Death Cannot Silence a Smile: "Berenice" – A Haunting Poe Adaptation

0:00 Speaker 1: Doorway to Nightmare is brought to you in part by Swanage Press. It lies in wait amidst your dreams, where nothing is ever how it seems. It is a portal to a terrifying world beyond the doorway. Nightmare. Come in. Welcome. I'm Artemis Black. Edgar Allan Poe. As soon as the name is spoken... Images of his most famous stories swirl in the mind. The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, among others of his best-known works, conjure images of horror. that even writers of today admire.

1:15 Speaker 1: However, there is the more psychological horror that is in one of his most overlooked tales, the story of Berenice. But I saw it, Martin. There, in the dark, just floating in the air. It was no dream.

1:47 Speaker 2: Edgar!

1:49 Speaker 3: You need to get a hold of yourself. It was only a nightmare. Nothing more than that. No, no, it wasn't a dream.

1:59 Speaker 2: I saw.

2:01 Speaker 3: Oh, God help me.

2:02 Speaker 4: I saw that grin, Berenice. Those blood-red lips stretched.

2:10 Speaker 3: Around her teeth.

2:13 Speaker 4: Floating... In the darkness.

2:31 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Berenice, was adapted from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, especially for Doorway to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our cast includes Darren Marler, Grimson McKenzie, and Winslow Swan. I'll return shortly with Act One.

2:52 Speaker 5: The only witness to her murder cannot speak. Until now. Click.

2:59 Speaker 1: A Tale of.

3:00 Speaker 5: Revenge by Winslow Swan. Now available on Amazon. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

3:28 Speaker 1: Author and motivational speaker William Dyer once said, Passion is a feeling that tells you, this is the right thing to do. Nothing can stand in my way. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. This feeling is so good that it makes me feel good. that it cannot be ignored. I'm going to follow my bliss and act upon this glorious sensation of joy. And so begins our tale of Berenice.

4:05 Speaker 4: Martin, is Berenice.

4:13 Speaker 3: Dead?

4:14 Speaker 1: Yes, Edgarra.

4:15 Speaker 3: Only a few minutes ago.

4:18 Speaker 1: And are you sure?

4:22 Speaker 4: I mean, you're positive that she is truly dead?

4:30 Speaker 3: Edgar, I know I did not graduate at the top of my class in medical school, but I'm pretty sure I remember the symptoms of demise. Yes, Edgar, she has definitely passed away.

4:44 Speaker 2: Oh, thank God.

4:51 Speaker 4: I'm finally free of her.

4:55 Speaker 3: You know, Edgar, I don't understand you. Why did you marry Bernice in the first place? I thought you two were very happy together.

5:03 Speaker 4: No.

5:04 Speaker 2: Yes, at first.

5:06 Speaker 1: We were.

5:07 Speaker 4: I met her two years ago. We both seemed to love each other.

5:14 Speaker 3: Why did you ever marry her?

5:15 Speaker 2: Oh, Martin, you know how passionate I can be. I have always let my heart rule my head. I don't know why I pursued Bernice. I suppose it was.

5:33 Speaker 1: Her smile.

5:34 Speaker 3: Her smile. Nothing more.

5:38 Speaker 1: Oh, Martin, you should have seen it.

5:43 Speaker 2: Whenever she smiled, her entire face just lit up.

5:48 Speaker 4: She would walk into the room and the mood would be elevated.

5:55 Speaker 3: So what changed?

5:58 Speaker 1: What changed?

5:59 Speaker 2: The damn smile. After only a year of marriage, it seemed to change into a.

6:08 Speaker 1: Grimace. Her lips... would widen.

6:15 Speaker 2: To an unproportionate size, exposing every gleaming white tooth.

6:22 Speaker 4: Oh, God, it horrified me.

6:26 Speaker 3: And that right there, that's what I don't understand. If what you're saying is true, why didn't you just leave her?

6:35 Speaker 2: I suppose it was because of Eleanor.

6:38 Speaker 3: Oh, yes, I remember. Eleanor, her sister, came to live with Hugh and Bernice after her husband passed away and, well, left her virtually penniless.

6:48 Speaker 1: Yes.

6:50 Speaker 2: She took up residence in the guest house in the back. Oh, Martin, if it were not for her, I would have gone insane.

6:59 Speaker 3: Huh. As I recall, that was about the time Bernice began to get ill.

7:04 Speaker 1: Would you were her doctor?

7:06 Speaker 3: Can you not deny that Bernice....

7:10 Speaker 4: Changed?

7:12 Speaker 3: I wasn't here, Edgar. I only saw her when it was absolutely necessary. So what sort of change are you talking about?

7:20 Speaker 1: Oh, God, she became.

7:22 Speaker 4: More and more sadistic with that smile.

7:27 Speaker 2: She knew how it made my skin crawl. She became more demanding, hating everything that Eleanor and I tried to do for her. Even tonight, on her deathbed, what she said to me was.

7:47 Speaker 3: It was monstrous.

7:54 Speaker 5: More coffee, Martin?

7:56 Speaker 3: Thank you, Eleanor. Tell me, what sort of relationship do you have with Edgar?

8:02 Speaker 5: I would have thought it was pretty obvious. I love him, and he loves me.

8:09 Speaker 3: Maybe you can help me figure this out. What exactly happened with Bernice? I mean, Edgar mentioned something that she said to him? Something vile, angry?

8:20 Speaker 2: Yes, Martin.

8:22 Speaker 5: It was horrible. She told him just before you came into the room that he would never, ever be free of her. And then she smiled at him. That ghastly grin... Even I became afraid of it.

8:40 Speaker 1: Hmm.

8:41 Speaker 3: Did she know about you and Edgar?

8:43 Speaker 5: Possibly. I don't know.

8:50 Speaker 2: It's Edgar!

8:51 Speaker 3: Come on, quickly!

9:00 Speaker 2: No.

9:01 Speaker 1: No, please. Leave me alone.

9:04 Speaker 2: You're dangerous.

9:06 Speaker 3: Edgar, hey, Edgar, easy, man. You're only having a nightmare. We heard your scream.

9:13 Speaker 2: What could have made you.

9:14 Speaker 4: It's Berenice. She was here. No, no, not her. Her smile.

9:24 Speaker 5: Edgar, please, calm down. Calm down. My sister is dead. Dead and locked away in the family tomb in the crypt by the house.

9:35 Speaker 2: But I saw that damn smile. Those ruby red lips stretched back wide.

9:44 Speaker 4: Her teeth grinning at me. And I heard her. She was here.

10:07 Speaker 1: The author Sheree Ravai once said, If the dead cannot rest in peace, how on earth can the living? You rest easy, for a moment, until I return with Act Two.

10:28 Speaker 1: Meet Jerry Connors. Family man. Business man. Psychopathic killer. The Convincer by Winslow Swan. Now available on Amazon. Jerry Connors. He can convince you to do anything. Even die. American writer Norman O. Brown once said, To be seen is the ambition of ghosts, and to be remembered is the ambition of the dead. How is he, Morton?

11:26 Speaker 3: He's resting. I could use a cup of very strong coffee right now.

11:33 Speaker 1: Here you are.

11:34 Speaker 3: Isn't there anything we can do? He has this, for lack of better terms, obsession. I'm afraid it's going to be a lot harder than we realize to convince Edgar Bernice is not coming back from the grave.

11:53 Speaker 5: You didn't really know my sister.

11:56 Speaker 3: I only met her a couple of times. I was at the wedding.

12:00 Speaker 5: She was always a cruel and hateful person. Even to me. It was Edgar, not her, who invited me to stay in the guest house.

12:13 Speaker 3: And now you two have found, dare I say it, love.

12:19 Speaker 5: Yes, Martin. I do love him.

12:22 Speaker 2: I would do anything to help him.

12:25 Speaker 5: I watched helpless as Berenice destroyed him.

12:30 Speaker 3: Then I'm going to need your help to do something. Anything, Martin. Well, if you mean that, I hope you approve, but I'm taking Edgar to the crypt, opening up the vault, showing him that Berenice is truly deceased.

13:01 Speaker 5: Martin, is this really necessary?

13:05 Speaker 4: Yes, my love.

13:07 Speaker 1: It is.

13:09 Speaker 4: I have to know.

13:11 Speaker 3: He's right, Eleanor. And gruesome as it is, he has to see that she is in the coffin.

13:24 Speaker 1: Look. Her eyes are open. And her mouth. That grimace. No.

13:34 Speaker 3: Edgar, get a hold of yourself. Look at her.

13:38 Speaker 2: See?

13:38 Speaker 3: Her eyes are closed. Her mouth is closed.

13:42 Speaker 1: What?

13:42 Speaker 3: She is dead, Edgar.

13:45 Speaker 4: Oh, Edgar.

13:48 Speaker 5: What my sister did to you was cruel. See? She is dead.

13:55 Speaker 1: Oh.

13:57 Speaker 4: Oh, Eleanor.

14:00 Speaker 1: What would I do with that? No.

14:04 Speaker 3: No, don't look at me that way.

14:07 Speaker 2: Edgar, what do you mean? Never, ever smile at me that way again.

14:13 Speaker 1: Do you understand? Never!

14:16 Speaker 5: But, Edgar, I.

14:17 Speaker 3: Let him go, Eleanor. Remember, you are Bernice's sister. Your smile, I've seen it myself, is very much like hers.

14:25 Speaker 5: But that's the point, Martin. I wasn't smiling.

14:30 Speaker 2: At all.

14:39 Speaker 1: Behind every man now alive stand 30 ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living, according to author Arthur C. Clarke. I believe that having only one is enough. Wouldn't you agree? I'm sure that Edgar would. I'll return shortly with our final act.

15:10 Speaker 3: It is in all of us. Waiting.

15:13 Speaker 5: Watching.

15:15 Speaker 1: Growing.

15:17 Speaker 5: Evil Within by Winslow Swan. Now available on Amazon.

15:21 Speaker 1: Evil Within Singer and songwriter Tori Amos' lyrics says, I'm trying not to move. It's just your ghost passing through.

15:50 Speaker 5: Can't you stay for a few more days, Martin?

15:53 Speaker 3: I've already stayed longer than I should have. I have a practice to worry about. Besides, I don't think I can do anything more for Edgar.

16:01 Speaker 1: I know that he would appreciate the company.

16:03 Speaker 3: I think he has all the company he needs with you. Eleanor, might I make a suggestion, though?

16:10 Speaker 1: Of course, Martin.

16:12 Speaker 3: Marry him? Immediately?

16:14 Speaker 5: Berenice has only been dead a week. You think it's a little soon?

16:19 Speaker 3: Oh, to hell with conformity. Or what people would say. He needs you, and I believe that you need him. I think you know that, too.

16:27 Speaker 5: But he hasn't even asked me to marry him.

16:31 Speaker 3: Well, then ask him. Like I said, to hell with conformity. For God's sake, marry the man and get him away from this gloomy place.

16:42 Speaker 1: Oh, my God.

16:48 Speaker 4: What have I done?

16:52 Speaker 1: What have I done?

17:00 Speaker 3: What is it, Edgar? Another nightmare?

17:01 Speaker 4: Martin, Martin, look at me. I'm crinkled to the skin.

17:07 Speaker 3: My shoes are muddy. Huh, where have you been?

17:12 Speaker 4: I heard her, Martin. I heard Berenice. She was laughing at me. Laughing! I was furious.

17:23 Speaker 3: I went to the shed and grabbed a pair of pliers and then.

17:28 Speaker 2: Oh, God damn.

17:30 Speaker 4: They're on the table next.

17:33 Speaker 1: To the bed. In that box.

17:40 Speaker 3: Oh my god.

17:46 Speaker 1: Are they.

17:49 Speaker 3: Are they in the box?

17:51 Speaker 1: Yes.

17:52 Speaker 4: Chief.

17:54 Speaker 1: I knew it wasn't a dream.

17:57 Speaker 3: I went to the vault.

17:59 Speaker 4: Pulled out every one of Berenice's teeth.

18:04 Speaker 3: But they're bloody as if. Oh, my God.

18:10 Speaker 2: What? Mom?

18:14 Speaker 1: What are you saying?

18:16 Speaker 3: Come with me, quickly. Eleanor?

18:35 Speaker 1: Eleanor?

18:37 Speaker 3: Are you asleep?

18:41 Speaker 1: Eleanor? Oh, God, quick.

18:43 Speaker 4: Turn on the lights.

18:44 Speaker 1: Eleanor? Oh, God. No. No.

18:54 Speaker 3: I couldn't have.

18:55 Speaker 2: She's dead.

18:56 Speaker 3: She's dead. Look on the table, a bloodied hammer. Edgar, you bashed her head in and then pulled out all of her teeth. Oh, no.

19:14 Speaker 4: Berenice. Berenice.

19:21 Speaker 1: You. You. As Edgar collapses to the floor, Martin pulls a sheet over the still figure of Eleanor on the bed. I'll return shortly with a final word.

19:47 Speaker 5: If you'd like to support us, visit our merchandise store. T-shirts, caps, mugs, and so much more. Visit doorwaytonightmare.com today.

20:15 Speaker 1: If you happen to know the Poe classic Berenice, you will also know that we changed the ending slightly. We hope that this change would have pleased the master of psychological terror and suspense. As Poe once said, the scariest monsters are the ones who are the most dangerous. are the ones that lurk within our souls. Our cast included Darren Marler, Crimson McKenzie, and Winslow Swan. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie, and the production was under the direction of Winslow Swan. And now, a preview of our next tale.

21:02 Speaker 3: Do you feel the cold steel blade against your throat, Emma?

21:05 Speaker 5: Hmm?

21:06 Speaker 1: How?

21:06 Speaker 3: With just a flick of my hand, your blood will spill out and you will be dead.

21:13 Speaker 1: No.

21:14 Speaker 2: Please, Harry!

21:15 Speaker 3: Oh, but you see, it won't be me who's killing you. Oh no, it may be my hand, but it won't be me.

21:22 Speaker 5: Please, Harry, I'll do anything you want. Just put the knife down.

21:30 Speaker 3: Anything that I want? No, Emma, it won't be what I want. but what the thing inside of me wants.

21:41 Speaker 1: This is Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us to the doorway to nightmare for yet another adventure into the terrifying world of your imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully.

22:01 Speaker 1: Epilogue The butler did it.