esb
Because none of us are as cruel as all of us.
- Reaction score
- 329
My teacher left me the assignment to write a short Gothic story. So here it is 
I was 'inspired' by the latest VG Cats Comic, Frosty the Snowman, and a few other things. It is winter after all too.
Just thought I'd share.
I was 'inspired' by the latest VG Cats Comic, Frosty the Snowman, and a few other things. It is winter after all too.
Just thought I'd share.
........Twas a harsh December of 1691. The snow was bountiful and everywhere to be seen. Like an exiled angel, it fell from the heavens to dwell with the earth. The small village of Massachusetts had a bad year. The crops had been unsuccessful and provided small amounts of anything to consume. They all prayed to God, in hope he would answer and help them. They anxiously awaited the new year, maybe it would be better they thought. There wasn't much to do in the village. The usual routine was rising along with the sun for warmth outside. The men would go cutting wood for their fires, and maybe go hunting for a few animals. The women would collect anything edible from the trees around. Prepare the food, and keep their husbands and children warm and taken care of. How they longed for a better life, a different weather. Secretly in their hearts, a different God. The children however had a different perspective of the white world around them. They enjoyed the little they had, played outside in the snow and made snow angels. Run around until their mothers called them home. They would sleep early in hope the next day would come sooner, and in their sleep not feel the cold winds.
........Jack was a little boy. He had no father, just a depressed mother. She would cry and mourn for her late husband, and only do the extremely necessary chores. Young Jack did many things for a boy of such small age. He was a strong boy and helped out his mother. He would cut wood, help other men, and sometimes even go hunting. As young as he was, he admired another little girl from the village. Many other little boys did. Jill was her name. Little Jill had elegant blonde hair, and blue eyes the shade of the sea. To the rest she was like a reward from up above. They treated her like she was Queen Mary of England. If anything was to happen to her it would strike the village catastrophically. Everyone disapproved of who she played with. Thought no mere child should even be around her, especially not that Jack. For he was a boy with a curse. He led a harsh life so young, and everyone though God had left him, and the Devil was with him. Young Jack was also friends with Old Caroline, an old lady who lived in a house by herself. She had a gorgeous garden filled with many multiple colored roses. Yes for an unknown reason, being around it made anyone feel uneasy. Except Young Jack. He would visit almost everyday, water her plants with water from the well, and sometimes have a small conversation with Old Caroline. However, rumors spread that Caroline was a witch, as she was never seen in church, and people felt the presence of the Devil around her, or so they said.
........It was a day of an important celebration for the Puritans. Young Jack did not know nor cared what it was however, for he though taking care of his mother was far more important. Her mother rested on her bed most of the time, too depressed to want to do much of anything. She knew that it was a day of celebration and relaxation. She knew her Young Jack worked hard everyday, and so she wanted him to take a day off. When Jack heard what his mother told him, he felt very happy knowing he didn't have to cut wood, or hunt animals. Thanking his mother, he took a step outside the village and wondered what he would do. He had no idea what he should do. He didn't really have any friends his age, since he spent most of his time with the adults. Almost running out of ideas he decided to pay Old Caroline a visit. Walking along the way he entertained himself by jumping on the snow. He saw some snow float off as he landed with a loud thump. He would turn and see his footprints in the gentle snow. Soon enough before he knew it, he was in front of Old Caroline's house. Jack walked into her garden and appreciated the roses. He was the only one that felt comfort around the garden. He knocked on her door. He knocked again. Jack waited patiently but received no answer. Finally he gave up and decided to find something else to do. As he walked a little bit sadden, outside he saw Jill. Jack was filled with excitement. Finally someone he could play with he thought. He was a bit shy though, and he didn't know exactly how to start talking to a stranger. He had only seen Jill from afar previous times. Jack couldn't forget Jill's shiny hair, or her pretty eyes. Even for a little boy, he had attraction for another girl. Jill was making little snowballs, slightly crouching and patting the snow in her hands, then onto another pile of snow. Most of the village was inside the church, in all the excitement of the special occasion, they seem to have forgotten of their treasure Jill.
........Young Jack shyly walked to where Jill was at. He tried to move unnoticed, but without him expecting it Jill said “Hi little boy! I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?” Jack was surprised at first as he was trying to move subtlety and suddenly jumped and pretended to be casual. “My name is Jack, son of Misses Swagger.” answered Jack, trying to be as formal and polite as possible. “That's a pretty name,” she replied, “Want to help me collect snow?” Jack wondered why anyone would want to collect snow when there was snow everywhere, but the polite thing for him to do was not question her. He sat beside her and started collecting snow and patting it down on a pile she had started. Jack was thankful for his gloves and scarf that day. Usually he wouldn't feel the cold as much for he would be working and moving enough to have some body warmth. But sitting on the snow itself, and grabbing it certainly made him feel the cold. They didn't talk for a while. Not one said a word. The two children had nothing to say either way. When the snow pile had accumulated a considerable amount of snow, Jack suddenly decided to hug it. He imagined it's warmth, the warmth of a human, of his father. A father he didn't remember. He must of died when he was too young to remember. No one ever told Jack what happened to his father. As he hugged it, he rolled along with the snow. He had an interesting idea. He wondered if he could roll it, and surely he did. Jack and Jill had made a snowball. Jill was excited and told him if they should make another one. After what seemed a long time, they had another one. Jack remembered how the wood logs he chopped were stacked one on top of the other. So he planned to make many snowballs, and stack them on top of each other. He picked up the second snowball and placed it on top of the other snowball. A bit of snow fell off from the snowballs, and it seemed as any small push or gust would tumble it down. Jack and Jill continued making snowballs, but if they were to put it on top of the other two, it would have to be smaller. In a while they had a snowball they were satisfied with. Jack reached to the top and placed it. Jill sat in front of their snowballs and just stared. Jack noticed she had a strange look on her face. A look that said she was having wild and imaginative thoughts.
........“Jack, doesn't he look like a man to you?” Jill suddenly said while staring in amazement at the stacked snow. “What do you mean?” asked Jack, wondering how in the world could that look like a man to anyone. Jill didn't answer, instead she got up and picked up broken tree branches and placed them on the middle snowball. Jack was getting the idea of what she meant. He dug into the snow and picked up five rocks. Three were used as buttons for the man of snow, and other two for eyes. Jack picked up another stick and put it as a nose. Jill and Jack stared at what they created. “What should we call it?” asked Jill as she leaned on Jack. She was getting more cold now. “Hmm...” thought Jack, “Man of Snow. No, the Snowman.” he finally decided. “Snowman?...” repeated Jill with curiosity and a pleasing tone. However, Jack thought something was missing, and he took off his scarf and wrapped it around the Snowman's neck, or what was supposed to be the neck. His neck was getting very cold, but he didn't mind, for he had made Jill smile and even gotten the chance to talk to her. A strong and chilly wind briefly blew and both the children could feel it's frightening cold. Many things flew, sticks, leaves, and unexpectedly, a black hat. Jack caught the hat, wondering who it might belong to. He thought maybe it was one of the villager's, but then he remembered seeing it at Old Caroline's house. He tippy-toed and placed the black hat on top of the snowman. For a moment both stood next to each other and once again, admired the Snowman. They were happy the wind hadn't thrown it down, for it looked very fragile. They children kept staring at it, and it seemed they entered in a different world in their own imagination. They had forgotten how cold it was, what day it was, and where they were. The trance was shortly broken when they thought they saw the snowman's snow move. Ah, but it did. It cracked what seemed to be a smile. Slowly the twigs began to bend and move. The snowman seemed to be alive! It did what seemed to be a stretch. It moved like a man waking up early for daily work. After a few stretches, the Snowman looked down at the children. The children were stunned. They didn't know what to do, and didn't know what it was. The Snowman, was moving. They were not scared however. The Snowman didn't say a word. Instead it began to hum and dance around the children, looking up high at the trees as if it had never seen them before. It probably hadn't. Neither Jack nor Jill said anything, they just held each other and looked in bewilderment at the Snowman.
........In a few moments however, Jack felt something was about to go wrong. He felt uneasy and tugged at Jill to go back to the village where people were at. He thought it would be more comfortable being around other adults than a dancing Snowman that was humming and giggling. Jill didn't want to leave, she was entertained and liking the Snowman's performance. Then the Snowman suddenly stopped dancing around. It just froze still. Then it turned it's head. It proceeded to bounce toward Jack and Jill. Jack was scared to his wits, but Jill was calm and not afraid. The Snowman's eyes glowed red, and soon they saw an evil grin on his face. Inside that grin were many sharp teeth. The Snowman was like a bear Jack had many times helped kill, except it had skin of snow and was pretty round. The branches were twigs no more. It's arms were now almost as thick as small trees and had thorns. The Snowman gave of an impression of hate, yet joy. With a thumpety thump thump the Snowman jumped towards them. The last thing the village heard from the children were painful screams of terror. The screams stroke every single person with panic and fear. An unexplainable horror that paralyzed them for a few moments. One of the villagers ran out toward the screams of agony. A few others reacted and followed. They arrived to where they heard the screams come from, in front of Old Caroline's house. Some villagers went back for they were too afraid and felt safer in the church. There were no children to be found. Nothing was heard again. In front of them just stood three stacked snowballs. With twigs for arms and a nose. Rocks for buttons and eyes. A scarf wrapped around it, and a black hat. Before them was the Snowman. The snow on the floor had changed color. It was no longer pure and white. Neither was the Snowman's. It had the stain of a crimson color. The stench of death as well. The villagers were horrified with the though as to what might have happened to the children. Immediately they ran into Old Caroline's home and furiously knocked on her door almost breaking it. Old Caroline opened the door and was received with screams and accusations about the children's whereabouts. She calmly walked outside of her house, and toward the snowman. She seemed not to care about anything else, not even the foul smell, but only about the hat on the Snowman. She grabbed it, and took it back with her to her house. The villagers didn't know what to do. They saw the hard working boy and the beautiful girl no more. They demanded any sort of justice, so they stormed into Old Caroline's house and brought her outside by force. They yelled and accused her of witchcraft somehow. Some didn't even know what it meant, but went along with it. Old Caroline still had the hat with her, and in the pushing and shoving it flew out of her hands. As if it was moved by a strange entity, it landed perfectly on the Snowman. None of the villagers paid any attention to it, and proceeded to take Old Caroline to a nearby tree to hang. The sun was up high and shone through the village. They could clearly see Old Caroline tied to a tall branch. She violently twitched and moved meanwhile she died. The villagers simply stared at the hanging body, feeling satisfaction that they had done the right thing to receive justice. They looked a little longer to receive reassurance of her death. As they began to walk away, some swear they heard the Devil's voice. The words it said drove them crazy and insane in a few days. “The sun is bright. I will melt. I'll be back again some day.” They say the village of Salem was never the same again, and that the Devil seemed to live amongst them.
........Jack was a little boy. He had no father, just a depressed mother. She would cry and mourn for her late husband, and only do the extremely necessary chores. Young Jack did many things for a boy of such small age. He was a strong boy and helped out his mother. He would cut wood, help other men, and sometimes even go hunting. As young as he was, he admired another little girl from the village. Many other little boys did. Jill was her name. Little Jill had elegant blonde hair, and blue eyes the shade of the sea. To the rest she was like a reward from up above. They treated her like she was Queen Mary of England. If anything was to happen to her it would strike the village catastrophically. Everyone disapproved of who she played with. Thought no mere child should even be around her, especially not that Jack. For he was a boy with a curse. He led a harsh life so young, and everyone though God had left him, and the Devil was with him. Young Jack was also friends with Old Caroline, an old lady who lived in a house by herself. She had a gorgeous garden filled with many multiple colored roses. Yes for an unknown reason, being around it made anyone feel uneasy. Except Young Jack. He would visit almost everyday, water her plants with water from the well, and sometimes have a small conversation with Old Caroline. However, rumors spread that Caroline was a witch, as she was never seen in church, and people felt the presence of the Devil around her, or so they said.
........It was a day of an important celebration for the Puritans. Young Jack did not know nor cared what it was however, for he though taking care of his mother was far more important. Her mother rested on her bed most of the time, too depressed to want to do much of anything. She knew that it was a day of celebration and relaxation. She knew her Young Jack worked hard everyday, and so she wanted him to take a day off. When Jack heard what his mother told him, he felt very happy knowing he didn't have to cut wood, or hunt animals. Thanking his mother, he took a step outside the village and wondered what he would do. He had no idea what he should do. He didn't really have any friends his age, since he spent most of his time with the adults. Almost running out of ideas he decided to pay Old Caroline a visit. Walking along the way he entertained himself by jumping on the snow. He saw some snow float off as he landed with a loud thump. He would turn and see his footprints in the gentle snow. Soon enough before he knew it, he was in front of Old Caroline's house. Jack walked into her garden and appreciated the roses. He was the only one that felt comfort around the garden. He knocked on her door. He knocked again. Jack waited patiently but received no answer. Finally he gave up and decided to find something else to do. As he walked a little bit sadden, outside he saw Jill. Jack was filled with excitement. Finally someone he could play with he thought. He was a bit shy though, and he didn't know exactly how to start talking to a stranger. He had only seen Jill from afar previous times. Jack couldn't forget Jill's shiny hair, or her pretty eyes. Even for a little boy, he had attraction for another girl. Jill was making little snowballs, slightly crouching and patting the snow in her hands, then onto another pile of snow. Most of the village was inside the church, in all the excitement of the special occasion, they seem to have forgotten of their treasure Jill.
........Young Jack shyly walked to where Jill was at. He tried to move unnoticed, but without him expecting it Jill said “Hi little boy! I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?” Jack was surprised at first as he was trying to move subtlety and suddenly jumped and pretended to be casual. “My name is Jack, son of Misses Swagger.” answered Jack, trying to be as formal and polite as possible. “That's a pretty name,” she replied, “Want to help me collect snow?” Jack wondered why anyone would want to collect snow when there was snow everywhere, but the polite thing for him to do was not question her. He sat beside her and started collecting snow and patting it down on a pile she had started. Jack was thankful for his gloves and scarf that day. Usually he wouldn't feel the cold as much for he would be working and moving enough to have some body warmth. But sitting on the snow itself, and grabbing it certainly made him feel the cold. They didn't talk for a while. Not one said a word. The two children had nothing to say either way. When the snow pile had accumulated a considerable amount of snow, Jack suddenly decided to hug it. He imagined it's warmth, the warmth of a human, of his father. A father he didn't remember. He must of died when he was too young to remember. No one ever told Jack what happened to his father. As he hugged it, he rolled along with the snow. He had an interesting idea. He wondered if he could roll it, and surely he did. Jack and Jill had made a snowball. Jill was excited and told him if they should make another one. After what seemed a long time, they had another one. Jack remembered how the wood logs he chopped were stacked one on top of the other. So he planned to make many snowballs, and stack them on top of each other. He picked up the second snowball and placed it on top of the other snowball. A bit of snow fell off from the snowballs, and it seemed as any small push or gust would tumble it down. Jack and Jill continued making snowballs, but if they were to put it on top of the other two, it would have to be smaller. In a while they had a snowball they were satisfied with. Jack reached to the top and placed it. Jill sat in front of their snowballs and just stared. Jack noticed she had a strange look on her face. A look that said she was having wild and imaginative thoughts.
........“Jack, doesn't he look like a man to you?” Jill suddenly said while staring in amazement at the stacked snow. “What do you mean?” asked Jack, wondering how in the world could that look like a man to anyone. Jill didn't answer, instead she got up and picked up broken tree branches and placed them on the middle snowball. Jack was getting the idea of what she meant. He dug into the snow and picked up five rocks. Three were used as buttons for the man of snow, and other two for eyes. Jack picked up another stick and put it as a nose. Jill and Jack stared at what they created. “What should we call it?” asked Jill as she leaned on Jack. She was getting more cold now. “Hmm...” thought Jack, “Man of Snow. No, the Snowman.” he finally decided. “Snowman?...” repeated Jill with curiosity and a pleasing tone. However, Jack thought something was missing, and he took off his scarf and wrapped it around the Snowman's neck, or what was supposed to be the neck. His neck was getting very cold, but he didn't mind, for he had made Jill smile and even gotten the chance to talk to her. A strong and chilly wind briefly blew and both the children could feel it's frightening cold. Many things flew, sticks, leaves, and unexpectedly, a black hat. Jack caught the hat, wondering who it might belong to. He thought maybe it was one of the villager's, but then he remembered seeing it at Old Caroline's house. He tippy-toed and placed the black hat on top of the snowman. For a moment both stood next to each other and once again, admired the Snowman. They were happy the wind hadn't thrown it down, for it looked very fragile. They children kept staring at it, and it seemed they entered in a different world in their own imagination. They had forgotten how cold it was, what day it was, and where they were. The trance was shortly broken when they thought they saw the snowman's snow move. Ah, but it did. It cracked what seemed to be a smile. Slowly the twigs began to bend and move. The snowman seemed to be alive! It did what seemed to be a stretch. It moved like a man waking up early for daily work. After a few stretches, the Snowman looked down at the children. The children were stunned. They didn't know what to do, and didn't know what it was. The Snowman, was moving. They were not scared however. The Snowman didn't say a word. Instead it began to hum and dance around the children, looking up high at the trees as if it had never seen them before. It probably hadn't. Neither Jack nor Jill said anything, they just held each other and looked in bewilderment at the Snowman.
........In a few moments however, Jack felt something was about to go wrong. He felt uneasy and tugged at Jill to go back to the village where people were at. He thought it would be more comfortable being around other adults than a dancing Snowman that was humming and giggling. Jill didn't want to leave, she was entertained and liking the Snowman's performance. Then the Snowman suddenly stopped dancing around. It just froze still. Then it turned it's head. It proceeded to bounce toward Jack and Jill. Jack was scared to his wits, but Jill was calm and not afraid. The Snowman's eyes glowed red, and soon they saw an evil grin on his face. Inside that grin were many sharp teeth. The Snowman was like a bear Jack had many times helped kill, except it had skin of snow and was pretty round. The branches were twigs no more. It's arms were now almost as thick as small trees and had thorns. The Snowman gave of an impression of hate, yet joy. With a thumpety thump thump the Snowman jumped towards them. The last thing the village heard from the children were painful screams of terror. The screams stroke every single person with panic and fear. An unexplainable horror that paralyzed them for a few moments. One of the villagers ran out toward the screams of agony. A few others reacted and followed. They arrived to where they heard the screams come from, in front of Old Caroline's house. Some villagers went back for they were too afraid and felt safer in the church. There were no children to be found. Nothing was heard again. In front of them just stood three stacked snowballs. With twigs for arms and a nose. Rocks for buttons and eyes. A scarf wrapped around it, and a black hat. Before them was the Snowman. The snow on the floor had changed color. It was no longer pure and white. Neither was the Snowman's. It had the stain of a crimson color. The stench of death as well. The villagers were horrified with the though as to what might have happened to the children. Immediately they ran into Old Caroline's home and furiously knocked on her door almost breaking it. Old Caroline opened the door and was received with screams and accusations about the children's whereabouts. She calmly walked outside of her house, and toward the snowman. She seemed not to care about anything else, not even the foul smell, but only about the hat on the Snowman. She grabbed it, and took it back with her to her house. The villagers didn't know what to do. They saw the hard working boy and the beautiful girl no more. They demanded any sort of justice, so they stormed into Old Caroline's house and brought her outside by force. They yelled and accused her of witchcraft somehow. Some didn't even know what it meant, but went along with it. Old Caroline still had the hat with her, and in the pushing and shoving it flew out of her hands. As if it was moved by a strange entity, it landed perfectly on the Snowman. None of the villagers paid any attention to it, and proceeded to take Old Caroline to a nearby tree to hang. The sun was up high and shone through the village. They could clearly see Old Caroline tied to a tall branch. She violently twitched and moved meanwhile she died. The villagers simply stared at the hanging body, feeling satisfaction that they had done the right thing to receive justice. They looked a little longer to receive reassurance of her death. As they began to walk away, some swear they heard the Devil's voice. The words it said drove them crazy and insane in a few days. “The sun is bright. I will melt. I'll be back again some day.” They say the village of Salem was never the same again, and that the Devil seemed to live amongst them.
