Valentina

        Once upon a time I lived in a big castle up on a hill. Every night I would put on my cloak then walk to the stable and take my beautiful black stallion named Tempest out for a ride in the forest. Every time while we were out taking our night ride there was a little black bat that would follow us. I did not think to much about it because bats have never bothered me like they do some people.Tonight's ride was quite brisk and cold with lots of snow on the ground but it was the end of January so it was to be expected. I continued my nightly rides no matter the weather.

        One afternoon at the beginning of February just before dusk (it was slightly warmer in February here than it is in January and the snow had melted off), there was a knock at my door. I went to the door and there was a servant boy. He handed me an envelope and a package. I thanked him so he got on his horse and rode off. I was totally perplexed - I had no idea what this was or even who it was from.The envelope was addressed to me: Madame Valentina St. Armonde and it was sealed with a wax emblem and had the initials LvC on it. The letter inside was written in blood red ink on light parchment paper. The letter inside said:

Dear Valentina,

        You are cordially invited to attend a Valentine's Night Masquerade Ball on February 14th. A driver with a horse and carriage will pick you up promptly at your castle at 9 PM sharp. I have also included a lovely bespoke crimson ruby red ball gown, matching slippers, masquerade masque and a crimson ruby red velvet hooded cloak. Also please note the small velvet pouch in the package, ruby's will be most beautiful with your raven hair.

Yours truly,

Count Lucien von Croix

        I of course went immediately to the velvet pouch, inside was the most beautiful diamond and ruby necklace with a matching hair pin and earrings! Then I tried on the entire outfit which was absolutely stunning. The most amazing thing was that everything fit perfectly. I could not wait for the big night and I was very curious now about the mysterious Count von Croix.The big night came and I was all ready to go right at 9 PM. There was a knock at the door which meant that my driver was here. I got into the carriage and he took me into town. We stopped off in front of a very old but elegant building, there was a store front sign that said: von Croix. The driver opened my door then pointed to a doorway and told me to go down the stairs.

        I got out and started heading down the very long stone spiraling staircase. The walls were blood red and felt like velvet. I finally made it to the bottom, there was a barkeeper behind a bar and people sitting around the bar. The whole place was lit entirely by candlelight/firelight (there were candelabras and chandeliers) and there was also a big stone fire place in the corner.

        Out of no where came an incredibly handsome man, tall with long black hair and the most incredible gold eyes. He came to me and said I am your host: Count Lucien von Croix (he was also the only one without a masque). I started to say I am Valentina but he finished saying my name - Saint Armonde, I know I have been a fan of yours for a while. I started to say oh really and to question him about this but at that moment he picks up my hand, brings it up to his lips and kisses it very softly. He says I am so pleased you could make it, you look absolutely stunning this evening.I told him thank you so much, thank you for everything.Then he says let me take you on a tour and he takes my arm in his. 

        We were standing in the main area in front of the bar and on the floor was a zebra skin rug. There were a few tables and chairs with people sitting at them. In a corner was a musical ensemble which consisted of a piano, violin and cello. No singer just music and the music was very nice. We kept on walking and I realized that this place was a lot bigger then I originally thought - it just seemed to sprawl on forever. After leaving the main area the rest of the basement was broken up into alcoves, the alcoves were surrounded by semi sheer fabric so there was a hint of privacy. One of the alcoves was larger and had pillows on the floor set around in a circle with several people sitting on the pillows all taking turns smoking a hookah. The other alcoves were smaller and more intimate with couples sitting on settees kissing. All of the alcoves either had oriental rugs or animal hides from many different types of animals on the floors.

        The Count led me to an empty alcove, then he left for a moment and came back with a couple of drinks. He then kisses me passionately, next he sweeps up all of my long dark hair off of my neck and he tells me he wants to be mine forever. At that moment I had a flash of the little black bat from the forest in my mind so I got up fast with both my mind and my heart racing. I ran to the back of the building, the Count says Valentina wait - I said no, I don't want to be immortal! Then I ran out the door and ended up in a hedge maze. I just kept going through it hoping i would find a way out but I ended up at a dead end with a large stone fountain in the middle and a stone bench surrounding it.

        Out of no where again there was the Count he says there is no sense in fighting it, so he proceeds to sweep my hair up and I just started to feel his fangs brush against my neck... at that moment I woke up with a start. I sat up and realized I was safe and sound in my large four poster canopy bed. I lit a candle on my bed side and thought to myself what a nightmare! Thank God that was just a dream, boy it sure seemed real. Hmmmm weird...all of a sudden I have this strange craving for a raw steak of all things and at this hour. The corner of my mouth felt damp so I opened up my night stand drawer and pulled out a handkerchief. I dabbed at the edge of my mouth and on my handkerchief was a small spot of fresh blood. I heard a little noise outside my window and my curtains were parted just a bit. I saw the out line of a small black bat and two golden glowing eyes!

Happy Valentines Day Everybody!

Meeting at the Crossroads

        In 1936 I was walking along an old country road in Mississippi. I finally made it to my destination - I was there for a meeting at the crossroads. At the time I was very pretty but I appeared as poor as a church mouse - it would seem to an outsider that the great depression was hitting me hard. I stood in my house dress and tattered hat in front of the tree at the crossroads.

        The afternoon was soon turning to dusk and I was wondering if "he" was going to come. I knew he would because the proposition was far to enticing to pass up. The next thing I know I see a man walking along one of the roads. He had on a dusty fedora and it appeared that he had been on the road for a while. Under his fedora he had hair as black as coal, it was curly like lambs wool and his skin was as dark as black coffee.

        He finally made it to the crossroads but he had a very puzzled expression on his face. He said to me; I am here to meet somebody mam have you seen anybody else here at this crossroads? I said no it's just me. I then introduced myself and said hello my name is Luci. Even though I knew his name I asked him anyway; and your name sir? Robert he replied, Robert Johnson. He was standing there with his guitar strapped to his back, he was facing me and had his back to the road he came in on.

        I said to Robert, I do believe you are here to see me and then I said that looks like a nice guitar you have there. Robert, said to me well thank you mam and then he says... I was expecting you to look a little bit different, I let out a small chuckle and said yes, I know most people think I am going to be a little red man with horns, tail and a pitch fork but that is all just a bunch of misleading hype. I then said to him ohhhh look at that sky behind you and I firmly put my hand on his shoulder (at the time I had long blood red pointy nails, it was kind of my trademark really. I had always worn them that way since the beginning of time). I spun him around to look at the sky, it was quite a sight. It was getting very dark out and the sky was turning blood red kind of like my finger nails.

        I reminded him of our "special" deal that we had discussed previously and I had a small blanket roll under my arm and I whipped it out and we sat down on it and we discussed our deal, I asked to see the guitar and I tuned it, then I proceeded to play a few tunes and then I returned the guitar to Robert giving him mastery of the instrument however I only needed one last thing, then I brought out an official document that I drew up on papyrus paper. I asked him are you ready for this and he said yes, so I took one of my blood red claws and punctured the end of his finger tip until there was several drops of bright red blood and I pulled out my fountain pen and dipped the tip into his blood and handed the pen over to him and told him to sign on the dotted line and so he did. Just before parting I pulled out my handkerchief and wrapped it around Robert's finger and he looked down for a moment at what he had done.

        In the blink of a eye I was no longer sitting on the blanket - he says, Luci? He looks around and hears a cawing noise and sees a giant raven up in the tree with the document in it's beak (Luci was a little bit of a shape shifter along with having many other talents) ...A couple of weeks later "Luci" is sitting in her penthouse suite in New York City listening to the radio. The radio announcer says this next song is a landmark recording from the great Delta Blues musician Robert Johnson.

        Within minutes there is a knock on Luci's office door and Luci says enter. We don't actually see Luci because she is sitting in her chair and her back is to the office door however we do see a pair of horns peeping up over the top of her chair and her blood red high heels up on her desk and we see her blood red nails lighting a cigar. She tosses us a couple of cigars and says let's celebrate boys, we have acquired yet another soul...Muahahaha!

Another Bonnie and Clyde Story

        Bobby Joe needed to get out and get a bit of fresh air so he decides to take a little drive. He has always been curious about a certain place and figured this would be the perfect day and time to check it out, even though he was not really expecting to see anything there. It was May 23, 2004 and it was the 70 year anniversary of Bonnie and Clyde's death. The location that Bobby Joe was headed was: Bienville Parish, Louisiana, which was the exact location of Bonnie and Clyde's death and was only about an hour and 15 min. from where he lived.

        Bobby Joe gets there and parks his car along side the road. He gets out and walks around. He has always been fascinated with the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Off in the distance he hears a vehicle that is headed in his direction. When the vehicle gets closer he can tell it is an older car. Because he is a classic car nut and a Bonnie and Clyde enthusiast he can even tell you what kind of car it is exactly: a 1934 Ford Four Door Deluxe Sedan Model 730, cream colored - this is the exact make & model as the car that Bonnie and Clyde died in. Instantly Bobby Joe felt a chill go down his spine, the car kept getting closer he noticed it was riddled with over 100 bullet holes. The Bonnie and Clyde car was shot with 130 bullets.

       Now the car was driving directly past him and he looked inside and this was what he saw: In the passenger side was a small, blond lady with an angel face and on the driver side was a man with a newsboy cap pulled down over his brow. They both had on 1930's clothing but the thing that got to Bobby Joe the most was the dead and vacant look in their eyes. Plus they were so pale they did not even seem real. He just could not shake off the chill that he felt even though it was about 80 degrees out. He kept wondering... was that the ghosts of Bonnie and Clyde or was this some kind of hoax?  Bobby Joe decided to stop off at a few businesses and ask around.

        He first went to a gas station and asked the attendant if somebody was doing a re-enactment or something? The gas attendant turned white and said no, every year on the anniversary of the death of Bonnie and Clyde somebody sees something like this for years now. After gassing up Bobby Joe went to a small cafe and asked the waitress what she knew and she proceeded to call out - "there has been another sighting folks!" I got the feeling that this was a common thing every year on this day and these people must gather at this cafe to have discussions about it. The waitress said yes at this cafe that is the topic and the theme for the day on May 23rd every year for years.

        She said it is apropos because the last place on earth that Bonnie and Clyde visited while alive was a cafe for breakfast, only it was Ma Canfield's Cafe which of course is not around any longer and was in Gibsland Louisiana... she then said that was at the beginning of their trip on that day. Down here at Bienville Parish was the end of the road for them...

Abigail's nightmare on Coney Island

        The year was 1904 and Dreamland Park was just built on Coney Island, just one year prior Luna Park opened and it featured over 250,000 electric lights and was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. In 1904 Abigail Thompson was 17 and she had never been to Coney Island but that was the year the Thompson family finally went there. 

        On a Saturday in the beginning of the month of May they decided to go in the late afternoon and stayed on through the night to see all of the spectacular lights at Luna Park. They all had a wonderful time walking on the boardwalk, eating carnival foods and riding the rides however nobody enjoyed it more then Abigail. She absolutely fell in love with Coney Island. Coney Island is also where she met Jonathan, who she thought was the most handsome young man on earth. He was also there with his family. Johnathan was 20 years old and he too was from a very wealthy family. Come to find out he only lived several blocks from Abigail. Abigail met him while waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel so they ended up riding on it together. Johnathan told Abigail he was going to be leaving with his family the day after tomorrow to go out of town for a holiday. He said he would be back in two weeks and wanted know if it would be alright to come over for a visit and of course Abigail said that would be splendid.

        When Abigail was growing up she was the youngest and had been protected from many things of the world. A lot of people would describe her as spoiled or pampered. She grew up in a very religious household and her family was very wealthy. Abigail was always a sweet and beautiful girl with pretty long blond hair. Her father Harold spent a lot of time away from home on business. Her mother Charlotte was at one time a school teacher but now her job was to home school Abigail Because of this Abigail or Abby was extremely smart but very innocent.

        By the time the next weekend rolled around Abby asked Charlotte a few times when they could go back to Coney Island? Charlotte said she did not know. The Thompson's had a house keeper Isabel Watson but everybody called her Izzy. Izzy's family was originally from Haiti but they immigrated to Brooklyn which was where Izzy was born.

        Izzy was tall thin and always wore a kerchief wrapped around her head. Izzy over heard Abby asking Charlotte about going back to Coney Island. Izzy was psychic and always had visions of this or that. She had a horrible vision about Miss Abby at Coney Island and she just knew if she went back something bad would happen. Izzy took Miss Charlotte aside and said whatever you do don't let Miss Abby go back to Coney Island because very bad things will happen. Charlotte asked her is she had a vision and Izzy said yes a very, very bad one. Charlotte promised not to let Abby go back there. When Abby asks again she is told no and is forbidden to go back, Charlotte tells her that she has heard that a bunch of seedy carny types were starting to take over and it could be dangerous.

        Abby could not stop thinking about Coney Island and was trying to think of a way to get there again. Because she was home schooled she did not have many friends however she did have one friend named Clara that just lived down the street. One day Abby was picking flowers and she came back in the house. She told her ma that Clara was out walking her dog and invited her over the next day. Charlotte said that's lovely dear what time will you be going over there and Abby said at 1:30 pm.

        The next day Abby was putting on one of her favorite dresses. She was really getting ready to sneak off to Coney Island instead of Clara's. Soon it was almost 1:30 and Abby goes downstairs to say goodbye to her ma. Abby boards the trolley and ends up at Coney Island. Shortly after Abby leaves Izzy gets on a trolley and heads for Brooklyn to go home for the day for a visit. The whole time she is away visiting she keeps on getting this horrible feeling that something is up with Abby but she can't quite put her finger on it because she knows Clara and her family are good people. Abby is strolling about on the board walks, taking in the carnival atmosphere and doing all the fun things. She has lost complete track of time. By now it is quite late in the afternoon. All of a sudden a young man a couple years older then her gets her attention.

        He had on a black derby hat, a black suit and he has a walking stick in his hand and his face is painted to look like a mime. She assumes he works there and that she can trust him. He says oh miss I need help, my puppy has been caught on something under this pier, oh please help me to get her loose. Abby agrees to help the young man. She follows him under the Pier, she looks around and does not see a puppy but she does see two other young men that look just like the first one, the same attire with face paint and all however the original young man was the only one with a walking stick.

        One of the guys pushes her down, while the other one gets on top of her. Abby starts to scream but there is a roller coaster close to the pier so her screams just blend in with the ones from the roller coaster. The guy that pushes her down yells at her to stop screaming and shoves his glove down her mouth, the guy that is on top of her starts to rip at her clothing. The original guy with the walking stick can see that is friend is getting tired of her thrashing about about so he hits her on top of the head with his walking stick. The young men defile her in the worst possible ways. About three hours later Abby wakes up and she has a splitting head ache. She spits the glove out of her mouth and sticks it in her purse. Her dress is tattered and torn. She has scratches all over her body. She touches her head where she was hit and it is sticky with half dried blood.

        She gets up off the ground but she is a little unsteady on her feet so she sits for several moments on a large rock, she was in a little bit of a daze. She starts to slowly remember one young men knocked her down on the ground while another one teared at her clothing and the other one hitting her on the head, she remembers everything going black after that. She looked around in great fear thinking one of them may still be lurking about however thankfully she did not see anybody. By now literally hours have gone by since she first arrived at Coney Island. She knows that her ma must be worried so she gets up off of the rock and heads to the trolley car to get home. In the mean time Izzy has a flash of her previous vision and gets back to the Thompson's house as soon as she can, when she arrives back home she walks in the door and Charlotte shrieks at her: ABBY IS GONE! So she tells Izzy to get down to Clara's (Izzy knows she is not at Clara's but she knows better then to question Miss Charlotte when she is this upset). Clara says she had not seen Abby for a while and there was no plan for her to come over that day. Izzy comes back to the Thompson house and relays the information to Charlotte. In the mean time as Abby is heading home she starts to cry after she realizes just exactly what has happened to her. She now has dirty brown streaks running down her face from the tears mixed with the dirt and the dust. She gets home and her ma is at the door wringing her hands with worry.

        Her ma takes one look at her and says you went didn't you? Even after I told you not to you went to Coney Island anyways. Abby starts crying again and says yes ma I did. Her ma says why did you disobey me? Abby says I don't know. Charlotte runs a very hot bath and makes Abby get into it - it is so hot it burns her skin and she can hardly stand it.

Charlotte then goes and tells Izzy that she needs to pack tonight then to take the trolley car back to her family Brooklyn in the morning. She says I am not mad at you at all Izzy but you do not have a job here any longer. Charlotte did not want anybody around that knew what happened. Her son was away at at college, the oldest daughter was staying over at her cousins house and Harold was out of town on business. Izzy goes and packs.

        Then Charlotte grabs a scrub bush and goes to tend to Abby. Abby is crying profusely and keeps saying I am so sorry ma. Charlotte says there, there child we will not speak a word of this to anybody. Only you and I will know about this, if nobody else knows then it is just like it never happened. Charlotte takes the scrub brush and starts to scrub away very harshly on Abby's poor delicate skin that has already been pummeled and scratched. Abby says ma you are hurting me please stop and starts crying even harder. Charlotte just ignores her and continues to scrub just about every inch of skin, rinses her off and then dries her with a towel. Abby's skin is bright red, very raw and feels like it is on fire.

        The next day Charlotte got Izzy and all of her belongings on the trolley headed to Brooklyn. Abby stayed all day in bed. Charlotte brought her meals to her on a tray. The next day Charlotte had Abby get dressed, Abby just felt numb. In the mean time Charlotte put an ad in the paper for a new house keeper and in a couple of days they found a new one. Her name was Ms. Arthingale she was about 60 years old and was a widow. Ms. Arthingale and Abby made an immediate connection because of this Ms. Arthingale was very good to Abby and was instrumental in getting her back to health.

        Several days after Ms. Arthingale started working at the Thompson's a visitor came to the house. It was Johnathan he of course came to visit Abby. Abby was so excited because it was something to brighten the grey in her days. They sat in the parlor while Ms. Arthingale served them tea and cookies. Johnathan stayed for about an hour and a half. He promised Abby he would come to visit next week.

        The next week came and Johnathan came to visit and stayed for almost two hours then he promised Abby he would come to visit again. This happened a couple more times. Johnathan told Abby he wanted to court her and said that he wanted to ask her parents for permission. Abby was so happy she could not contain herself as she went to go get her mom and dad. She brought them to the parlor so Johnathan could ask his question.

        After he asked Charlotte looked quite dismayed while Harold looked very pleased. He could tell Charlotte was not happy so he told the young man that he would have an answer in three days and for him to come back then. Abby told Johnathan goodbye at the door, when he left she looked forlorn and confused because of the expression on her ma's face. Harold told Charlotte to come with him to his study so they could have a discussion. Harold closed the door and says to Charlotte you obviously have something against Johnathan, so why do you look so displeased with the idea of them courting? Charlotte says she is the youngest daughter her job is to take care of us when we get old. She says if they start courting it will soon lead to an engagement and then she will get married and leave us! Harold says but she will not be going far because Johnathan's family is having a big huge house built just for him right at the end of this block.

        Harold then tells Charlotte she is being selfish. Johnathan is from a good family, with an excellent upbringing and he works for his dad's very successful business which he will eventually inherit. He is a good looking young man and you can tell Abigail really likes him because her face lights up every time she sees the boy. Then Harold says think of the beautiful grandchildren that we will have. Harold says it has been decided, Abby can court Johnathan! Charlotte looked very displeased but there was nothing she could do or say because once Harold makes a decision it is final. Harold calls out to Abby to come to him. When she does he says to her I have most excellent news; you and Johnathan are allowed to court. Then he says you also have my blessing if he decides he wants to marry you! Oh, daddy thank you says Abby. Three days later Johnathan comes back and Ms. Arthingale escorts him to the parlor. Harold makes the announcement to him and Abby.

        By the end of summer Johnathan had an engagement ring for Abby. Charlotte takes Abby aside and tells her that she does not think it is a good idea to marry Johnathan but Abby reminds her that daddy already has given his blessing. So they planned on getting married on June 20th 1905. Soon wedding plans were underway. Ms. Arthingale stepped up to the plate as the wedding coordinator since it was obvious Charlotte was not going to do so.

        Finally the big wedding day came, they had an early evening wedding at the church that the Thompson's had attended for years. Over 100 guests came. After the wedding they had a big dinner celebration. The big house that was being built was finally just finished and was a wedding gift from his parents. This would be their first night in the house and then they would be leaving for a honeymoon in Paris in the morning.

        Because Abby had been so sheltered and innocent her whole life nobody ever took her aside to tell her what happens on the wedding night so she was in for a big shock. The whole time they courted and were engaged there was somebody always around or within the vicinity. So they never got beyond holding hands and a peck on the lips. Once the night finally approached and she found out that what happens is the same thing that happened that awful night at Coney Island Abby started crying and shaking. Poor Johnathan asked Abby what was wrong and all she could hear in the back of her head was her ma saying don't ever say a word to anybody. It only made her cry harder so she just ran out of the house with her nightgown and slippers on. She ran all the way home where Charlotte was waiting for her at the door, she wiped Abby's tears and said to her I told you not to marry him.

Saint or Sinner

        It was late and I was walking across a beautiful old bridge that was built in the 1930's. The fog was just starting to roll in. I saw her ahead walking towards me. She looked liked like a gumshoe that just stepped out of a 1940's film noir movie. She was wearing a gun metal colored trench coat that was belted around her slim waist, she had on a charcoal grey fedora perched jauntily over one eye. Half of her face was hidden by her long shiny Veronica Lake hairstyle - the rest of her face was hidden in shadows.We walked past one another on the bridge, she had a knowing look on her face and gave me a slight nod. I of course nodded back we did not say a word to one another. I stopped on the bridge for a moment while she kept walking, I saw her seemed stockings and her heels. She looked like she came in off of a time machine. The only sound I heard was the sound of a lighter and then I saw a large smoke ring floating above her head. I thought to myself is she a saint or a sinner? I turned my head and proceeded walking...that was not for me to know.

I have a series of short stories to share, some are whimsical, some are sinister and most are just kind of strange, they are all written by me. With the more sinister stories I had to dig deep into the shadows of the human psyche to exploit and to come to terms with the fears that some of us may have from time to time...I hope you enjoy my collection of stories.

I am currently in the process of moving over all of my short stories over to my new blog: ART DECO GIRLS LIBRARY. This blog will just be devoted to my vintage short stories and my other blog: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ART DECO GIRL will be all about the vintage lifestyle and vintage pinup modeling. Please bear with my while I go through a little bit of remodeling & housekeeping but once it is done things will be much more fabulous.

ENJOY