Halloween Haunts: The Masque of the Red Horde by Gene O’Neill
Dim light spilling through a red-stained Gothic window cast a ghastly pall over a heavily shadowed long hall. At the center of the room, bathed in the bloody illumination, a naked woman lay down on a black velvet covered dais, her ritual complete except for the final oral incantation. As she finished murmuring the last of the ancient spell, a phantasm suddenly appeared from the shadows. The tall, gaunt figure, cloaked in a black shroud, features hidden by a corpse-like mask, moved effortlessly to her side, accompanied by a chilling draft. Without a word, the masked specter bent over the…
