Horror Addicts' 'Manor of Frights' anthology is now available on Audible, a wonderful anthology about a spooky old Victorian house with many horrifying secrets and dark twisted tales to tell over time. I really enjoyed this project as it felt to me like a house was built by several authors and editor. It was unique to be part of a project that was choir of voices working together to fill the history of a single place.
To celebrate the release, here's an excerpt from it.
Excerpt from my short story, ‘Beyond the Ensuite’. A man who stays in one of the Manor’s rooms, in the 1970s, discovers his ensuite bathroom has an entry to a secret bathhouse. But it turns out his room isn’t the only one that leads to it.
For Audible link, please go to: Manor of Frights – Audible
HorrorAddicts.net Presents:
Manor of Frights
Imagine a Victorian house where every room is cursed with a frightful existence. Are monsters in the halls? Ghosts left to fester in the library? Or are the rooms themselves enchanted with malevolent energy? What was summoned long ago and what doorways were left open? Manor of Frights is a collection of tales all set in different rooms of the same house.
With authors: Judith Pancoast, Daphne Strasert, Loren Rhoads, Mark Orr, Michael Fassbender, R.L. Merrill, Sumiko Saulson, Ollie Fox, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Rosetta Yorke, Amanda Leslie, Lesley Warren, BF Vega, DW Milton, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jason Fischer, and Emerian Rich.
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An excerpt from Manor of Frights
'Beyond the Ensuite' by Barend Nieuwstraten III
The Ensuite Bathroom, 1973
Kenneth thought it strange he’d been given a room with a double bed, staying in the manor alone. He’d said as much, and they’d directed him to his specific wing as if according to his uncoupled status. He took a moment to look out onto the grounds from his window. Some time spent out of the city was precisely what he needed. Just the sight of all that green on the drive over had seemed to wash months of stress from him. And yet, there was something unsettling about the wide-open spaces. As crushingly crowded city life was, it was comforting to know anything you needed was only a short walk away. However, the manor hotel was full of staff. Presumably staff who would respond to whatever needs he voiced. As he thought about food, he looked to his hands, having gripped the steering wheel of a rental car for hours. He caught sight of the open door to the ensuite bathroom.
Kenneth washed his hands in the small space, impressed at the pair of faucets. Two silver-plated statuettes of scantily clad women—each exposing a breast from their slipping togas—poured water from a large jug they straddled, near as big as themselves. He smiled, amused at himself for looking to the hot tap’s maiden whose chipping silver had exposed a brass breast beneath. It seemed like she was giving away a little more than the other. It almost made him feel guilty for strictly using the cold, but it was either that or fill the vintage sink like a hand bath. While he admired the antique décor, he wasn’t convinced he wanted to wash his hands like some Victorian gentleman might have when the manor was originally built. Nor did he wish to alternate his hands between separate flows of scolding-hot and icy-cold in an attempt to juggle a warmish medium.
The silver lining on the small mirror above the sink had long since oxidized, leaving a dull, matte caramel blotch with branching green veins consuming most of the previously reflective surface. It left only shards and fragments of proper mirror to check his face a few inches at a time around the edges, of the elegant, erotic filigree frame. Had the original inhabitants been secretly swingers, back during a far more conservative time?
Lifting a hand towel from the chipping silver ring by the sink, he dried his hands as he looked about the small bathroom. The shower was like a tube, a small round space with just enough room in which to stand. It seemed weird to have one end of the tiny bathroom curved so. Beside it, there was an old narrow door, opposite the one connecting to the bedroom. Painted white with the same blue patterns as the rest of the walls, it was well camouflaged. Only its ridges and small flowery knob gave it away.
Curious, he turned the handle and felt a little breeze as it creaked open. It was dark inside, so he patted himself down for his lighter. Before he found anything on his person, his eyes wandered to the bronze shelf beneath the mirror where an assortment of accessories made of silver and crystal sat. A perfume dispenser with a pump, a shaving brush and bowl, and amongst the rest, an old fashioned lighter. He took it and pressed down upon the small pedal. It produced a narrow flame.
Holding the lighter out into the dark, he saw a spiral staircase coiling around behind the shower, following the curvature of that section of the bathroom wall. The steps and framework were made of wrought iron that jangled when he stepped upon them. Surprisingly steep, it took him by surprise. With a firm grip of the provided railing, he made his way down. Each step shook the framework, worrying him that it might dislodge. The framework squeaked as it seemed to struggle to take weight.
Trickling, rippling water echoed from somewhere down below. Evermore curious, Kenneth made his way down carefully, trying to avoid rattling the framework about him. He stepped into a medium sized room of pale blue—almost white—walls and columns. It appeared to be a bathhouse, barely illuminated by long narrow windows frosted to blur the tree line and manor grounds outside. There were three other doors that—upon turning back to see the way he entered—were identical to the one he’d used. All of them likely leading from similar ensuites. The bathhouse seemed all but forgotten by time, preserved yet dusty. In the center, a great round tiered bath was built into the floor, big enough for several guests. At the edge of the bathing pool, a woman in a bathrobe looked up and smiled at him. She sat with her feet gently kicking in the cloudy water.
“And here I thought I was clever for finding this secret chamber,” she said, smiling.
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To read more, go to: Manor of Frights
For Audible link, go to Manor of Frights – Audible
(Special Thanks to Rosetta Yorke Author with whom I've shared several anthological adventures over the years and who very kindly shared this on her own blog)
There's also the original audio play Horror Addicts released on their site that features in their episode #223 podcast which you can listen to HERE:
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