomed to, with hand of guidance will lead you. You must touch the door handle, if light emits from the window, y ou must enter. If it doesn't, you must run into the other room, as far as you ca n, and you mustn't turn back for two weeks, sleep where you drop and do not trus t anyone. Do not enter the sunlight, for if you shall you shall be destroyed whe re you stand. Should the light emit from the window, enter cautiously as the room is filled wi th fetuses who have died, and young who never had the chance to live. There will be a young mother laying in the corner with a baby whose eyes which see eternit y. Face the baby, look directly into his eyes. You must ask him the question, "For why have we been sent here?" The baby will move, and it will wrap around you, binding you and rending you int o 5 pieces, yet you must take no heed to the pain or you will never be returned to your real form. After rending you, he will stare into your eyes, and you will see the beginning of the cosmos, instantly burning into nothing but ash and ret urning outside, exactly 1 day before the incident. You will have a book in your hands. This object is 25 out of 538. This book yearns to return the other objects to it , and within holds the knowledge with to do so. Holder of Time In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Time". The worker will act like he doesn't know what you're talking about, first treating it like a joke, and then threatening to ca ll security. Persist for long enough, and he will ask if you want to see a docto r. If you say no, you will be killed instantly. Many who have spoken to the Holders choose this, for it is the ultimate mercy compared to the horrors you face. The re is no other escape. If you say yes, you will be bathed in brilliant blue light. You must remain perf ectly still, or else you will be cast out of time, both frozen in an instant and aware of the eternal burn of entropy, and forever experiencing every moment of your decline into insanity all in one moment. Remain still until you hear a sound, an ethereal blend of musical and metallic. It will increase slowly, the sound and light seeping into your mind and carrying you away with it. If you survive with your sanity intact, you will long for tha

t sound for the rest of your life. When the sound and light fade, you will find yourself in a large room made of me tal. One man will stand in the center of it, his appearance and clothing constan tly changing. He will speak constantly, telling stories about every time and pla ce in the whole of the existence of the universe. He will not stop speaking unle ss he is asked, "When will they come together?" He will stare at you and hold out his hand as he shifts through different appear ances. You will feel an overwhelming temptation to take his hand, though part of your mind will fear what awaits you if you do. If you take his hand, you will e xperience each of his stories as though you lived them, and in the millennia tha t pass before he releases you, you will fall into insanity. After his thirteenth shift into a new appearance, the man will answer your quest ion, and a small key will appear in his hand. The key is object 26 of 538. Pray that you never find what it unlocks. Holder of Famine In any city, in any country, go to any morgue or hospital you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls herself "The Holder of Fam ine." The attendant will glare at you and mutter darkly under his breath, but ot herwise ignore your request. Tell him, "I can sate her appetite," and he will ra ise his eyebrow incredulously, but arise to lead you up the hall, before leaving you to fend for yourself. The hall you begin in will slowly become a new hall, utterly different from the orderliness of the institution you were last in. The walls will be full of pockm arks, the floors littered with emaciated bodies and mutilated corpses. The atten dant will pay no mind to the death around him as he leads you up, and it is best for your own sake that you behave the same way. There will be a trapdoor before you, made of rotting wood and rusting iron. Open it cautiously, and look down i nto the darkness. If blood-red eyes stare back up at you, IMMEDIATELY scream to it, "I am not your s!" If the eyes disappear, it is safe to proceed. If the creature begins to grow l, close your eyes and pray for a quick death, as unlikely as it will be. Once you finish descending into the darkness, the trapdoor will close and lock a bove you, leaving you alone in hellish silence. Do not move an inch, do not talk , do not breathe; eventually, as your vision swims, candles will be set aflame a t your feet. It is safe, for now. The candles will light a trail for you. Venture off of the trail, for any reason , and you will be consumed by the darkness the light holds at bay. The road will be long, and you will grow weary and hungry; shun anything offered to you from the creatures passing in the dark. To even look at these gifts is to invite deat h. At the end of the road, the candles will have aligned themselves in a circle abo ut the radius of a grown man's leg. In the center will be a small table, with a white linen tablecloth and a silver platter set upon it. Behind it will be the c orpse of an obese woman, hanging motionless from the noose about her neck. Her s tench will assail your nostrils and the putrid sight of her rotting, mutilated b ody will cause you to falter, but you must continue forward. As you approach, yo u will notice two chairs. One will be beautiful, made of mahogany and gold-plate d. One will be far uglier, made of rotting wood and covered in insects and stain s. Use neither, and your soul will remain in your possession.

As you stand before the corpse, you must ask, loudly and clearly, "Why were they consumed?" The corpse will immediately raise its hands to its stomach, ripping it open before you. The wound will bleed saliva, the ribs will form sharp, malev olent fangs, and a massive tongue made from her intestines will loll out from th e mouth-gash. The corpse will begin to speak, in a dry, harsh whisper of the hor rors and magnificent cruelties performed in the times before times. As she speak s, you must stare at her stomach, and you must not move or speak. To do so would consign you to her pet's ravenous greed. Once she has finished speaking, she will ask one of two questions. If she asks, "Did you enjoy my banquet?" then you are too late and the piece is lost, as is y our life and all hope. Your failure will result in a death so horrific, painful, and excruciating that even the tormented souls of the damned would pity you. If she asks, "Are you my latest meal?" then respond, quickly and earnestly, "I wis h to dine with you." The corpse will be silent, and after a long wait, a shiny, red apple will roll u p the gory tongue onto the silver platter. Do not eat it. This apple is Object 27 of 538. It is the only thing that can satisfy their hung er. Holder of Clarity In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself The Holder of Clarity . The worker will begin to chatter on to about t heir life, making inside jokes and references to only which they understand. All the while, they will walk in a weaving motion to the recreational area of the b uilding. They will slide open a hatch beneath a table and suddenly fall silent w ith a grim look upon their face. You will look down into the hole, and you will see a vast number of lights flashing on and off, and you will feel berated and c onfused, but you must go in. This hall seems to have no start and have no end, the lights flashing sporadical ly, and you will find that tiny flying objects flit in front of you, in your eye s and nose and mouth. The air will fill with a horrible all consuming buzzing no ise that does not allow you to hear even your own screams. You must only walk on , and if for any reason, the objects stop moving or the lights hold their glow, you must yell out, They shall not know I m here, as I have covered my tracks! If the calm stays, you are too late, as it has already begun. If the horrible bewilderment returns, you must forge on. In your wanderings, you will meet a door. You can feel its handle and allow yourself in. The room will be eternal, only the floor holding your mind in tact. There will be a man with his entire form ran through with long nails and stakes, every inch of his form secured. His mouth is held open, pins forcing his lips u p to his face, a stake buried in the back of his gaping mouth. His tongue will w rite and flop at your arrival, his eyes searching over you in a panicked state. He will respond to only 1 question, Why do they take form? His eyes will affix ont o you and his tongue will hold still. In a gargling, horrible speech, he will re cite to you the creation of every object, and the purpose of each. The descripti on will force you to vomit upon every sentence, and the tale leaves most mad. You will find a rusty and worn fillet knife in your hand. You must remove his wr ithing tongue with his pathetic and gurgling screams echoing through your soul. He will seem pathetic and you will want to help him, but do not, or you will rep lace him.

His tongue is Object 28 of 538. They will meet, only you shall know why. Holder of Frost In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls herself "The Holder of the Frost". If the worker shivers unnaturally, you w ill be lead to a hallway that shouldn't exist where it does. The worker will wav e you down the hall, and, once your back is turned, will shake his head and mutt er "the poor fool." The hallway will get colder as you proceed; but do not make any attempt to warm yourself. If you do, heaven help what will become of you. If at any time, the cold ceases and the hallway becomes warm, you must quickly s hout "Stop! This is not the answer!" If the warmth persists, run. Run as fast as you can for the exit. If you do not make it, then the fires of Hell shall consu me you. If you do make it, do not stop running. Flee the asylum, the city, the c ountry; for the hellhounds have your scent, and they do not rest. If the cold returns, proceed down the hallway until you come to a door made of s olid ice, and knock three times. If a soft, womanly voice beckons you to enter, open the door. If a gruff, male voice tells you to leave, pray for a quick demis e. Inside of the door, you will find a room made of ice, with frozen stalagmites an d stalagtites giving it the appearance of a massive maw. In the center of the ro om will be a veiled, ivory-skinned woman. Do not look at the woman directly, and say only one thing: "What caused their hibernation?" She will tell you her story, a story of destruction and devastation, war and fam ine, life and death, and of a deep slumber. The story will chill you to the base of your existence, but do not ever look directly at the woman. If you do, your soul will be frozen for all eternity. When she is done, she will remove her veil, but you must not gaze upon her. Her beauty would shatter your mind. If you keep your eyes away from her, she will cu p her hands over yours, and whisper into your ear: "The ice age is over. What wi ll you do?" The world will explode in white, and when it subsides you will be ou tside of the institution. In your hands will be a large, crystal snowflake. That snowflake is Object 29 of 538. The ice age is over; they are starting to th aw. Holder of the Flame In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Flame." The worker will stare impassively at you for many minutes before pointing, silently, to a door behind you. The door was not there, and anyone else around you will not notice it. Approach the door and close your eyes, before grasping the knocker. You need knock only once. If the m etal suddenly cools in your hand, run. Run far away, and keep running. Only hope that you have escaped, for the alternative is a horror only the souls in hell c an comprehend. If the knocker grows warm, hold onto it tightly, even when it begins to sear int o your hand. Eventually, the pain will stop. Once this has happened, open your e yes. You will be in a small garden, illuminated by the light of a full moon, and surrounded by ivy-covered stone walls. To your left will be a pond. Do not look directly into the water, lest the multitude of terrors lurking within capture a nd drown you again and again for the rest of eternity. To your right will be a f uneral pyre, not yet lit, slickly dark with a flammable fluid.

Take exactly 5 steps towards the pyre. Do not ask why. You will find the corpse of a castrated male child, his arms folded over a vial of quicksilver. Say nothi ng but the question "What caused their immolation?" The corpse will not move, but the pyre will ignite of its own free will. As will the bushes, the grass, the trees, and the flowers all around it. The flames wil l shift colors, from the normal colors of fire, to the red of freshly spilt bloo d, to the green of infection and disease. The plants will shriek in agony as the walls surrounding the garden are consumed. The pond will dry out, the water its elf burning with a blistering heat, as the souls of the damned rise upward in th e steam, howling their litany of curses upon you. As the first curse reaches your ears, you must summon your courage and begin to laugh. Loudly, spitefully, arrogantly, but not softly. If the curses become more vehement, you are safe. If they stop, then throw yourself on the pyre to escape a fate far worse. In the midst of the tempest, the corpse will calmly sit upright, consumed entire ly in flames, and will proffer you the vial. You must continue to laugh, and cro ss your arms. You must not accept this gift now. The corpse will open its mouth, and if you are lucky, what you will see in its d epths will not leave you laughing in madness for the rest of your mortal life. The vial will drop, shatter, and spill its contents upon the blackened f the grass as the flames die down. Everything will be silent. At your be a new flower, its stem hard and spiny, its petals painted with the hellfire and damnation. Pick it, and you will find yourself away from n and back in front of the door. remains o feet will colors of the garde

This flower is Object 30 of 538. It will burn itself deep into your soul, and ig nite the fires of madness. Holder of Silence You are the Holder of Silence. The silence you hear is object 31 of 538. The silence mustn't be broken. Holder of the Speed In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask for something called " The Holder of the Speed." The worker should become motionless. Look around yours elf; if everything else became motionless, you are in the right path. What would happen if you weren't is still unknown for this one who writes. You will notice that moving around and breathing will become gradually, but incr easingly difficult; this is expected, for the air slowly becomes motionless. You should explore carefully the halls surrounding you, thinking about your first g reat failure; but be aware that, if you take too long, you will suffocate. Your objective is to find a child who still moves, amidst all the surrounding st atuesque shapes. The child will approach you with a ball, hand it over to you. P ay attention to how the ball is held. The child will then declare 'You're it'. A nd then run outside the room, always giggling. What you will have to do is to return the ball. Careful to not be fooled by the voice echoing within the halls, for wasted time means you're closer to death by asphyxiation. As time passes the air will become harder to cut trough, requiring greater strength; warmth will slowly leave your body, droplets of water will pi erce your skin. Much likely, you'll be blinded, deafened and similarly mutilated

during this chase. Vision will be impaired as everything slowly darkens, as eve n light itself were eventually reaching a stop. It is certain that you will find the child in one of the hallways, under a beam of light; it could be coming from a window, a lamp, or any similar light source. You should return the ball in the same way it was given to you, and attempt to escape, giving continuity to the game. If you succeeded, the air won't be heavy anymore. You will notice every place yo u ran past will be damaged in some degree. Depending on where you finished your ordeal, you will have to give many explanations to the facility's administration , and somehow avoid imprisonment. If you failed, the child will once again hand you the ball as soon as you're rea ched. Will declare 'You're it' and dash trough the corridors. You will probably die pierced by the air's humidity and suffocated before can reach the infant a s econd time. Your newfound agility is Object 32 of 538. Mentioning the child to others will e arn you a few sessions at the Shock Therapy department. If you're lucky. Holder of Wind In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Wind." The receptionist will then walk off, as i f you weren't even there. Follow the receptionist. After five minutes of what se ems like aimless walking the receptionist will begin to whistle. If it is a tune you recognize, then continue to follow. If you do not recognize the song, try t o remember the better times of your life as from there out you will know nothing but the endless pain of your own personal Hell. If you find yourself humming along to the tune, the receptionist will turn to yo u and point you to a room on your left. Enter the room. Inside is a wide prairie filled with endless, knee-high grass. The first thing you notice is a warm, gen tle breeze playing over your face. In the distance, you hear a faint whispering sound. If you do not hear the whisper, run out the door and close it behind you or the peaceful prairie will become your final resting place. If the whisper persists, close the door and it will disappear. Follow the whispe r as best as you can. After a few steps, a young man will rise out of the grass, clothed in simple farm clothes. This man knows only the answer to one question. "What carried them away?" The man will ulled by his sleep for a awaken from tell you a lazy tale. A story filled with illusion and deception, d accent. You will start to become tired and may want to lie down and while in the comfy grass, but do not. For if you do, you will never your slumber.

Once the man is done rambling, he will ask you a question. "Do you really want i t?" The laziness induced but the scenery will make you want to say no, but resis t and take the wind chimes he offers you. The door you came in will then appear in front of you, allowing you to leave in peace. These chimes are object 33 of 538. When the wind causes these chimes to sound an other object is near, as is the end of all hope. Holder of Oblivion In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Oblivion." If the attendant stares at you and swallo

ws audibly, follow him to a room deep within the building, far deeper than you t hought possible. The attendant will open the door and give you a fearful look. I f you are brave, enter the room. If you are craven, flee now. Inside the room, there is only a chair. Sit down in it. If at any time you begin to feel fear, get up and leave. You are still free to escape. If you choose to stay, you must sit and wait until the lights in the room flicker. Do not stand. Do not get up. If you are not sitting down then the lights flicker, then you wil l plummet into the void between worlds, a meal for its grotesque denizens. When the lights flicker, you must shut your eyes immediately. Gazing upon the vo id will destroy your mind. Only when you hear a man clear his throat may you ope n your eyes. You will be in a dark dungeon, bound to the chair by a web of ebon chains. Surrounding you will be heads impaled upon blood-soaked pikes, and stand ing before you will be a man wearing an executioner's uniform. Stare him in the eyes; do not move your gaze and do not show even the slightest tinge of fear, fo r if you do, he will add your head to his collection. The only thing you may speak without being beheaded is the question, "What will they bring?" The executioner will laugh an inhuman laugh, and then the impaled h eads will begin to speak. They will speak of horrors, of executions, of their in dividual ends, but you must not move your gaze from the executioner, or you too will be speaking of your death. Eventually, he will speak of his own end, of wha t they brought to him. When he finishes, he will remove his cowl, revealing a sk eleton's face. With a cackle, he will wave his hands, and the world will plunge into darkness. When the light returns, you will be sitting peacefully in the lobby of the insti tution. In your lap will be the executioner's cowl. That cowl is Object 34 out of 583. You have seen what they bring, will you stop them? Holder of Fear In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Fear". If the time is right, the attendant will lead you to a closet with no floor. With a malicious grin, the worker will shove you into the hole and close the door. As you fall through the abyss, you cannot feel any fear. If you do, you will imm ediately hit the spike-ridden bottom of the pit and meet a gruesome death. If yo u remain resolute, your fall will eventually slow and stop, leaving you in a roo m soaked in darkness. Into the darkness, you must speak only one thing: "What is their weapon?" Immediately the room will be illuminated. Surrounding you wills everything that you fear, and in the center will be a creature who will take the appearance of y our greatest fear. Not even once can you flinch or shrink away from this creatur e, or it will dismember you in the most painful way possible. You must stare at your greatest fear while it tells you its story in excruciatin g detail. It will tell you of all the fears in the world, from the tiniest to th e greatest, in all of their horribleness. When it is finished, the creature will ask what you fear. Now you must confess all of your fears to the creature, with out looking around the room. If you miss even one, you will be consumed by your own terror, leaving nothing but a shell remaining. If you confess all of your fears, the creature will scream, and the scream will send you hurtling through the wall behind you. When you stop moving, you will be

across from the closet you entered earlier, and in the closet will be a mirror. That mirror is Object 35 of 583. It reflects your greatest fear, and that is the ir weapon. Holder of Faith In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, close your eyes and ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Faith . The worker will look at yo u in abstract confusion, shake his head and go back to his work. If you wait for 3 full minutes, he will sigh and walk you to a custodian s closet. He will lead y ou inside, and lock you there. The door will not open, and it will be pitch blac k. Slowly the darkness will begin to scribe in the brightest of white words in a language you have never read, and voices you have never heard speaking the foul est of blasphemies your body can withstand. Should the writing ever stop, fall to your knees and clasp your hands, screaming every prayer you know. If the writing does not continue, curse the god that has put you into existence. If the writing does continue, Stand quickly and race down the tunnel. There the tunnel will open up into a large dome, and you will see a young girl in white, s taring at you with her hair fallen down into her face. Do not look at your hands , or they will peel the flesh from your bones. She will respond t only one quest ion, Why do they fear? She will look up to you and her mouth with blurt out every wrong that has occurr ed in the name of a god, and some that you must believe happened beyond your rea lity. She will then fall to the ground screaming in horrible agony as she is con sumed by a white flame. That ash is object 36 of 583. It will one day be mixed with yours. Holder of Confusion In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Confusion." The worker will initially ignore you, bu t if you wait for one full minute, she will rise and motion for you to follow he r. After following her down a series of dimly lit hallways, you will come to a d ead-end corridor with no doorways. The worker will motion to the end of the hall way, and promptly leave you without a word. You must walk to the end of the hallway, without speaking a word. Once you reach the end, place your hands upon the wall to reveal that it is an illusion which you may walk through. If you are scared, or unsure of what is behind the wall wh en you step through, or have any doubts at all, you will simply walk off of the plane of existence forever, never to be heard from again. But if you believe in yourself, and believe answers lie beyond the wall, when yo u step through you will appear in a bright white room, with many paths. Some lea d into the distance, others appear to lead nowhere at all, yet others appear to defy understanding, and lead to suffering that only the most damnable of all sou ls can comprehend. The path you seek is the one that lies ahead of you. It appears to continue on f or eternity. While walking, you must say nothing, no matter how long the trip ap pears to take, and should the room begin to darken halfway through your trip dow n the path, your only option is to sit down and weep silently, for you are now n othing more than nourishment for the most grotesque and cursed demon of them all .

However, if the room remains almost unfathomably perfect white, your trip down t he path will be without peril, and you will safely come to a door. At this point , you need do nothing, as the door opens to you to reveal a room that appears to be impossibility. It is not big, but not small. Not lit, but not dark. It appea rs to be everything, and nothing. Equals and opposites are meaningless in this r oom. It is said that most who enter are driven to a maddening insanity and begin to claw their own flesh off, or disembowel themselves with their bare hands, al l while laughing manically. Never dying, this will be their fate for eternity. Should you manage to not be driven by insanity, you will notice a nondescript fi gure standing in the center of the madness. It appears to be human, yet at the s ame time, something much more hellish. You will not be able to comprehend this e ntity visually, but you must not repulse at its sight, nor can you say anything to it. It will begin to speak to you many events. Some of which you know are tru e. Others you know are lies. Some which you are unsure of. The entity will becom e increasingly agitated that you are ignoring its nonsense. You MUST refrain fro m saying anything at all, until the entity falls silent briefly, and then asks; "What would you do, if they were all brought together?" To this, you must very firmly reply: "Everything that you would do. Including what you wouldn't." The entity will stare at you blankly for a moment. If it doesn't believe you, it will simply walk away, and leave you there, forever in darkness. If it does bel ieve you however, it will reach its hand out and give you a small, seemingly imm aterial glowing object. This is the "Beast's Resolve." That is object 37 of 538. No matter how indecisive you are, no matter how unsure the world becomes, you alone must know what to do if they all come together. Holder of the Word In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Word". The worker will motion you to follow him and say "Come". Do not follow him. Instead, wait until he returns, which will ta ke 10 minutes. He will the say "Excuse me." and walk to the toilet. Again, do no t follow, walk behind the desk where the worker was. When you stand there, look down and the ground will be ripped open, you will fall. Do not let any word or scream escape your mouth, for when it does, you shall fal l for an eternity, with unspoken creatures slowly consuming your body and soul. You may gasp, but not more. Now, wait until you hear someone shout "Am I fiction ? Do not answer, but be aware that your fall will soon stop. You will slow down a t first, eventually stopping only centimeters above a metal surface. Stretch you r foot to touch it and you will fall these few centimeters. Now, listen. You wil l hear a word. Remember it, for you will need it soon. Now, after you have heard it, begin to walk until you reach a marble door. Say the word you have heard lo ud and clearly. Should you have forgotten it or say the wrong word, your body wi ll slowly and painfully be turned into marble. Afterwards, a demon that looks li ke the person that is most dear to you will emerge from the ground and shatter y our marble body, only by saying the word you have forgotten. Should you have spoken the right word, the door will fall apart and you may step through. Be careful, do not step back, and do not stop until you have reached a statue made from the purest diamond you have ever seen. Touch it not, or you wi ll take its place while freeing the hellish creature inside it. Ask one question , "How will they be awakened? Ask it thrice and the statue will move it head to l

ook at you. Do not look back, instead, stare at its chest. "Excitate." Now close your eyes. Ignore the burning feeling you feel in your forehead and wait until it is gone. Open your eyes again. You will find yourself in the lobby of the ins titution. Always remember the word you've heard. It will show its power when you have found all objects, and only then, only when you say it. It is object 38 of 538. Utter it only once, when the rest have come together. Holder of Absence In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Absence". Should the person at the front desk try to convince you that the person you wish to visit is no longer there. Ask to visit their cell nonetheless. At this point the receptionist shall show a look that c an only be defined as emotionless. The receptionist will lead you down a long wa ll with many doors on either side until you reach an iron door with one barred w indow on it. They will open the door for you but lead you no further. Beyond the door is darkness, nothing more. As you step into the darkness, the door will slam shut behind you. You are now t rapped and the only way to go is forward. You cannot see the ground, or the roof , or the walls. Be aware, you may be walking for a very long time, possibly days . As you walk you will begin to feel cold and empty inside. You will feel as if your soul has left your body and left you as a shell. In time you may hear foots teps that echo loudly. STOP IMMEDIATELY, and wait. If the footsteps do not stop, you must sit down and wait until they do. If they begin to grow even louder, th en you will surely perish by an unimaginable horror. If the footsteps do stop, y ou must press forward until you reach another iron door, illuminated by a light behind it. Open it and step inside. Inside will be a pitch black room. Only a small circle of light of the floor can be seen, lit by a small candle. Behind the light will be a chair with a coat on it. Approach the chair but do not sit in it, no matter how long you have been w alking. Wait until the candle burns out. When it does, reach out, and take the c oat. The next time you blink you will find yourself in front of the desk in the mental institution or halfway house. Reach into the right inside breast pocket o f the coat and pull out a singed sheet of paper with red ink. DO NOT READ THIS I NK or the Holder of Absence will become present and destroy you with unthinkable pain and anguish. This paper is object 39 of 538. Keep him absent. Keep them from coming all toget her. Holder of the Abandoned In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Abandoned". The attendant will look up at you wi th lonely eyes, and lamely motion for you to follow her. She will lead you throu gh a maze of corridors. Do not look back and keep on her heels or you will be fo rever lost in this maze. She will show you a door, crumbling with age. She will then suddenly vanish abandoning you in this maze, push forward or be lost foreve r. After you open the door you'll be confronted with a hedge maze of slowly dying b ushes. Follow your gut as you navigate or you'll be lost forever in this maze. L isten carefully though, every step you make will ring loudly through the still a ir. If the sound stops stand still and don't make a sound. If you hear a buzzing sound shout out, "Go back, I do not need your help! If the buzzing persists then fear for your life, run relentlessly. If they catch you then you'll be gnawed b y every problem that has ever plagued mankind for all eternity. If you escape th

en count yourself lucky. Eventually you'll make it to the end. Before you will stand a golden gate, knock once and only once. They will swing open for you. Slowly enter the courtyard. I nside you will find a beautiful man in his late forties wandering around aimless ly. Ask him this and nothing else, "Where were they abandoned? If this man attack s you then count yourself lucky. You will never see the end of this. If not then he will tell you. He will tell of every hidden crevice, every basement lair, ev ery corpse, every madman's mind, every evil place that these things have tainted . You will go insane. If not then you are truly destined to finish this to the e nd. This man will have left you by the end of this slideshow. In his place you w ill find a map and a broken watch. The watch shows how much time you have left i n this race. That map is object is 40 of 538. Use it or not, but the knowledge has escaped, a nd you're not the only one that holds it. Holder of Solitude In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. As you approach the front desk, keep your gaze on the flo or. Should your gaze wander then you have already failed. At the desk do not mov e or shift your gaze until the worker makes a sound, recognizing your existence. Without upturning your eyes, ask her for the being known as "The Holder of Soli tude". As these words leave your lips a great gong will ring, shaking the very g round you stand on. Once the ring of the gong turns to silence you can finally o bserve your surroundings. You will find yourself under a strange sky in a vast and morbid wasteland, only a cold stone path leading towards the horizon. The instant you become aware of t his lifeless wasteland, you must start moving; for they know you are there. And they do not take well to outsiders. Should clouds gather in the sky and darkness encroach on the path during your cr ossing towards the horizon; shut your eyes and kneel. No mortal have ever let hi s stare rest upon this worlds inhabitants. As you kneel, you must plead: I do not know you, nor have I any wish to. But my path is here, and I must follow it. Aft er you have uttered these words, await their judgment. Should they choose to all ow your presence you will feel them retreating, should they decide otherwise, th en this was not your fate. Hope that they end you quickly. At the end of your path awaits an obsidian pillar, perched atop it an obsidian g argoyle is regarding your approach. The gargoyle will only stir to the sound of one question: Who shall perish? Once these words are spoken the gargoyle shall des cend upon you, and his wings will envelop you in darkness. There he will show yo u the lives of all human beings as stars in the darkness, and as stars you will watch them flicker and die. For eons you shall watch the deaths of those who cam e before you and those yet to come. And you shall experience their loneliness as you watch them die, sensing how utterly separated they were from each other. This shall continue until your sanity shatters or until only one light remains. And so the gargoyle shall speak: Your end is not mine to reveal to you, and it is not what you seek. These words will echo inside your head until the day the task is completed. Once again you must shut your eyes; lest you keep your gaze on th e last remaining light and the gargoyle will devour you. As you shut your eyes y ou will feel as being hurled through dimensions, spinning endlessly until solid ground is only a vague memory. At that moment you will be thrown to a stone floo r, and it will be as being born again, as returning into the light after eternit ies in darkness. And once you open your eyes you will look around at a gargantuan, withering ball

room, the cracked marble floor covered with dead leaves. At the far end of the r oom you will see a light, calling you. As you advance towards it you will be abl e to make out something hung upon the wall. A dark kite shield decorated with ma cabre symbols, the symbols seemingly alive and pulsating. You need only to take it off the wall to claim it. The moment the shield leaves the wall you will be back at the front desk where t he worker is staring at you intently. She knows what you have started. The shield you hold in your hands is object 41 of 538. Pray that it can protect you from what is to come. Holder of the Star In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or hospital and ask at the main desk for the one who refers to himself as the 'Holder of the Star'. Th e worker will stare into your eyes with a smug look of contempt for several seco nds. If he does not see your heart's resolve in your eyes, he will laugh arrogan tly. If he does, flee, or guards shall take hold of you and lock you in a crampe d cell where you will hear the man's laughter in waking and sleeping as long as you live. If he sees the determination in your eyes, he shall stand and guide yo u down a hallway. He will stop at a cell door and will hand you the key, saying nothing and walking away. With key in hand, grab the handle and turn it slowly, it is not locked. Instead of a cell behind the door, there is a hall, dimly lit. Enter the corrido r, close and lock the door behind you. As you walk down this hallway, you will h ear the laughter of children playing mixed with the heart warming chants of fore ign monks. Quickly the laughter will turn to screams, and the chants to curses. As long as you hear these terrible noises you are safe, but if your courage sway s, and the slightest fear overcomes you in this corridor, the sounds shall stop. And if this happens, shut your eyes and pray that what hideous creature that wa s just awakened will take your life in its first bite. If you survive this corri dor, you shall reach a small locked door. The lights will dim around you until a ll you can see is the door when all is dark, use the key you were given and unlo ck the door. Enter through the door into a small, pitch-black cell. In the cell there is a hooded man in red robes. He holds a candle and keeps his eyes closed while chanting. He sits in the middle of a pentacle drawn in glowing red blood. The stench it produces will cause you to gag, but dare not do anymore than that. Before the man is a smoldering rock. Do not stare at the stone directly for too long, or the burning from the rock shall envelope your mind and send your body into a fiery eternity. Instead stare at the candle and listen to the old man. He responds to only one question: "What must be done to complete their task?" Th e man shall stop chanting, and will tell you five names and five questions. He s hall inform you that you must learn on your own which match with each other. He shall then dab his forefinger in the blood of the pentacle and will draw on the wall a formula. A key, plus a Book, plus a Quill, plus a Word scrawled in a way that it is illegible, yields an open book with three ovals drawn around it. He s hall chuckle warmly and return to his seating place. He will hand you the still burning stone and from behind his robe he shall pull out a still beating heart. With all your might, crush the organ until it no longer quivers. Inside the meat y mesh you will find an antique fountain pen. When you look back up, you will fi nd the old man dead, with a look of serene content upon his face. Pay this man t he final honor of closing his eternally glassy eyes, and leave the room. The dar kness will over sweep you and when it lifts, you will find yourself outside of t he hospital. The pen you will find to never require refilling of its red ink. Though the ink never stinks of it, you will realize that it is your blood that drains through t he pen onto paper. If you should ever let this item be destroyed, a horrific, sl

ow death shall occur. As long as you hold this item, you shall hear whispering c hants in the back of your mind until you die or do the item's bidding. This pen is object 42 of 538. It wills you to write in the cursed tome with your own blood. It is your choice to continue their work, or to destroy the chance o f the objects coming back together ever again. Holder of Earth In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Earth". The worker will laugh loudly, drawing the at tention of only one other patron. The worker will remain seated, but the person whose attention he drew will call you over. Do not ask him anything as he leads you to a disused broom closet deep in the asylum. He will open the door for you and wait for you to enter first; do not do this, or the stairway inside the door will disappear and you will plummet endlessly through the ice-cold black. Inste ad, tell him "I would not dare see these sights before you". If he believes you, he will nod slightly and enter, and you should follow him. If he does not, be t hankful that you are deep enough into the asylum so that no one can hear your sc reams. As you descend the stairway, you will hear beastly yells coming from all sides, but primarily from above you. Keep your eyes trained to the darkness below you ( for the man will have vanished in the darkness, though you will be able to feel that you are not alone). You must never look up, or the demons and hell spawn wa tching you, mocking you, will descend, rending your flesh from your bones, drain ing your blood, ripping your muscles and sinew in all too long of an instant. As you climb down, you will find the atmosphere becoming more and more tomblike, and though you will still be able to hear the demons above, it will seem as tho ugh there is finally a ceiling overhead. You must still take the utmost caution never to look up. After an impossibly long amount of time, you will set foot on solid, soft ground again. If the demons from the stairwell have stopped their ye lling, you will not live to see the ground. If they have not, you will wish they had, for now is your opportunity to ask the only question to which the darkness will respond. You must ask firmly, "How can they be stopped?" When you do, ghastly wails will emit from below you, though you will still be ab le to feel the ground under you. You will be able to sense the gentleman who led you here turn around. His eyes will pierce you, though you will not be able to see them. You must never look down or otherwise falter your gaze from the darkne ss immediately in front of you. The wails will continue, wordless at first, but a strong male voice will lead them into speaking in unison. They will tell you o f the one thing that can prevent the result of the objects coming together, but it will be interlaced with every last consequence of doing so. They will tell yo u of the sky raining fire, of rivers running red with your blood, and they will tell you so much more. When the consequences are finished, the lights will suddenly go on. The man who led you here will be gone. In his place will be an object that you will not be a ble to see in this place, lest it drive you completely insane. You must close yo ur eyes as soon as the lights come on and feel around blindly on the floor for t he warm, rough texture of the object. If you do not close your eyes, you will se e what the ground is made of: Disemboweled human corpses, all missing their eyes , though their mouths still breathe. If you look at this sight and are not drive n mad immediately, you will become one of them, joining the satanic earth. If you take the object successfully, though, you will be transported to the exte rior of the asylum, where you may open your eyes.

The volcanic stone is object 43 of 538. Though you know how to stop them from co ming together, you will not be able to. Holder of War In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. Gaze at the ceiling with a bored expression as you walk u p to the front desk, and with a voice that sounds like it is halfway across the world ask to see the "Holder of War". You will get a light tap on the shoulder; it is now safe to look down. The attendant will smile politely and begin walking , giving a speech that sounds almost mechanical as he describes the history of t he asylum. Do not react to his speech- it is insanely bloody and filled with rat her graphic descriptions, but reaction at this point means a one-way trip to hel l. After some time of walking, you will come to an elaborately carved door of mahog any and gold. Stop in front of it. Keep your bored expression on your face, poss ibly adding a blank grin, but do not react as the worker grabs you by the back o f your shirt, or he will change his grip and you will be without your head. The worker will pitch you through the door, and you will hear it slam shut behin d you. You are on what might have once been fertile farmland but is now a ravage d, blasted battlefield. Soldiers clad in two colors- a horribly bright, yet some how stained, white and a filthy, sickening black- are battling in the most horri d manners possible, fighting with rifles, cannon, swords, bows, all the weapons of war that have existed since the dawn of time. Do not shrink from this battlefield, or the soldiers will notice you, stop their quarrels, and turn upon you with a ravenous hatred, for you are what they have been fighting over, and in their fevered, battle-crazed minds, that means that y ou are the cause of all their bloodshed. Also, do not try and go back through the door. It has fallen flat in the mud, pu shed over by a screaming infantryman wielding a bayoneted rifle. If you let him get the better of you, he will rip you to pieces in seconds, but somehow not man age to kill you. The pain of the experience will undoubtedly drive what is left of your mind mad. Instead, drop your bored expression and put a grim, determined one on your face. Walk in measured, military-style steps straight ahead until you see a three-sto ry tall structure of blasted concrete that might have once been a command bunker . Do not turn around while doing so; the armor has arrived to the field, and if you stop, or change your pace, the tanks will run you down. Once you have entered the bunker, do not give any notice to anyone who makes a r equest of you or tries to talk to you, no matter how desperate they seem. They e ach think you are the enemy, and the moment you respond, you will be rewarded wi th a knife to the face. Instead, go straight up the stairway in front of you, to the second level of the bunker. As you mount the stairs, a crash will be heard behind you- that's the fire doorway sealing as a flamethrower detachment attacks . On the second level, there is only one man, sitting at a desk, yelling into a ph one. The stairs to the third level are a mass of twisted concrete. The man at th e desk wears the stars of a general, but does not seem to notice that the phone, as well as all those on the level, are dead. Walk up to him, salute, and in your finest military voice, yell "SIR!" He will s nap around to stare at you. If he thinks you are not worthy of his army, he will slowly dismantle you with his hands, and you will join him in his oncoming deat h. If he thinks you are worthy, he will nod and stare pointedly at you. He does

not like slackers, so quickly ask him your question. The only one he will respond to is "Where do I go, Sir?" He will tell you. He will tell you in such detail, such HORRIFYING detail, that you will be tempted to strangle him. Do NOT try it- he is a far more experienced fighter than you could ever hope to be, and should you break salute, you will m eet an extremely messy demise. When he is done, he will say "at ease", and hand you his pistol. This is your cue to drop salute. Take the sidearm and put it in your holster- if you did not have one before, you do now. An explosion will suddenly decimate the far wall and atomize the general. Throug h the hole you will see, on the horizon, the long, thin shape of a missile risin g. Shut your eyes tight and open them for nothing. The sounds of horrid battle will fade away, until out of the silence, a single gunshot rings out. Open your eyes . You are standing in the middle of a field of waving wheat. Somehow, you know tha t this is where the horrific battle you walked through will take place. And you also know, somehow, that you will be in the general's place. The pistol he handed you is object 44 of 538. Learn how to use it- it has one cl ip left. If you fire the last shot at the right time, you will avoid the fate of the general. If not, you will join him. Holder of Peace In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. Storm up to the front desk with a look of rage on your fa ce, and demand to see a person who calls himself "The Holder of Peace" immediate ly. The attendant will recoil, and ask you to speak softly. Do not comply with h is request- if anything; speak louder- for the anger in your voice is all that k eeps the chains locked on the door behind the desk. Should you lower your voice, the attendant will duck, and what comes out of that door will dismember you in an instant but leave the pain behind for all eternity. Keep the anger in your voice- the attendant will duck under his desk and point w ith a quivering finger down a hall to the right that was not there before. Immed iately turn and stomp off down the hall. Do not look over your shoulder, for sho uld the attendant catch you- and he will- he will casually lean back and flip th e lock off the door behind him. Walk until you find a door with a beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay design. Throw it open, but take the rage off your face IMMEDIATELY- the ones inside do not app reciate such anger. With a peaceful look across your face, enter. You are in a beautiful, open-aired temple, with ivy curling up the marble pillars and beautiful mosaics embroideri ng the walls. The door will lock behind you. Do not try to open it, for it never will, and the monks in brown robes you see wandering about will do anything to get you to stay- even if it means your death. Wander around. No matter what language you speak, the monks speak it too. They'r e friendly, and all of them would love to chat, but politely decline. Tell them you must speak with the Head of the Order. Eventually you will be directed to a man sitting at a chessboard. The figure acr oss from him is hooded and wearing armor. Do not attempt to speak to him, or you r death will be far worse than any vision of hell that man could conjure up. Ins

tead, turn to the man in the now-familiar brown robes. The game is one away from checkmate. Bow, and ask nicely "Why do they gather, Father?" He opens his mouth as if to speak. But the figure across from him lets out a dem onic howl of rage and draws a sword. It is beautifully crafted, but seems someho w stained with an unthinkable evil. With a yell, the figure will kick you down a nd begin systematically slaughtering the other monks. They will try to fight bac k, but they have only staves, and the sword the madman wields is so sharp that i t slices through the pillars like a knife through butter. As you are watching this, the monk will make the final move in the game. The man in armor will swing around, and then run at you with the sword upraised. If you were rude or did something wrong, you will be rent at the atomic level by the blade of the sword, and the pain will never cease. However, if you were pol ite, the Head Monk will step in front of you and jam the black king into the rig ht eye of the warrior. Pay no heed or sympathy as he falls to the ground, screaming, or the Monk will w hirl around and do the same to you with the white king. Instead, focus on the He ad Monk, who has now turned around to face you. He will tell you why they gather. It is a long tale, so fraught with bloodshed a nd horror that it may well snap your mind. But if you survive its telling, he wi ll reach under the table with the chessboard and pass you a scabbard richly jewe led and inlaid with gold. Though you have never seen it before, you instinctivel y know that it matches the sword the warrior was wielding a moment ago. Do not h esitate- take it, walk over, pick up the madman's sword, wipe it, and sheath it. Buckle it on as well- you will have need of it. Move to leave, but before you do, the good Father will halt you and gesture towa rds the now-unhooded face of the warrior. He was handsome, but pay no heed to th at. The one thing you should be focusing on is the fact that the black king is g one. Look up at the Father, who will nod and say one word; "Regicide". A flash of light will blind you, and when your sight returns you will be standin g on the curb two blocks down from the asylum. Step back onto the sidewalk- you don't want to have an accident. The sword you now wield once belonged to the white king, and is object number 45 of 538. The black king is running from the scene of his murder, and the white k ing's sword longs for vengeance. Holder of the Mirror In any city, in any country in the world, go to any mental institution or hospit al, and ask the attendant for the "Holder of the Mirror". The Attendant will loo k at you strangely, as if you had spoken in a different language. Ask again, unt il they finally understand, and they will lead you deep into the institution wit hout a word. They will lead you to a plain iron door, unlocking it and motioning for you to e nter the dark hallway beyond. They will stay behind, never uttering a word, neve r making eye contact with you. Once the door closes behind you the hallway will be lit by an ethereal light, to reveal the walls of the hallway made of mirrors. The reflections stretch out to infinity on either side of you, but none of them show your reflection; they show the reflection of those who came before you. Ea ch reflection shows another who sought the holder, each shows how they died. Try not to look at their faces as the beasts devour them, try not to look at all, j

ust walk in a straight line. If you look, if you watch, the beasts in the reflec tions will see you too; and they will come for you. If ever the light begins to dim, if you begin to lose your way in the darkness, close your eyes tight and say firmly, without fear, "The ones you seek have gone before". If the lights return, you are lucky, and the creatures that stalk you have let you alone. If it goes dark, do not run. There is no point, not in fleei ng, not in praying for a swift death. They will catch you, and your end will str etch out to eternity. At the end of the impossibly long corridor, you will find another door, with hot white light shining around its edges. Knock on the door, and you will be allowe d entry. Standing in the center of the octagonal room will be a figure, merely a silhouette in the half-light of the chamber. He will pay you no heed, until you ask him the question, "What do they reflect? A ny other question, and he will fill your every pore with a thousand needles, fla ying your hide and letting it fly in salt winds as he tortures your mind into in sanity, ensuring you live eternally with him in the chamber, merely a shade of w hat you once were, every moment of existence a mad agony. If you ask him the right question, however, he will answer you, in details that will chill you to your bones and turn your heart to stone. He will tell you what the holders mean, why they exist, and what is to come. After he tells you this, he will step into your vision, revealing who he is. You will see yourself, except instead of eyes your copy has shining silver mirrors in its sockets. As you watch, unable to move in horror, your copy will dig one o f the mirrors out, blood spilling thick and fast. You will hand yourself the bloodied shard, and then you will find yourself back, outside the institution. This bloodied mirror is object 46 of 538. It will reflect what has been, and wha t is to come. Holder of the Center In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Center." The worker will meet your gaze suddenly , and close his eyes. He will point his finger in a random direction; follow his direction as given, and your soul will be sundered from your body, for demons u nimaginable to do what they will with both. You must go in a straight line in th e opposite direction instead. Whether or not it was there before, you will come to a nondescript metal door. Enter, and you will find yourself in a circular roo m, the walls lined with doors. Save for one, they will be identical. The other d oors will call for you to open them, but you must only open the unique one, lest you wish to sacrifice your sanity. When you open the unique door, you will come to a perfectly spherical room, perh aps a hundred feet in diameter. The surface around you will be solid, but will a ppear to shift around, as if made of mercury. Do not fear falling as you step th rough the door, as gravity will hold you to the surface. Walk straight ahead. Yo u are free to look around you for now, but do not stray from the line you walk, or the surface will liquefy below your feet. It will not harden until you are fu lly submerged, and your lungs filled to the brim, and you will remain where you are for eternity, never dying, and forever choking on the cursed metal. Continue in this manner until you have gone full circle and returned to the door. Stand on the door, and look straight up. What you see at the center of the room, equid istant from all points on the surface, is what appears to be human, but at the s

ame time, does not. It will be shapeless and sizeless, yet somehow recognizable, despite having no front or back, no top or bottom, no left or right. Try not to comprehend what you see or your mind will literally ignite where you stand. Sta re at it for five minutes without breaking your gaze, and it will turn to face y ou. You will understand when it happens. Look away before then, and it will cons ume you before you know what has happened, though you will feel unimaginable pai n before it ends. When it faces you, you must ask it one question, for it will r espond to no other: "Where will they meet?" The entity will answer in the voices of all who have ever lived speaking in unis on. It will speak of all who have sought them before you, and it will tell you i n every last graphic detail how they met their fates. As it speaks, the surface of the room will slowly begin to glow and turn the color of blood, and shape its elf into a tapestry of the faces of those of whom the entity speaks. When the answer has been given, you will feel the palm of your right hand burn w ith the fires of a thousand suns, but do not look, for this is where they brand you. To look upon the mark now will cause it to become a hole, through which you will bleed out of reality itself, your every molecule spread across an oblivion filled with horrors no mortal tongue, real or imagined has ever had or will eve r have words for; all that can be said of this place is that even the souls of t he damned in the most torturous pits of hell would pity your fate. If you have m aintained your eye contact with the entity the entire time, it will shrink into its central point, and when it is as nothing, all will go black. When you regain your sight, you will be in the alley behind the hospital. It is now safe to loo k into your hand. The mark is number 47 of 538, and it is where they will come together. Holder of Sacrifice In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Sacrifice". A look of bliss should then come ove r the workers' face, and they will ignore you. Request twice more. You will then be taken by another staff member to the highest floor in the building, then one higher. It will be in an unused, pitch-black section of the building. You will hear an unending groaning reverberate off of the walls from the area furthest fr om you. It is of utmost importance that you listen where the sound echoes from. Should the source of the noise change, stand still for 5 seconds, and extend you r right arm, displaying your palm towards the darkness. If you feel what seems t o be thousands of the most wretched bugs in existence crawl across your arm, do not flinch, do not cry out. If you do either, there is nothing that will save yo u. If the feeling ceases, then proceed further. Upon reaching the end of the hal l something will trigger the lights. The light shall reveal thousands of corpses formed together as the floor, as to show the sacrifices one must make to achiev e ownership of the object. A door will be to your right. Open it. Once you cross through the threshold of the door, you will arrive in an office. A man will be facing you, sitting in a chair on the opposite end of the room. He will speak on a cell phone dripping with blood, but his voice is nonexistent. H owever, once you ask him the question, he will pause. "Why have I been chosen?" He will then hold out the bloodied phone to you. Take it, and listen. A raspy vo ice shall describe the purpose of the objects, and why you have been chosen, and you shall shake uncontrollably. This phone is object 48 of 538. Those who can bear to listen, receive the truth. Holder of the Grail In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo

u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Grail." As soon as your words reach her ears, th e worker will suddenly have a blank stare on her face. If you stare at her, you may suddenly lose all grasp of reality. You should avert your gaze, and ask your question again. A blunt object will smash into your head from behind, and all w ill go black. When you wake up, you'll be in a dark room. A compass stands on a pedestal in th e middle, pointing the directions for all eternity. If you go south, you'll find a well. If you look inside the well, a stream of de mons will emerge and eat you. This is far worse than it sounds, as your consciou sness does not vanish, and you will have the experience of being digested in fif ty different places for countless millennia. If you go north, you'll find a door with a strange marking on it. If you place your hand on this mark, you'll see a n image of Satan. Satan will tell you to enter the door. Inside, you find a forest. If you go into the forest, you'll find a lake. Quickl y, if you turn away, you'll escape from sudden death, for the lake is but a mira ge, masking a creature far more horrible than anything from your worst nightmare . If you keep going and suddenly turn left, you'll find a pool of blood. There's a man in the pool of blood, and he asks for your soul. If you give him your sou l, he'll get up. This man has the wings of a devil, but his voice is that of an angel. When he smiles at you, if you do not turn away, your soul will be lost fo rever. When the man walks up to you, he'll say "Thank you" and will give you a g rail with Satan's blood in it. And suddenly, in a single second, you wind up in the kitchen of whatever place you call home. Be thankful- if you had done someth ing wrong, the man would still be holding your soul, and the pain of such a sepa ration is an experience you do not wish to go through. Put the cup in the freeze r- it should be kept cold, lest it ignite once more the fires of hell on the ear th. This grail is object 49 of 538. If you drink his blood, you'll either go mad or become the anti-Christ. Only your fate can decide. Holder of Everything In any city, in any country, go to any hardware store you can get yourself to. O nce there, go to any employee, sigh in awe and say "Will you look at all that st uff." The employee will begin to systematically list everything that is for sale . Listen to what he say and do NOT interrupt, or every tool and instrument noted - every hammer, every wrench, every set of pliers - will play a part in your dr awn-out death. At the end of his speech ask to see "The Holder of Everything" an d receive a key that the employee gives to you. It is the bathroom key and the e mployee will ignore you, going back to whatever business was taking up his atten tion. Use the key to go into the bathroom. It will be very small and cramped, gi ving enough space for only the moldy-and-stank toilet and one person. Close the door behind you, lock it, and sit. You will see upon the door various graffiti a nd writings ranging from the lewd to the derogatory. Use a pen that you have bro ught along and write on the door "How will everything react to their coming? For the sake of all that is pure, do not write anything else or do anything else, fo r slowly the putrid water of the toilet will begin to spill, slowly filling the room until you have drowned in the mixture of water and human waste. You will no t be able to open the door at that point, you are doomed. If you have done the simple task of writing the question, the answer will start writing itself on the door. The writings will detail the anguish of loss and the death of hope that would follow the eventuality of their coming. All you should hear is the scratching of an invisible pen writing its unholy message on the do or. Should you hear anything else, you must immediately close your eyes and bang on the door, screaming. The sounds should eventually stop. Should you not do th

is, or should the sound continue, failure will entail an eternity of red carnage and gore. When the writing stops, you will be free to leave. Open the door and walk out of the hardware store. The key is object 50 of 538. It will be frigid every time y ou touch it. They must never come together. Holder of Twilight In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls herself "The Holder of Dusk". You must search for "The Holder of Twilight" only when the sun is high in the sky, lest you never see the sun again. The Fron t desk clerk will usher you into a small room with a skylight facing south. Ther e will be a chair in the center of the room with the sun shining upon it. You mu st turn the chair one-hundred and eighty degrees to make it face away from the s kylight and then sit upon it, lest the light will sear flesh and melt your eyes. You will sit there motionless until a door at the opposite end of the room, unde r the skylight, opens. Wait until you hear the soft angelic sound of a lady whis pering your name in your left ear. If you hear no voice after hearing the openin g of the door, say aloud "Hello, Darkness, my old friend." and the voice should respond. If no sound comes forth at this point, then say "I've come to talk with you again." If you still do not hear your name. Stand up and slowly walk to the north door. Do not turn around or make any sudden moves. The creature that lurk s behind you will only attack those that she speaks not to or gaze upon her befo re they are called. Do not stop walking until you see the sun again, and you may survive. Once she speaks your name to you, it is safe to stand up and gaze upon her. She has the body of a goddess and the eyes of a demon. She is the great succubus Lil lith. If she offers her hand to you, take it. She will lead you to a place deep and dark away from the light of the sun and offer you to sit upon a heart shaped bed, the only piece of furniture in the chamber. Sit upon it and she will thrus t herself upon you. The pleasures she will show you will drive you to the brink of insanity and cost you your immortal soul. Kindly refuse her offer, and bow de eply to her, and you may be safe. At this point, ask her "What is the purpose of light", her face will become sole mn and she will grow silent. Then ask her "what is the purpose of darkness". She will remain silent. Now you must look her in the eye and ask, "What is the trut h of blindness" and she will explain the natures of the twilight and the shadows . She will describe how light and darkness need each other to function. Listen t o her carefully and do not speak. She will then guide your hand to her stomach. There you will pull out a perfect sphere made of opal and pearl. Thank her, and back out of her chamber slowly. The opal and pearl bead is object 51 of 538. It will make light in the darkness and darkness in the light every time you place it in your palm. They must never come together. Holder of Disgust In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Disgust". The worker's face will turn a bit green an d he will excuse himself and then walk to the nearest toilet. A female warden wi ll appear besides you and ask you to follow her. Obey her, for now. She will lead you to a simple door with a number on it; you might remember it fr om somewhere else. Almost as if you've been here a long time ago. I will not tel l you what the number on the door will be, but if it is not the right one, your

fate will be one of eternal pain and nausea. Should the number be the right one, you will find yourself in a room that looks much like a person's stomach. You w ill see food being digested, wandering into the lower tracts of the digestive cy cle. It will look much more horrible than you've ever imagined. Simply wait until you see a door falling into the "room", and then do your best to enter it. If you are not successful, you will slowly be digested, just like e verything else in here. Should you have managed to enter the door, you will find yourself in a room with white and pure walls. Those are one of the few things that do not drive this Ho lder mad. You are not, so be prepared to run as fast as you can. Approach the Gi rl in the middle of the room and ask her: "What do you consider pure?" She will stare at you and open her mouth, trying to speak. But she will be unable to and instead vomit onto the floor. Close your eyes for as long as you hear her emptyi ng her stomach. Once you do not hear anything, open your eyes again and walk to where the girl w as. Take the pills at your feet. These pills are object 52 of 538. Eating one will cause you to vanish similarly as the girl did. Holder of the Anvil In any city, in any country in the world, go to any mental institution or hospit al and tell the attendant that you wish to see the "Holder of the Anvil". A mome nt, an hour, an eon will pass as you see every failure reflected in his eyes. Yo u will see the ending of things - daughters tearing strips of flesh from their m others with hooks of steel and bone, fathers feasting on the eyes of their sons and you will know that you have given them their torment. Their anguish will be your own and the only way to escape is to let your cry join theirs but give no s ign or the attendant will turn away and all hope with it. An eon, an hour, a moment will pass and the attendant will drop his eyes in defe at, turn and open the door behind him. Follow him with care, he is treacherous a nd will leave you in dark places where your screams will never be heard, your bo nes never found. At the end of this path, when the skulls of infants crunch bene ath your feet, you will find a young man chained to a ragged iron slab. Your gui de will turn and offer you a hammer in one hand, a blade in the other. Take the blade to abandon your search and beg for quick end. It will not be given. Take t he hammer, drive it into his young mans head with all the strength you can and m ore. Although he is innocent, allow no mercy for mercy has abandoned you. Cover the skulls at your feet in the gore and the blood. When their debt has been paid you will delivered once again to the world. The hammer will still be in your ha nd, the blood will never wash off. Its thirst has been satisfied for now. That hammer is object 53 of 538. It will only be used once more, to split the wo rld and find the secret heart that beats within. Pray that yours will not be the hand that wields it. Holder of the File In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of The File". Should a look of pain and worry come over the face of the worker, you will be taken deep within the facility. Beyond a myriad of twists and turns, far more than there should be in a building of this size, you will be taken to an old-style jail cell. Within will be darkn ess, and one single noise. The rasp of a file against metal. Should at any time the rasping stop, QUICKLY turn and run. Run as far and as fast as you possibly c

an, and don't worry about taking the wrong path. Getting lost in the depths of t his facility is the least of your worries. Should the rasping continue unabated, however, walk up to the bars and stick a h and into the darkness. You will feel an object placed into your hand. If it feel s warm, drop it and fall to your knees in prayer. Pray you were fast enough, so that when you look up you will still be outside this cell. If you were too slow, an eternity of filing will never get you past those bars again. Should the item feel cold, however, voice one question aloud into the cell and p ull back your hand. The only question to receive an answer will be "Which side a re they on?" You will feel the file in your hand begin to move. As it shreds your skin and we ars through your bones, you must concentrate not on the pain but on your questio n. The file with rasp away your flesh and bone until nothing left of your hand r emains. Should you make it through this ordeal without giving in to the pain; yo u will find the answer to your question in your mind. Your hand will be whole, a nd once more you will be outside the facility; a cold and rusty file clutched in your hand. Many go mad with this knowledge; some use the file to repeat the process in an a ttempt to remove the words from their heads. If you manage to endure, you will f ind yourself among those at the reunion. That file is object 54 of 538. It will smooth your way to the reunion, but canno t help you from there beyond. Holder of the Grand Pivot In any city, in any country, go u can get yourself to. When you alls himself "The Holder of the t, to turn you away, but if you request, if only to get you to to any mental institution or halfway house in yo reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c Grand Pivot." They will try to talk you out of i insist, they will concede defeat and accept your leave.

You will be taken down a set of stairs, seemingly to lead into a moldering basem ent. There is no elevator and the staircases are lit by ancient bulbs encased in rusted wire frames. There will be a sound as if someone is constantly coming fr om above or below, but I wouldn't suggest looking back. The steps are worn and r ounded, and the walls wet and somehow seeming to wriggle. Your guide will simply point to a door at the base of the stairs, a windowless iron door. If you enter, you will find what appears to have been a padded room, with the wa lls, floor, and roof bare, exposing cold metal. There will be a repulsively fat man sitting, reciting the Lord's Prayer. The man will only acknowledge one quest ion. "I am a man of the Lord, what turns upon the pivot?" The man will explain i n a thick Russian accent what will occur when the post and pre halves join. It w ill be a by-the-minute account of the exact day, save the last 5. He will then r eturn to reciting the Lord's Prayer. If you ask to see the pivot, he will violen tly attack you; you might notice his pared-away nails and the small, revolting b ulge under his jumpsuit. If you claim to be the smith, he will remove the pivot from his jumpsuit while crossing himself. This is the centerpiece of the 538, the 55th item at the core of them all. They all turn upon the pivot, and now that you possess it, so do you. Holder of Reality In any city, in any country, go into any mental institution or halfway house you can get into. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls him self "The Holder of Reality." The receptionist will lead you up a flight of stai

rs that run much higher than it seems the building should be, before finally com ing to a top floor, where you will find nothing more than a single door. As you approach the door, the receptionist will make herself scarce. At this point, you could turn around and look for said receptionist, but doing so will only get yo u lost in the halls of the mental institution forever. Instead, open the door, a nd continue inwards. Inside that door, you will find a man sitting on an office chair, playing a game on a game console that you have never seen before. The console is a bizarre des ign, with a case made out of wrought iron, etched and painted in twisted, demoni c designs. In the game, he is torturing a person with methods too horrifying for words. Once you come to the inevitable realization that his unwitting victim is in fact you, you will become your avatar in the game, and be forced to endure a ny torture his mind may devise, until the game finally ends. The game can only end in one of two ways. You probably will go insane, in which case he will tear your very soul apart purely for his own delight. However, you might successfully endure the torture, and be granted the privilege of asking hi m a single question. If you ask him why you are in the game, he will force you t o relive the entire game, in its entirety, repeatedly, for all eternity. Instead , you should ask him: "Why do you play?" With that question, he will scream in agony, and the console will reset. You wil l now be sitting on the office chair, the game console and controller resting on the floor next to you. He will be staring at you through the TV screen, a look of unspeakable fear on his face. However tempting it may be, do not play the gam e. It probably is best to not even touch the game controller. Simply switch the console off, remove the game cartridge, and take it with you, leaving the consol e behind. That cartridge contains object 56 of 538. You will never, ever find out why he p layed the game. Holder of the Truth In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask politely to visit someone who calls himself The Holder of the Truth". The worker will nod slightly, and th en turn back to what he was doing. He will not respond if you ask him again, but do not dare ask him a third time, for if you do he will show his true form to y ou and rend you into strips of flesh on the spot. Turn to leave. The door has vanished, but there is a trapdoor in the floor that did not exist before. Open it. Preferably with something long; that gives you a better chance of escape should they be waiting for you on the other side. If the y are, run; run as far into the asylum as you can. Find a window and jump out, f or all the doors are barred or banished. Once you get out of the window, flee as far as you can, preferably crossing as much water as possible, for while it wil l not stop them, it will slow them. If they are not waiting, jump through the trapdoor. You will land in a splendid library. People in exquisite and elaborate dress are everywhere, chatting, readi ng, and relaxing. DO NOT touch any of them or attempt to choose a book, for that is the trigger, and you do not want to pull it. Look around- you have all the time you need. Eventually you will find a gray-hai red man sitting at a desk, stamping an endless pile of books with an old "return ed" stamp. Do not attempt to touch him or the books, for if you do all the pleas ant people will reveal what they REALLY look like, and if you are driven mad in an instant by what you see then, consider yourself lucky, for you will not feel the pain as they set upon you in a vehement rage.

Instead, ask the librarian one question and one question only. "Which one holds His law?" The librarian will look up. His eyes are a color not native to this Earth or eve n this galaxy; they are a color so impossible that you may be driven mad simply by their gaze. Steel yourself, and stare directly into his eyes. DO NOT BREAK EY E CONTACT, or he will look back down, not wanting to view the scene as the other patrons set upon you. He will tell you a name. It is a long one, but he will gi ve you a card to help remember it. Before you turn to look for the book, ask if he will check it out in advance. He will nod, and stamp the card. Do not bother looking for the book. It has already been stolen from the library, and you must find it. Close your eyes and say three words: "Find the thief." Do not open your eyes for ten seconds, for if the prior adventures have not driv en you mad, what you see then will. After ten seconds have passed, open your eyes. You will be across the street fro m the asylum, still holding the card. That card is object 57 of 538. You have checked out the book; it is now your dut y to return it. Holder of Lies In any city, in any country, go to any insane asylum or halfway house you can ge t yourself to. When you get there, walk up to the front desk and ask to see some one who calls himself "The Holder of Lies". The worker will nod cheerily, then g et up and gesture for you to follow him. So will about seven other people in the area. Ignore them all- they strayed from the True Path, and now their only want is to bring others to join them. Walk up to the desk and look under it. There will be a button, flashing rescue o range, labeled "In Case of Emergency". Press it twice, then jam the stool the wo rker was sitting on underneath it- this button is all that holds the door open, and you do not want it to slam shut on you. Get up and turn around. There will be a brushed-steel door labeled "The True Pat h" in front of you. It is the one truth in this place; ignore all the others; on ly the True Path leads to the liar. Go through the door. You may well be driven insane by your position- walking on the roof of a hallway that leads in an impossible direction, on its side, painte d in an eye-jarring and impossible color. Ignore the visions- the only thing tha t is true is the path beneath your feet. You can not shut your eyes at all here, lest you never manage to open them again . Endure the madness of your position, to say nothing of the sights that will co me in a moment, and start walking. The hall's ceiling is tiled in red and white. Keep your feet on the red tiles or you will fall through, straight into the mad ness beyond, and from then on you will only have one purpose- to bring others to join you. Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, you will find yourself in front o f a plain wooden door. Open it and walk in. You find yourself in a 30's style office. A man in a black trench coat and a fed ora hat is hunched over a pile of papers on the desk, muttering and scribbling. A gun sits on top of a paper-loaded bin labeled "In". Pictures line the back wal l, showing the man in a number of places, but you'll notice some things common a

bout all the photos; one, the man never shows his face; and two, everyone in the photos other than the man appears to be in unimaginable agony. Edge your hand towards the gun, but touch nothing- this man does not enjoy being disturbed. Steel yourself, and then ask into the air, "Where was He when they g athered last?" Grab the gun QUICKLY, and then fire at the man until you run out of ammunition. If you don't, or if you miss, he will grab you and show you what his face really looks like. You do NOT want to see that- when you do, you will appear among the photos on the wall, and you will see why the others there were in agony. However, if you succeeded, the man will slump over his desk in mid-lunge, dead. A single envelope will flutter to the floor. If you honestly want to know where He was, grab this envelope- the message inside will tell you. But the contents a re extremely volatile, and you may find that your mind can not handle the knowle dge. Don't try and read it now- you have no time. Drop the useless gun and run. Run a s fast as you can manage, for without its guardian, the True Path is beginning t o stray, and you do not want to be there when that happens. When you see the steel door, lunge for it. If you were too slow, you will be tra pped as a confused worker removes the stool, and you will be tortured endlessly until you agree to replace the man you killed. However, if you were fast enough, you will appear in the lobby, on one of the couches in the rest area. Quickly, get up and run to the green armchair- the object is calling, and there are others who want it as well. Throw the cushion off the seat. You will have revealed a skeleton, twisted in a position of horrible agony. In h is arms, he holds a book bound in navy blue and embossed with gold. The name is embedded in silver on the front- it's a long one. This book is object 58 of 538. You have found His law, but it is entirely up to you if you should follow it. Holder of Work In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Work". The worker will ask you to wait for a second, as he has to call his boss; at least that's what he says. He will then leave. W ait for a minute or two, then a person will walk besides you. He will ask you fo r "The Holder of Twins". Tell him that the worker is currently away, talking to his boss. Tell him that both of you will have to wait until the warden returns. In that very second, the worker will reappear, seemingly out of nowhere. He will ask you politely to wait here while the other person may follow him. Disobey th e warden, for if you wait now, you shall never leave the spot you are standing a t. Follow them, pretending that you simply have the same way as them. After a short while, you will reach a paper-door. Do not be fooled, this paper i s stronger than any metal you have ever seen. The warden will now open the door, letting the other person in. Follow before the paper door closes again or the i nstitute you're in will turn into a house filled with all of your greatest fears , and you will be locked inside. Forever. Should you have followed the other person into the door, both of you will find y ourselves in a small paradise. Although you will find everything you like and lo ve, do not touch anything with your hands and arms, for the beauty will then qui

ckly fade away and madness will overcome your mind. Simply follow the path you w ill see below your feet and do not leave it. The other person will do the same, and he will talk. He will tell you about many things that have happened in his life. Do not talk back, just listen. Neither h e nor you want to see what happens if he should ever stop walking on this path. For hours, you will walk and you will have to endure the talking. He will finall y complain about having a sore throat and not having anything else to tell you. You will then reach a golden door; it will open, the closer you are, the wider i t opens. Enter the door and you will find yourself in an almost pitch-black room , lit by only two candles. One of them is besides a rucksack, the other besides a mirror. Walk to the rucksack and lift it, as heavy as it may be. Walk to the m irror; you will now choose your fate. Should the other person already be standing there, you can quickly scream "No ma tter how hard the work, it will be done!" and then smash the mirror if you want to obtain your piece of the puzzle. Should you have destroyed the reflecting ite m; the other person will scream unhumanly and slowly melt. After a minute, he wi ll be gone, only his shoes being left. Take them and you will be returned to you r home. The shoes are object 59 of 538. Don't ever put them on. But! Should you choose to not scream and destroy the mirror, you will take the o ther person's place, as he will say "What reflects them? You will now feel unbear able pain, you will slowly die. But after a minute, you will be gone and the oth er person's talk will be fulfilled. It is up to you who dies. Holder of Twins In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Twins". A person will suddenly appear beside you and the worker will be gone. Ask the person the same thing, but the answer will be that the warden is currently away, talking to his boss. He will tell you that bo th of you will have to wait until the worker comes back. In that very second, the warden will reappear, seemingly out of nowhere. He will politely ask the other person to wait while he tells you that you may follow hi m. Do that and ignore the other person disobeying the worker and be glad that he didn't obey, or you would have walked into your death. After a short while, you will reach a paper-door. But o not let it fool you; thi s paper is stronger than any metal you have ever seen. The warden will now open the door, letting you in. The other person will quickly follow you. If he doesn' t, pray for a swift death. Should he have followed, both of you will find yourselves in a small paradise. A lthough you will find everything you like and love in this place, do not touch a nything with your hands and arms, for the beauty will then quickly fade away and madness will overcome your mind. Simply follow the path you see below your feet and never leave it. The other person will do the same, and you will have to talk. Tell him about eve rything you can remember from your life and hope that he doesn't talk back. Neit her you nor he want to know what happens if you ever stop walking while being on this path. For hours, you will walk and you will have to keep talking all the t ime. Finally, as you see something shiny at the horizon, you may complain about a sore throat and that you have nothing else to talk about.

You will reach a golden door. The closer you come, the wider it will open all by its own. Enter the door and you will find yourself in an almost pitch-black roo m lit by only two candles. One of them is besides a mirror, the other besides a rucksack. Walk to the mirror and stare into it, as horrifying as the pictures ma y be. You will notice the other person walking towards you; your fate will be de cided in the next few moments. Should he scream "No matter how hard the work, it will be done!" and then smash the mirror, then your fate is sealed. After he has destroyed the reflecting item , you will feel unbearable pain and you will scream, out of instinct. You will b e melting in the next seconds. The other's task will be fulfilled. But, should he choose to do nothing, you may utter the question "What reflects t hem? You will now see the other person slowly melting and he will scream unhumanl y. Endure the screams for about a minute, and then he will be gone, only the ruc ksack he has worn will be left. Open it, take the mirror inside it and you will be returned to your home. The reflection is object 60 of 538. Don't even dare to destroy it. Holder of Madness In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Madness". The worker will bow formally, with his han d tucked under his chest, and motion for you to follow into a waiting room. He w ill leave, and the lights will go out. When they return, thirteen seconds later, you will be in a dirty hallway with cuneiform scratching on the walls. As you walk, the scratches will gradually change, to resemble an alien writing, attempting to decipher the writing will send you into a writhing agony for the r est of your mortal days. As you reach a black orb, shimmering with liquidity, yo u must speak, "We are all mad, for you are the bringer." And the orb will come t o resemble a doorway, enter. If the Orb begins to rotate, you will be dragged in to the nether. In the following chamber, made of twisting black coral, stands a figure, ever ch anging. In him, her, it, you will see all men, all women, children, animals, cre atures, beasts, horrors that exist. It will not recognize your presence, unless you extend your left hand, and say, "I swear an oath to Koth, may the Tower ever stand." At that time, he will cease his changing, long enough to place his hand on yours, and your soul will be torn out of your body, and placed within a numb ered humanoid skull, resting on a pile to his left. Touching that skull will bring you to the foyer of an ancient temple, lying in t he sands of Mesopotamia. The skull is object 61 of 538. It must converge once more. Holder of Salvation In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls herself The Holder of Salvation. The clerk will give a knowin g smile and beckon for you to follow. You will be led outside to an old and run down well with quite a few stones missing, and the clerk will give you a key bef ore returning to his post. If you should look into the well, you will find that an old, rusted ladder desce nds into its seemingly endless depths. Should you choose to climb down; you will hear the wind as it blows past you. It may sound to you like a heavenly dirge, or the hellish wails of the damned. There is no way of knowing which you will he

ar. Should the wind stop at any time, freeze, even if it leaves you hanging by o ne hand, for it means that an unspeakably hellish creature has entered the shaft . If you stay perfectly still, and are very lucky, you will feel the wind of its passing. However, if you should hear its bestial growl, you would be wise to le t yourself fall, and hope that the bottom of the shaft reaches you before the cr eature does. After the beast has passed, wait a good minute before continuing your descent. Y ou will soon lost sight of the opening to the shaft. Don t bother trying to light up the shaft, for this darkness swallows all light. After what will seem like an eternity, you will reach the bottom of the shaft, and remember the touch of lig ht, as there is a single candle down here. As you look around, you will see that you are in a small room, only slightly wid er than the well shaft you just survived. There will be a single wooden door, no ndescript and aging, across from where you landed. Don t bother looking for the la dder, for it has disappeared. Approach the door and knock thrice, lightly. Shoul d you hear nothing, pray for a swift death, for there is no escape from what awa its you now. However, if you should hear a woman s voice say Come in dear, I have b een waiting for you then open the door and slowly enter. You will find yourself in a room no bigger than a closet. A beautiful young woma n sits across from you, on what will appear to be an aged chest. She will only a nswer to one question: If they are brought together, what can save us? She will th en proceed to describe, in horrifying detail, the only way to stop them once the y are united. Many give up hope in this room, but you must not let that happen. For if you do, the woman will reveal her true form, and your death will be both long, and painful beyond mortal comprehension. If you should survive, the woman will let loose an unearthly wail and disappear, leaving only the chest. The key you were given earlier will open it. What lies in that chest is Object 62 of 538. It is up to you whether it should j oin its kin. Holder of Damnation In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or hallway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to vis it someone who calls themselves The Holder of Damnation. The clerk will frightfull y deny any knowledge of such a thing, but will covertly slip you a toothless key with a 8 engraved upon it, and point you down a certain hallway. At the end of th is hallway is a perfectly nondescript door, but for the doorknob. It is made of a stone that is blacker than the deadest night, and should you touch it, you wil l feel as if your very life force is being drained away. Upon entering the door, you will be in a brightly lit hallway. The walls are lin ed with drawings, drawn in the style of a child, depicting the dreams of such a child. Do not look at these pictures, for they re pleasant face is merely a faade, hiding their true nature. Should you gaze upon them, they will surely be the las t thing you shall see, for your eyes will be the first to go. The ceiling of thi s hallway drips blood. If you were to look up, and believe me, this is something you do not want to do, you would see the disemboweled corpses of hundreds, nay, thousands of children, impaled to the ceiling by their own bones. Should you reach the end of the hallway, you will find a massive iron door. At e ye level, there will be a small sliding plate. Take the key that was given to yo u earlier and hold the toothless part in your hand, with the 8 uncovered, and poin ting directly at the plate. Close your eyes and give one sharp knock on the plat e. You will hear it slide back. Resist any temptation to look, for it will be th e end of you. Wait ten seconds, count them off carefully. If the key does not ch ange, run. Run as fast as you can and only stop when your legs can go no farther

. If you feel the key change, however, wait until you hear the plate slide back into place and open your eyes. In its place will be a massive padlock. Unlock it with your newly changed key, and quickly enter the room, closing the door behin d you. The Holder of Damnation despises the light. You will be in a dark room. There is no light whatsoever, but you will hear labo red breathing from the farthest corner. Do not move closer, and do not speak. Th e only words that will not result in your death are: Who was the first to bring t hem together? Should you ask, you will hear a voice, neither male nor female, spe aking in your mind. Soon it will give up on speech, and the images it creates in your mind will be horrifying. Do not scream, whatever you do, for it will see t his as a sign of weakness and end your existence in such a way that only the cri minally insane could understand. If you whether it s tale, you will notice that spec s of light have appeared all throughout the room. A hiss will fill the room, and elevate to the most horrific scream you will ever hear as each point of light e xplodes, lighting up the room. When the light dims, you will see the charred rem ains of the Holder in the corner. Do not move in for a closer look. Dead dogs ca n still bite, after all. At your feet you will find a small velvet bag. It conta ins a flawless crystal star. That star is Object 63 of 538. If it is allowed to shine, its light will drive a ll that see it mad. Holder of Nature In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get to. When you reach the front desk, cover your ears and ask the worker to see the one who calls himself "The Holder of Nature". If you didn't cover your e ars, pray to any and every god you know for relief of what comes next. The worke r will stand and begin yelling in an unknown language, in a voice more filled wi th evil than Satan or any of the demons in his legion. To hear this voice clearl y would corrupt your mind instantly leaving you to suffer a pain far greater tha n the fires of hell for the rest of your life. Even with your ears covered, your head will feel as if it were in flames whilst the worker speaks his evil tongue s. When he is finished, wait ten seconds before uncovering your ears, for evil s till lingers in the air. After ten seconds, uncover your ears, and put your hand to your forehead saying, "In the beginning." As you finish saying this, the wor ker will open his mouth and a portal appears. Should you step through this porta l fearfully, he will close it when you are only halfway through, trapping your s oul in the dark abyss that connects the dimensions for all eternity. If you make it through safely, though, you will find yourself in a garden. A gar den more beautiful and lush than any forest or jungle known to man, demon, and a ngel. In front of you, you will see a path. Follow it, but do not stray, for if you do the beasts of the garden will attack and begin to slowly tear the layers of your body off over a span of nearly 1,000 years. After what may seem anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 weeks of walking, you will come upon a quaint home. Knock on the front door, and if you should hear a voice say ing, "Come in.", leave. Exit through the portal and flee the country, for now he knows your scent. If you should have heard a voice saying, "Enter.", you may op en the door and go in. Inside, you will see an old man in a rocking chair, reading by the fire. He will only respond to one question, "What started it all?" The man will begin to chan ge his shape right in front of you. The wrinkles on his face and arms will begin to fade, and his muscles will begin to take shape, as if he were getting much y ounger. He will stand and ask you to come to him. Don't. As much as he may tempt you to, do not. When he asks you this, stare directly into his eyes, and withou t breaking eye contact, inquire once more, "What started it all?"

Once you say this again, the fire will jump from the fireplace and surround the man. He will begin to speak, in a voice as loud as the roaring sea, yet as soft as a gentle breeze. He will explain the beginning of life, the items, and the en tire universe. When he is finished, the fire will reside, and the man will be go ne. In his place will be a marble on the floor. This marble is as red as fire, y et as blue as the sea. As clear as the wind, but as black as the earth. Do not t ry to comprehend this marble, for it will twist your mind into madness. Close your eyes and pick up the marble saying, "The river cooleth the raging fla mes, the wind corrode the mighty earth." Open your eyes and you will be in the b athtub of the place you call home. The marble is item 64 of 538. Will you bring them together? Holder of Agony In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit something whi ch calls itself "The Holder of the Agony". The person behind the counter's eyes will widen in surprise, as if they didn't understand why they recognized the nam e. They'll sputter for a moment, but their facial expression will soon change to a drawn, furrowed, pensive scowl. They will shudder, turn away, and refuse. You must ask again, and continue asking in a calm, soft voice, even if they weep or scream. Eventually, the life will leave their eyes, and they will lead you, wit h a shuffling gait, to a room with no apparent number just down the hall. The worker will open the door for you. As you walk past to enter the dark room, they will land a sharp kick on the small of your back, hurtling you into the roo m. Whatever you do, do not stop or turn around while passing the worker. Please just trust me on that. The room will smell simultaneously of alcohol sanitary wipes and the metallic ta ng of blood. You won't be able to see much until the same door you entered throu gh opens and the gray light from without illuminates a lanky, cloaked figure ent ering the room. When the door shuts, it will be darker than before. Immediately, you will feel the cloaked figure press itself against your body. It s bony limbs will jab your ribs and stomach as it says, "I know you". Its voice will reverberate through your entire body, and you will feel every type of disco mfort - like you're being watched, being molested, like your foot fell asleep, l ike you're dizzy, nauseous, impatient. Stand perfectly still. Make no sound, exc ept to ask: "Why are they in pain?" It will reply, in its gut-wrenching hiss, "I will hold you here for all d every night, I will mutilate you, rape you, and murder you." You will time to brace yourself or think, and especially no time to move, before a wicked, jagged blade thrust into your abdomen and come out the other u will feel its rough surface grating against your organs. Do not move. peak. DO NOT SCREAM. time, an have no you feel side. Yo Do not s

The voice will continue. "I will murder everything you love, and make them see y our face as their killer. I will ruin everything you find beautiful. I will twis t your mind until you are as grotesque and perverted as the rest of us." It will not stop, even as fiery, acidic pain lances through your nerves from the blade in your gut. The pain will stop your breath and perhaps your heart, but you must remain perfectly still. More of the blades will pierce your body, in soft place s, in impossible places, and the voice will continue hissing its deadly vows, it s baroque tortures that become so creatively inhuman and meticulously soulless t hat you will be in danger of losing your mind. Stillness is your only defense. If you move, the blades, growing in number from

one to five to thirty to a hundred or a thousand, if only you had a chance of co unting, will tear away in every direction, forcing every chunk of your flesh and nerves to stay conscious and aware as they are rent apart again and again forev er. Stay still, even as your entire body is wracked with agony that couldn't pos sibly exist; you would be wishing for a reprieve of snake bites on your eyes and razor blades in your nerves. You must listen to the voice carefully, for eventually, it will say one of two t hings. If it says, "This glory is reserved for those who have proven themselves," then I can offer only my condolences. Your eternal suffering will be so insanely horr ible that anyone on earth who has seen your face or heard your name will have ni ghtmares of your agony even after they have passed on to the afterlife in Heaven or Hell. Your soul will be a wasted husk. If it says, "Your whole existence of forever is untouched by this agony," you mu st reply, quickly and confidently, "The agony fills us all until they have stopp ed hurting." For every second it takes to muster your reply through the haze of unbelievable pain, you will suffer from another unique and unerring agony for th e rest of your life. If you cannot speak, you will never know another moment wit hout torture, and each day you will consider the prior day's pain to be the tick le of a feather. If you reply correctly, everything will stop - the pain, the hissing - and you w ill feel the figure, once pressed against you, crumbling into nothingness. Lift the cloak and you will find a leather pouch. Open it only if you want to know wh at it would be like for the world to be torn asunder by a plague that even Hell wouldn't condone. This tortured dust is object 65 of 538. Don't run, or you'll never know. Holder of Greed In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Greed". If a look of ravenous hunger comes over them, run from the institution, for if you do not, you will be eaten alive in th e most painful way possible. However, if a look of tired want comes over them, t hey will take you to a cell in a corridor that wasn't there before. The walls wi ll be made of fine gold and silver, but do not touch it, lest they devour your s oul. As you walk, if at any time you hear the sound of coins jingling, stop and yell quickly, "All that glistens is not gold!" If it continues, you are damned for al l eternity, and there is no point in running. However, if it stops, continue. Eventually, you will come to a gilded door. The worker will open it, and close t heir eyes as you enter. As you enter, the door will close behind you. Inside is an exquisite palace, crafted of ivory and gold and wonders that no mortal man ha s ever built or conceived. Do not dwell too long, as if you do, the world will o pen under you, and you will be eternally trapped in a world of filth and squalor . If you continue, the palace around you will slowly and increasingly drip blood, until a torrent of blood rains down on you. Continue, and never look back, and d o not stop. Eventually, the blood will stop, and you will be in a room filled wi th gold bricks and treasure. Sitting in a throne of platinum will be a corpse, w hich will respond to only one question: "What do they lust for?" It will stand up, and begin telling of every want, every desire, and every theft

. If you manage to keep your sanity, the corpse will motions towards the treasur e when it finishes with its story. However, do not take any of the gold or treas ure. Instead, look for a small, copper coin, inscribed with an unknown language. The second you touch it, you will be back in the institution, as if nothing hap pened, with the coin in your hand. That coin is 66 of 538. It is worth nothing and everything. Holder of the Cosmos In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. Get the front receptionist's attention and ask to visit some one called "Holder of the Cosmos". He will look you up and down. If he mutters a nd walks away stay in place - he will return momentarily. Upon his arrival he wi ll unlock a trapdoor beneath his desk and motion for you to follow. He will lead you down an ancient, creaking staircase made of wooden planks. It remains someh ow suspended in an impossibly large room, the sides or bottom of which you will not be able to fathom. The only light will be from the quickly receding entryway . Vast, hulking shapes lumber will in the darkness - I recommend that you do not make any noises louder than the gentle squeaking of the bridge. Your guide will remain only a few steps ahead of you, but in the oppressive dark ness his features remain unclear. You will be descending the stairs for what see ms like an eternity. During this time, do not let your thoughts wander. Focus en tirely on your objective - the Keeper of the Cosmos. As you sink farther into th e blackness, wooden planks swaying beneath your feet, your guide's form may seem to shift. It is not a trick of your eyes. If he stops at any time, throw yourse lf from the bridge immediately - an eternity of falling would be preferable to h is torment. However, should he continue to move, you will eventually begin to feel a wind pi ck up. Far below you, the tops of trees will become visible. Above your head, a vault of stars and clouds. To your sides, a vast and unimpeded horizon, save for one structure far to your right. As you descend further, you can see it is a ma nsion with a small dirt road leading from it. This part of the descent is incred ibly peaceful and will last for several hours. Enjoy it, but do not under any ci rcumstance look back from where you came. The rickety staircase will collapse an d you will plummet to your death. Eventually you will reach the bottom of the stairs. They will have deposited you in a thickly wooded forest, a few yards from a dirt road. Your guide will stop moving. In the sparse shafts of moonlight filtering down between the trees, you will notice that he has changed considerably. Where once stood a man now stands a hellish, hulking beast. He will begin to turn. You must run. The staircase you recently descended will have disappeared. Your only choice is the road. The dem on is slow, but he will not relent. Run. Run until your lungs burn and your chest heaves. Run until your throat is s lick with blood. Until you cannot run any longer. Give up hope. Fall to your kne es. Weep. You will feel the demon's breath at your heels, and you will mumble a prayer into the dirt road as you see your life flash before your eyes. At that v ery moment, as you have lost all hope, a gunshot will roar into the void of the darkened forest road. The demon at your back will have been slain. This next moment is crucial. No matter how winded you are, you must stand up and immediately say: "Who is their enemy?" If you wait a split second too long you will be blown to bits in a similar fashion to the demon. However, if you are fas t enough, an elegantly dressed gentleman on a horse will trot out of the darknes s a few steps down the road. He appears rather young and is holding an ornately crafted, 18th century pistol in his right hand. He has several large tomes strap ped to the saddlebags of his horse and bits of script in a foreign language are

visible pasted, in a fashionable way, to various bits of his clothing. He will s lowly approach you, making no move to dismount, but visibly interested in your a ppearance. You must hold his gaze until he disappears in the opposite direction. Following this exchange your exhaustion will suddenly catch up with you, and yo u will find it increasingly difficult to stay awake. Give in to your weariness a nd sleep. You will awake the next day in your bed, clutching a rough piece of paper. On it , in an elegant script, are written the words: "You are a fool."

That man is object 67 of 538. He defends the cosmos from their revival. Now that he knows your intentions, he will do anything to stop you. Holder of the Negative In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. Get the front receptionist's attention and ask to visit some one called "Holder of the Negative". If the receptionist adamantly refuses to he lp you, immediately turn, leave the institution behind and take the fastest poss ible route home. After a fortnight of hiding you will know whether their tracker s have found you. However, if the receptionist merely nods at you with a stony e xpression and gestures for you to follow, do so. He will lead you to a seemingly innocent-looking hospital room and leave. As soon as the door locks, push the bed aside to reveal a decrepit wooden trap d oor underneath. Use the bed to block the door - the clock is ticking and the sen tinels are already on their way. Open the trap door to find a dusty and grimy gr ay metal coffin in a shallow pit dug into the floor. Open the locks on the side and lift the lid. If the coffin is empty, lay yourself inside and close both the trap door and the coffin lid. If there is somebody already in there, well - I w ould recommend trying to snap your own neck before the coffin's previous residen t does. You must lie inside the coffin for exactly four minutes and thirteen seconds. Un til this time, DO NOT OPEN THE LID. What would come to pass if you did is beyond the description of mortal men. When the required time has passed, you may knock twice on the metal lid. If there is no answer, knock thrice more. If the coffin trembles slightly in response, you may push the lid off. If the coffin remains silent, you know your life expectancy is now a minute at best. Push the lid aside to emerge in what seems like the dark, blasted remains of a b izarre underground machine shop. The blotched, ocher metal walls and the gray du st of time over the disengaged, quiet computing devices speak in their own way a bout the hundreds of thousands battles which were planned, organized and miserab ly lost in the very same room you are now sitting in. As alien and intricate the machinery may be, don't dally. Rise to your feet and reach your right hand out to find a wall. Fumble around until you find a metal lever sticking out of it it's roughly at your shoulder level. If the room starts to emit an increasingly loud whirring, DO NOT PANIC. Instead, call out sternly into the blackness: "It's the last piece of knowledge we require." If the whirring dies down, continue yo ur search. If it doesn't, the machinery will engage in their last integration ro utine with you as their target. When you find the switch, throw it. The last operational generator will start up with a painful whine, powering litt le else but the few good light fixtures around the floor. In the core of the sti ll dim room, you will see a huge, brass-colored and impossibly complex mechanica l device which most closely resembles a crossover between an opulent metal thron e and a Victorian-era life support system. Amidst the zigzagging tubes, pipes, v alves, cogs and plates you can see a gaunt, inhumanly frail corpse barely clingi

ng on to its life. As intimidating as the throne may be, enter the creature's pr esence and matter-of-factly utter the query: "Who scattered them for the first t ime?" Your question sparks a new light in his milky gray eyes, and with the spite and frustration of countless generations in his raspy, mechanically amplified voice he will recite to you all of the stories, all tales of vain heroism, every broke n union and all of the heart-wrenchingly disappointing failures of all of those who came before you. His contagious despair will punch through your skin, slithe r past your flesh and pierce through your bones, but take heed not to lose your focus - he is still their slave and his corrupted side will readily consume you if given the opportunity. He will tell you of those who first knew of their conv ergence, how they scattered the objects and broke their unholy union and what ma de those first fail and perish. When he is done, he will slowly and painfully extend his hand out to you from wi thin the metal shell. Do not take his hand. Instead, cross your arms across your chest and exclaim: "Your flawed routines are not mine to embrace! Leaning agains t one of the mysterious devices is a thin, two-pronged metal staff. Grab it, and using all the power you can possibly muster, drive it through the only exposed vital part in his body - his head. His death will be swift. When his rotten body and the infernal device lie silent, reach inside the metal shell protecting the body and fumble around the inner workings of the machine. A s soon as your hand hits a part pulsing heat, yank it out. It should come off ea sily. Retreat as fast as you can back into the zinc coffin - you have killed the only entity which upheld the order of the place and it won't be long until the room is going to unmake itself and crumble into the void. Slam down the lid, clo se your eyes, and if you are lucky, you will near-instantly drift off into sleep . When you wake up, you will wake up in your own home, in your own bed, tightly hu gging a warm chunk of metal to your chest. You would be wise to get rid of the c offin around you at earliest opportunity. This corrupted golden gear is the object 68 of 538. You now know how your predec essors failed. Now it's your responsibility to make sure their errors are not re peated. Holder of the Mind In any town, in any state, in any country, go to a mental institution or rehab c linic. Go up to the front desk and ask to see the holder of the mind. They will hold a look of reluctance on their face, just long enough to see it. Then you wi ll be taken down a hallway, and up a flight of stairs. The stairs will go on for what seems like miles, and if you trip you will be knocked unconscious. You wil l wake up at your home, if you go back to the institution, it will be an empty l ot. If you make it up the stairs you will find yourself in a hallway on the side of a high-rise building, the windows will go down to the floor. If you look outside them, you will see the city you were born in, but there will be no cars on the street, or people on the sidewalks. You will be taken to a door at the end of th e hallway. Open the door and step in. At first there will be only blackness, and then a single spotlight will come on. You will be in an empty circus tent; ther e will be a man in the center ring. You will not see his eyes; they will be cove red in the shadow from his top hat. You must address him as "ringmaster". Ask hi m to see your innermost mind, the mind you cannot access yourself. Where your de epest secrets, and forgotten memories lay. He will crack his whip. There will be a blinding light. In his place will be you greatest nemesis, and your true love .

You must ask your nemesis for a favor, no matter what you say, they will hand yo u a knife. You must use this knife to stab out the heart of your true love. Remo ve their heart and turn around. Behind you will be the ringmaster. Give him the heart, and he will tell you your earliest coherent thought. You will pass out an d wake up in the room you were born. You will find the knife lying next to you. It will be stained with the blood of everyone and everything you ever will or ha ve ever killed. This knife is the object 69 of 583. If they come together you will be held respo nsible. Holder of the Map In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Map". The man or woman will not look up from the ir reading materials, memorize the page number. Reapeat yourself firmly. The man or woman will look up, annoyed. They will make a snide comment. If you hear "An other moron" you will have found the right place. If there is any other comment, he will lie to you. The man will then start by giving you directions. You will not be able to write them down, no matter how much you try. If you don't follow the directions exactl y, your will get lost. You will find yourself outside the institution, this will be the worst fate you could imagine. If you follow the directions, you should h ear a sound as if an infinite number of hands are writing. This sound will incre ase as you near your goal. Should this ever stop, breathe deep and yell any info rmation you have about where you started at, including your directions on how to get there. The writing should start up again. If it didn't, you will have to go back to where you began and start again. Don't get lost. At the end of the directions you should see a door with an electronic lock, the numbers stained with blood. Stop immediately and you will here a giggle. Don't t urn around. A voice will start speaking under the now deafening sound of quills on paper. Ignore it and whisper one question, "Where will I end up?" He will go into grotesque detail of an ancient battlefield. AT the point when he stops talk ing, input the number of the page the man was reading from. You will wake up in the nearest church to the institution. You will be lying on a map. The Map is object 70 of 538. It will guide you anywhere you need to go, but not to the location of the other pieces. Holder of the Sky In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Sky". The receptionist will ignore your existenc e completely, and you will collapse on the floor. You will wake up in a torrent of soundless rain, the silence will be unbearable, and there is no environment, what you walk on is solid air in a tempest. In the silence a huge mass of people dressed in complete darkness will appear an d begin approaching you, do not fear. Take off your shirt and wrap it around you r dominant hand and walk at them. Do not speak. When you get close hold your arm forward and simply fend aside anyone who is in your way, should your skin conta ct any of them, the silence will be broken and you will become visible to them, and that would mean the end. Going through you will see a man in scarlet; he will be the only one standing st ill, and the only one that can see you. An empty circle will oddly form with you and the man inside, the rest continuously walking. Stand and wait, once the man

raises his hand you must immediately break the silence. n they are brought together?

How many will perish whe

The men will all stop and rhythmically face towards you, all of them eyeing your every move. Once they are all facing you, you must then ask And how many will be there to fight back? They will laugh. All but the one in the red cloak will laugh. Their cackling wil l resonate throughout the space you stand on, but you mustn t give in. Resume aski ng, And how many will be there to fight back? Their laughter will grow and they wi ll begin to fade. Once all but one are no more, ask one last question to the sca rlet man, Where will we be safe from them? The man will bow before you and fade, the only thing left will be his scarlet re d cloak. This cloak is object 71 of 538. When worn it brings you back to this space, the only place safe when they are brought together. Holder of Sanity In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Sanity". The receptionist will look at you strange, but you must keep asking the same question, and nothing else. Eventually, she wi ll call for a "doctor" and you will be taken to the room in the furthest corner of the institution. Beware, for after this point, there is no turning back, and if you wish to leave then, tell the doctor that you are sorry, and must not have taken your medication today, and leave. Run as far away as you can, outside of the city limits, outside of the country limits, for cowards are not spared if ca ught. If you continue on, you will be put into a straight jacket and locked in a padded room. After a few days that seem like months, you will start to hear voices. Hundreds of them, all talking about how their lives were ruined. Their stories may drive you mad, and you would have to stay there for all eternity, for in your padded r oom, there is no death, only torture. If the voices stop talking, close your eye s tight, and shout at the top of your lungs, "I WILL NOT SHARE YOUR STORIES." If the voices continue to be absent, pray that the pain you will next feel will no t be so bad, however unlikely this is. If the voices continue talking, single ou t the voice that speaks of the very hospital you are in, listen to his story, an d open your eyes. You will not be in the cell anymore, but still in a straight j acket. Instead, you will be in what seems like an endless void, the only thing s eparating you and the void a glass box. A man will appear in front of you, and ask if you have any questions. He will re spond to one, and only one question. Ask "What drove them to insanity?" He will go on in horrifying detail about the lives and deaths of them. During this time, a large black dot will appear to be moving through the void, but you must not f ocus your sight on it, for it will shatter the glass box, leaving you to fall in to infinite for all eternity. Once the man is finished his story, he will remove the straight jacket from you, and bid you farewell, and you will be standing outside the institution. The jacket is object 72 of 538. May you never wear it again. Holder of Winter In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Winter". Should the receptionist begin to cry, you'r

e at the right place. You will appear in a cold street in the middle of fall aft er a storm. Begin walking down the street. The houses are all dark and the twili ght is forever. It is good to hear the cicadas and birds chirping, for if they s top you must run. Any direction will do, as long as it's down the street. If the cries continue again stop. Do not go off the road, the thing in the woods hates company. If you see a single black crow on the electric wires in the distance you must se ize movement. Everything will become silent and they will know you have seen it, do not worry about running. The crow will begin flying at a horrendously slow p ace toward you. Once you spot its green eyes you cannot avert your gaze from it, for if you do time will accelerate to mid winter and you will be unable to move , you will freeze to death slowly in the snow. Once the crow lands it will begin acting as if you aren't there and begin peckin g at the ground, you must ask it one question and one question only with your ga ze still at its eyes, if it turns you stare at its head. "What will we gain by b ringing Winter?" The crow will continue pecking at the ground, but you will stare at it. It will suddenly begin staring directly at you as if into your own soul. The time will f eel immeasurable and the late fall's cold will get to you but you will not avert your gaze. The crow will caw once and begin to fly away but you will not lose s ight of it, you will give chase. You will come up to a forest and the crow will fly through, you will stare at where it last disappeared and pass through the tr ees. You will come to a clearing and you will find the crow long dead and rotting, th e only thing left is one of its lucid green eyes. You will be filled with painfu l visions of yourself gouging out your own eye to replace it with the crow's. It will end; you will realize you are back on a busy street in your neighborhood, the eye in your hand. That eye is object 73 of 538. It can see into people s hearts and show their true self, and they must never come together. Never. Holder of the Mark In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Mark" he will freeze, as though he knew this mom ent was coming for a long time and was very afraid it had finally come. He will stutter and tell you there was no such man here, but be insistant. He will event ually yield and after looking around to see if anyone else is here he will becko n for you to follow him. He will lead you along corridors of increasingly smalle r size, until you eventually have to stoop. He will point you to a door at the e nd of a corridor so small you have to crawl to. It will be perfectly normal exce pt for a large exclamation mark in the centre and a smaller question mark on the doorknob. This is your last chance to turn away, and if you have the slightest hint of doubt in you I recommend you do so. If your will is strong, open the doo r gently and pull yourself through. You will be in a ornate hall, covered with w all paintings depicting famous historical dictators and murderers, butchers, rap ists and serial killers. Do not linger on them, for the souls of the people resi de in those pictures and the twisted hate of their life has been amplified in th eir death, waiting to reach out and rend you limb from limb, delighting in your slow painful death. When you finally reach the end of the hall, there will be a small wooden box with an insignia on it that is old and faded you will feel a sh arp tingle go up your spine as you behold this item, and then a voice behind you will say: "Beautiful, is it not?" You must reply: "As the full moon." If he is not satisfied with your response, pray he doesn't make you one of his paintings

and instead gives you a painless death, but if he is satisfied, he will say: "Yo u ask?" You MUST say exactly "How do we destroy them?" He will laugh and say he doesn't know, but will simply state, "You're bound to think of something.". You will then wake up in the nearest bathroom, your eye in excruciating pain. As the pain recedes, you will see your pupil has now taken the shape of the mark on th e box back in that room. That mark is object 74 of 538. It will let you behold the ultimate truth. Holder of Chance In any city, in any country, seek out any school or educational facility you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to see a person who calls himself The H older of Chance. If the secretary shows any sign of fear, give the request again, and do not relent. Eventually your perseverance will pay off, and you will be l ed to a deserted classroom in a closed down wing of the school. Scraps of police tape and faded chalk profiles will litter the floor, and the door will be seale d behind you before you can inquire anything. At this point you must choose one of the thirty desks, sit down and wait. Only one of these desks will allow you t o keep your life, and advising you to choose wisely would do little good, as the re is no way to tell if you have done so until it is too late. After a short wai t you should begin to hear things; children laughing, droning lectures, and the occasional snore, but these are merely echoes, of when the classroom was host to nothing more devious than homework and pop quizzes. As you wait, the sounds will slowly change. Where there was once laughter and le ctures, there will now be cries of pain and howls of despair. Shades of the clas sroom s horrible history will begin to take shape around you. Do not fear, as shad es are harmless. The beast they can become, however, is not. As your wait contin ues, the shades will grow more numerous, and share with you the events that occu rred in the classroom. This part has driven many men into fits of tears, and mor e still into madness. Should you reach the end of this macabre production with y our sanity intact, you will find out if you have chosen wisely. If you have chos en incorrectly, then the shades will take form. They are hideous mockeries of wh at they were in life, half-formed doppelgangers of those long dead. There is no escape from this room now. They will tear you apart ever so slowly, sharing the torment of those who died in this room in years past with you. It will take you days to die, perhaps even a week. The only consolation you have is that you will likely lose your sanity after the first few hours. If you were lucky, and chose the one correct seat, the shades will gather around you, coalescing into a pitch black mass. When it disappears, you will find your self in the most lavish casino imaginable. It is populated by those who have pla yed the games so long that their flesh has long since rotted away, (for death is forbidden from entering this casino) and yet they still play, hoping to gain th eir freedom. There are two doors out of the casino. One leads to a wasteland whe re fallen beasts roam, and nothing but certain death awaits. The cost to pass th rough is four silver coins. The other door will take you to what you seek, and i s the only chance for you to leave with your life. The cost to pass through is f ive gold coins. You will be holding a single silver coin in your hand. A nearby sign will tell you that three silvers equal one gold. You must play if you do no t wish to be trapped here for good, but be warned; nearly every game is rigged, and the ones that are change at random, seeking only to confuse and trap you. If you somehow manage to gather the five gold coins and enter the door, you will be in an elevator. It will take you up, to an office even more lavish than the casino. Behind a desk at the far end of the room sits a skeletal figure, dressed in the finest suit you will ever see. Approach the desk and stand before him, s aying only one thing: Will you roll? It will nod and produce a pair of dice from i ts jacket. Call the roll, evens or odds. If you lose, the skeleton will grin, an d treat you to ten thousand years of undying torture. If you should win, however

, it will let loose a wail that will unbind the magics that hold the place toget her. The souls in the casino below will pass through the floor around you, seeki ng the rest that has been denied for so long. As the casino disintegrates around you, stand perfectly still. Hopefully you will not be taken with it, but if you are, there is no being in this world who can say what will happen to you. If yo u were not taken, you will be back in the classroom, the same as before but for the mound of dust and rotting cloth at your feet. Within it you fill find a pair of dice. As soon as you touch them, the door will unlock. That pair of dice is Object 75 of 538. With every roll, they take another life. Holder of Fate In any city, in any country, seek out any school or educational facility you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to see a man who calls himself The Hold er of Fate. Halfway through your question, the secretary's face will light up wit recognition, and she will produce an ornately decorated box. Opening it will yi eld you nothing but a bemused smile from the secretary, as it will be empty. Aft er a moment, she will draw your attention back to her and lead you into the prin cipals office. After a few muttered words between the two, the principal will we lcome you with a handshake, and proceed to open a trapdoor concealed under his d esk. He will hand you a dagger and offer a few grim words of luck before lowerin g you into the hole and closing the door. For a moment, you will be in total dar kness, but images will soon emerge in front of you. You will recognize them as m oments from your own life, and as you watch, you may come to realize that they a re all connected. Every moment of your life has cumulated to this very moment, a nd it is only with this realization that proceeding forwards will become possibl e. But worry not, for this is a timeless place. When you have accepted your fate, a door will appear in front of you. Through it is a single room with a closed door at the far end, blocked off from you by a g ate. Once you are clear of the door you entered from, it will slam shut, and a p erson will materialize in front of you. Confused, they may prompt you for an exp lanation, but regardless of your answer, a fight will somehow begin. If, at any time during the fight, should your opponent's stomach be revealed, you will see that your own name is inscribed there. What this means, however, cannot be told. This battle will be one of the few moments of your life that is not scripted, a nd you will be well aware of the fact, as even moving your body will feel far mo re difficult than usual. Fortunately, the same holds true for your foe. Should y ou win the battle, the door at the far end of the room will open, and the gate w ill disappear. Fate will have lost it's hold on you by this point, and what will happen to you beyond that door is beyond the knowledge of any being, but you ca n be certain that the chances of surviving without fate on your side are incredi bly slim. What is known, however, is that if you are an extremely lucky soul, yo u will eventually come to an ancient, rotting door. The doorknob will be lying o n the ground before it, having long since rusted over and fallen from it's place . One solid push is all it will take to open this door, and a cloud of dust will rise from the ground where it falls. After the dust clears and you enter the room, you will be in an earthen cave. A small window, if it can be called that, will provide enough light for you to see three figures in the center of the room. The figures on the left and right, you will see as you draw closer, have been dead for many years. A stone is lodged i n the skull of one, and the head of the second hangs at an awkward angle, it's n eck clearly broken. The figure in the center, however, still lives, despite it's appearance, which clearly states that this being should have died long ago. The old crone, for that is what the center figure is, has only one eye. No ordinary eye, mind you, as it seems to shine with an otherworldly brilliance. Ask her th is, and only this, lest she end your life in a manner so horrible that your wors t fears would seem a blessing in comparison: What do you see? She will answer at h er own pace, and impatience on your part will bring death, and nothing more. Whe

n she finally speaks, it will be in a tortured voice. She will tell you that she sees everything, but that she had lose sight of you as soon as your earlier bat tle started. Deciding that you are too great of a threat, she will attack you, w ith speed and strength seemingly impossible for her body to possess. You must ac t quickly, as one hit from her will destroy you. Take the box you received earli er and open it. Be warned though, the contents of that once empty box are not fi t for human eyes, and if yours happen to be open when they emerge, your existenc e will end in a most terrifying manner. Once the box is opened, you will hear un earthly sounds. When they cease, close the box and open your eyes, but not a mom ent before. Looking around, nothing will have changed, but for the crone. Time h as caught up with her, as she will now be as dead as the other two figures in th is room. Her eye is nowhere to be seen. You now have two choices. Opening the box a second time will reveal an object th at will grant you the power to control the past, present and future of the world , save for the room you reside in, and the ones you passed through after your ba ttle. However, should you do this, you will be trapped in this room for all eter nity, with no conceivable escape. Your second choice is to leave the room and br ave whatever horrors you faced in order to get there. In either case, fate will no longer have any control over your life. You will soon realize how terrible th is actually is. The object that now lies within the box is number 76 of 538. Never let it fall i nto the wrong hands. Holder of Divinity In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you get to the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder of Divinity". Repeat this two more times before the worker responds. He should stif fen, looking straight upwards for a few seconds before looking back down at you with eyes of an indescribable color. You must then follow the worker, keeping yo ur eyes on the ground, tracing his footsteps as exactly as you can. If you do no t follow well enough, you will never find your way again. When the worker stops, turn around and look up from the ground. Resist any urge to look behind you from this point on. You will find yourself facing a door, wit h a hideously shaped red dagger stabbed into the center. Grip its handle, and an incredible pain should slowly creep up the skin of your arm, then across your w hole body, sinking deeper and deeper into your body. If at any time you release your hold on the dagger, the pain will never go away, even after you die. Once t he pain reaches your heart, you should feel a sudden surge of demonic strength. Rip the dagger from the door and it will swing open. You must run through the doorway and through a long, arched hallway, which will open into a strangely lit circular room. Go straight for the man in the center. He will be kneeling, facing away from you, deep in prayer, completely in shadow but surrounded by a golden glow. If he finishes his prayer, you will be damned f or all eternity. Once you reach him, press the dagger to his throat and ask the question, "What d o they teach?" He will begin to sing in answer. Do not try to comprehend his wor ds; in your state they would destroy you. Listen only for the word "sacrifice". As soon as you hear this word, stab the dagger into his throat. His blood will s eep onto the dagger, transforming it, and light will fill the room. You will fin d yourself standing on the roof of the building you started at, holding a pure-w hite feather. That feather is object 77 of 538. Protect it at all costs, for its fate is now y our own.

Holder of the Rails In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you get to the front desk, ask to visit "the holder of the rails". Should a look of doubt and fear come over the officer's face, you ar e in the right place, if a look of greed and lust come over the officer's face, run out of the station and keep running, you will here an inhuman sound behind y ou, like the sound of a rabid dog chasing you. Keep running until that sound dis appears or until you pass out. When you awaken, the officer will be gone and a n ew one will be in that officer's place at the station. While running, do not loo k back, for if you do, the now distorted and gruesome face of the officer will s end paralyzing fear through your body and you will be caught, raped, and fed upo n for the rest of eternity, feeling everything. The officer will take you to an elevator. Before the doors open, close your eyes . When you hear a bell, wait 5 seconds, then take 3 steps in. Make a 180 degree spin, and keep your eyes closed. The officer will get on with you and press a bu tton. You will never know what floor you will end up on, so don't fret. The same thing will happen. You will be riding on the elevator for hours, going straight down. You will hear a bell and the doors will open. The officer will say, "Is t his where you want to go?" Do NOT answer, do NOT open your eyes. After a while, the officer will sigh and the doors will close. You will go down another floor a nd a buzz will ring out instead of the bell. The officer will say, "End of the l ine." Take 7 steps out and wait 30 seconds before opening your eyes. You will be in a long, dark hallway with old white, filth-caked walls. Blood will be oozing upward on the walls. Pay it no heed and walk. Walk swiftly, but don't speed wal k or run. The demons hiding in the shadows love fast objects, and your scent wil l slowly drive them wild with hunger. When you get to the end, there will be a door with no knob. Push it open and you will be standing at the top of an escalator. It seems to go down into endless d arkness, but don't let your mind waver and don't let your bravery falter. You've made it this far. There is no turning back. Should you hear a voice urge you to come down, ride the escalator all the way down. It will take you 7 days. If you hear a scream come from behind you, walk down the escalator at a normal walking speed. Count the first 20 steps in an indoor voice. Once you say '20', stop cou nting, but don't stop walking. You will hear loud footsteps behind you, matching your footsteps, sometimes a bit slower, sometimes a bit faster. Do not slow dow n, do not speed up, do not look behind you, and do not speak. The footsteps will sound like hard sandals hitting metal and you will become very annoyed. Still, keep your pace and do not falter. After about 20 minutes of walking, you will reach the platform. The footsteps wi ll end and you will feel a presence right behind you. Turn around to face your f ollower. If it is a female apparition with a scarf on her head, you are safe for now. If it is a male apparition that stands at least 2 feet taller than you, th row yourself onto the tracks and the train will come instantly and end your life . The female will smile at you and lean up to kiss you. Let her. She will thank yo u for accompanying her down the long escalator ride. At that time, ask her, "Whe re do I go?" She will gasp and move away and beg you not to continue. She will c onfess her love for you and wrap her arms around you. Ask her again, with sternn ess in your voice. "Where do I go?" If she pulls back and pushes you onto the tr ack, pray that the train comes and takes your life before the woman calls forth her small demons. As small as they may be, they will enter your body and eat you from the inside out. Should she pull away and cry, caress her cheek and tell her you love her softly.

She will begin to tell you in a riddle like manner where the last and strongest holder is. Ask her this, "How will I know when it happens?" When she opens her mouth to answer, the train will come, blowing it's horn and awakening all of the demons from your worst nightmares. They will begin stampeding down the escalato r, rage flaring in their monstrous eyes. Run as fast as you can to the front car of the train. Those doors will be the only doors that open, and they'll open fo r anyone. The apparition is in the driver's seat, looking at you with sadness in her eyes. Don't stare into her eyes, for they will enchant you and cause you to forget your mission. The demons will rip you apart slowly and each day, you wil l heal just for it to happen again. Reach over the apparition and press the only button. It will make the train move and seal all the doors. Now, it is safe to look at the apparition. Ask her the question again. "How will I know when it happens." she will begin to blink in an d out of existence and finally fade away, smiling. Her spirit is now free. Now, however, the station around you will begin to crumble and the train is speeding out of control. The lights will turn red and a gruesome demonic voice will answe r you. "When the sun shines at night, And the moon lights up the day, When the Devil ru ns to Heaven, And God hides away, When the plagues return at once, And all of th e first born sons die, When thunder flashes and lightning rains, And the Earth b ecomes the sky, When fire cools and water burns, When clouds surround and the mo untains churn, When screams are silent and silence becomes sound, When angels fa ll from the melting ground, The Legion will arise." The voice will speak slowly and you must run to the very last car into the contr ol room and pull what looks like a jewel studded level down. Once you pull it do wn, pull it out of the panel and you will see it's a dagger. Where the button wa s in the first control room there will be a heart. Stab the heart and close your eyes. Scream out as loud as you can, "I FIGHT FOR THE SOULS THAT WERE LOST IN T HIS TRAIL! THIS MOTION IS FOR THEM!" Drag the dagger down the hear and a loud sc reech will be heard. Your eyes will open and you will be arriving at the station closest to you home. You will be sitting in a random seat with the dagger in yo ur lap. Since it's illegal to carry weapons on a train, you may want to conceal it as you leave. There will be a red taxi with wings on the door and a horn on t he hood. Go to it, put your hand on the handle of the door and close your eyes. Get in, don't speak, don't open your eyes. Count to 10 in your head and open you r eyes. You will be on your couch at home. If you look on your nightstand, you w ill see a picture of yourself and that apparition while she was alive. You two w ill be in a playful embrace and suddenly, sadness will wash over you. You will s uddenly think you have just lost the love of your life, the love you never had. Look at the dagger. It is up to you whether to use it. That dagger is object 78 of 538. It will only pierce one heart. The heart of it' s owner. Holder of the Flesh In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, look around carefully. Loo k for any workers eating a meal. Look for the one who appears to be full or at l east almost done, for asking one who has not eaten may decide to eat you for lun ch. Ask that worker to see "The Holder of the Flesh". In a muffled voice full of food, the worker will point you to a dead cow in the middle of the room that wa sn't there before. The cow will be belly up, with a large open gash from neck to crotch. The worker will gesture for you to go inside it. As you crawl into the dead cow, you will slip inside a tight, fleshy tube, the m uscular reflexes beyond the slimy film forcing you along the way. Try to stay in

one position, as too much movement may cause you to be ejected from the tube ra ther violently into a large toothy maw, which will chew on your body until you a re nothing but pulp. If you've exited the correct end, you will fall to the floo r of an ornate cathedral of bone, flesh and organs. Eyes of many sizes peer at y ou from many spots. In the back, the floor arches a bit up and down, the wide ri b cage holding back massive lungs and a large heart. Inserted into the back wall is a huge glass jar, suspending a gigantic, pulsating brain in fluids. Its long , thick nerves hang like spider webs all around, stretching to the walls beside it and to the ceiling far above. Without warning, two very large and very long muscular, skinless arms with clawe d fingertips emerge from the walls. Both arms will grab you weather you attempt to flee or not. You cannot escape its grasp. The brain will not respond to anyth ing you say or do, except for one question. If you do not or cannot ask your que stion, you will be torn piece by piece, forced to stay alive and feel every mome nt of pain, while being reassembled into the fabric of the living cathedral. Nev er quite dead but never quite alive, unable to scream though you want to badly, you will live as one with the living cathedral for all time. The question you mu st ask before suffering this cruel fate is, "Why do they despise life?" Without pause, the brain will then open your skull, painlessly. With but a tiny pinch of itself, it will insert that pinch of his brain into yours. You will the n realize, in the most through details, every bit and piece of what makes life, life. All of mankind's knowledge, achievements and progress will be rendered com pletely and utterly useless compared to this. This has driven many quite mad and if you too cannot handle it, you shall share their fate, clawing apart your own brain and scattering your thoughts throughout the cosmos, never to reassemble a gain. But you must stay focused and calm, for this information is quite possibly the most widely held secret in all of the known and unknown universes and shoul d never be shared with anyone but a true god, lest you invoke man's early demise . If you yet still hold resolve, the brain will let you go. Do not dally, as the b rain is always tempted to add more flesh to his own. Escape through which you ca me in, and as you slide along, you will stop at a dry dead end. You will find yo urself under the covers of your own bed, backwards, with your feet on your pillo ws. That piece of knowledge is Object 79 of 538. Life is what you make of it, so mak e it well. Holder of Extravagance In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you get to the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder of Extravagance". The attendant will look unfazed, even slightly bored, as though t his question has grown so common as to become routine. Tiredly, they will rise a nd lead you through the halls of the building. You will see many dozens of unbou ndedly fascinating and eye-catching objects, but do not once stop or slow to exa mine any of them in closer detail, or the group of supposed students who have be en following you will take the opportunity to pounce, and you will never see the outside of the walls again. Instead, stay focused on following the attendant. Eventually, he will lead you to a door and gesture for you to enter. Do so, and it will shut rather gently behind you. That click you heard was the lock. Don't try to open it- the students mentioned earlier are waiting outside the door shou ld you succeed. You find yourself in a History classroom, but it's more boring than any other cl assroom you've ever seen. There are no posters on the gray walls, the shelves ar

e devoid of books, and the desks are bare and minimal. A teacher sits at the fro nt desk, wearing a bland gray outfit, grading papers. The combined effect makes you want to drop off to sleep, but be warned- if you do, the nightmare that you enter will never end. Also, do not interrupt the teacher at her work- she feels overworked for her pay already, and if you bother her she may well snap. Instead, steel yourself and sit down. Third row from Sitting any other place will lead to your demise in ffle will be heard outside the door, but do not turn none of the students wish to be noticed as they walk eady late. Merely keep your gaze directed forward. the door, second desk back. the events to follow. A scu to look in that directionin, and all of them are alr

Somehow, they all manage to sit down without the teacher noticing, and the lesso n begins. It is almost painful in its execution- bare-bones, no-frills teaching. A notebook and pencil have appeared on your desk- quickly begin taking notes, l est the teacher notice and fail you. And you don't want to fail this class, beli eve me. The facts are so stripped-down they hurt, but never once should you halt or interrupt. After a while, a test will be announced. Accept it. It appears to be written in a language from another planet, and about places and people you don't think have ever existed. Keep calm, write from your notes for the first few questions. Whe n you reach question four, lightly tap the kid in front of you on the shoulder. QUIETLY- you don't want the teacher to catch you- ask him, "When was it meant to happen?" The kid will glance nervously at the teacher, then scribble madly on a piece of paper and pass it back to you. Read it quickly and memorize what it says- the lo cation it details is where the object is hiding. But the moment you take your ey es off the paper or attempt to move, the teacher will catch you, and all hell wi ll break loose. The room will suddenly be clothed in the heaviest opulence you have ever seen, a nd the students and teacher will be revealed in their true forms. These bar desc ription, but know this- they have all the same strengths and weaknesses of the n ormal human. All across the school, the illusion has been broken, and you're goi ng to have to reach the object- wherever it is- before the students manage to ta ke you down. The gauntlet's off now. Use whatever methods available to reach the object- viol ence, murder, deception, nothing is barred and nothing is sacred. No repercussio ns will happen, and if they did, they'd in no way be worse than what will happen should the students bear you to the floor. Make your way to the location, and t he object will be glaringly obvious among the opulence- a plain brown paper pack age tied with twine, about the size of a large soup can. A thin paper envelope i s tied under the string. Grab it, then locate the nearest bathroom. Battle your way into it, then slam the door. It will lock, and hold, but not for long. Quickly, slip the envelope from the parcel and throw it into the second stall- i t doesn't matter where it lands as long as it's in the walls. The envelope is wh at draws them, so you want to stall as much as possible. Turn on the hot water i n two of the sinks and the cold in the other one. Then, with the door pounding s o loud it drills through your head, face the hand-dryers. There's three. Take a deep breath, then slam the button on whichever one you like. Everything will black out for a bit. If you pressed the wrong button, the blackn ess will lift only for you to experience what the students are about to do to yo u. It's never the same, but it's always unbearably painful, and you won't stay s ane long enough to witness your demise. If you pressed the correct button, howev er, you will wake up sprawled on the floor of a bus stop half a mile down the ro

ad from the limits of the second-largest city you've ever visited. Sit up, rub y our eyes. You're alone here, and for the moment, safe. Unwrap the package- there 's a surprising number of layers on it. Keep unwrapping until you find a layer of green wrapping paper. Stop at this poi nt and look to your left- a cheap lighter is sitting on the bench, along with su fficient bus fare into the city. Grab both, pocket the money, and pile the brown paper and string up. Burn the pile- that last layer of wrapping was there solel y to protect the object from the brown wrapping, and you don't want it in existe nce when you open it finally. When the pile is nothing but ash, unwrap the final layer and toss it away. You n ow hold a strange gold-colored D cell battery. Get up quickly- the bus is coming , and you don't wanna look like a total weirdo by sitting on the floor of the st op rather than the bench. The battery is object 80 of 538. It will never run out of power, but if put into any device, that device will never run on any other battery save the gold one. Holder of Simplicity In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you get to the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder of Simplicity". Should the worker utter a single, piercing shriek, place his hands on his ears and close his eyes, you have come to the right place and should feel free to ask again. But, if he simply ignores you and writes something down, you r life is doomed; you will instantly become completely aware of everything that has to happen for each action you make to occur, from stepping on an ant to blin king. After you ask the second time, the worker should instantly calm down and a sk you to follow her. She will lead you on a roundabout path, heading through the seemingly endless ha lls of the school. Count the number of right turns you make- after seven right t urns, casually slip into the shadows and let the worker continue walking. Should you fail to do this, you will never get another chance to leave, and those endl ess halls will swallow you up forever. If you succeeded in losing the worker, stick your hands in your pockets and look around for a bulletin board. There will be a morass of colorful announcements t acked to it, with an array of eye-catching pictures and descriptions of incredib ly exciting activities. Do not be strayed by these- they are trying to hide the one you are looking for. Look for a plain white sheet of paper almost completely covered by the others. Take note of the room number, then look at the time of t he activity it advertises. The date will always be today's, but if the time has already passed, then you are too late- they have caught you, and nothing you can do will keep them away. If the time om. None of is horribly hing for it is later than what it is right then, start searching for the classro the wall-mounted directories are the same, and the numbering system random. You will likely never find the place, and will be lost searc among the endless halls while the hunters circle in.

If by some miracle you do manage to locate the room, ready a weapon and prepare yourself. If you didn't make it before the listed time, the door will slam and l ock, and nothing will ever convince it to open for you again. If you make it in time, take the door at a run, weapon ready. A heavily decorated Biology classroom will greet you. The room's paint job is di sgusting- rancid, vile colors drip freshly slathered from every surface. Posters line the walls, emblazoned with pictures of impossible, unholy creatures. Books

in dark, lost languages lie scattered on the floor. Yet the room is empty- almo st. At the far end of the room, a student sits hunched over one of the unspeakab le creatures from the posters, frantically dissecting it with a long-bladed scal pel. You must ask him the right question, or he will smash the creature aside and tur n to find a new subject to dissect- you. At the top of your lungs, scream to him "Why did it not happen then?" The student will scream, horribly, and whirl around. Time will seem to slow, and in one second he will tell you the hours-long story of why it did not happen th en, and all the things that have gone wrong because of it. When he finishes, the creature on the table will whirl up and attack him, tearing him to shreds in se conds. His calculator will fly from the melee- grab it quickly, but dare not to open it. With whatever weapon you have, target the thing's head and aim to destr oy, or it will do the same to you. Whirl for the door- the rest of the class has arrived. They all brought their dissection kits today, but you've ruined their only subject- and now they want you to replace it. Battle your way out of that classroom. The topography has changed. Where once en dless, grotesquely painted halls stretched, a single, bare concrete walkway stre tches across a pit of flames to a steel door. Fight your way over there- do what ever it takes to get through that door. The moment you grab the handle, everythi ng will turn white. Shut your eyes. Count to five, then open your eyes again. You will be holding the handle of the locker room door at the last school you ever attended. Open it and walk into the locker room. Pull the student's calculator from your pocket, turn it on, and pr ess the key labelled "ENTRY". A number will appear. Toss away the calculator and find the locker with that num ber on the door. It will be unlocked- open it. The whetstone inside is object 81 of 538. When used on any blade, that blade wil l never again grow dull, and nothing will be able to resist its bite. --Holder of Corruption In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you get to the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder of Corruption." The attendant behind the desk will look down, then begin to scream. Close your eyes tight, you won't want to see what they are doing. When the scre aming stops, open your eyes. You should be in a small, dark room, with wooden walls. There will be a solid lo oking door of copper and wood behind you. Walk up to the door, knock twice, and open it. You will be standing in the place you call home, but horribly distorted . You will recognize it, but it will be difficult to find your way. Everything w ill be decayed and rotting. Insects, rats, and all kinds of horrible things wand er the house. The house will be buried deep underground, dirt blocks the windows , making it pitch black. You had better have brought a light. If not, the walls won't exist, and you'll wander for the rest of your existence, in the darkness, unable to die, or to feel weariness. If you did bring a light, however, you are in luck. Quickly find your way to you r parents room. On the bed will be a twisted visage of both of your parents, in one body. They will be naked, and smeared in horrible substances, filth, feces, blood, vomit, everything possible. They will be horribly gibbering your name. Yo u cannot react to this at all. If you do, you will join them as one, and your mi

nd and body will break slowly over thousands of years. You will know only tormen t, and the torment of all others to ever die. Instead, resolutely stare them in the eyes, and ask them "Why did this come to p ass?" At this point, they will split into two separate bodies, and tell you from beginning to end, then from end to beginning at the same time, why it came to p ass. It will be a horrifying tale, because it will seem it is your fault these t hings happened. You will most likely go mad from guilt. If you do not, however, the two bodies will produce an hourglass, and place it on the floor. Thank them, and gently pick it up with both hands. You will wake up in the place you call home laying on the floor in the most wind owed room. It will be 3:32 in the morning. No light will come from the windows t ill the morning comes. The hourglass is object 83 of 538. When the sands of one end run empty, then it will begin. Don't let this happen. Holder of Dreams In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Dreams". The person behind the desk shall stare at y ou with piercing eyes, tell you such person is not there. Ask him or her, where can you find him, and you ll be granted with a key, with a number attached to it. Walk out from the building, into the street, and go north. If the street doesn t g o neither north or south, go east, when turn north once you notice a street at y our left. Keep walking until you see a hotel. Maybe you never heard of it, maybe you never realized it was there, but this is your destination. Enter the hotel, and speak to nobody, answer no questions directed to you by the one in the lobb y or other guests. Look at the number attached to the key, and find the bedroom s door where the key belongs. Once you find it, open the door. Enter the hotel bed room, and close the door. You ll want to wait until, at least, sunset, when the first stars show up in the s ky. Turn off any possessing mobile phones, don t turn on the TV, have no objects w hich can be make sounds. Without changing clothes, lay down in the bed, and clos e your eyes. Even if you re not asleep, your mind will drift away, and you ll be sle eping soon. Think of good things while waiting with your eyes shut, because if f ear or bad thoughts emerge, it might be too late. They know you re there. If all goes well, you ll wake up in the next morning. Leave the hotel with no expl anations, return home, and resume your life, but be prepared. You did, without k nowing, a pact. Accepting to take this path granted you horrible consequences. 3 people you know will die in the following days. They will die in horrible, dis gusting ways you couldn t imagine it was possible. React no more than what is norm al to a human. Go to their funerals, mourn for them. Keep moving with your life. Do not attempt to return to the hotel or back to the asylum, or it will be all over, and you will wish you had died the same way your friends did. It would hav e been less horrifying. After one week, 7 complete days, you will see, for sure, the death of the 3rd pe rson. There will be no way to avoid it. It will be the person next to you in the 7th day, and no matter how much you ll try to stay alone in the day, that person will still come to you, without guessing his/her fate. It will also be the perso n you most care for, doesn t matter how he/she appeared, the person will be there. When it happens, while you re unable to save the person, you cannot turn around o r close your eyes, or you ll suffer the same fate. It will be as the entire legion

of Hell came to consume your friend into pain, agony and despair until his/her last breath. You must not scream, or react. Just watch. When all is over, when there s nothing left but the mutilated corpse of your friend, you ll feel an hand tap your shoulde r. Do NOT turn around, or the boned hand will grasp your neck, and death will be slow and painful. The figure behind will ask Did you enjoy? Do not answer. Instead, ask How can I protect my dear one?

The hand patting your should will rise and point at the corpse. Approach it, and you shall see a faint light coming from inside the now decomposing chest. Reach for it, and remove a small silvery trinket from your flesh. Once you do this, y ou ll hear a pitched scream, and the ground under your feet will vanish. Keep hold ing the trinket tightly, DO NOT LET IT GO, as you fall into the darkness. You ll wake up in the hotel bedroom. Check the calendar. Those 7 days were a dream . Nothing happened at all, your friends and family are safe and sound. But you ll have the trinket in your hands. The trinket is object 84 of 538. Give it to the one you most care for- it might well be their only salvation. Holder of Sorrow In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Sorrow." The worker will frown and bite his lip. Hes itantly, he will lead you deep within the facility until you reach a rusted, cha rred iron door. He will open the door for you, and you must enter in the darknes s in complete silence. Once you are inside, the worker will quietly close the do or shut and bolt it locked. You will hear the many screams of tortured souls within a few meters of you. Sho uld the screams stop at any time, QUICKLY scream at the top of your lungs I do no t feel sorry for you! If they do not resume, hope for a quick death, as it is use less to run. However, if the screams return, continue walking forward in darknes s. Keep walking until you see a dim light glow in front of you. Once this happen s, IMMEDIATELY halt and stare at it. You will be tempted to look upon the faces of the tormented beings hanging on th e walls, and they will plea for your help. Do not answer their cries, for if you avert your eyes from the light, your mind will instantly be shattered and you w ill reflexively begin to gouge your eyes out. The light will reveal a man standing with his back to you, and his presence will cause the screams around you to subside. He will only respond to one question: W ho will be spared when they come together? He will whirl around to meet your gaze , and answer your question with excruciating detail. Do not interrupt his speech . What would happen if you did could not be described by the most sick and twist ed criminal in the history of the world. When he is done, he will hand to you what appears to be an ordinary rock. He wil l back away from you, the glow of the mysterious light fading away. The words wi ll begin to ring in your mind, He who is without sin shall cast the first stone. lose your eyes and count to ten. When you open them you will be standing in fron t of the front desk in the institution. The stone is object 85 of 538. It can only be thrown when they come together.

Holder of the Lens In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself into. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Lens." The attendant will not acknowledge your request at first, but you must continue to ask. When she raises her head, she w ill give you a questioning look, and ask if you are sure. If you have any doubt in your mind that you will not succeed, turn away quietly and never return. If y ou have no doubt of your impending victory, then give her a single nod. She will smile softly and lead you through a door behind the desk. The door will open into a steel-gray hall, straight and narrow, barely wide enou gh for the two of you to traverse. Large mirrors, spaced at odd intervals along the walls, will reflect the two of you along the path; you must look in every on e of them as you pass. Should one of the mirrors show that the attendant has dis appeared, begin to pray, for you will not be long in this world. However, should it be you missing from the mirror, stop and turn to face it. The attendant will turn around and push it aside, revealing a darkened room. Make sure to thank he r before you step inside; the powers in this place do not tolerate a rude visito r. The mirror will slide silently back into place, coating the d a voice will begin to mutter nonsense words to itself for e. Should they stop, you must state calmly, "I am only here the voice returns, it will not be a whisper, but a roar of d your body, leaving your soul to be slowly consumed by the begins to light up, then you have intrigued him. room in darkness, an an indeterminate tim to see a friend." If anger that will shre Holder; if the room

You will find yourself in a small, dimly-lit room, with only a single chair in t he center of the light. Stand still, do nothing until a voice asks you to sit, t hen do so. The Holder will ask you many questions, and you must answer them trut hfully, and not make any attempt to clarify their details, no matter how damning they might be. Lying to him will bring out his demon, and you want to avoid tha t for now. When he is finished, he will thank you for your honesty, and tell you that he wi shes to know why you came. Ask him, "May I see your face?" The Holder will laugh kindly, and a pair of glasses will drop into your lap. Take the time to think o f the one thing that means the most to you, and put the glasses on. Now you will see the room in whole, oozing pestilent blood from every inch of ev ery surface, save the small ring of illuminated floor. Do not stand until the ho lder asks you to, and when he does, leap up onto the seat of the chair immediate ly. The light will go out, and blood will rush to fill the gap, but you will sti ll be able to see through the lenses. Look directly ahead of you, and politely a sk to see the Holder's face again. The blood that forms the wall will part like a curtain, and a figure will emerge . If it is anything but the figure that you pictured in your mind before donning the glasses, quickly remove them and throw them aside. If you are fast enough, the darkness will part to reveal the doorway of the institution you came to; cou nt yourself amongst the most fortunate. Should you be too slow, then your blood will be added to the room's- very, very slowly. If, however, it is the object, step down from the chair. Your feet will touch th e blood, but you will not sink. Take five steps forward and halt. The object, wh atever or whomever it may be, will move to match your distance. Take three more steps, and wait for the object to move again, then take a single step. This time , when the object moves, you must ball up a fist and strike it with all of the s trength you can muster. Hold nothing back, and press your fist through it. The s

urface will give way and shatter as glass, revealing a floating skull, with chun ks of putrid, rotting flesh still clinging to its visage. Pull your hand back immediately, and do not examine the wounds on your hand. Bow and thank the Holder as politely as you can. He will then ask, with horrid brea th, if you wish to see your face. Politely decline, and begin to turn away. A ha nd will place itself on your shoulder, and the Holder will insist. Now, ask him, "How do they see?" The hand will then forcefully shove you down, and you will s ink into the bloody floor. As you pass, press a hand to your face, and keep the glasses from falling away. They are all that protects you. You will see scores of images, ghastly and demented, pass by your vision as you descend. In all of this, you must not avert your eyes in any way from these scen es, scarring as they might be, for one of them is you. As you pass your own muti lated image, reach out and touch it. The sea of blood will dissipate, replaced b y complete darkness. When a door appears, open it. The light will be blinding, b ut you will find yourself safe, walking away from one of the institution's restr ooms. Remember to say "Thank you," for the Holder has enjoyed your company. The glasses you wear are object 86 of 538, the Eyes of Clarity. When the time co mes, you can see what they see. Holder of Youth In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Youth." The attendant will choke back a childish gig gle and rise from her seat, motioning for you to follow. Do so, but do not show any emotion other than annoyance, for there are creatures watching you, waiting for a chance to erase your mind and make you do their foul bidding. The attendant will lead you through the facility, skipping merrily along and tur ning down hallways at a whim. Do not bother trying to remember the path, for it will soon be irrelevant. After what will feel like hours of walking, she will tu rn into an empty room and halt abruptly, announcing that you have arrived. Follo w her in and shut the door firmly, then move aside. She will wait, rocking ginge rly on her heels, then bounce towards the door, opening it with little more than a grin. Through the door, there will be a lush meadow, teeming with vibrance and life. F ollow your guide through the frame and stop when she does. She will then glance around nervously, and lean towards you with apprehension in her eyes; she will s peak a single, whimsical word, then depart, leaving through the door and closing it. You must make sure not to forget that word. Walk forward with rigid, stoic paces, keeping an angry visage upon your features ; the guardians here know you do not belong, but will be too afraid to strike... for now. Continue walking until you reach a ring of flowers, and step inside it. They wil l all wilt suddenly, with the exception of one small portion. Go in that directi on, and that direction only, for 44 paces, then stop, turn to your right, and wa lk another 44 paces. When you stop for a second time, turn completely around. Yo u should be in a dense, verdant forest. If you are not, then the guardians have mustered their courage, and no power in this place will try to save you. When you arrive, immediately take three steps backwards; you should come to rest against a large tree. Vines and branches will snake over your body and hold you there, but do not struggle. No matter how tightly they constrict, you must not show your pain, but keep glaring forward, lest the tree decide to crush you on i

tself. When the growth stops, several children will burst from the bushes, laugh ing and playing, oblivious to your presence, and form a ring around the tree. As they begin to dance around it, they will sing in pleasant voices, a silly chi ldren's' song, making the trees around them shudder with laughter. Whatever you do, do not speak or soften your face, but wait until the children pause and sit to catch their breath. One of them will finally notice you, and ask what your ar e doing there. Tell them that you wish to see Father, and they will gasp as one. Should they begin to giggle, then your death will arrive soon, by creatures whi ch no words could ever describe. Sternly tell them again that you wish to speak with Father, and their leader wil l hang his head glumly, muttering acquiescences to you. He will stand and walk a way, leaving all the others around you. They will begin to speak, to themselves and you, but you must not look at them, listen to them, or even think about anyt hing they might say to you; they only seek to break your stoic mask and flee the ir punishment. If their words should ever cease, then growl at them, "Stop pouti ng about it and enjoy yourselves." You must sound as menacing as possible, and t hey will resume talking; no one knows what happens if they remain silent. When the other child finally arrives, he will sit back down, and a tall, wizened figure will emerge from the thicket. He will stare at you, a gaunt, annoyed fac e that should match your own, and demand to know why you came here, of all place s. Glare at him and ask, "Does it truly matter?" The figure will sigh darkly, an d begin a long-winded rant about the follies of youth; stay silent, for he will not take kindly to interruptions. When he finally winds down, he will ask again why you are here. Ask him, "What were they before this? The old man's eyes will flash with understanding, and he will sit on a nearby st one and begin to speak. He will tell you, in every possible detail, what they we re in a time before time, when there was still a shred of goodness within what t hey kept. He will explain, with a heavy voice, the calmer times, and tell you of the events that sparked their fall. Every slight, every delusion, every crushed dream will be laid bare by his words. As the old man speaks, the lush green aro und you will give way to blackened, dead soil, rotting trees, and foul, half-rot ting vegetation; do not change your expression, and hold your gaze on the old ma n. The story will end with "See what they have do to my children?" The small figure s that sat around you will now be festering corpses, all eying you with gleams o f sadness in their putrescent faces, begging for release. They will all stand, a nd trot towards you, with their Father telling you that their hunger must be sat ed. Now, in your loudest voice, scream the word you were told when you arrived. Should you have forgotten, or mispronounce it in any way, then you will spend th e rest of eternity as the dead children's' meal. Speak it correctly, and they should all fall to the ground, clutching their ears shut, and the constricting briars from the tree will shatter. Take the largest piece of wood that you can find, run toward the old man, and stab him in the nec k with it. As he chokes on his own blood, he will hold a single rose aloft. Take it from his hand, as darkness will surround you, forcing you to choke and die l ike him. When your lungs feel as though they shall burst, you will find yourself at the d oor to the place you call home, gasping for air and clutching the flower in your clammy hand. That rose is object 87 of 538, Forlorn Remembrance. It stands for the purity tha t once was, and never shall be again.

Holder of Void In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask for someone who calls him self "The Holder of Void". The worker will look at you as if you've spoken anoth er language. Repeat your request ONCE more, any more and your fate is best left unsaid, for our sakes. The worker will stand, visibly shaken, and motion for you to follow. Do so, but look to your feet and carefully count your steps. Once yo ur foot has fallen on the 64th step, STOP. The worker will have disappeared, and I suggest you concentrate on the matter at hand. Turn to your left, and knock thrice on the door in front of you. If there is no answer, turn around and try the same on the door behind you. If there is still n o answer, than this game was not yours to play.. you will wander the halls of th e institution for the rest of eternity. But, should a childlike voice ask you to come in, quietly open whichever door an d step inside. The room will be simple, painted in solid ocean blue. There will be a child child will be in the middle of the room, sitting at a table, playing what appears to be a cross between a board game and solitaire. The child will lo ok at you with impossibly black eyes, eyes that seem to bore into your very soul and beyond. He will ask you, still staring, "Do you also want a card?" The next few moments will decide your fate. Stare into the child's eyes, but do not make a sound. Breathe quietly. He will e ventually sigh, and resume his game. He will pull a card out of a stack on the t able Should that card have a picture on it, the child will sigh again, and throw the card to the ground. Whatever was depicted on the card will come to life - run, o ut of the room, if you wish. If you're lucky, you will die of starvation and deh ydration before the impossibly grotesque creature finds you within the halls. But, should the card be blank, ask in a loud, commanding voice "Why did they sha tter?" The boy will stare into you, into your mind, as if your very existence is being probed, do not attempt to hide anything or fight.. this holder's powers are more than what they seem, and you may very well lose your sanity where you stand. If you are still coherent when this "examination" finishes, you will find yourse lf falling asleep. Again, do not fight the feeling. You will wake up in the bed of where you call home, a small, round, pearlescent object in your hand. This object is 88 of 538 - You've played the game and won, but will you be so lu cky at the reunion? Holder of the Heart In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of the Heart." Should a look of disinterest appear on the worker's face, be persistent and ask him again, but with a more determined tone. Don't let that tone fade from your speech for the moment. They know you're here , and they won't hesitate to kill you where you stand. Once he gives in and gets up from his desk, follow him to the entrance of a very odd corridor, and he wil l stop. He will hand you a mask that has half of an odd symbol on it on one side

and all black on the other. It's best to put on that mask first before entering , as you don't want them to see your face; they can tell you apart from a crowd pretty well. He will stand there, but it won't be to help you. Once you get to the end of the corridor, you will have arrived at a wooden door styled in the times of peasants, kings, and knights. Knock twice, and say this e xactly: "I wish to be complete, I do not mean to intrude." Should you say anythi ng else, that door will explode open, shattering to pieces, but you wouldn't wan t to know what was on the other side. If you did say the right thing, however, t he door will slowly open itself, and you will be pushed out by an unknown force. Don't bother looking back, for there's no one there. Yet. You will have arrived at a large clearing, and the door you were pushed out of had disappeared from s ight, with nothing left but a pile of ashes. Look around: you will notice a larg e castle --or what was left of it-- beyond a humongous clearing. Starting from w here you have entered this realm, walk until you get to that clearing and keep w alking to that bare castle. Sleep where your body falls, and keep your mask on a t all times. It's the only thing that's protecting you right now. It will have b een days, weeks even, before you reach the Castle, keep walking until you get to a bolted door. Knock twice, and say, "I have come for my Heart." There will be a sliding panel on the door, and it will open, revealing bright am ber orbs in the darkness. Ask this only: "Do you have what I seek?" Asking anyth ing else, and that door will open. But running won't help from whatever was on t he other side. Should it grunt, it means that you have access to the Hallway. En ter, and the door will have shut. The thing that possessed those eyes is nowhere to be seen. It's better that way, for your own sanity. Here in this Hallway, ev erything is safe, so you are free to remove your mask and look around. On the le ft side of the Hallway, there is a beautiful mural that depicts very odd events and fights. And on the last panel, you see yourself. But you are missing your fa ce, and behind you is a horde of unspeakable things. Do not scream at what you s ee on the right wall, however, for that door that closed is now locked on the in side, but not on the out. And not even that mask will help you. Take a good look at your mask after looking at the right-wall mural. The symbol on your mask should represent your purposes for seeking this Holder. Now look fo r it on the gruesome mural and say in a whisper voice, "I wish to erase this mom ent." Beside you, some paint and paintbrushes will appear beside you, and you mu st paint over the symbol from your mask with the appropriate colors. Should you fail to match the colors or ignore this step completely, the demons that will br eak in soon will take notice, and they will know who you are. Once you are done and you are ready to receive the next object, take a good long look at the insig nia on your mask. You will have to recall its name once you are face-to-face wit h him, if you can recognize its name at all. Put on your mask and go to the door at the end of the Hallway. Knock thrice, and say, "I wish to obscure the sunlig ht." Saying anything else, the door will lock, and the front door aforementioned will break, and not even the holiest of people can save you from your fate. If you h ave said the right thing, the door will open, and the murals on the walls in the Hallway will have vanished, all but the object you have painted over. Close the door behind you and lock it with as much of the locking mechanisms as you can f ind. The room you entered is scrawled on with words, all having one cryptic mess age pointing to another, and another, and another. Don't bother understanding th ese messages, for they will leave you mad and your understanding of life will ha ve crumbled to pieces. Instead, look at the Holder before you. He is sitting on the floor, writing something incoherent with a quill pen and crimson ink. It see ms to have just a bit left. No matter how long it takes, wait until his ink is used up. Interrupting him wil l result with that very quill jabbed into your chest, and your blood will be dra

ined from your body and used as the Holder's new ink supply. When he is finished writing and all his ink is gone, ask, "Why must the innocent suffer first?" He will get up, looking straight at you with ominous red eyes an d then come so close to you, he would be willing to rip that mask off of you. He then explains to you, in great detail, the tragedies and deaths of people you k now, people you don't know, and people you wish you've never wanted to know. Whe n he is finished, he will step back and ask what you are. If you misunderstand t he question and answer incorrectly, you would have wished that the demons from o utside would have reached you first. Your answer must be "I am a ______!", with the blank as the name of the insignia on your mask. He will then react horribly, his skin melting away and his eyes falling out with the membranes still hanging onto the eyeballs, then finally disconnecting themselves; his hair will all fal l off, and his tongue will be forcefully ripped out. His flesh, or what remained of it, is now all pitch-black and his sockets glow b right yellow, and his size would have made even the largest demon tremble, but d o not cower in his true form; he attacks only the cowardly, after all. With prid e in your voice, shout again your answer, and he will have knocked a hole in the ceiling. In doing this, a bright light would had shone on him, and the Holder m elts into a small puddle of black liquid. All that remains of him is a small key chain, with a shining red heart dangling from one of its ends. In front of you w ill appear an unlocked white door. Quickly pick up the keychain and step through the door with your eyes closed shut, as hard as you can. For about a minute or so, you will feel a falling sensation. Do not open your eyes, for you don't want to know what you're falling through, and doing so will trap you there for etern ity. When you are face-down on what seems to feel like concrete, and you feel wa rmth on your body, you can open them. You are now outside the institution or hal fway home, the very same one that you stepped in to, moments ago. The mask you a re wearing now falls off, and is burned by a black flame into nothing but ashes. It then blows away in the wind. That keychain is item 89 of 538. When you have figured out its purpose, you will have one chance to end it all. Holder of the Seeker In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself into. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who ca lls themselves "The Holder of the Seeker". A bored look will stretch across thei r face and they will ask you, "Friend or Family?" as they shuffle through their papers. Answer promptly, but calmly, that you are "The One Who Seeks". They will shoot you a look that will make you feel as if you were already committed. Perh aps you should be if you are actually considering this voyage. The clerk will di smiss you, claiming to have no time for pranks. Do not press the issue. You will only be escorted out by the guards, and your attempt will be ruined. Leave at o nce, and place your hand on the door of the building. Many who have sought this Holder distinctly remember weeping bitterly at this point, though I doubt you wi ll need to. Scream at the top of your lungs, with a voice enough to shake the st ones "I KNOW THAT THEY ARE REAL! DON'T LET THIS END HERE!" You will feel a hand on your back. Perhaps she will touch your shoulder or arm, or perhaps she will tug on your pant-leg. Turn to face her, although she will no t be there. You will find a run-down shack directly across or down the road from you. If a forbidding air seems to push you away from it, you know you have foun d the place. If you wish to spare yourself the innumerable horrors of the 2537 o bjects, turn back now. No-one will think the less of you. However, if you are br ave, steel yourself and knock upon the plastic-siding door. It will slide back, revealing a beautiful woman in an elegant dress. Her eyes wi

ll be dark-ringed from lack of sleep, and red from crying for so many years. So many years. And those brown eyes were so vivid once. She will ask you if you tru ly believe in them. Tell her the truth, for if you are lying to her this day she will know. Your quest will end here. If you do tell her the truth, and she like s your answer, then she will invite you in. Remove your shoes once inside. She i s a neat freak and would be angry if you tracked anything on the carpet. Yes, th e inside of this ramshackle place will be opulent, bedecked in marble, gold, sil ks, and fine woods. Some exist here who remember building this for her. Touch nothing as she escorts you into her lounge. Especially touch not the cryst als. One inside the lounge, sit at the low table as she reclines opposite you. T his table is shaped as a bagua, with a crystal ball in the center and feet made from effigies of the other objects. Do not look at them. Do not touch the ball. There will be time for this yet. She will ask you questions. Deep questions abou t your dark secrets. Questions that will lay bare your every sin and failure. If she begins to cry, know this: She weeps for you, and she weeps for herself. Do not console her. After a while, she will touch the crystal ball. Do so as well. She will ask your name. Give it in full. Your name will drift away into the crystal ball. She wil l ask your birthdate. Give it. It too, will drift away. She will ask you for you r titles, your pseudonyms, your signon names, your nicknames. All will float awa y from you and into her crystal ball. When she bids you rise, do so, and follow her to her bedchamber. Here, she will lay out clothes on the bed and step outsid e, still clutching her crystal ball. Strip yourself naked in front of the mirror . Do not leave a single ring on your finger, or in your ear. You must be bare of all but your skin. Throw your clothes into the unlit fireplace. Dress yourself in the clothes that she laid out for you. Your fate will be sealed by the colors of the garments. Lay down in the bed. Do not lay on your side or on your stomach, for if you do, you will lay there for all eternity, never able to sleep, but experiencing every nightmare there ever was or will be in every moment. Lay still for four minutes and thirteen seconds. If you stir, she will not come. When she does come she wi ll be wearing the same clothes that you are, and her raven black hair will be de ftly brushed. Her makeup will be done to a tee, and she will look ever so beauti ful. This is your last glimpse of true beauty before your long journey of horror . She will toss your shoes into the fireplace and light it, burning all of your clothes and belongings. She will then lay down next to you in the bed, smoothing back your hair as a mother might her child. Watch in stillness as hundreds of g rotesque servants enter the room. Do not look them in their pain-wracked eyes. D o not listen to their sullen murmurings. For if you do, they will make sounds th at will slowly and painfully melt your every bone. They will then take your fram eless form from the bed and consume you alive, inconsiderate and unworthy person you are. As long as you do not do these things, and you allow her to pet you, and you sta y absolutely still, you may watch as these servants in their black clothing brin g in your every belonging and throw it into the fire. Do not weep for the loss o f these things. The worst is yet to come. When all your things have burned to ci nders, she will roll over and straddle your waist. She will then poke and prod y our muscles and nerves. At times she will seem to poke at your very marrow. She will then rise to her full hight and say, "You know what it is you must ask. Ask it." Ask her "Am I the One Chosen to Seek Them?" This may yet be your last moment with your mind, heart, soul and body intact. Sh e will likely begin to cry. Ever harder. Her tears will splash down on your ches t. She will begin to massage her tears into your skin. If at this point her nail

s dig ture, your s for

into you, know that your every lie this day has been discovered. Foul crea how could you lie to her? Her tears will leak into your veins and dissolve will into a screaming husk, and you will serve to carry people's belonging all eternity, but never have any of your own.

If, however, she bends over and kisses you on the lips, and your white garments touch hers, know that you have been chosen. She will tell you of the Holders who have been lost to documentation. She will tell you the proper order in which to approach the Holders, so that you may seek Them. And by seeking Them, seek Him. She will then whisper into your ear your new name, your name as the Seeker of H olders. Know that every person who knows of you will not remember any name, pseu donym, nickname, or signon you gave them. Only your name as the Seeker of Holder s. If you stand at the footsteps of any mental institution or halfway house and ask the wind to bring you the Bride of the Seeker, her home will appear for you as a haven from your troubles. You are now object 90 out of 538, the Seeker of Holders. Whether you seek to gat her them or destroy them, we who have gone before you pray for your soul. Do not let us down. Holder of Honor In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Honor." The attendant will look up from his papers a nd hand you a thick Tarot card. Should you be given the Moon card, then know you are ready to face this trial; however, if the attendant pass you the Devil card , turn away, and do not return until you have lived through another of the Holde rs' ordeals. Only with their infernal strength will you survive this task. If you remain, the attendant will ask you to check the church at the end of the street, and return to his paperwork. Leave the building and walk leisurely down the street, and enjoy what may be your final moments alive. When you reach the e nd of the road, you will see an old, dilapidated structure that may have been a house of worship a long time past. Enter the door carefully, lest the frame coll apse on you. You will be surrounded by light, and taken to the place where the objects you ha ve gathered lay before you, along with two doors. Know now that if you lack the cloak, the Beast's Resolve, the shield, or the sword, then take the door on the left and leave, for you are doomed to fail. If you possess one or more of these items, then choose one and enter the door to your right. You will pass into a hellish expanse of wasteland, its horizon surging with infe rnal flames and showers of blood pounding the barren ground beneath your feet. F ar in the distance, a tall structure juts out, its stark and polished whiteness blaring its presence to everything here. And, rest assured, you are not alone. You will only have a handful of seconds to take in these sights before a horde o f demons begins to rush towards you. If you carry the cloak with you, drape it o ver yourself and walk towards the building; the creatures are an extension of th e Holder, who sees you through their hatred. Otherwise, arm yourself with the pl ain sword that appears at your feet, as the king's blade will not come free shou ld you wear it. The demons are numerous, but frail; they exist only as a thought , and one stroke will cleave them apart. No matter how you do so, it will take a very long time to reach the structure, b ut you will never find yourself tired from the exertions of moving or fighting conflict is the food of life here, and you are part of its source. When you cli

mb onto the first step of the entrance, the endless swarm of creatures pouring f rom its doors will finally halt, and the crowd that eagerly pressed against itse lf to flay you will calm and watch your every movement as you ascend to the larg e, opulent doors. They will part as you walk, forming a silent, vigilant ring th at urges you toward their keeper. The inside is just as lavish as its outer shell, dressed in fine fabrics and fre scoes, beautiful statues, and beautiful mosaics inlaid into the floor. The Holde r's minions will form a solid path from which you should not dare deviate; they are much more resilient here, within their home. Follow your only sensible optio n for as long as it leads you but do not turn back or make to leave. Your passag e will lead to a spacious and stark room, dotted only by a throne and two figure s; a naked, brown-skinned woman reclining in the seat, and a pale man bedecked i n armor, kneeling on the floor in front of her. State without fear that you have come to answer the challenge. With a grin from the woman, the knight will rise, don a helmet, and bring sword and shield to bea r. Should you possess the sword, the blade you were given will morph into a roun d shield, and your own weapon will let itself be drawn. Should you lack the shie ld, the knight will toss one to you, letting it slide to a halt at your feet. On e way or another, when you have equipped yourself properly, a suit of half plate will form around you, and the knight will charge. Now, it is up to you and your skills. If you chose the sword, know that his armo r alone will not save him, as the king's blade will batter and eventually pierce the heavy metal. If you opted to take the shield, then do not fear the knight's blade, for it cannot break the hellish protector. But whatever you decided, be aware that the knight is a very formidable opponent; he will use any means he ca n to defeat you, weather it be his blade, his shield, or punishing, steel-harden ed strikes from his hands and feet. To best the knight, you must cleave his swor d arm from his body; only then will he yield, kneeling to you and ignoring the m angled, bleeding stump. If you are victorious, the woman will rise and walk towards you. Kneel, and hold your weapon tight in your hand. She will tell you "Obey the strong; destroy the weak." Now, ram the blade through her gut and wrench it upwards. As her body sl umps to the floor, sheathe your blade and offer the knight his missing arm. As h e holds it back to the wound, his armor will shatter, revealing him to be a huma noid figure with fire-blackened skin, golden hair, and deep amethyst eyes that b ore into your soul. He will compliment you on your fight, and on seeing through his master's illusio n. He will speak, in length, of the measures that were placed in this realm to g uard the object here, and how he extended them through himself. When he finishes , he will permit you to ask one question. You must request of him, "Why do you f ollow Him, my lord?" The Holder will seat himself as he tells you, in a gravely voice that holds the weight of ages of vows, how he fought his way into His favor, and describe, in p ainful detail, how he fought Him and lost. The words will take shape as the hell knight speaks, burning the images of the entire story into your memory. The Hol der will explain the agonizing torture he suffered, and you shall feel his pain as he speaks. If your mind cannot endure this, then you will take the dead woman 's place as the Holder's next decoy, but if you persevere, then the Holder will tell you the vow he took to escape the unending torment. When this is finished, he is armor; the gauntlet is the one you are offered. , for you must fight your will stand and offer you the only remaining piece of h still pristine, despite the battle. Replace yours with Then, the Holder will advise you to arm yourself again way to the entrance of his home. Only when you are rea

dy will he order his minions to attack. If you chose to carry the Beast's Resolve, it will manifest itself now, surging though your body and lending you the strength of the most fearsome of demons. Ot herwise, it will be a long and savage battle to the front door. If you manage to reach the foyer alive and rend through the frenzy around you to the door, white light will surround you, yanking you across dimensions and dropping you outside the wrecked church. Everything will be gone, your chosen object returned to its place of holding, but the knight's gift will remain. That gauntlet is object 91 of 538, the Hand of Obedience. Though he cannot aid y ou, the knight hopes that you will free him from his servitude. Holder of Salmacis In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house. Go i mmediately to the front desk and ask the clerk to let you visit "The Holder of S almacis". Should they look you up and down, judgingly, you have come to the righ t place. They will push a hidden button. Stand perfectly still. The janitor will come and escort you into an adjacent hallway and through a door. Once through t he door, he will take you by the shoulders and ask you if you have met with the Holder of Passion. Answer honestly. If your answer is no, he will shove you out the door. Run fast and run far. Do not stop until the sun sets twice, for every plant in the city will wish to crush your body to bloody dust. If your answer was yes, he will take you deeper into the complex. You will hear a variety of screams, both male and female. If you were to look into the doors o f the hall, you would see in each a man and a woman, sewn together in every grot esque manner. Do not look in those doors. If you do, you will be taken into one of them and sewn to another person without anestesia, and they will forever stru ggle to pull away from you, tugging at the seams until your skin threatens to te ar. Since you did not look in, the janitor will take you to the end of the hall. He will take you through another door, and take you by the hand. He will ask if you have met with the Holder of Innocence. Answer honestly. If your answer is no, h e will glare at you angrily and smash your head against the door until your brai ns cover you. This hall will not allow you to die from this, and instead you wil l lay there for all eternity without the ability to move or ponder anything beyo nd your own pain. If your answer was yes, he will take you down this new hallway. It will appear t o wind and twist, like a serpent coiled around a cylinder. Do not be fooled. Thi s hallway is straighter than any arrow. Step off the true path and you will fall for all eternity. When you reach the end he will ask you one last question. "Ha ve you met with the Holder of the Triskelion?" Do not answer! This is a trick, o ne that will cost you your life unless you discover its secret. There is no Hold er of the Triskelion. Instead, you must hold up either Object 5 or 13: The Eye o f Light or the Shattered Hourglass of Darkness. If you say anything or hold up a ny other object, even those in the deepest pits of hell will weep for you. He will take you within this final door and lock you inside. This room will be d ark as pitch and empty, save for the door, a chair, and an antique clock. Sit in the chair and pat your inner thighs thrice. Turn the chair to face the clock, t hen stand and move the hands of the clock back four minutes and thirteen seconds . The door will slide away and reveal a hallway different from the one you were in before. This forgotten hallway will appear run-down, save for the ivory statu ettes of both men and women flanking you along the walls. Though beautifully car ved, these statuettes will have their faces wracked with the pain of child-birth . Yes, even the male statues will have distended bellies from a child their bodi

es should never be able to bring to term, and they cannot push them from their b odies. Do not touch these statues. Run now, down to the end of the hall. Do so quickly, for time has begun again an d your window is short. At the end, you will find a chainsaw with a diesel engin e. Start it up. Slash and carve away at all the statuettes. do not let a single one survive, and do not let a single shard of them touch you. If you failed in t his, the statuettes will grow to full human height and set upon you, and will do every manner of unclean act to you. When they are finished, you become just as them. Forever giving birth, forever defiling, never free. Pray this is not your fate and you still have time to return to the room with the clock from whence yo u came. Sit in the chair and face the clock, but do not let the chainsaw stop running. T he clock's gears will fall down, forming a mouth full of gear-teeth. This mouth will pucker. Lean down and kiss it. Be sure your eyes are closed and your kiss i s passionate. Accept its porcelain tongue in your mouth as would a lover. If you do not, those same gears will pulverize you slowly. Do not stop kissing if arms wrap around your shoulders, or porcelain legs around your waist. This is the Ho lder of Silmacis. She will appear as a perfect doll woman, a mannequin correct in anatomy down to every inch. All save for a bracket just above her nethers. Do not stare at this bracket. Stare only into her eyes. "Only the Seeker of Holders should have made it this far," she will say, "Are you the Seeker?" Tell her the truth. For your p unishment if you are not will pale in comparison to the seven hells visited upon you for lying. If you are the Seeker, she will begin to talk. She will tell you of her twin sister, the Bride and Holder of the Seeker. She will tell you of he r many surgeries. She will tell in vivid detail of her slow transformation into a living doll. Each cut and seam made without anesthesia. Do not listen, or your body will undergo the same surgeries as she speaks them. Instead, squat down an d pat your inner thighs once per second, 253 times. When you have done this, she will be done speaking. Ask her, "How may I deliver our last hope?" She will smile at you and reach up, grabbing unseen handles in the ceiling. She will lift herself into the air, but her legs and waist will not come with her. N ow you must complete the body. Place into the pelvis Object 18, the Uterus of Pa ssions. Attach to the bracket Object 19, the Phallus of Innocence. She will then descend and reattach. Quickly, hold her close to you, for a circle of sharp bla des will fire up from the floor, carrying with it crimson silk. Do not let go of her. Ignore the searing, slicing pain in your legs and abdomen. Clutch her close. Ignore the spray of blood from your chest. If you were to let her go now, this pain would be yours eternally. She will then step back, and dr op to the floor. Her pelvis will be missing, and her breasts will be gone. She w ill be dead. The searing pain in your loins and chest will subside, but do not l ook down! If you do so now a madness beyond all others will take you. The silk r ing will twist and twirl, tightening into rope with you still inside. Do not pan ic. Do not struggle. When it seems you will be crushed, the silk will slip aroun d you. You will find yourself Standing before three doors. Two Will be restroom doors. One will have a strange mark. Take the center door with the mark. You will find yourself in a restroom, simila r to a men's restroom, but sweet smelling, and with a dispenser for feminine hyg ene products. Go into one of the stalls and look down. The pelvis you constructe d in the Holder of Salmacis, as well as her breasts, are now yours. Become acqua inted with your new body. When you are done, leave the restroom, and you will fi nd yourself in the lobby of the mental institution. Her pelvis is object 92 out of 538. With it, you may bear the child of Passions

and Innocence. Whether you taint it with Light or Darkness is up to you. Holder of the Self In any city, in any country, go into any mental institution or halfway house you can get into. Go to the front desk and ask to see the one who calls themself "T he Holder of the Self". They will cock an eyebrow at you, then throw a bit of wh atever they were eating at you and call you an idiot. Repeat your request, and t hey will relent. They will take you behind a door and waive you to an examinatio n table. They will then leave, shaking their head at you. Take off your clothes, although you may keep on your underwear if you choose. La y back on the table, your arms at your side, and your legs slightly spread to th e edges of the table. At this moment, dozens of monstrous hands will burst from the table, grasping with their jagged, filthy nails onto your body. Struggle all you like, you are theirs now. They will begin kneading your skin, pushing and t wisting, tickling and caressing. More will erupt from under you, pushing into yo ur back with their knuckles. If at this point you cannot stand the treatment, if you are far too disgusted by their attentions, merely say "I reject this test. End it." They will pull at your extremities, ripping you apart joint-by-joint. T his will be mercy. If, however, you can stand this, say "I relax in your care, bring me to the obje ct, oh Holder." At this point, five arms will erupt from the bed. Two will cover your eyes. Two will grasp your mouth and hold it as open as it can be. You will taste the salt and grime on their fingers. The last one will hold a bit of swee t fruit. It will dangle it across your tongue, and its juice will dribble into y our mouth. You will want to hold this fruit in your mouth for a day, then begin to chew for the rest of eternity. Do not bite it. Do not savor its flavor. This is a trap. If you give in to this sweet fruit, your corpse will be as a sweet fr uit for the million hands of the Holder. If you pass this test, you will be rewarded. The hands will transform as they kn ead you. They will be as soft and delicate as a young maiden's. Their nails will be perfectly trimmed and manicured. The smell of elegant perfume will gently wa ft across your nose. It will not be very powerful at all, but tantalizing. You w ill hear a chanting from inside your mouth, in a voice that is not your own. Thi s is, was, the sweet fruit. It has now dried up into a small, ashy stone. It wil l chant of the heroes who tasted its brothers and sisters of yesteryear. Relax, for now the Holder is pleased with you. When your relaxation has drifted you off into a state of utter bliss, the ash-fr uit will be withdrawn from your mouth. The hands that held open your mouth will grip your throat tight enough that you cannot escape. The hands that closed over your eyes will open, but only far enough to see straight ahead. The hands that once caressed you will hold you tightly, almost painfully. you will be tilted in to a vertical position and the long eye-stalks of the Holder will poke into your limited view. They will watch you: some of them critically, some of them angril y, some of them sympathetically, and some... some will look at you lewdly. Say t o it, "May this body offend your eyes, oh Holder. Bring me the object." Pray tha t this is true, for if it is not, the Holder will rip out your arms and eyes, an d you will forever experience life through it. If you are indeed offensive to its eyes, you may still count yourself unlucky, f or your quest will not end this day. From between your legs will erupt a pair of arms. Held in their hands will be a massive, jagged, ornate key. It will stab y ou in the chest, and rip out from you a glowing light. The wound where it plunge d into you will be gone. The key will be tossed away. The sphere of light will consume the key. It will take on a form identical to yo

urs, and will dim until it is your exact twin. Your twin will discuss with you a ll manner of things. What it will say, none may know, except that to answer its questions and respond to its statements will slowly erode your every mental defe nse. Be perfectly honest with it, in precise and full detail. If you wish to lau gh, laugh. If you wish to cry, cry. If you are enraged, yell. Hold nothing back. Focus only on your twin. Do not look at the eyes or hands, no matter what they do. Do not listen to the whispers coming from the hands on the side of your head . If you do, you will be crushed, and your twin will drink deeply of your blood. When your twin is done with their conversation, it will revert to being a key. A small key. At that point, the hands by your head will say "Speak, for you have faced yourself." Ask it only one question: "Who are we to Him?" The hands will h old your neck absolutely still. You will not be able to move your head. The hand s will close over your eyes and mouth. You will be unable to speak or see. The h ands will spread your arms and legs as far as they might be spread. You will not be able to move. You will feel something slimy sliding along the inside of your thighs. You will be unable to protest. At that point, the Holder will describe to you every single evil thing that He has done to humanity and every evil thing He will do to humanity. He will describe in vivid detail how each of the object s will be used to discover and create new evils to perform and enact. Then he wi ll describe, to your horror, the results of these evils. He will tell you tales of the husks of humanity as they spend the rest of eternity reenacting His work, writhing in an agony beyond all imaginable hells multiplied together. And then, beyond it all, he will tell you of the abominations reserved by Him for you, to be heaped upon you by those innocents you once held dear. Then, he will tell yo u what humanity is to Him. This knowledge alone may kill you. Without warning, the hands wil stretch you, pulling you apart until you think yo u might break. Then it will fold you at each of your joints until you are rolled in a ball. It will pull and stretch and twist your body every which way, and yo ur body will scream in pain as the Holder discovers new ways to contort your bod y without destroying it. Then it will dump you on the floor. You will be fully c lothed, and in your pocket will be a small, jagged, ornate key. You may leave at any time. That key is object 94 out of 538, the Key of the Inner Self. With it, you will d iscover the inner truths of any person or objects you stab with it. May it never discover the truths of the others. Holder of the Purpose In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of the Purpose . A look of pained depression will cross his face, and he will stand up and walk out of the room. Follow him out and down the hall. Eventually he will unlock a set of chained double doors, beyond them is a nother hall. The worker will go no further and will point you down the hall and go back to his post. Enter, the lights further down the hall won t seem to be work ing and as you reach it, the double doors behind you will slam close, you will h ear the rattle of chains on the other side. Walk down the dark hallway, it will seem longer then the breadth of the entire b uilding. Soon, you notice torsos on long chained hooks all around you. Even now they still live, their cries rake your ears. No words escape their lips, they kn ow no language. All they know is pain. Their eyes have been torn out and stream red tears of blood. Their hearts are exposed and still beat even with the cold m etal chain impaled through it and their chest. Their arms end in bloody stumps a t their elbows, and their bodies end at the base of their rib cage. They flail t heir stubs of arms: their heads squirm crying for release from their cruel fate. Black, unnatural birds with curved needle talons and sharp barbed beaks circle

above. The birds feast on these bodies in small tortured portions. You see that thousands of birds feast. Do not touch them; be as quiet as you can. If they not ice your presence they will cry for their keeper and you will join the men in thei r tortured existence for eternity in pain. You near the end as you pass the bodies. Their cries will stifle behind you as y ou walk. The moment your ears hear silence, yell I only wish to know! If a cloaked figure with huge terrible black wings appears in front of you holding something , it is already too late. The keeper of the birds has found you. The chain he re veals in his hands will be the one you hang from to feed his children. But if a bridge is revealed to you, cross it quickly. Across the bridge, there is a man w ith no face dressed in white. His body is sickly pale and bony. He holds a pair of scales made of white gold. It has beautifully perfect designs. The craftsmans hip put into making the scales is beyond your comprehension. Do not stare at it long. Look directly at him where his eyes would be and ask only one thing, What i s their purpose? He will hold up his scales in front of him and answer you. His explanation is no t meant for human ears. The faceless man will defile and rape your mind as he fo rces it to comprehend the magnitude of the universe and all things, physical and planar, real and ethereal. You will scream as your one singular being is weighe d against all things. This torturous mind raking will delve into your soul and g o on for what seems like hours days even. His explanation coerces you to realize how insignificant you really are, how nothing will change in the grand scheme if you had never been born. For a brief moment, you understand the work and crafts manship put into the scales. Your mind will be nearly torn asunder by the compre hension of this beauty of this perfection. You don t want to look away from it, for its enticing allurement steals your breath away. Meddle your will power and loo k away. When he finishes, most go insane from the maddening explanation, some sink into an inconsolable depression as his words echo in their minds forever. The faceles s man calls the keeper for these people, they are fated to join the rest on chai ns. But if you manage to stand in front of him, look back into his face and then kneel before him, he will hand you the scales. The scales are object 95 of 538. It has the power to weigh one's soul against al l things. Do you carry a fate that can make it balance? Holder of Martyrdom In any city, in any country, go to any mental hospital or halfway house in you c an get yourself to.When you reach the front desk, as the young man working behin d if you can see, "The Holder of Martyrdom". A most grievous look should overcom e the worker's face with a small smile of regret buried beneath. He will escort you to an elevator whose buttons go to 538. Press any button you wish, for your destination will be the same. Once the doors close, you should hear a flurry of shrieks. If at any point, the shrieks change to babies crying, quickly press another button and yell, "She did it for the world!" If the door opens and there is a small man in a tuxedo, get ready to suffer through the same trials of Hell that she had to, something that drives mortals pass death. However, if the door opens and you can still hear you r conscious reasoning with you to turn back, then you're still alive. Once you take a step off the elevator, your chance to turn back is revoked. Make your way down the black hall that lay in front of you and touch nothing but the walls. At the end of the the hall will be an empty room on your left, feel your way into it. Slowly and silently open the door and beneath the dead window ahea d should be a figure wrapped in bloodied bandages. Do not look at anything else

but it. Ask only one question: "Why did you fight so hard for it?" The bandages should light the room, revealing the ten tortures she was put through, but do no t look away from her. A smile should warm your soul and a smile should form on y our face, if not, then your body will be replaced with hers and your blood will stain the bandages and this place will become your new casket. She will tell you her story and the plan they had intricately laid out in great detail. Listen well and her when her smile disappears, grab the bandage that cov ers her mouth and run like hell back to the elevator. Let's not talk about what will happen if you do not make it. That bandage is object 97 of 538. Their suffering was for these items. Keep them apart. Holder of the Second Seed In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself into. Ignore the attendant and talk to everyone in any visiter's area. Learn their stories, why they are there, what their relationship is with the person they are visiting with is, what they would give to have it all turn o ut okay, and if they know "The Holder of the Second Seed". After you are done, t heir should be a single person waiting there that wasn't there before, a sweet l ooking thing with cold eyes. A definite form is undetermined at this point. Upon talking to him/her, s/he will ask you about these people you have talked to. At every wrong answer, s/he will make the condition of the person you answered wro ng on noticeably worse. Upon your finishing this quiz, s/he will open a bathroom door and ask you to joi n him/her. The door should lock behind you. The bathroom will be nothing special at the beginning, same florescent lighting, same mirrors, same tiled floor and ceiling. S/he will pull you into a stall and lock it closed. At this point you s houldn't say anything if you value your sanity. S/he will start to talk about th e history of the medical practice. In grotesque detail s/he will tell you about every ailment, every experiment, every person who considered him or her self a d octor, every tiny adjustment made to a medicine because of the expiration date. This will last for days, so don't feel bad about falling asleep, she'll just sta rt where she left off when you fell asleep. At any point, you can leave the stal l, but the bathroom door will remain locked. You must listen to her story in ful l before you are allowed to leave. At the end of her long and droning explanation of medicine, you can leave, but t hen you lose any chance of getting the object. S/he will then ask you what you'v e came for. You should reply "I seek only that which can stop the others" or "I seek to join them in His presence". S/he will react to the former and the latter differently. If you chose the former, then s/he will try to kill you on the spot. With his/he r bare hands, s/he will break the glass and try to stab you with a shard. You mu st get a piece and try to get him/her first. If you do, aim for the head, but no t the eye. S/he will nextly apologize for her actions, if you survive. You must save his/her life using anything you know, which is now quite a bit. If you do n ot, your soul will be lost and left to wander the building. Upon saving her life , s/he will then do all in his/her power to make you stay of your own will. Many go mad trying to resist, others try to kill her again and others still end thei r own lives. If, by the end of her treatment you still live freely, you will be forced to look it's true form straight in the eye. Any reaction that shows weakn ess will keep your mind, body and soul tortured throughout eternity. You will fe el lost in it's eyes. It gazing at every sin you had ever committed, every trave sty, every little bruise and bump. If you waver, you are never leaving that room whole. The bathroom door will open, and you will be free to leave.

If you choose the former, however, you will be rewarded by a visit with any or m any other Holders you have encountered in the past. You will find yourself restr ained in an old field, all things dead or dieing, and you will be sent through t heir tortures again and again until death is a happy illusion. After they have h ad their fill, the Holder of the Second Seed will question you again on any rand om person in the visiting area. Any wrong answer and the problems of the people in the institution are yours now, but they go free at least. Then you will have 2 options again. The first is to leave and go pick up the object. The other is t o be relieved of the illnesses you now have. The second involves a series of ele ctro convulsive therapy sessions and several surgeries sans-anesthesia. The proc ess may drive people madder, but if you are tough enough, you will survive and b e healthy again. You will be free to leave. When you go to bed that night, you will here a soft word from him/her. When you wake up, you will find a large dark book with instructions on how to grow plants that should have never existed. This Book contains how to grow and cultivate th e Seeds of certain plants to breed the First Seed. This book is object 98 of 538. they must never be brought together. Never. Holder of the Soul In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of the Soul". Should a conspiratorial look come over th e workers face he or she will raise one finger to his lips in a gesture of silen ce and hand to you a small glass ball. Should you chose to look at this glass ball you will h black, the black of deepest night, while the other soft, golden light of a happy summer day. The funny hard you stare you will never be able to tell which see that half of it is pitc half is made of the purest, thing is that no matter how half is which.

Now is your last chance to leave. Should you throw down the glass ball it will s hatter and you may leave and continue a normal life, but never again will you ha ve this opportunity. Should you decide to continue enter any door that you see. You will find yourself at the beginning of a path. The path itself is made of the cheapest of stone squares. They barely fit togeth er and weeds spring up between the cracks, but it is not the path that will attr act your attention. To the right of the path you will see scenes of happiness, j oy, and love. However, if you look closely you will see that these scenes are no t nearly so pure as they seem. To the left of the path you see scenes of misery, deprivation, and hopelessness. However, if you look closely you will see that t hings are not as bad as they seem. You must ut never r of the e, never follow the path. It will it fully enter scenes and step off to leave. Take care will curve into both sides its starting position, b either set of scenes. Should you be fooled by eithe the path you will be stuck in the scene forever mor not to trip.

Should you reach the end of the path you will find a large oak door. The door wi ll have no hinges, knob, or any sort of decoration. Speak aloud the phrase The Si des are the Same and the door will disappear. Say anything else and the door shal l not move. Upon entering the room you will see nothing, but feel as though you are being wa tched from all sides. Say to the invisible presences I walked down the Middle . Sho

uld you say anything else half the invisible presences will rip you to pieces. If you spoke the correct phrase you will hear the presences. Half will scream, b oo, or hiss. The other half will begin to try to tell you of your foolish mistak e. However, if you listen carefully you will hear a small applause. Close you ey es and walk towards this applause. When all sound stops you will find yourself o utside the door you first entered holding the glass ball. That glass ball is object 102 of 538. Now you must judge for yourself which side is black and which is white. There is no wrong answer. Holder of Destruction In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Destruction". The worker will hastily throw a small key at you. Upon closer inspection you will notice an odd pattern of what looks to be teeth marks. Walk up the staircase to a door. This door will be black and cha rred and yet still standing, an ever present reminder of what lies ahead. As you walk through the hall you will see screens, each depicting the violence a nd destruction that has run rampant through our history. The bloodshed of nation s past and times of chaos in the present, all will be shown. Do not stop and sta re, lest your eyes bleed from their sockets until the husk of your body lie in a pool of your blood at the floor. Do not attempt to identify the source of the i mages most dire, lest you be transported into the scene and destroyed. Continue walking until you come to a hole in the floor. From this hole protrudes the arms of all who have been destroyed in conflicts from all of human history. Their shrieks and screams may incite you to pause and lament, but do not do so. Do not stop near this hole, and do not think of these lost souls, lest the arms of the departed pull you into the hole of the abyss. As the corridor comes to an end, approach the door to the last room. As you stan d before it, the wood shall splinter and you may enter. A very large man, sitting in a chair facing away from you shall greet you as you enter. Should you attempt to walk around the chair, the giant save break throug h the floor, taking both himself and you in the infernos below. He knows the ans wer to only one question. If you so choose, you may ask of this giant, "Who can It save?" The giant shall remain silent, for none are worthy to know the answer. If you grow impatient and implore the giant again, he will declare, "Surely not you." At this point, the giant will stand and walk away. After searching around his no w abandoned throne, you shall find a small golden hammer. Touching the hammer shall transport you out of the room and back on the street. The hammer has no weight unless you wish to use it; using it will cause it to be come so heavy that upon first strike, you shall hurl yourself through the earth and into the pits of hell. While the hammer cannot create, by merely possessing it, all before may one day crumble to the ground. Your impatience has allowed you to continue the search, but has further damned y ou from salvation. This is object 104 out of 538.

They must never come together. Never. Holder of the Voice In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to view something known a s "The Holder of the Voice". The worker may try to hide a brief look of panic, b ut will eventually compose himself. He will throw you a small, black, unmarked p lastic bag and walk away irrationally. You do not have to follow him, but someth ing will bid you to trace his footsteps. You will pass through a dimly lit hallway with panoramic windows for walls. Rega rdless of the time of day, the outdoors will appear to be dark. Should you look out the windows you will see only an endless stretch of woods. If you think you see motion in the woods, DO NOT turn. Keep walking up towards the end of the hal l. There will be no door, only a blank wall with peeling wallpaper. The worker will tear the wallpaper off just a bit, then flee into the shadows. When you inevita bly finish tearing the wallpaper, a small, dusty attic room will be revealed. In the center sit two objects, a small doll and a tape recorder. Both are ancient and coated in dusk. If you examine the doll, you will see a small metal crank on it. Wind the crank and the doll will emit a sound somewhat akin to fingernails scratching against w ood. Press play on the tape recorder. It will play even if there are no batteries. Th ere will be the muffled sound of a female voice in distress. You will not be abl e to make out the words. It will go on and on until you press stop. The final decision facing you will be whether or not you should play the two sou nds together. The bag given to you will contain two rusted railroad spikes. You know what you will do. The moment you attempt to start both sounds at the same time the ground will beg in to shake and the room around you will begin to crackle and start coming apart . If you were to survive the collapse of the building, you will be haunted by a sound so shrill and grating that should you remain listening to it for even a sm all amount of time, you shall bleed from the ears until death. Even before that, you feel feel strongly compelled to impale both of your eardrums with the railr oad spikes. Your only hope is to, through the evil sounds piercing the air, nail the doll an d tape recorder to the floor where you stand. Should you succeed, within the broken tape recorder, you will find a tape. It is unplayable and emanates a buzzing hum if you listen closely. When the time come s, all held with that tape shall be revealed. That object is 105 of 538. They must never come together. Never. Holder of Intuition In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Intuition". The receptionist will stand and lead you to a blank white door, but will not open it. Nor will you be able to. Return to

the desk and wait for the receptionist to return as well. Repeat your request a nd wait silently while the receptionist fishes a keyring from the desk. The keyring will have twenty keys, of various sizes, shapes, and colors. If you return to the door, you will not know which key to use to open it, and using the wrong one will freeze your body at the doorway for eternity. Return to the desk again and ask for "the final piece of this puzzle". The receptionist will ask f or your forearm and slice a fine line with a razor from the inner elbow to the p alm. The receptionist will then sit back down and will fall totally silent, resp onding only to one question, "How will I find the truth?" He or she will respond, "Though the truth is elusive, you will now be helped in finding it," and disappear. You will glance down at the cut and find that it is now glowing the most brillia nt white. Startled, you will drop the keys and the glow will vanish. On picking up the keys again, you will find that the white glow returns only when you hold the correct key. If you can maintain your composure after this, move on and use the key to open the door. Pass through the door and you will find yourself in a circular white room with twenty more doors. Point at each of the doors in turn, and your cut will glow the same brilliant white when pointing at the correct doo r. Take that door (the others lead to a trapdoor to an eternal fall) and you wil l be at the desk again, but a woman in a red coat will be sitting at the desk in place of the receptionist. She will ask for your forearm and rub her index and middle finger along the cut. It will completely heal, and she will quickly walk off to a hidden door and vanish. DO NOT follow her, or your quest so far will be for naught as you will die an unimaginably painful death. Looking back to the desk, you will find a slip of paper that the woman has left behind. Picking it up, you will read, "When the time comes, you will again be po inted in the right direction, but only once". Your pathfinding cut is object 106 of 538. May it point you the correct way when you need it the most. Holder of the Ring In any country, in any city, go into any mental institution, halfway house, or r emote motel you can find. Ask at the front desk if you may see "the Holder of th e Ring". They will look through some of their movie selections, and hand you a t ape or DVD. View this recording any way you can. Do so quickly, and be sure a ph one is nearby. What you will see is a montage, some shots will depict fingers. Some will depict chairs spinning. At the end of the tape, there will appear to be a ring of ligh t in utter darkness. When you are finished watching the recording, the phone wil l ring. Pick it up. A raspy voice will whisper to you "Seven days". This is how long you will have until the Holder will come to visit you. If you wish to escap e your fate, make a copy of the tape and leave it at any mental institution, hal fway house, or remote motel. You will then be able to live your life normally. However, if seven days have passed, and the recording has not been copied, stand three yards from the nearest television screen at exactly 4 minutes and 13 seco nds before the time at which you watched the recording. Wait, standing patiently . Soon, the screen will turn on, depicting a well. A girl in a long white shirt will climb out from that well, and walk towards the viewpoint. She will then reach out and step from the screen. Do not panic. Do not assail he r. Do not scream. If you do, when she reaches you, you will not survive her test

. Instead, kneel down and reach your arms out welcomingly. This is the Holder of the Ring. When she reaches you, she will take your head in her hands. She will flood your mind with a million nightmares at once, flashing them in your mind four times ea ch second. Each flash will become worse than the last. Many go into cardiac arre st from fear. It may be the gentler fate. However, if you survive for one whole minute, you have passed her test. Look her straight in her black eyes and say "Thank you for sharing your dreams with me. Let us bear this burden together." She will look at you in shock. Then anger. Then, the blackness of her eyes will weep away in ebony tears. The loveliest brown eyes you have ever seen will be cr ying before you. She will say, "I had thought none would share this pain. Why wo uld you?" Respond solely with "That is the essence of love. Come away and share this journey with me." At this point she will break down into wailing sobs, throwing herself into your arms. When she seems to have calmed herself, ask her "Why do they send you dream s?" She will break into new sobs, terrified this time. She will tell you of thei r sadistic nature, of how they tormented her to increase their power. This story will be so sad that you will want to cry until your tears drain your body into dry dust. Do not shed a single tear. She will reach into her shirt and pull out a golden ring on a long gold chain and hand it to you. Take her by the hand and lead her to your home. Do not worry, for she is no longer a Holder, and her drea ms and malicious nature are gone from her. This ring is object 107 out of 538, the Ring of Nightmare Horrors. Those who wea r it on their finger will suffer from her nightmares until they are brought toge ther. Holder of the Red In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of the Red The worker will nod and pull out a dusty old not ebook and hand it to you. She will then point out a door labeled No Entry . As you enter the door, take a look at the notebook. It will seem completely blank at fi rst but upon further inspection, a random page will have four numbers written in red ink. Memorize the numbers and continue down the hall. Eventually you will r each a red wrought iron door. There will be a number lock in the center of the d oor with four spaces. The door is slightly warm to the touch. Enter the number y ou memorized. Enter the wrong number and a violent end awaits you. Inside several red lights hang from the ceiling, casting everything in a semi-da rk yet seeable shade of crimson. The walls are covered in children s toys, dolls, and model trains. Walk forward... inside a small boy will be crouching with his back to you. He will respond to only one question, Who can control them? You will be answered with giggles from the child. He will turn around and stab y ou with a needle attached to a strand of thread. Let him do so, stopping him wil l only make the pain much worse and last eternity. The sewing needle will pop ou t your back, and he will pull on it, letting the thread become coated in a thick layer of your blood. Once done, he will begin to gracefully sew. Wait and do no t speak... do not move... do nothing to draw attention to yourself. Before long, you will have a small blood red doll in the shape of a human. The doll has no f ace or any other distinguishing features but the craftsmanship is perfect. Prote ct it as though you were to protect your own life. Whatever happens to it, also

happens to you. That Doll is object 108 of 538. Do you control the objects? Or do the objects co ntrol you? Holder of Humility In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit "The Holder of Humility". The attendant will bow their head, grasp your hand and lead you down a pure white hallway. You must keep your hand within the attendant's hand, if yo u wish to live. As you walk down the hallway, you will hear a piano playing fain tly in the distance. Should the song stop playing, whisper "You missed a key." I f the song ceases to play, the hallway will turn pitch black, not even a miracle will save you from what you will then experience. Should the song keep playing, continue down the hallway until the attendant lets go of your hand and runs ahe ad. Don't bother chasing after them. Walk forward five steps, then turn to the left, you should see a lone doorknob o n the wall. If there is no knob, you will be wandering an endless hallway for al l eternity. If there is a knob, turn it, and enter the room. The melody of the p iano will be consumed by silence within the desolate room. As you enter the room , shut the door behind you, it should lock you inside. The room is small, the wa lls and floor covered with droplets of water, a clean bed with a pillow, both co vered in clean white sheets, a digital clock with the time 3:00pm, an old black grand piano, and a bare mirror hanging on the wall. Look at your reflection in t he mirror, you should see yourself as you are, and the room as it is. Stare stra ight into your eyes, ask nothing but this question: "Why have they no humility?" Your reflection shall then smile, and back away. You will witness yourself kill ing the child once inhabiting that room, with swift stabs, punches, tearing the child apart limb from limb, and a gunshot to the head. A silent scream pierces t he disturbing silence. The mirror shall then break into seven pieces. The room y ou are in has become the exact image of the room within the mirror. Droplets of water now blood, and a mutilated body now lay in the once clean bed. The grand p iano now old with the keys broken and scattered, and the digital clock looks lik e it was thrown against the wall. A vague, yet familiar bullet shines on the now bloodstained pillow, next to a gu n. The body will speak to you, telling you to stay within the room, but do not l et this bother you. You must shoot yourself with the bullet, allowing it to ente r your heart. Excruciating pain will consume your body, don't hesitate to scream . If you are lucky, you will wake up alive and well in a hospital bed of the hos pital you visited. The time will be 3:00pm and a slight scar will be upon your c hest. Check under the pillow your head is laying upon. The diamond bullet is object 110 of 538. Would you dare kill to keep the objects apart? Holder of Masochism In any city, in any country, go into any mental institution or halfway house you can get into. As soon as you enter through the double doors, stop. Realize your intention of finding the Holder of Masochism, then approach the front desk. Do not ask anything, and wait for her to look at you. She will look at you, with a face bearing help and trust. As quickly as she looked at you, she will turn her head down and continue with her work. Anything that you say will be interrupted by her, so just make a quick gasp and then she will say "I know who you are look ing for. I cannot help you." Then wait 5 seconds, and barge behind the table. Yo u need to have an intention to do this, though. Look for a large drawer on the t

op left of her desk. It is the confiscation drawer. You will reach in, and find a razor. Stand before her, and make a semi-large cut on the top part of your for earm. Make any reaction you want, as long as you make the cut deep enough to gus h blood. She will watch as you do so, observing as a child would to their parent s. She will then turn around, and grab a key off of the wall. The number is on t he key. This will confuse you so, as she offered you a key to a person you are w illing to find. The key is rusty and chipped at the grip, as the others are poli shed and shine with pride. Head up the stairs, and look for the room. When you find the room, the door is already open. It is only cracked ajar, so si mply step back and kick the door with all your might. The door should swing with force and power as the doorhandles lodges into the weak and decrepit wall. Quic kly, all you will see in a man on a bed, shaking and convulsing violently. There are some things on the shelf beside him, but pay no attention. The man will loo k very burnt from head to toe, and possesses no eyes, nose, or ears. Even though he is missing these parts of his face, he can hear, smell, and especially, see you. The first glimpse he catches of you, he will stop shaking and lay calmly. Y ou must walk up to him, kneel down, and look where his eyes should be, yet actua lly are. You will ask only one question, "Do they feed off our pain?". Calmly, h e will point to the shelf. On the shelf lies a propane torch, a pair of pliers, and a small piece of metal in the grasp of the pliers. If you had not read this, you would not know what to do, and the man would strangle you, as your last dyi ng vision is of what he used to look like. You will take the propane torch, turn the knob, and light the piece of metal within the pliers until it is white-hot. He will then turn over on his bed, revealing an ink template of what he wants y ou to burn onto his back. You must burn this all onto his back, and miss nothing . If you stop burning, and you have missed a part, he will then turn the propane torch onto your face. After you are finished, give him the tools and face your back to him. You will f eel his hand go gently across your back, and then feel your shirt burn away and turn to ashes. His hand will brush off the ashes, and then proceed to burn into your back, from a template that suddenly and mysteriously appeared on your back the moment you entered the building. You can also make any reaction you want, fo r it pleases and eroticates him. But do not jump away in pain, or refuse to have him burn this demonic insignia in your back, or he will do it will a knife and cut you deeper than you would have ever imagined. Just let him finish, then stan d up, blow him a kiss, and walk down to the front desk. From there you will ask the woman that you want your razor back. She will had it to you, and you will wa lk out of the mental institute, noticing your cut has been stitched up. You leave the mental institution with a curse. All pain to you is pleasurable an d addictive. The key and the razor are object 111 of 538. The only way to remove the curse is to remove your heart, and replace it with the key. Holder of the Heathen Child In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. Enter the elevator, but make sure that you are alone when yo u do so. When you are in the elevator, take a note of the buttons available to y ou and remember the count of the floors, for remembering this information will m ean the difference between salvation and eternal suffering. Press the button for the highest floor available, and wait for the elevator to arrive at its destina tion. Do not get off the elevator at this floor, and make sure no one gets on. Y ou must then wait for the elevator to be called to another floor. If no one is t here to enter the elevator when it stops, flee the building as quickly as you ca n and don't stop running until you have crossed a running body of water, else yo

ur body will be ripped from your soul by the unseen. If there is a person enteri ng the elevator, tell the person who enters the elevator: "I am here to see the Holder of the Heathen Child." The person will seem confused by your statement. R epeat it. After the second time, a look of weathered acceptance will cross the p erson's face, and they will push a floor button on the elevator keypad. At this time you must press the button of the first floor you entered the elevator on an d pray that you are allowed to return there. If the elevator stops first upon th e floor you selected, this is your last chance to leave. When the elevator arrives at the floor the other person selected, the doors will open and the occupant will get off. The walls of this floor are made of a leath ery substance sewn together with human entrails, and a low moaning permeates thr ough a grated metal floor. When you step onto this floor, you will immediately f eel grasping hands about your ankles, attempting to pull you to the ground. Do n ot fall, for they will force you through the grates. The other person will run a head of you and down the hall. You must catch this person and force them to the ground to feed the grasp, or it will quickly overpower you. At the end of the ha ll lies a massive door carved with runes from a language you have never seen. Do not enter this door, for beyond it lies naught but twisted madness. From the ce nter of this door protrudes a head, who at first seems motionless statue. You mu st knock six times at this door, after which the head will awaken. You will be f orced to stare into its gaze as its mouth gapes open, and inside its mouth you w ill see images of nameless horrors and creatures whose very memory will mutilate worlds. If you survive this, you are allowed to ask one question of the head: " Who serves the child?" Any other sound from you, and the head will devour you as it did the others. The answer will come swiftly and unbearably painful into you r brain, and the face will vomit the bones of a small child. Take these bones, a nd proceed back to the elevator. Outside the doors, you will see many panels of buttons for the elevator. Press only the true button of the floor that you origi nally entered the elevator on, for any other means death. Enter the elevator. The Heathen Child you now hold is object 113 of 538. Beware the servant. The Holder of Reincarnation In any city, in any country, go to any mental hospital or halfway house in you c an get yourself into. While you slowly approach the front desk, place and keep y our hands in your pockets or the usher cannot guide you to the Holders's realm. If an usher has taken your hand, when the clerk at the front desk raises his hea d from underneath his hat you will notice a deathly look has taken over. Do not be distracted by this, you have seen worse. Stare into his face and tell him you are the doctor here to revive the Hold of Reincarnation. A chilling smile will wash over the clerk's face and a wave of new life will bring the flesh back to h is moonlit bones. He will rush from his seat and signal you to follow him throug h the standard-sized double doors. For the love of Him, do not split the doorway ... please... Once past the doorway, you and your clerk-turned-usher will begin walking down t he hall of a familiar high school. The doors will alternate their numbers from o ne side of the hallway to another, beginning with 0. The usher will begin to mak e conversation with you around door number twenty. Any number before that are th e chances you have to turn away from what is about to happen. If you choose to c ontinue, the usher will begin to make conversation with you. Do not deny him the company or he could open any wrong door for you, each which contains a horror f rom it's respective numerical dimension, and it's impossible for him to throw yo u into a door between zero and three. The conversation will go on for eternity u ntil you remind yourself what you're here for. Once that has been realized, the door numbers will start skipping around randomly. Soon, door 538 should appear, get ready. Five more doors down, door 114 will appear. When it does, ask the ush

er to open the door across the hall. The usher will be pleased to feed you to th e school decorations, but do not give him such pleasure. When he opens the door, close your eyes and scream as loud as you can, then force him into the hell tha t awaits him. If you dare look inside or go in his stead, the events that unfold until the end of the search will set you onto the path of Mephisto reborn. You will be tasked with destroying the true Searcher and you will live your life in regret, misery, confusion, and a never ending cycle of agonizing death and unred eemed rebirth; the latter being what He goes through without the rest of Him. Sh it, they have pierced my home, read carefully! Once the door shuts, remember the last words of the usher, which should resemble something like, "Foolish Searcher! Do you really think the Keepers are your all ies!? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" This will weigh heavy on your soul and your imagination wil l begin to feed off it. You will realize that you, who search for the objects, a re the Searchers. But who are the Keepers? What are you really unlocking here? K eep these questions fresh as you open classroom 114. When you turn the doorknob and open the door, gasp and with your eyes wide open, absorb the sunlight that k iss your cheeks, you'll need Her power in the ridiculously close future. The usher-turned-clerk will rise from a sarcophagus in the middle of the room, b ut focus on the open window. The usher will be humming a most familiar song you once heard from an old woman. The usher will draw the blinds with little hesitat ion and while he's doing that a young woman's voice will fill your head in Her d ying moments. She'll tell you about Him. What He has done to the cosmos and They did to stop him. She will tell you that the 538 objects in this realm must neve r come together and to seek out the Keepers. She will tell you many things in th is moment, but the last will be the most important, be sure to etch this into yo ur heart and memories. "The Holder of Legion is a lie... you can cha-" and darkn ess will silence Her benevolence from you mind. Close your eyes and open your he art. The clerk will cease his humming and stare at you through the stale blackness of undeath with anger and evil searing within his hollow eye sockets. When you fee l the sting of living pride hit you, it is time to take action. Ask the cleark, "What is the time of my death?" He will instinctively look down to his watch, wh en he does, open your eyes and burn him into the ground with the light you have stored. Do not hesitate to flame every inch of him, including his atrocious garm ents. If you do not obliterate him, his anger and evil shall become your own and the answers you seek will never come to you... and your own thoughts will never come to you... and her voice will never come to you. Where his hallowed garments once hung from his hollowed bones should be a floati ng necklace of bone with a caduceus hanging to the end of it. Grab it. This was buried with Her and she came back, it was with Her. Now it is yours and it's powers are unfathomable; you cannot die through natural means anymore. Kno w the Keepers now know of your existence. The living caduceus that hangs at the necklace is object 114. This item was at t he death and the rebirth. It has some more work to do and you must not fear deat h. The Holder of Pestilence In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls himself "The Holder of Pestilence". At this point, the worker should gag, a nd try not to vomit. After several minutes of this, the worker will finally give in, vomiting into a wastepaper basket. They will then stand, and lead you down

the hallway. You will reach a door, slightly ajar, but you must NOT touch it. To do so would invite its curse into your bones, and your fate would be sealed. In stead, demand that the worker open it for you. Pass quickly through the door the Holder is waiting. You will find yourself in a darkened room. The door behind you will slam shut ag ain, to touch it would be to invite the Rot. Instead, walk ahead, in the dark, u ntil you reach what feels like a stone altar. Reach over, until you find a groov e. At this point, you must think only of home, and your friends, and the people you love, as something cold and wet will slide momentarily over your face. After the deathly embrace is over, you will find the groove has split open, and the altar now reveals a set of stair. Descend them, taking care not to trip. The Holder wouldn t want you damaged before you meet. Finally, at the bottom of the s tair, it is vital that you don t step off the final step. Instead, look as hard as you can until you see footsteps cleared among the ichor and rot coating the flo or. Step only in these, as to touch the Rot is to join it. As you make your way forward, you will finally come to a stone sarcophagus. Few people realize this, but the word Sarcophagus means Eater of Flesh , and this is exactly what this coffin is. You must raise the stone lid, and lower yourself in to it. Hold still. It s sleeping. After a few moments, the room will be lit, ambie nt light slowly filling the room. You MUST remain still. If it wakes, all is los t. After the room is lit to its brightest, you will hear a tapping noise, like some one is walking into the room, however, you will be unable to hear them. As the f ootsteps get nearer and nearer, you will hear a rasping voice speaking in an unk nown language. At this point, most seekers would find it important not to focus on the words, as they tell of truths mortals cannot comprehend. Finally, the spe aker is silent. The base of the sarcophagus will raise, and it is now safe to mo ve. The Holder is standing here. His skin is gangrenous and blackened, and his eyes are sunken. He will speak to you, in English, and ask you a series of questions about yourself. Answer truthf ully, and your mind will remain intact. The Holder will ask you to hold out your left hand. He will reach out and place something cold into your palm, and then close your hand over it. For his ravaged appearance, the Holder is not an evil b eing, and wishes you luck. A door is now behind you. Passing through it will bri ng you back to the institution through which you passed. The jewel in your hand is object 115 of 538. Dare you wield the Rot-Stone unprot ected? The Holder of Guilt In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who c alls herself "The Holder of Guilt". Before the worker can answer, shut your eyes tightly and clench your jaw. Count to exactly twenty seconds and then open your eyes. You should find yourself on an unassuming dirt footpath in a moderately w ooded area. If you are in any other location, then you miscounted the seconds: y ou have only minutes more to live. If you are on the dirt path, then walk along it. You should feel, at all times, an eddy of wind playing against your ear. Should you ever stop feeling it, quick ly stand still and shout into the foliage, "I freely admit it was my fault!". If the little eddy of wind does not return, then I suggest you make yourself comfo rtable and arm yourself, as these woods are now your home for all eternity, and

they are filled to bursting with hidden creatures from the lowest pits of damnat ion, all eager to messily devour you. If the wind does return, then continue along the path as normal. After a long wh ile you should find a battered little shanty. Knock twice before entering; faili ng to knock properly beforehand results in a punishment that cannot be adequatel y described in any human tongue. Upon entering the shanty, you will find yourself in a clean little kitchen. Quic kly shut the door behind you and remain standing, head bowed respectfully, where you entered. Fervently working the kitchen will be a woman who never turns to f ace you as she goes about her endless task of working on a meal that will never be finished. If you pay attention, you will notice that she works to an exact rh ythm, but this is not terribly important - just an interesting detail. There is only one question to which this woman will respond: "Why is it their fa te to be used for wrong?" Give her a moment; it will take a while before she get s around to answering. When she does, she will recount in your mother's voice (e ven if you have never heard your mother's voice), and in in explicit detail, eve ry wrong you have ever visited upon others, no matter how trivial, no matter if it was intentional or unintentional. No matter how shameless, unrepentant, or vi le a person you are, or even if your wrongdoings are few or barely extant, you w ill feel the weight of your wrongdoing pressing down on you. Remain standing in your respectful pose even as the weight of your wrong increases to unbearable le vels. If ever you falter, you will be crushed, doomed to remain a broken heap on the floor of this kitchen listening to the woman repeat herself forever. Then a gain, that would mean you were never worthy of collecting all the Objects in the first place. Once every wrong has been recited in excruciating detail, then, if you are still standing, the woman will ask you to retrieve an ingredient from a top cupboard. Go fetch it. DO NOT open any cupboard other than the one indicated, and DO NOT turn your head in a way that would allow you to see the woman's face. There are fates worse than what would happen if you do either, but the list is very short. The ingredient she is looking for is the only spice that has no label. Hand it t o her in a way that prevents you from looking her in the face, then return to wh ere you were standing earlier. Wait a while, and she will eventually offer a sma ll sample of her cooking for you to eat. Walk over to her and accept it (being c areful not to put yourself in a position to see her face). It is a sizable chunk of cooked beef. Thank her politely, tell her you had a wonderful time visiting and will come back another day, then quietly leave via the door through which yo u came. You will find you have walked out of a supply closet in the mental insti tution. The food you acquired from the Holder is no ordinary beef. It never rots, no mat ter how old it gets, and eating even a small bite of it will instantly heal all your wounds, no matter how grave. It does this, however, by transferring said wo unds to someone you care deeply about. Survival in the future of this quest will make eating this beef necessary at least a few times. That chunk of cooked beef is Object 116 of 538. Hopefully the Objects are import ant enough to sacrifice people you genuinely care about. The Holder of the Syzygy In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of the Syzygy." The secretary will not believe you in the

slightest, but be resolute and if necessary ask to speak to the foreman. He will arrive in time, and will also mock you, saying he's never heard of such a perso n. Be patient and he will eventually consult the records, the color draining fro m his face when he finds the name in his papers. He will then lead you onto another floor, but he will demand that you wear eye p rotection. You should have the Eyes by now, and though this is not their true pu rpose, only they will suffice for this occasion. If you do not have the Eyes, yo u will be wasting your time and your life. Put on the Eyes before following him. The foreman will lead you to the oldest and furthest section. There will be seem ingly endless rows of boxes and crates here, but do not break stride and do not examine the labels and destinations on any of them. You will find them to be yea rs, even decades old, with strange destinations and even stranger contents, but they are valueless in your quest. Instead, keep your eyes fixed on the foreman. He will be eager to lose you around the next row of musty cardboard pallets. After what might seem like a day's worth of walking down neverending aisles, the foreman will stop before a single, massive crate. It is wooden but does not app ear to be made from individual planks, instead, it looks as though carved from a single massive piece of the darkest wood imaginable, almost black. Set into the box is a door. If the crate emits a high pitched wine, a kind of buzzing noise, or seems to vib rate slightly, then you can breathe a quick sigh of relief that what is inside i s still what you seek. But if the air by this box is filled with only silence, o r any other sound, then what you seek within has been destroyed, and you may now search the crates nearby for some instrument to end your life, for you have no hope of leaving this modern labyrinth. You will find the door unlocked; you need not even knock before entering. You wi ll then be standing in complete darkness; only the Eyes will reveal the true nat ure of the space you are now standing in. You will find yourself standing near t he center of a massive web of rings, all centered around a small dais with a rec lining chair, not unlike a dentist's chair. The difference in function becomes t errifyingly apparent as you approach--the chair is surrounded by hundreds of sca lpels, each on its own articulated arm, poised above the chair. Strapped in to t he seat is a mannequin made of the same dark wood the crate was fabricated from. Where the face of the mannequin should be, however, is carved a divot like a bo wl. Use one of the scalpels to cut yourself and add a few drops of your blood to thi s bowl. Immediately, the mannequin's body will turn from wood into flesh, and it s appearance will be yours. You should stand back as the scalpels descend, makin g a frenzy of cuts on your doppelganger's body. You will hear your own screams, the flesh that is sliced will be yours and not yours. At this moment, the rings will shift in the vast darkness around you, eventually ceasing in their alignmen t at some point. Some will remain frozen in the air above or below you, while ma ny others will settle themselves in a neat row on the horizon. The number of mar ks on the mannequin-you's flesh is the number of the objects you have gathered; the rings show your progress the same way. The mannequin-you will curse and plead for you to stop the pain or end its suffe ring, but you must coldly ask it, "When will they align?" The not-you will beg, plead, and grovel for mercy as the scalpels slowly start to descend, crying for you to stop it, but you must say nothing and must not look away. This time, the blades will make five hundred and thirty-eight slices, all but flaying the manne quin-you to ribbons. The rings will now all be aligned on the horizon, and a lon g light will land on the dais, showing you the way home.

Before you leave, take from the ruined chest of the mannequin-you a small leathe r-bound book. Then follow the light until you find yourself outside the factory once more. The star atlas you now hold is object 117 of 538. Now you have the knowledge of when they will align, though not the means to see them. The Holder of Joy In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Joy". The worker will shudder violently and ask that yo u reconsider. Insist gently, and he will reluctantly relent. He will open a hatc h on the ceiling above you, and offer to boost you up through it. Accept his off er. Upon emerging from the hatch, you will find yourself in an old factory, similar to the old 1800's sweatshops of large American east coast cities. It is dirty an d dimly lit, and the noise of the machines will be so loud you will find yoursel f incapable of thought. Before you will be a long catwalk over the large factory floor filled with massive machines; walk along that catwalk. Working the many h ot, hellish, and clattering machines are small children, though they are so wear y and ragged you might mistake them for elderly people. In what little light the re is you can make out their filthy, pleading faces, full of desperation and a w ish to be free from their endless torment. Just keep walking; no mortal can help them, and should you attempt to do so you will join them in their eternal and p ointless labor. It will take a long time, but eventually you will reach a door to the foreman's office. Enter to find a plain, gruff man, built like a brick, who appears to be in his late 40's and is wearing a rather plain white button-up shirt. Once he no tices you, he will look up from whatever he was doing and regard you with a disg usted glare. With confidence, ask him one question: "Can any joy come from it?" Once the question has been asked, the foreman will stand and leave the office. F ollow him. You will both be on the catwalk once again, whereupon he will shout a command to the child workers. What he says exactly will be lost in the din of m achinery, but the child laborers will understand. The children will throw themse lves into the machinery, altering the sound in horrible ways. You will clearly h ear the bones snap and muscles rip as the children are torn and crushed by the m achines, into which they unquestioningly threw themselves. Throughout this night mare spectacle, you will hear the Holder's voice explain the true nature of joy and pain, though I will not write it here for only the worthy may know it. Once all the child laborers have been thoroughly shredded by the hellish machine ry, the foreman will tell you to go back to his office and wait for him there. D o as he says, and upon entering the office door you will find yourself in whatev er place you most often sleep at night. On your bed (or whatever sleeping surfac e you use) will be a plain white button-up shirt just like the one the foreman w ore. That shirt is Object 118 of 538. Only when all the Objects are brought together will you know who must wear it. The Holder of Cowardice In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call

s himself "The Holder of Cowardice". As the last syllable leaves your lips, the worker will immediately and roughly grab the collar of your shirt; let him, do n ot resist. He will shout incoherently at you while shaking you angrily. After so me time of this, he will appear to calm down and let you go. He will beckon for you to walk down a staircase that was not there before. Walk down the stairs, ev en though they are impossibly dark. You will emerge into what appears to be a small garden. The worker will tell you to wait here, and will then go back the way he came, leaving you alone in the g arden. Wait in that garden; feel free to stroll around it all you like and make yourself comfortable. After a long while - hours, perhaps - two men will appear where you are not looking. One man is tall, brawny, and handsome in a proud, her oic way, and wears a suit of knightly armor. The other is a mouse of a man: scra wny, balding, nearsighted, lacking any kind of posture, lacking a chin, and clad in a threadbare brown suit. Once you have laid eyes on these two men, remain st ill and betray no movement as they stare at you. Eventually the knight will make a gesture that indicates you may speak. At this gesture, ask one question: "If we stop now, what is the price?" Once the question is asked, the scrawny man will suddenly tackle the knight with immense strength and proceed to rip him apart with savage ease, using just his bare hands. The knight, in spite of his heroic and powerful appearance, will be helpless against the fury of the scrawny man, who will first tear away the knigh t's breastplate, then rip into the knight's body, spattering everything in the g arden with blood and gore. When this happens, stand still and watch the entire m eaningless slaughter, no matter how horrible the knight's cries of pain and plea s for mercy. Once the knight has been thoroughly rent asunder - he was a large m an, so this will take a long time - everything - the garden, the scrawny man, an d you - will be soaked red with the knight's blood. Then a young, beautiful girl , no older than seven years old, will appear. She is the knight's daughter. The blood-drenched scrawny man will gesture to her; he wants you to kill her in the exact same manner he killed the knight. Do it, or else the scrawny man will cons ider you in league with the knight, and you will be butchered next. Set about slaughtering and ripping apart the little girl with your bare hands as the scrawny man wanted. The girl will not offer any physical resistance, though her crying and whimpering will be unbearable. As you commit this violent and se nseless deed, the scrawny man will crouch down next to you and whisper into your ear, telling of every instance in human history where courage resulted in pain in death, and where cowardice only made matters worse. He will explain, in excru ciating detail, the true consequences of courage and the true cost of cowardice. Once the little girl has been reduced to a lifeless red pulp by your own bare h ands, the scrawny man will be seen to smile. He will pick up the dead knight's b lood-spattered breastplate and hand it to you, then with a warm, friendly counte nance gesture you to leave. Go through the door through which you came and make your way back to the institution. Once you have made it back, I suggest you find a way to clean yourself, your clothes, and the breastplate, as all are still co ated thickly with the knight's blood. The breastplate is Object 119 of 538. Now that you know the price of cowardice, the only choice you have is to soldier on. Just be thankful this Holder consider s you an ally. The Holder of Midnight In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask very politely to visit so meone who calls himself "The Holder of Midnight". The worker will give a solemn, knowing nod and beckon you to follow him.

He will lead you down a long hallway and eventually gesture for you to enter a d oor. Do not enter this door. Instead, enter the door on the exact opposite side of the hall. You will come upon another hallway. At the door you entered will be a man who is almost identical to the worker who led you, except this one is a m irror-image version, with all features reversed. Ask once again for the Holder, and this mirror worker will give a solemn, knowing nod and beckon you to follow If you say anything else after this point, then this mirror world will collapse upon you, erasing all evidence that you ever existed. The worker will take you back to the front desk and gesture for you to exit out the front door. Do this, and you will find yourself in an impossibly vast room. It will be impossible to determine the room's appearance or features, as it is f illed with impossibly bright lights - too bright for your vision to adjust, so t hat the entire room appears to be a blaze. Just walk forward on ground that feel s like sand. Start walking in any direction into the room. Everything should be completely si lent, but if at any point you hear a high whistle, like the sound of a teapot, t hen stop immediately and shout with all the ferocity you can muster, "I can see what I must do!" It is best you not know what eternal horrors await you should t he whistling continue. If the whistling stops, however, then you are to proceed as you were. Eventually , no matter which direction you walked, you will come upon a small area of the v ast room where the lights, by some impossible means, are not so blinding. Sittin g in a meditative cross-legged position in the exact middle of this area is a pe aceful-looking thin man wearing but a loincloth. He has not a single hair on his entire body, but it is his head that is truly unusual. He has no nose nor ears, and his mouth has no lips, so that it is just a slit on his placid face. His ey es have square pupils, like those of a goat. This man will have his arms held fo rward and his hands clasped together as though hiding a small object between the m. He will stare at you impassively until you ask one question: "What lies in th e depths of His heart?" The man with the goat eyes will give a knowing but benign grin, then open his ha nds. Darkness will flow out from them like a mist, very slowly filling the room. It is crucial that during this time you stare intently into the man's goat eyes , for otherwise you will be consumed by this darkness forever. As the darkness overwhelms the light, it will reveal the true forms of the goateyed man and this vast room. The man is a truly nightmarish specter, more bone t han flesh, his countenance no longer suggesting peaceful benevolence but rather a dark and violent hatred. You will see in the distance the immense walls of thi s room; they are made up of a collage of anguished faces. These are the souls of every Seeker who has ever failed the test of any Holder. The visions of the man and the room will overwhelm you sight as a loud crackling sound, like that of a raging fire, overwhelm your ears. No matter what, though, you must keep your ga ze fixed upon the man's eyes. After what seems like an eternity, the assault on your senses will stop abruptly, and the room will revert back to its light-fille d state, the man once again a tranquil meditator. The goat-eyed man's arms will be outstretched, presenting a little brown bag. Take the bag gently and give a r espectful bow before turning to leave. Go back the way you came: back through th e mirror world and into the hallway of the regular world. The gelatinous substance in that bag is Object 121 of 538. Never open the bag. The Holder of Health In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo

u can get yourself to. Wait for an ambulance to arrive and unload its patient. A s long as the patient is alive, no matter how mangled he may be, ask him to see "The Holder of Health". Should the patient you're talking to die at any time dur ing or after you've asked to see the Holder, the object you're after is no longe r there. Run for your insignificant life, and do not stop until the sun rises th e next morning. If the object you seek is still there, the patient will go into a massive seizur e and the medical staff accompanying him in the ambulance will try to save him. The patient will then gut out the medical staff using whatever is at hand at the time. During this time, you must not move from your current position or the pat ient will come for you next. Once the patient has done with his victims, you can ask one thing lest you get mangled for eternity, "What was the price for longev ity?" The patient will then tell a horrific story, every malpractice, every acci dent, every excuse and every experiment in medical history to result in what peo ple find today as convenience. He will then explain the true price of convenienc e, that sacrifice and convenience go together as do day and night, that the grea ter the convenience one wants, the greater the sacrifice one must give. If your sanity is intact after his horrific story you must react fast as the pat ient will lose his patience and lunge towards you. Grab for the syringe that was n't there before beside you and stab it into his head, or what's left of it. He will soon die and you must extract a liquid that comes from his head. This syringe will never run out of the liquid inside it and it will not extract any other liquid. Inserting some of the liquid inside of you through the syringe will give you demonic strength for a certain time, depending on how much you pu t into yourself. Beware, however, since that liquid draws itself from the life f orce of the people you care about most. The syringe is object 122 of 538. You now know the price. It is up to you to dec ide whether you can afford it or not. The Holder of Prestige In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Prestige". The worker should assume a bland, neutral demeanor as he leads you down an endle ss maze of hallways that seem to bear an increasing degree of disrepair. If at a ny time you hear the mournful sound of an organ playing, continue walking and th ink clearly to yourself, 'There is no status'. If the organ continues after you think this, it's best you close your eyes and not know what hits you. If the organ's music stops, continue following the worker as before. He will lea d you along this maze for an eternity, before coming to a door that seems imposs ibly clean and well-maintained, especially in comparison to its decrepit surroun dings. Thank the worker, then enter this door. Inside is what appears to be a ve ry stylish, very modern, very cosmopolitan high-rise apartment. A party is going on, the guests wearing the finest and most expensive clothes as they drink and fill the air with their loud chatter. Now you must find the host, who is the man dressed as a woman. He is much harder to identify than you would ever imagine, but you must find the right man, for g etting the attention of anyone else at the party will prompt all the guests to p lay a game that revolves around tearing you to pieces with their bare hands. Fin d the man dressed as a woman, however, and get his attention - make sure you hav e his FULL attention, for he is rather sociable, but flaky, and might chat with other guests before you have the chance to say anything more - and ask one quest

ion: "Are they proud of what they do?" Upon uttering your question, the entire apartment will fall abruptly silent. The music, as though on its own volition, will shut off. Everyone will look at you, but their faces will be impossible to read. The man dressed as a woman will shi ft his weight uncomfortably at your question, but will then invite you to go wit h him to another room so he may answer your question in private. Refuse the offe r. He will insist, but you must remain steadfast in refusing the offer, for your life's sake. If your will is strong, he will give in and answer the question. He will tell of many, many stories, starting with the nauseating, continuing with the maddening , and finishing with those that may well drive you to suicide. By the time he is done with his answer, he will have collapsed and begun to cry. The guests will appear startled and troubled by their host's state. Use this as your chance to g et as close as you can to the door through which you came. You will need as grea t a head start as you can achieve, for as soon as they shake themselves from the ir surprise the guests' hands will transform into long, grisly claws, which they will use to attack you en masse in the cramped apartment. Get out of the apartm ent as the guests conduct their onslaught like a pack of raptors. If you make it out the door and shut it quickly behind you, you are safe. You ca n even open the door again and find that it no longer leads to the apartment, bu t to an empty cell. Go home, and in roughly three weeks you should receive a package in the mail. It will be a small, bronze statuette of a man with no head nor hands, and inscribe d in an indecipherable, yet elegant-looking, language. That statuette is Object 124 of 538. There is no longer any cause for boasting. --The Holder of Loyalty In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you c an get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who call s himself "The Holder of Loyalty". Should a proud look come over the worker's fa ce, you are in the right place. Should the worker glare at you, run for dear lif e, as you were deemed unworthy by the Holder or the object you seek is no longer there. Do not stop for anything. Those that are after you do not know the meani ng of rest as they will hunt you down relentlessly until they find you and when they do, well, regret is always ends up at the end of the line. Should you be deemed worthy by the Holder, you will be taken down a hallway that wasn't there before. In many of your previous adventures you are sure to have e xperienced much deception as the Holders try and try to lose you and protect the ir items. As the worker leads you down to your destination, you must harbor no w ariness to the worker's intentions. You will get what you came for, if and only if you are worthy and your thoughts are pure. After following the worker for what seemed like an eternity, you will come to no n-descript door. The worker will open the door for you and leave you to be on yo ur way. Should at any time during your walk with the worker you harbored thought s of possible deception, 2 blood-red eyes will stare at you from the opened door . No use crying for help now, even the highest of powers are incapable of saving you. But if you were loyal to your intentions, beyond the door there will be a battle taking place. Go in and the door will shut itself behind you and you will find yourself in the middle of a war. You will then be captured by soldiers spe aking in a language that is not of this earth. There is no use resisting, as the

y are capable of inflicting pain that is worse than anything you can ever imagin e. After they take you to their camp, you will then be accused of being a spy and w ill start torturing you. At this point they will try to make you confess and you must conjure up all your strength and try to weather this storm. Then the soldi ers will turn into all the people you have ever scammed, squandered, and betraye d. They will then continue to pound on you not only physically, but also mentall y as they remind you of every wrong the you have ever done to them. Many give up at this stage, and now they pay for their treachery with the lowest of the damn ed. You must endure this until the soldiers' superior officer appears. You can tell by the uniform and wolf-like creature that accompanies him and also the officer takes the form of the person you love the most. Once the Holder reveals himself, with all your remaining energy shout out, "Would you ever suspect me?!" At this point the other soldiers will stop, and the commanding officer will then narrat e every betrayal in history, the pain it caused, and the destruction it resulted into. He will then go on to explain the true benefits of loyalty, along with th e thin and dangerous line it runs beside fanaticism. If you did not go mad befor e, those who are not destined to finish this journey will surely crack at knowle dge that the world will never be ready for. After the officer's story he will th en say, "Do you pledge your allegiance to Him?" Swiftly and with resolve answer him, "I stay true only to myself." If the Holder doesn't believe you, your ordeal earlier will continue, adding to your misery his pet wolf will gnaw on you like a tasty bone for all eternity. Bu t if the Holder believes you, he will punch you in the gut, and as your consciou sness wanes, you barely hear him say, "We will meet again." When you wake up you will be outside the mental institution without a scratch on your body. Sleeping beside you will be the wolf-like creature that was accompan ying the officer earlier. That wolf is object 131 of 538. You dare not wish to betray the trust it bestows on you. --Holder of Wrath In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. Go to the receptionist and ask to see "The Holder Of Wrat h". The receptionist will pick up the phone, dial a number, and say "They're her e.". A few more seconds will pass and she will direct you to a flight of stairs leading down. You may descend as far as you like; every floor leads to the same place. When you enter the doorway leading to the floor of your choice, you will see onl y a single light, at the very end of a long hallway. Walk towards the light, but whatever you do, do not walk to the end of the hallway. Feel along the walls un til you reach the third door on the left. Do not enter any other room, as you wi ll not leave should you do so. Once you reach the third door on the left, enter this room, and hold both your arms outstretched, palms forwards. The one person who makes you the most angry will appear before you. You must embrace them in a loving hug and whisper into their ear "I feel nothing but peace." At this point, they will hand you a small vial of blood. The blood in the vial is object 528 of 538. Use it when they find you. ---

Holder of the Lost In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in yo u can get yourself to. If it is raining, you stand a chance. Go into the parking lot, and find the girl who stands dry despite the downpour. Ask her "Where are the Lost?" She will show no emotion and merely turn and walk away. Follow her. A fter several days of walking, she will lead you into a dense wood, and beneath a huge tree. She will reach between the roots, into a pile of leaves and retrieve a small locked box. Do not worry if you do not have a key. No key fits the lock . The woman will open her mouth, and her words will echo in your mind, never falli ng on your ears. She will speak to you of the burden she has carried since they were separated. She will then speak of something that will strike the most inten se and unbearable of fears. Even those who have faced and survived the most horr ifying of the Holders will feel their knees turn to gelatin upon hearing it. Man y Seekers are scared enough to give up their journey for the Objects and fall in to depression, and many, if not most, end their lives. If you can withstand her tale, nod and say "I will carry the burden." She will then rip the flesh from th e smallest finger on her left hand and stick the bones into the keyhole on the b ox. When it opens, you will see a tarnished silver chain holding a shining garne t pendant. That pendant contains the single remaining atom of each of the 2,000 lost objects. When you take your eyes from the pendant, it will be around your n eck, and you will be back at the place you first spotted the Holder. That pendant is Object 537 of 538. Only now may they be reunited. --Holder of Legion In any country's capital city, go to the building where the country's leader wor ks. When inside, locate the visitor's desk and ask to visit someone who calls hi mself "The Holder of Legion". The worker's expression will freeze and he will as k you to leave. Do not obey, instead keep asking, about once a minute. After som e time, maybe minutes, maybe hours, the worker will finally give in. By this tim e, he will be close to crying, probably even collapsing due to the pressure you' re putting onto him by the mere mentioning of this Holder's name. Depressedly, he will rise and take you into a part of the building that no-one e lse even seems to notice exists. It looks exactly like the rest of the capitol w ould- in a thousand years. The walls are cracked and sagging, the support pillar s are buckled and leaning dangerously, the paint is faded and almost completely peeled off the walls, the pictures are torn, faded, and hanging askew, and the c arpet underfoot is rotted and full of bugs. You will be taken deep into these ha llways, deep down below the surface. The worker will take you to a door further below than any other in the building, possibly even a hundred meters below the b asement. This is where your last chance to turn back is. Should you decide to go into this door, your fate will be sealed, and there will be no chance of ever l eaving alive. Turn back if you want to find other pieces. If not...Well, then as k the worker to unlock the door. He will beg you to leave, tears flowing over hi s cheeks, and he will, if you keep asking him to open the door, try to scream at you. But he should give in if you are determined enough. He will open the door. Enter, and it will be closed behind you, and locked. Now is no turning back, and no matter what you do, you will eventually die. The beings creeping in the shad ows of the room have already begun to leech your life from your body and you wil l feel older with every second. Run as fast as you can to the door on the other side of the room and enter it. The beings here are simply minor demons, not even

capable of scaring the smallest child. Follow the red path you see and you will soon reach a wooden door. Knock thrice. If you are lucky, someone will ask you to stay where you are. Your death will be a quick one. Should he instead tell you to enter, do so. Your fee lings do not matter, nothing matters after you have entered this room. Here, you will see them, all behind a kind of force-field that repels anything coming to close. You will see two thousand of them, precisely two thousand. Or rather: One thousand and nine-hundred and ninety-nine. The last of them is held by the pers on in the middle of the room. But you will also see things that cannot be descri bed by human words. Things that show that this very room could be a tiny part of hell. Things that might drive you mad if you look at them for too long. Walk cl oser to the one in the middle, him, her, it. It does not matter what the being t here is. Ask him: "Why do you hide them?". He will answer you. He will tell you how he got his first one and then proceeded to look for all those others you see around you. The tale might drive you mad, it might kill you, it could do anythi ng to you. But in the case that nothing happens, he will ask you to take his obj ect. It is attached to his chest, but do not even come close to it. Tell him the following: "I came to see, not to touch. You may now let me leave." He will then laugh. He will laugh even worse than the devil, more evil than anyt hing in the world. He will then say a simple sentence. "Your fate is sealed." Th e object on his chest will begin to glow and you will feel pain. Then madness. A nd finally, death. You have three choices here. One is to accept your fate, and descend to the lowe st level of hell for eternity. The second is to kill him, promptly and speedily, but to do so is to destroy the final object, and to end your search forever. The third is to produce the first object. If you do, he will scream and attempt to attack you. Do not worry- he can't get past the object. Eventually he will begin to melt, as he dashes himself against the forcefield generated by the symbol of madness you hold in your hands. Do not open your eyes until no more sound is heard. Toss the first object away and look. Where the thing once stood, a single, gigan tic diamond lies twinkling on the floor. Grab it. It will embed itself in your chest, becoming part of you as much as your heart o r your brain. You are now the final object of the 2538. Bring them together, and show us your smile. You probably ask yourself how someone knows about this if death is certain. INDEX THE HOLDERS OVERVIEW Information About The Objects "They must never come together. Never." -Holder of the End What we know about the Holders and the objects in their care is scant. Some of t hese objects seem to be good, and some of these objects seem to be bad. In any e vent, the trials to obtain them are fraught with evil, peril, and madness. In th ese stories, we have seen that the objects have gone through many attempts to de stroy or disable them before appearing in their current form. We garner this inf ormation from the questions asked of the Holders, and the information given by t hose writing instructions.

1. The Objects were created by Him. The event destroyed the world. This was a co nscious effort by Him. (Objects 3, 19, and 101) 2. The Objects can be destroyed. (Objects 12 and 74) 3. The Objects can be stopped. Doing so however will cause a cataclysmic event. (Object 43) 4. The Objects were placed in a state of hibernation, and have yet to awaken. (O bjects 29 and 38) 5. Several failed attempts were made to destroy the Objects. This includes immol ation, shattering, consumption. One attempt to destroy them almost succeeded. (O bjects 27, 30, 88, and 109) 6. The Objects are not in their original form. Before, they were something else, and their change was for very simple reasons. It may have been due to their imp ending death. (Objects 82 and 87) 7. The Objects have emotional processes, including fear, hate, pain, and greed. (Objects 13, 23, 65, 66, 79) 8. The Objects do not kill everyone when they are gathered, although the innocen t are the first to suffer. (Objects 51, 85, and 89) 9. The Objects have been gathered on more than one occasion. They are destined t o be brought together by a person again. 9, 11, 26, 58, and 63) 10. The Objects have been scattered on more than one occasion. They were once sc attered by a person, at a tower, which now serves as a prevention method from th em reuniting. (Objects 2, 61, 68, and 100) 11. The Objects have a task for which they are intended, both individually and a s a group. These tasks have yet to be completed, and they have been abandoned. ( Objects 28, 40, and 42) 12. A Chosen Seeker will deliver our last hope by gathering select Objects. (Obj ects 48, 90, and 92) 13. People other than the Chosen Seeker will seek the objects, potentially to ga ther them. (Reference lost) 14. The Chosen Seeker is not a gay man or straight woman, as they are given a br ide during their quest. (Object 90) 15. The Holder of the Cosmos is the enemy of the Objects. He will stop at nothin g to stop the seekers, although he might not stop the Chosen Seeker. (Object 67) In some, we know their purpose right from the get go. Others, not so. Object 10, The Babel Book of Forbidden Tongues: Contains the knowledge of how to speak all earthly languages, but also sets your path in stone. You must continu e your Quest after reading it. Why? We may only know by reading it ourselves. Object 17, The Rusty Keychain: Holds only the keys meant for it, while all other keys are repelled. Possibly meant to hold Object 26 and subsequent keys. Object 20, The Grimoire of Truth's Deception: Is locked, possibly requiring Obje ct 26 to open. Contains information necessary to gather them all together, by se

eing through the deceptions of Object 58. Object 25, The Book of the Creations: Like the Grimoire, this green book contain s information that will help you gather the objects together. What kind of infor mation is unknown, but since it is part of creation, it may help you to deal wit h the stories you hear from the Holders, as some of their tales might kill you o r drive you mad. Object 26, The Key of Time: Might open the lock on the Grimoire. Might open anot her object. It doesn't really say, except that you probably shouldn't go looking for what it opens. This means, of course, that if you are looking to bring them together, you DO want to find what it opens... Several Objects, such as the Past, Truth, and Lies, mention a person known only as "Him" or "He". He is always capitalized, which may well suggest a god or some one of near-equal importance, but who He is has not yet been discovered. The Obj ects themselves also provide support to the theory of this "He" holding immense power- they include things such as a throne and a book of laws. Since many of th e objects refer to Him, it can be assumed he is intricately connected with the o bjects, their creation, their gathering, or the results of the gathering. Few of the true objects have been found. Most probably not even a dozen of them. Yet, the guides, 'manuals', if you want, are growing in numbers. Help us, find them. We might still be able to stop whatever their gathering brings, by destroy ing them all. Every child fears under their bed. If they don t, they fear the closet, or maybe t hat little crack in the almost closed door. Scientists know that children are more perceptive, they see things adults don t. T hey aren t yet tethered into only accepting what society wants them to accept. The y see what is truly there. They see the monsters. If you were to borrow a child s eyes and see through them for a night, you would g o insane. To be able to see what you only dimly remember, burrowing into your co vers while wearing those train pajamas, hoping to a God you can barely comprehen d that it doesn t see you back would drive an adult crazy. Because Adults forget the r ules. 1) Cover yourself. If you can t see it, it can t see you. Even if it makes it harder to breathe. 2) Don t make a noise. Every whimper can lead to destruction. 3) Don t move. It attracts their attention. 4) Only light can make them go away. Bright light. Flashlights make it worse. Teens are caught in the middle. They still feel what s there, but they cannot see a nd they forget the rules . Why do you think there are so many insomniacs typing at their computers, subcons ciously praying the light from their monitor will be enough to keep them away? It s not. Now look behind you with a child s eyes and try not to scream. Next time when you re lying in bed and the moon is new, when you re at the moment wh

ere you re almost asleep and your eyes are closed try listening for the sounds. More specifically, sounds that shouldn t exist in our realm. At this point, you ll notic e the world around you change, but don t you dare open your eyes or make any movem ents. If you lay right where you are, with your eyes closed, you ll feel something trace a finger, a claw, or perhaps something even worse, across your forehead. The mo ment it stops tracing, you ll wake up and it will be morning. Within that new week , you will die. However, depending on what was traced on your head, you ll either enter a paradise of a world, or you ll enter an evil world of torture. So do you want to find out what s on the other side? Rumor has it that every Halloween during the hours of 2am and 5am, there exists a void. You must stand in front of a mirror in a pitch black room with your gaze fixated on the mirror. If you remain in the room when the moment arrives, you w ill feel a chill seize your body. Place your right hand on the mirror and whispe r "I accept." If done correctly, in the mirror, there will be a faint image of a n infant with no flesh and pitch black eyes. He will stare directly into your so ul and you will hear the buzzing of flies and nervous whispering. You will not be able to make out the image in the mirror, but you will be filled with unspeakable terror. The infant will ask you five questions about events th at have occurred within your life. His voice will sound like the rubbing of sand paper on bone and sinew and will be devoid of all human emotion. For each questi on that you answer incorrectly, one of your five senses will be consumed and los t to you forever. For each question that is answered correctly, you will be able to recite the name of someone you know. That person will be found dead the next morning, with their flesh removed and th eir eyes missing. In 1653, Spanish explorers found the ruins of what appeared to be a Mesoamerican step pyramid in what is modern South Carolina. Though the site was far beyond t he borders of any known American indigenous populations, it was also of a smalle r size than existing Mesoamerican structures and bore an unrecognized form of gl yphic decoration. Local natives were familiar with the structure but knew nothin g about it. The Spaniards sought to disassemble the building as a heathen relic and did so, brick by brick, salvaging the materials to construct their own nearby settlement . Deconstruction halted, however, when one brick was uncovered at the core of th e structure, carved entirely of black glass. The stone, approximately two feet b y three, was impossible to move or even budge by any man or animal. Attempts were made to dig the stone out from beneath, but excavation revealed th at it extended indefinitely into the earth. In frustration, the captain of the e xplorers fired a glancing blow off of the surface of the stone. The obsidian blo ck was undamaged, but moments after the blow had struck, it silently retracted d ownwards, sliding downward into a hole that quickly collapsed inward on itself, burying the retreating obsidian column. The Spaniards interpreted this as an evil omen and abandoned the site, never to return.

In 1990, a small meteorite was sighted in the night sky by the Hubble telescope.

It appeared to be on a collision course with earth, but calculations showed tha t it was far too small and moving far too slowly to be a threat to our home plan et. In 1997, the long-forgotten meteorite entered the atmosphere. It did not burn away, as scientists predicted; it barely even grew warm. Even so , it landed without drawing much attention on the outskirts of a village in the middle of Africa, on the edge of the Sahara. Three months later, a safari expedition vanished while en route through the jung le. They never reached their checkpoint, within walking distance from the desert . A research team in 1998 happened on the impact crater of the meteorite by chance . They detected high levels of radiation in the crater, though they could not id entify what element had caused it. They drove to the nearby village to warn the locals of the danger, but the settlement was completely empty. Not a soul nor a body could be found for miles around. The only evidence of life left, current or past, were the long-abandoned grass huts, and a great number o f footprints leading into the sands of the Sahara. None of the footprints could be matched against any living creature on record. I don't know what to do anymore. I m so scared and I can't trust anyone. I went camping about three weekends ago in the Huntsville national forest in Tex as. Me and three friends that came home for the weekend, they are all in college and usually we all get together at least once a year, old friends from high sch ool. For the camping trip we planned to go backpacking deep in the forest, live off of fish that we catch and animals that we can trap. We have been doing this for awhile in Texas and in numerous places, Arizona, Colorado (if anyone is fami liar with the Spanish peaks there), New Mexico, so we re pretty much used to anyth ing you d encounter out there. It was my turn to pick where we went camping, so I chose Huntsville (more accura tely it s Huntsville/New Waverly). So we drive up there park our car in a camping park spot and start walking off into the forest. We had some laughs along the wa y, everyone catching up with eachother's lives. We walked until it started to ge t dark and set up camp where we stopped. Everyone gathered wood to make a fire a nd we set our tent up. And we do what we always do: try and scare each other wit h weird stories. Around this time we started to smell something very faint. It was noticeable, bu t not overbearing. We couldn't put our finger on what it was, so we just carried on. Mike had to go piss and he walked off in the forest. A second later he come running back, piss all down his jeans like he d missed really bad. Immediately we all crack up and throw some jokes at him. Then we noticed that he was white as snow and trying to catch his breath. He starts screaming for us to follow him, a nd runs off. We all get serious and go follow him, not knowing what the problem was. We start to hear a faint scream and crying in the distance, in the direction we were run ning. It was pitch black away from the camp and Mike had the only flash light (w e left ours at the camp, he had his from his trip taking a piss), so at this sta ge we didn t have much choice but to follow the light, which was frantically point ing here and there in front of him. The scream gets closer and Mike starts to slow down. We then notice a ratty old cabin that looked like it was abandoned, except for a faint light that we could

see from one of the old mildew covered windows. The crying was intense: whoever it was couldn't breathe enough to let out a full yell. We all followed Mike up t o the front door and we could all hear the crying from inside. As soon as he kno cked on the door it stopped. We all waited and heard really heavy footsteps walking fast to the door. There w as a giant slam against the door and the sound of a bolt unlocking. Then nothing . We waited for a bit, knocked a few more times, but still nothing happened. We walked around the house (there was no fucking way any of us were leaving each ot her s side) and noticed a window, which was a good way up. Alex took a deep breath and said asked us to give him a boost so he could see inside. Me and Mike lifte d him up to the window. We watched him brush away dirt and webs from the window and place his face close to the window to try and see something. There was a quick beat. Then suddenly he breathed in fast and let out a loud scr eam. Then he fell back from the window, screaming bloody murder the whole way. W e all tried to calm him down but he was hysterical. We went to him but he starte d to shake, punch, kick, you name it, and then took off towards the camp. None of us wanted to be separated so we all ran close behind him. We caught up t o him and grabbed him and set him down. The fire was dying out so I grabbed some nearby wood that we collected added it to the fire. My hands were shaking and I had to do something. I went back to Alex and we all tried to calm him down. He wouldn't he kept screaming and was breathing so hard that he eventually fainted. All of us are terrified now, and we all kept the fire high until sunrise. Period ically Alex kept waking up, screaming just like before. By sunrise he was up and looked catatonic, just mumbling to himself and whimpering. Me and Mike decide to go look at the cabin now it was daylight. We searched wher e we thought it was, except there was nothing there. Nothing at all. The indisti nct smell from last night had now grown into a very strong smell of something de ad, something stale. We headed back to the camping site. When we got there we fo und Alex had chewed into the sides of his face and swallowed so much blood that he was throwing up. John was at his back, and he looked like he was about to die from exhaustion. I guess we all looked that way, I just didn't notice until I s aw his face. Alex said quietly that we need to leave. Now. We all started to pack up the tent. It started to rain really heavily (it was ab out noon) and the sky started to grow really dark. Alex started to go into a pan ic. He went and grabbed a big stick and yelled at us to leave it and leave, now, or he d knock us out and drag us out of there himself. Mike started to yell at hi m, and they started to fight. We broke it up and finished packing, and then star ted to make our way back. After a little while we arrived at a creek we had cros sed the previous day, only it was flooded over, and the water was moving to fast for us to cross it. Alex started to scream again, yelling at Mike for taking hi s time packing up the tent when we could have gotten out of here. This went on f or a while until we finally convinced Alex to calm down and tell us what happene d. He said as soon as he put his face to the glass, a face on the other side did th e same thing, and started to smile really big. It had dark eyes and a dark mouth which was much bigger then Alex's, as the smile got as large as it could. A gia nt shadow behind it swung something down and sliced it s face off. The face was st uck to the window, and he said it started to laugh quietly as it slid down. Mike , still pissed off (and though he wouldn t admit it, beginning to get freaked out) , started to argue with him again. We eventually started to follow the creek for a way to cross. We then started to see toys floating in the creek. Really old toys, old Barbie d

olls and baby dolls. This wasn't like any old trash floating in the creek, thoug h this was a lot of barbies, a lot of baby dolls. One washed towards the side and Mike picked it up. It had some kind of voice chip that was dying and started to say some gurgling words we couldn't understand, followed by it s sad excuse for l aughter. Then it sounded like it was whispering. We thought the batteries must b e dying, he threw it down. We kept going, and the sun was starting to set. Alex was freaking out more now, and was whimpering and breathing heavily. We all started to see shadows move beh ind trees, something we all called BS on until we all were seeing it. It was bar ely light out and we stop as we see the cabin right in front of us. None of us k nows what to think. Mike says This is bull, I m going in there. Alex tries to stop h im. We all do, all of us just wanted to go home. Mike says to all of us to fuck off, do our own thing, he doesn't care anymore, this is all bull. We start to hear hundreds of the same sort baby doll as before, laughing, whispe ring and trying to sing. We start to move forward past the cabin, all of us, and kept pushing forward. We smelled something dead in the air, something stale. Th e same something as before. We started to hear something crying, and something s creaming. We kept on going. We eventually crossed the creek and left the woods. We get back to our vehicle and got in. Its pitch black, and we drive. We are abo ut to get on the 45 to Houston but the road is under construction and can't be a ccessed. It points to a detour. As we head towards the detour it seems to be sma ll, bumpy dirt road going into the woods. We then see a young girl come up to us. She looks like she was in trouble, young and pretty. She approaches the passenger side door and she looks like she s reall y drugged up, or beaten up. Alex doesn't roll down the windows, nor does he open the door. She reaches for the handle and he immediately locks it. She puts her face on the window and starts to smile really big. We floor it, Alex starts to c ry and scream and we are all breathing heavy. We finally cut on a street that ta kes us to the 45 and we take it the whole way. When we get back to my apartment everyone doesn't know what to say and we all break apart and go our separate way s. Mike messages me later and says he is going to go back. I try to convince him no t to and all he does is say it was our own minds that were screwing with us. I t hink he just went to prove to himself he wasn t scared. I can smell that stench ev erywhere now. I don't go out anymore, I just stay in and don't answer the door. Last week everyone I met was acting really strange, people that I knew for a lon g time and total strangers. My own dad, when I went to his place to eat supper w ith him he just watched me, strangely, when I was sitting down. He didn't say a word the whole time. I kept asking him What s wrong? He just slowly shook his head. When I was leaving to go home I turned to wave. He had black eyes and an open mo uth like he was in pain. When I started to walk back he shut the door and bolted it. I stayed there knocking and knocking. Nothing. I called him, his phone was disconnected. I even called the police. Halfway through the questions they were asking me the connection started to fade into static. I could hear a faint mumbl ing, singing and laughing. Mike has completely vanished. There is not even a record of him being alive. Whe n I call Alex s house they talk to me like I m some salesman. They say they don't kn ow any Alex and to please stop calling. The person who tells me that is Alex s mot her. I can t get ahold of John. Someone knocked on my door and when I went to look I saw a face completely covering the peephole and a giant smile started to form . I called the cops again and instead of it turning into static they got really st range. Sir, are you affected by any drugs at the moment? No. Are you coming home anyt

ime soon? Excuse me? Come home. and the phone call ended. My mail slot swings every n ow and then. Someone is sliding pieces of baby dolls through it. I try to call p eople now and all I can hear is static and bad baby doll noises and this crying and screaming. My TV is busted but when I go to piss I can hear it on. I might b e going insane. Whoever lives above me started to scream in pain and crying deeply recently. I h ear giant footsteps from their apartment, I hear bangs and something falling to the ground. From the neighbors to the right of my apartment I hear what sounds l ike a baby that never gets tended too and then it sounds like a baby doll whose batteries are dying. My phone has been ringing now and it s Alex telling me things in a language that I have never heard before, nor could even manage to repeat. I kept getting emails of pictures of black and small colorations, now I can't ev en access my email. Someone knocks on the door, then they slam against it. I hea r the bolts unlocking one by one and I run to make sure to lock all of them back and sit down crying. What do I do? My electricity keeps dimming. My water, sinks, bath, shower, all s mell like something dead. I keep seeing a shadow of someone behind me raising so mething up in the air, and I just take off to the other side of the apartment wi th my head against the wall. I have boarded my windows shut, someone was throwin g rocks through them. I never could see who. I have boarded my bedroom in, I hea r crying and screaming in there now. And right now while I m typing this I can see the reflection off the computer screen of some shadow behind me. In rural southern Illinois a toy company began selling "realistic" baby dolls to expectant mothers. But apparently after the mother had her child the toy baby w ould start crying. Eventually the "rocking motion" advertised to calm it down wo uldn't work, and you couldn't get it to stop without shaking it. Eventually when it started crying the parent would have to beat it, and the beatings and thrash ings would have to get harder and harder to get it to be quiet. The only thing t hat seemed to shut the baby doll up permanently was the bash its head against th e wall to destroy whatever mechanism triggered the crying. On more than one occa sion though, neighbors called the authorities to report child abuse, and when th e police arrived they found the bloody remains of infants smeared across the wal ls and the floor. In most cases the mother couldn't understand why the police we re there, she just "got rid of the stupid doll" as she rocked a baby-shaped bund le in her arms. ---------------------------There were parties that night, but I elected to spend it alone, drinking and sno rting the last of my priceless heroin on a wooded bluff overlooking the sea, cap turing what quiet I could on my own terms and determined to meet the last day so ber. I woke, caked in vomit and pain as the sun arose, and trickled down to the beach , relishing the cool salt breeze on my chapped face. As I plunged my face into t he water, I heard a tinny wail of joy, and turned in mute disbelief. A child rac ed down the beach, trailed by her mother. As public opinion had slid into open h atred of those who knowingly reproduced, births had become unheard of. I swam in a wash of emotions: raw fury at manifest selfishness, an aching namele ss joy, a thousand other twinges of head and heart. In the last decade, when it was clear that nothing could divert the comet s path, the final gasps of propagand a s engine had repeated this final message: Don t Make It Worse. I rose, fists balled, but my shout of indignant protest died on my lips. The ear th trembled, a passing shock wave under foot. The impact was hours ago, in the s teppes of Asia; the wall of fire and pressure had made it s solemn journey around the world to us.

The girl was swept into her mother s arms. They looked serenely at me, twin eyes o f sea green. For a moment, I bordered epiphany. Guilt washed in behind the tide of anger. Then it was gone, and I was empty at last. I love you, whispered the mother, holding the child close.

I sighed, and the air grew dim and thick with the onrush of steam. My vision clo uded, and I turned to the sea, one final time.The Game If you stand alone at the corner of Church St. and Market St. in Charleston, Sou th Carolina at 3 AM, you see a man coming down Church St. wearing a black hat an d black cape with stringy white hair and weathered skin. He'll stop at one of th e two corners directly across from where you are standing and start to walk the corner directly opposite from where he is standing. When he reaches about halfwa y (dead center of the intersection) and nobody else has arrived, he'll stop, tur n, and look directly at you. If you do not blink for roughly 20-30 seconds he'll tip his hat to you and walk along his way, disappearing into the dark shadows of the trees that line the str eets. Nobody knows what happens if you follow him. If you do blink before he tips his hat, the very first thing you will see is the man standing directly in front of you. He'll grin maliciously at you and draw a blade hidden in the shaft of the cane and slash you across your throat, but you will not feel a thing. You will, however, pass out and remain in a comatose sta te until the sun rises over the horizon. For the next six nights, you will have a recurring dream of the man walking down the street, appearing suddenly before you, and slashing your throat. On the sev enth night, the events will replay the same up until he stops in the middle of t he intersection. At this point, he'll say, "It's been fun playing with you, boy, but now it's time for you to go. Don't ever let me see you again." He'll then t ip his hat and walk away before you wake up. Nobody knows what happens if you visit the corner a second time. From my 17 up to my 21, I was addicted to drugs, heroin, etc... I'd take everyth ing that could take me out of this world. But something happened that changed my habits forever. A few days after my 21st birthday, I was still addicted then, I started to be de prived of my sleep. Everytime I would close my eyes, there would be some sort of thing pulling my eyelids open. You could compare it with blinking your eyes. This went on for a few days, and I really felt bad, but I had the drugs to make me feel better. So, one day I took some LSD which, everyone knows, makes you hal lucinate. After taking this, I'm sitting in my darkened room, awaiting the hallu cinations. But what I saw was much, much worse than I could ever think of when t hinking about a bad trip. Before taking the acid, I entered my room all alone. There was absolutely no cha nce anyone was in there, because it was a small room, with a bed being the only furniture. I had this habit of checking whether anyone could see me taking drugs (I was still hiding it from my parents). Anyhow, being alone in my room, I felt the drugs kicking in. I felt shadows cree ping over me. I felt the darkness reach my heart. Everything around me became surrealistic. I went to another world, but was quick ly pulled down again. But not to our own world, no, I felt like I was pulled dow

n to some sort of hell, a world full of mad spirits. Hands grabbed me and pulled me down, down. I didn't know where I was going, but I was trembling in fear. But then I reached the ground. I was standing alone in a dark alley. I could fee l people (or spirits?) watching my every move, but I started walking anyhow. The further I walked, the darker the alley got, until I couldn't see anything an ymore. But I kept on walking. I felt that it was the right thing to do. And suddenly I arrived on a cemetery. An old one, might I add. It clearly hadn't been used in years, perhaps decades. But standing there, I could feel dark shad ows creeping up to me again. Lost spirits, moaning in pain, telling me what to d o. They told me to climb up a mausoleum and to howl at the moon. I thought it was w eird, but I did so. As I climbed up, I looked around and noticed that I wasn't in the cemetery anymo re. I was standing on top of a building. I slowly backed up, trying not to fall off, and went down a staircase. I somewhat recognized this staircase. I had seen it before. I entered a room, which was dark and had just one bed as its furniture. I saw someone standing up, looking at a wall. I entered his body. I was back. When I came back, nothing seemed right anymore. I constantly felt that people we re watching me, judging me with their sneaky eyes. I went crazy, because I knew nothing was right anymore. One day I went inside a supermarket, walked around a bit and just started scream ing. At first people were looking weird at me, but eventually they started runni ng away from me. After half an hour of just screaming, police came to arrest me. I had to see a shrink, I had to go to rehab, and afterwards I was locked away. I was locked away for ten years, my soul being the only one in the room. No shad ows could reach me. When I was finally released, people considered me being "healthy". So did I. I w ent home, just sat there for a few minutes, then decided to go to the room where it all started. I opened up the door and saw someone standing, just looking at the wall. I entered his body. NOW I was back. From then on, I decided never to take drugs anymore.

In lower Delaware there is a town called Frederica, its just outside Magnolia an d a few miles from Houston and Dover. Anywhere from roughly midnight to 2am if you walk out on to the main road you wi ll encounter a large black dog, his eyes will look like they are glowing and he will seem to smile at you. Rumor has it if you reach for the dog he will either vanish before you touch him , or he will allow you to touch him. I touched him. He stank, I still touched him; I remember the disgusting oily feeling of his fur and the way his eyes glinted when I pulled my hand back. I left that night, and he followed me home, he slept on me porch and he howled j ust as I woke up. When I went outside I found not the dog, but the rotted carcass of an animal wit h oily black fur and canid features. My porch was soaked with blood and strange symbols has been drawn in unknown marks.

For the passed months since then I see the dog staring at the edge of the front lawn, he never does anything; but when I try to go outside he just vanishes. When you are admitted to a hospital, they place on your wrist a white wristband with your name on it. But there are other different colored wristbands which sym bolize other things. The red wristbands are placed on dead people. There was one surgeon who worked on night shift in a school hospital. He had jus t finished an operation and was on his way down to the basement. He entered the elevator and there was just one other person there. He casually chatted with the woman while the elevator descended. When the elevator door opened, another woma n was about to enter when the doctor slammed the close button and punched the bu tton to the highest floor. Surprised, the woman reprimanded the doctor for being rude and asked why he did not let the other woman in. The doctor said, "That was the woman i just operated on. She died while I was do ing the operation. Didn t you see the red wristband she was wearing?" The woman smiled, raised her arm, and said, "Something like this?"

A few years ago, I went out with some friends and we stayed away the whole night . I have to admit that I was drunk for a while, but around 11AM I got home quite sober. The first thing I did was eating "breakfast" (if you can call eating some cookie s breakfast). Anyhow, after this I went to bed and fell asleep almost instantly. I closed the curtains just before going to bed, so it was kinda dark. The next morning I woke up (I slept like 21 hours) and went downstairs. My mothe r was sitting at the dining table, looking rather weird at me. I asked what was wrong, and what she told me frightened me quite hard. She told me that when I had been sleeping for like 15 hours, she heard loud and terrifying screams from my room. She immediatly went up to look what was going o n and saw me screaming at me closet, while my legs were bleeding from having scr atches all over them. I told her that I had been attacked by something, and when I woke up and yelled, it went in my closet. My mother looked inside the closet, but didn't see anything, and after investigating my closet for like 5 minutes, she turned around and saw that I already had fallen asleep. The weird thing is, I can't remember anything of it. I don't remember being atta cked, I don't remember screaming, I don't remember my mother checking my closet. The only proof I have, are the scars on my legs. So after this happening, I felt kinda weird, I felt like someone (something?) ha d taken my body and made me do things that I didn't know of. It never happened before, but after this, it kept on happening. Sometimes I would go downstairs in the middle of the night, going up to my mothe rs room, opening her door and saying profetic things, like: "No darkness can be found in the eternal light of glory". And I would keep on repeating it. It scare d the living shit out of my mother. After a few times, I had to go see a shrink, who told us that I had been sleepwa lking (no shit, doc, you think I didn't know that). So the event of the "monster " scratching my legs was me.Or so I thought. The doc told me that this had to do with something traumatizing, something that made me scared, without my knowing of it. This had to be "the monster". After getting to know this, I moved out and went to live on my own, but this mad e things worse... I had dreams of killing people, going insane, of suffocating pets. I feared goin g to sleep, I knew I did things I didn't know of and I kept on waking with scrat ches everywhere. Had the beast followed me?

So I went to a "sleeping clinic", where doctors research you and your sleeping h abits. What they saw was something they had never seen before. Everytime I fell asleep, my heartrate would go up, instead of slowing down. And everytime after like 10 minutes of sleep, I would open up my eyes and stare at t he doctors. At first they thought I kept on waking, but I was still vast asleep. So I layed with my eyes open, and after staring at them, I would sit up, still s taring at them, and just start screaming. The doctors never found what was wrong with me, but now I've been taking sleepin gpills and I haven't had any of those dreams anymore. But there are still two questions that remain. What started all this, and how di d I keep on getting those scratches?

thats about it... :) i hope you enjoyed (yeah i know its alot, some of them are copy-pastes from other sites but dont go post stuff like man it was too long to read or stuff like copy pastes, we all k now that this isnt mine oh well... lets see if u guys can keep your words ;) )