There
is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the
dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable
mystery.
Joseph
Conrad
Happy Halloween!
Yes, it’s that time of the
year again, Halloween. At least for those of us who celebrate it
it’s a time of ghosts and goblins, tricks or treats. I know many of you don’t and are glad you
don’t. But, please indulge me. This is one of my favorite holidays. (Although, contrary to rumors put out by
Significant Other and certain relatives, I did not go trick or treating in
high school.)
Real Life (RL) permits us
some liberties and safe scares during Halloween. But, recently, thanks to a recommendation
from Lisah
Lorefield, my good friend in Second Life (SL), I had a chance to
visit a sim inworld where horror and terror are unleashed. (Warning, those easily frightened should go
read some of my other stories.)
SL always gives us something
fun to do at this time of the year. I
blogged a short while back about Perryn
Peterson’s event around gacha and
last year’s story
about the goings on at Tribute City which show the originality and diversity of
Halloween celebrations inworld. Not to
mention, demonstrating a certain cosmopolitan and restrained view.
Well, where Lisah sent me
throws restraint to the winds and attempts to scare the living whatever out of
anyone game enough to go in. (And here I
thought Lisah liked me.) Let me tell you
my story…
I visit Lisah’s
recommendation at Veil
of Darkness and upon arriving immediately have the sense
that something is different here. I feel
and hear a world that is scary. (Don’t
believe Significant Other here, I don’t scare that easily.) A lonely pathway
goes into woods that are not too inviting.
But I enter because that’s what we always do in B-movies and SL.
I notice too as I go in that
others rezz in (always a good sign) and that some of them are carrying weapons
(never a good sign).
The woods hang over me and
strange sounds give the sense that there is something or someone just over in
the shadows. A kneeling, young woman is
impaled into the ground by a two handed sword reminiscent of those used by the Landsknechte during
the Thirty Years War. (I really hope
that my readers appreciate what risks I take to get these stories. OK, yes, the physical risk is minimal but the
psychological…) And all this is within
the first few steps!
Anyway, I continue along the
fog wrapped path and follow a signpost to a village. Or, more aptly, what was once a village. It’s deserted. Bodies lie everywhere. (If you’ve ever seen parts of Brooklyn after
a particularly good Saturday night then you’ll know what I mean.) Buildings have been gutted and their
inhabitants’ guts (Sorry for the pun, I couldn’t resist.) lie everywhere.
As I exit a desecrated church (What
else would you call one that’s been sacked and has a mummified corpse sitting
in it?) zombies begin to approach
me. (What’s with zombies? A few years ago, vampires were all the rage,
now these guys.)
Beating a hasty retreat across a
haunted cemetery, I come across a rickety pier with an even ricketier raft that
has a sign announcing a swamp raft tour.
What do I have to lose? I’m doing nothing else at the moment and I’m
being pursued by zombies. Besides, I’ve always enjoyed boat tours.
I hop on, push off, and I’m on my
way. The raft takes me through a river
which runs through the sim. I get to
see, from a nice, safe, very safe distance, all the fun ‘n frolic the creators
have unleashed here.
By land, sea, and air, I see
horrors. HP Lovecraft would be amused.
My core beliefs are attacked when I see Mickey Mouse trapped in an
enormous spider’s web with guess who coming to dinner. Elsewhere, Bambi is threatened. Nothing, religion, Disney, nothing is safe or
sacred here.
Bodies float in the water, lie on the
riverbanks, or hobble along undead.
Water boas swim by. Creatures from Dante’s Inferno haunt the
shadows. Are you getting the idea
here? I can’t even ask for my money back
because this is free!
Then there’s the sounds. Even when I close my eyes or turn away, they
fill my mind. There is no escape. (Yes, I could exit and turn off the computer
but what would this story look like then?)
The raft returns to the poor excuse
for a dock and unceremoniously dunks me in the water. (Next time I’m booking
through Orbitz.) I get back on land and cross over the river
on a tumble down covered bridge. (It
might be easier and more succinct if you just assume everything’s a wreck and I
let you know when things get better.)
Walking inland past the spiders and
other assorted baddies I come across yet another signpost pointing the way to a
castle. I follow along. Let’s see how the better half live.
Through spider webs, assorted ghouls
and goblins, more zombies (BTW, forget about calling 911 for the police if you
get into trouble.) I find the guest book
along the way. (Over two hundred so far
have signed in.) I also find the
nursery. (Don’t ask.)
Climbing stone steps long given to
disrepair and after accidentally crucifying myself, (Trust me, it could happen
to anyone.) I stand on top of a
mountain looking across at the most impressive castle that I’ve ever seen in
SL. The view alone is worth the trip.
Gathering up what’s left of my nerve,
and it’s not a lot, I make my way over to the causeway leading to the castle’s
main gate which has Dante’s famous quotation emblazoned across its top,
“Abandon all hope all ye who enter here!”
(I’ve got news for the creators, they’d scared any hope out of me a long
time ago.)
Somewhere in this castle is some sort
of goal or prize which I never obtain. I
meet others wandering about. This is a
great place for a dungeon crawl, literally.
RL requires that I leave, I don’t know
how long I would have needed to find the end of the quest. (Significant Other doubts I’d live that
long.) But, at least I know I tried.
I must confess that when I first heard
of Veil of Darkness I wasn’t aware of the creative team behind it. I later found that this was part of a family
of astouding sims belonging to Calas Galadhon. SL residents, Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, are
the creative duo behind these sites.
Many visitors whom I met during my visit referred me their other
work. I’ll blog about them and their
work in subsequent posts.
I strongly recommend Veil of Darkness
to all who are looking for a little thrill during the Halloween season. Be
warned, this isn’t for the faint of heart.
Veil of Darkness is serious stuff.
Visual and auditory effects are very good and contribute to a heavy,
somber atmospheric effect. The sim
interacts with its guests but doesn’t impede them like some sims guardians
do.
Have fun and are you brave enough to
visit it in the dark?
I’ve included
a few pictures from my visit to Veil of Darkness. I’ve deliberately avoided some of the horrors
so you could go see these for yourselves.
Don’t take my word for it, go, see, and believe.
I’d like
to thank Lisah Lorefield for referring me to Veil of Darkness. (I still think she was a little surprised
when I returned.)
As always, I’m grateful to
all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who
was passing through their lives. (Including
the undead!)
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo No. 1 Entrance at LZ
Photo No. 2 Into
the Woods
Photo No. 3 Somebody
Who Didn’t Make It
Photo No. 4 Signpost
Photo No. 5 Village
Photo No. 11 Staircase
to Castle
Photo No. 12 The
Castle
Photo No. 13 Approach
to Castle
Photo No. 14 View
from Castle
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