It was the day of the party And Heinemann Usher was to celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His dining table was set with a rather extravagant bounty of exotic dishes
An Account of Herself
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'Insanity' One would normally think of said term as a sense of delirium, lunacy and even dementia, however, the story you hold in your hands is of insanity, but this insanity is a type of which you could not have possibly imagined. As this insanity, unlike most others, does not delve into the mind, it delves into things we use everyday. Something you would not expect to turn on you; something that seems to have no power, but oh-how you will be surprised.
During the whole of a dull, dark and soundless day in the Autumn of the year, when the clouds hung back and oppressively low in the heavens, she was passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country. At length she found herself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.
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It was the day of the party And Heinemann Usher was to celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His dining table was set with a rather extravagant bounty of exotic dishes. As all of his parties were exactly the same in the past, he thought he'd have a slight change to theme this year. However this had angered his wife, who some believed to delve into witchcraft, she hated change, also at that moment in time; she hated her husband.
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Jane Grey had recently purchased a new house. She loved the countryside, as did many; the city's were feculent places, miners and chimneysweeps roamed the streets and Queen Victoria made no effort to change this.
Her new home once belonged to the family Usher. There had been no residents for the past twelve years; Jane had hardly gone halfway up her new driveway when she noticed that the estate agent was in the house to welcome her. Jane thought it strange that as soon as she saw the estate agent, she threw shut the curtain she was hiding behind. Also Jane was bewildered by the woman as she dared not show her face; Jane was just guessing that it was the estate agent.
Jane went up to the door and unlocked it that was aberrant as she had the only key to the house.
"Hello?" Jane called; she finally decided that the curious estate agent must be shy, and went upstairs to meet the bizarre woman.
Jane took a single step up the debilitated, her foot was about to touch the next step when, for a sharp, stabbing split second, the contrast of the dank room changed to a very bright white, she was looking at her hands, which were in front of her, trying to guide her. The room was bright white but her hands were as black as ash. However, this wasn't the main thing that alarmed Jane. There ...
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"Hello?" Jane called; she finally decided that the curious estate agent must be shy, and went upstairs to meet the bizarre woman.
Jane took a single step up the debilitated, her foot was about to touch the next step when, for a sharp, stabbing split second, the contrast of the dank room changed to a very bright white, she was looking at her hands, which were in front of her, trying to guide her. The room was bright white but her hands were as black as ash. However, this wasn't the main thing that alarmed Jane. There was a figure at the top of the stairs, the figure was not human, but it did have a head and a body; no arms, no legs-its grotesque body was no more than a deformed sphere with an oval for a head. The thing's eyes were just plain white, it had no nose and its mouth was stitched up, it was no taller than a metre. Jane backed away down the stairs; she was confused about three things. Why it happened, how she could remember all of its features and lastly why could she recognise it as something she had seen before
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It was half past eight and the party was nearly at an end. Heinemann had just waltzed with the very ravishing Mrs Regress. He was pondering on his wife's whereabouts. He had seen her walk through the main ballroom earlier, she went to the basement.
Suddenly Heinemann heard an ear piercing screech-it came from the basement, Heinemann instantly knew that it was his wife but he also knew it wasn't her scream. Heinemann, along with hundreds of guests strode towards the basement, Heinemann's throat was as dry as parchment, he knew his wife wasn't normal, in fact he knew his wife was without a doubt, the most aberrant person on the planet. She was a being known only to some as a shaman, she was a user of black magic and she used it to manipulate bodily functions like movement and sight, Heinemann had seen her reading a book about it
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Jane was sitting in her new dining room; it was about the same size as her old, unreduced flat, she was sitting on the floor, in the middle of the room, which was completely empty. The van with her belongings had gotten lost and was arriving the next day, Jane started to sniff the air, an abnormal, strange even grotesque smell was drifting around the room, Jane was alarmed, she picked up the two kitchen knives which were resting by her side, the smell wasn't a 'normal' smell either, it was the sort of smell one would recognise from hospitals, poor countries and wars, it was the smell of rotting flesh, the smell of death.
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Heinemann slammed shut the oak door, his wife was at the foot of the stairs, he knew she had been practicing her magic as her book was with her. What disappointed Heinemann was that his wife was lying dead on the floor.
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After a long while, Jane had decided that she was going to stay in the house, whatever it was that did not approve of her being there was to be faced by Jane's almighty full force- a few kitchen knives. She knew she hadn't much hope of survival but at least she was going to go out kicking. She bolted to the door, two kitchen knives in one hand; she put her hand on the knob, a sharp, ear-splitting shriek, a higher pitch of that of a bats squeak, erupted from the aged walls causing plaster to crash down on the well-trodden floor. Jane fell to the ground dropping her knives, she was left, vulnerable to attack.
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Heinemann looked around the basement for clues on which on which spell his wife had cast and how it could have, so violently, slaughtered her. Heinemann put his hand on his wife' book, the rooms colour contrast went from ash black to bright white and for a split second he saw an inhuman figure in the corner. Immediately he knew what spell his wife had had cast. It was called the five senses and it unleashed an invisible being called the sense master. He would then take the form of a certain person from the future, past or present, he would then unleash his five devastating minions, Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch and taste. These five minions threw their painful powers on humans to turn them insane, Smell, Hearing, Touch and taste were all invisible but sight was visible when he unleashed his power on humans.
Suddenly Heinemann heard lots of wailing and shrieking, something also smelt a lot, his whole house and all of its guests, resident and servants were under his wife' horrifying spell.
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Jane had finally gotten up from the hard mahogany flooring; she was scanning the room for danger. In the corner she saw a book; it was unclean, aged and worn. Jane walked over to the corner and opened the book, a note slipped out of the crumbling pages; the note read 'HELP' in big bold letters. She pondered worryingly over the pages where the note had fallen out, after a while she had realised that it was a book of spells. Jane wondered why any sort of suspicious character would want a book of spells. Jane wasn't the sort to believe in anything out of the ordinary but after what she had seen today she now was also one not to doubt. The spell she had seen the note slip from was cal 'The five senses' and it fitted all the effects of Jane's problems on that very insane day. All Jane had to do to fix it all was to locate somebody called 'The sense master', who would be where the spell was cast, and kill him or her.
Jane also read that the sense master resembled a certain person and if you resemble him or her or vice versa only you can see it or kill it, so in other words if this melancholy sounding creature did resemble Jane , she would be fighting herself.
Jane slowly stood up and noticed that where she found the aged book, there was a trapdoor going down to a basement, she decided this was to be her first place to look for the horrific creature. She opened the oak door and started to trudge down the gnarled stairs, the banister resembled a tree branch with random twigs sticking out of it and these twigs looked like arthritic fingers, Jane's whole family died of arthritis this made her drive on, determined, suddenly an invisible force thrust her down the stairs with great propulsion, she fell to the bottom and then darkness.
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Heinemann charged up the stairs with the spell book in his hand; he shut the basement door and threw the book over it; his whole house smelt of death, deafening noises were erupting from his now crumbling wall. There were blinding flashing lights everywhere; nearly everybody had vanished from the baron wasteland of a room, he had to get his home evacuated. He had to leave. Right there, Right then!
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Jane picked herself up off the floor and realised that one of the senses pushed her; touch. Jane actually laughed to herself and she rapidly muttered to herself "yes I know what you are now!"
Jane stared around the room, there was obviously somebody else there and she could hear their breathing.
"Sense master come out now!" Jane bellowed, she then thought about it a bit more logically as there was no answer. Jane, more smoothly this time, whispered "Jane come out now" a figure stepped out from behind the shadows of a cold stone wall. It was Jane!
Jane stared her replica in the face, she slowly pulled out a kitchen knife, so did her replica, Jane fiercely put it behind her back, so did the replica, it seemed like Jane was staring right into a mirror, but these two movements gave Jane enough knowledge of the sense master to know how to kill it. She typed a quick sentence into her pager and then hit send. Jane wasn't even surprised when the sense master did the same, it wouldn't matter the ambulance wouldn't rescue the dead body of the sense master, they wouldn't be able to see it.
As quick as a flash, Jane thrust her rusty, sharp kitchen knife into her own gut, the replica did the same, Jane knew that the only way to kill the devastating creature was to kill herself; it was the only way, suicide.
Sirens wailed outside the House of Usher. A girls body was being taken to hospital, not two bodies but one, she was going to make it and live
