The Centennial Slaughter at Blackthorn Manor

The Centennial Slaughter at Blackthorn Manor

Setting the Stage
In the fog-drenched town of Hollowbrook, the crumbling Blackthorn Manor stood as a monument to despair. Built in 1723 by the reclusive Lord Elias Blackthorn, the mansion became a site of unspeakable rituals after he joined a cult worshipping an “Eater of Souls.” Locals whispered that every century, at the stroke of midnight, the entity he summoned would rise—starving, eternal, and hungry for the living.

The Strangers

1. Mara, a jaded journalist, sought to debunk the manor’s myths for her true-crime podcast. Her cynicism masked a fear of vulnerability—her recent divorce had left her hollow.
2. Dante, a street racer with a death wish, had bet his friends he’d spend the night inside. His recklessness hid guilt over a friend’s death caused by his reckless driving.
3. Eleanor, an elderly seamstress, had received a letter from her late grandmother, instructing her to “seal the wound” at Blackthorn on the 100th anniversary. She alone knew the truth: the cult’s rituals had torn a hole in the veil between worlds, and the Eater needed three souls to sate it.

The Gathering
At 11:45 PM, the trio met at the manor’s rusted gates. Mara scoffed at Eleanor’s warnings about “old magic,” while Dante taunted them both, his laughter echoing through the empty streets. Inside, the air thickened with the scent of decay. Flickering flashlights revealed peeling wallpaper, iron shackles in the study, and a grand clock frozen at midnight.

Midnight’s Toll
As the clock’s hands aligned, the temperature plummeted. Shadows slithered like serpents, and a low, guttural hum vibrated in their bones. The Eater of Souls had awakened.

• First Death: Dante
  The group split to explore. Dante, eager to prove his bravery, ventured into the wine cellar. There, he found a mural of the Eater—a faceless figure with a maw of jagged teeth. Suddenly, the walls bled. Dante fled, but the stairway vanished. The Eater materialized, its voice a chorus of dying men. “You left one to die. Now you will be left.” Dante’s screams echoed until dawn revealed his body, suspended in the cellar, veins etched like cracked porcelain.
• Second Death: Mara
  Mara and Eleanor hid in the library, but the Eater toyed with them. It conjured illusions—Mara’s ex-husband, taunting her; her infant daughter, long lost to addiction. When Mara lunged at the phantoms, Eleanor pleaded, “It feeds on fear!” But Mara’s resolve crumbled. The Eater emerged, whispering, “You are nothing without truth.” A mirror cracked, reflecting Mara’s face as it melted into shadow. Her corpse was found clutching a torn photo of her daughter, eyes wide with the horror she’d denied for years.
• Final Hour: Eleanor
  Alone, Eleanor deciphered her grandmother’s journal. The Eater wasn’t just a monster—it was a wound, a prison for a spirit that had no form. To “seal it” required a sacrifice. But as she reached the clock tower, the Eater awaited, its form shifting through the faces of Blackthorn’s victims. “You came to fix what was broken. But you are the thread.” Eleanor resisted, sewing a sigil in its path with a needle dipped in her blood—but the Eater consumed her offering, weaving her life force into its prison. Her body collapsed, hands still clutching the needle, as the clock reset to 12:00.

Dawn’s Silence
By 6 AM, the manor was still. The Eater, sated, dissolved into the walls, its dormancy extended for another century. The townsfolk found the three bodies at dawn, unaware their sacrifice had been in vain—the Eater’s power now pulsed through the building, stronger than before.

Epilogue
In the year 2123, a new generation will receive letters, dreams, and debts to settle. And Blackthorn Manor will hunger again.