Story 1: Plaster Man Origin

In the hills of Nikle, (I won’t tell you the country to keep you safe) there is a legend of the old man with the glowing, plastered face. The legend goes like this: A man who was living in the hills, just outside of a town that never even knew they existed, owned a house and had a wife of 45 years of age and child of 10. The man was obsessed with plaster creations. Spending most of his time in the barn nearby, small, muffled screams escaped there, but neither the mother nor child dared go near. For they were scared of what they might find. The screams continued through nights and often left the family sleep deprived. While the mother and child were contempt on staying away, they grew tired of the constant screaming and loud noises. The man only came inside for food and to use the bathroom. He never talked since his obsession started. The mother and child noticed the man was coming inside less and less. They both came to an agreement to see him that night. When night finally fell they finally grabbed their kerosine lantern and set foot outside, giving a small sigh at the fear they felt as soon as they left. It was dark and thundering, but lightning nor rain were anywhere to be found. They made it to the barn and opened the door with a crack. The inside was lit up with candles spread all around the barn, but just out of reach of the wood and hay. They found the man, dressed in casual farmer overalls, sitting in the middle of a circle, holding his hands over his face, slowly sobbing. The mother and child noticed the star inside the circle. It was made of what looked like mud and blood. The man heard them enter and stood up instantly, his hands still on his face. He turned slowly towards them until he was almost face to face, but concealing himself still. Slowly he removed his hand from his face to reveal a plaster face, glowing white. The face was wrinkled in spots to resemble real-life age, but they were exaggerated. The plaster man had an exaggerated grin along his face, reaching to both ends with a set of sharp, blood-soaked teeth showing as if it were a prize. The eyes were sunk so far in, that it seemed to the mother that all was there was darkness with almost floating lights in the very middle of the sockets. When he noticed them staring at his face with fright and disgust, they lights glowed red as if it were mad, but did not show it in any other way. The man started to blur and the mother and child started to hear a ringing in their ears, at first soft, but growing in volume until they covered their ears and passed out. The man was staring at them the entire time, not blinking or moving, other than his head. Just as they were about to pass out completely, the ringing stopped. The mother and child, still having their ears clenched as hard they could with their eyes squeezed shut to keep out the sound. They soon realized that the sound stopped and they both rose with blood slowly pouring out of their noses. The man was gone and the candles were gone as well, but they could moaning in the distance. It was silent, almost a buzzing. The mother and child, still horrified, sprinted back towards the house, never looking behind them, not even for a second. The both made it into the house and locked it down as soon as they got in. They both went to bed, but the mother insisted that the child slept with her, but he declined responding with “I’m not afraid, I’m a man!” At this, the mother sighed because she was already exhausted from the day and just fell in bed and blacked out as soon as she hit the bed. On the way up to the bed, scratches were heard against a door, but she blocked them out. In the morning, the mother walked to her child’s room. The child was not there, but she could hear moaning coming from outside, but it was closer than normal. The child’s door had scratches on outside of his room along with the front door. She ventured out to the barn and opened it, expecting to find her child inside. He wasn’t there, but the one thing that was there was animals. They were all the animals they had taken care of for so many years. They were not alive, though. They were all plastered into statues, their heads, legs and torsos replacing parts in mass amounts of plaster people. The mother was horrified at this and the stench was almost equally putrefying. Holding her mouth, trying not to gag, she turned towards the door. The door was locked and she heard a familiar moaning behind her. She turned and the husband stood there, with a plastered face. She turned back towards the door and gave it another try. It opened this time and she looked back once more to see that her husband wasn't there anymore, but neither were any of the statues. She ran outside and jumped into her truck. The engine trying to sputter to life, but falling short each time. The woman looked up and saw the edge of the forest was lined with something. It the farmer in the front. All the plastered animals and people to his sides and one small child, holding hands with the farmer. They both stood there, staring blankly at the woman and one let out a grunt. After the grunt, several of them started sprinting towards the truck. The woman desperately turned the key, hoping the truck to come to life. It did on the third try, but as soon as she reached for the gas pedal, a window shattered. She screamed and was pulled from the car.