Dead But Still Keeping the Family Together: "Faith Hope & Charity"

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. The actor Michael J. Fox once said, A family is not an important thing. It's... Everything. The special bond that holds a family together is something that is ethereal and should never be taken for granted.

1:09 Speaker 2: He always told us that we would always be together.

1:15 Speaker 3: I take it that you never believed that, Charity?

1:18 Speaker 2: Oh yes, Paul. I definitely believed that Daddy would keep us together.

1:23 Speaker 3: But he's been dead for almost 70 years. Surely you can go off on your own now.

1:28 Speaker 2: No, Paul. I can't. My sisters and I have to stay here and wait on Daddy.

1:41 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Faith, Hope, and Charity, was written especially for Dora the Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our cast includes Crimson McKenzie, Darren Marler, and Raven Adams. I'll be back shortly with Act One.

2:00 Speaker 4: The only witness to her murder cannot speak. Until now. Click.

2:08 Speaker 2: A Tale of Revenge by Winslow Swan.

2:11 Speaker 4: Now available on Amazon. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

2:37 Speaker 1: The American poet Anne Sexton once said, It doesn't matter who my father was. It matters who I remember he was. With those words, I take you to the large home of Leonard Evans. Inside, we find a reporter named Paul Ashton, who is a famous writer. talking with his publisher and friend, Greg Stewart.

3:17 Speaker 3: What time is it?

3:18 Speaker 5: It's almost ten. Do you feel like talking about it now?

3:24 Speaker 1: Sigh.

3:27 Speaker 3: I think so, Greg. I have to talk about it. Otherwise, who will believe it?

3:32 Speaker 5: Just calm down and tell me what happened here.

3:37 Speaker 3: It all started when you called me into your office the other day.

3:50 Speaker 5: Oh, come in, Paul. Please, sit down.

3:53 Speaker 3: This is about that article on the city park. Forget it. I stand by what I said about the mayor and the city council, and I don't care how many lawyers they have.

4:02 Speaker 5: Calm down, it's nothing like that, Paul. I have a story I'd like for you to cover, that's all.

4:08 Speaker 3: What kind of story, Greg? I know that look in your eye. If it's another fair or festival, count me out.

4:16 Speaker 5: Nothing like that, I promise you. Have you ever heard of a man named Leonard Evans?

4:21 Speaker 3: The composer and conductor? Sure. What music lover hasn't heard of the great Leonard Evans?

4:26 Speaker 1: Good.

4:27 Speaker 5: Well, then you probably know he built his house up in Cedarton, about a hundred miles from here.

4:31 Speaker 3: I did hear something about it. Oh, but come on, that was years ago. Didn't he die about seven years ago?

4:41 Speaker 5: Die is... that's putting it a bit mildly. The man was murdered. Not just killed, but absolutely butchered.

4:51 Speaker 3: I was just a copy boy at the time, Greg. You're going to have to fill me in.

4:55 Speaker 5: Well, as you know, Leonard Evans was the darling of the music world. He had several operas and a ton of musical plays under his name. He conducted almost every major orchestra in the world at one point or another. And then he was murdered.

5:11 Speaker 3: The police ever find out who done it?

5:13 Speaker 1: No.

5:14 Speaker 5: They only thought it had to be a maniac.

5:17 Speaker 3: Why do you say that?

5:19 Speaker 5: He built a tower on the top of his house three stories high. At the top of the tower was a music room where he played his organ. And that's where they found his body, slumped over the organ. The man had been mutilated.

5:34 Speaker 3: I never read that part.

5:35 Speaker 1: How?

5:37 Speaker 5: It was gruesome. His throat had been cut, his ears cut off, his tongue cut out. He was stabbed in both eyes.

5:44 Speaker 3: And no suspects?

5:46 Speaker 1: No.

5:47 Speaker 5: Nobody heard or saw a thing.

5:49 Speaker 3: And that is why you want me to go up there?

5:52 Speaker 5: Partially, yeah.

5:53 Speaker 3: What's the other reason?

5:55 Speaker 5: Well, how do I put this? Leonard Evans has been seen walking around the last few days.

6:05 Speaker 3: Oh, you have got to be kidding. You're sending me on a ghost hunt?

6:12 Speaker 5: No, Paul. I'm sending you up there to find out what's going on. Local police have a hunch that the killer is back after these seven years and for some stupid reason is acting like his victim.

6:23 Speaker 3: Okay. So who am I supposed to talk with?

6:27 Speaker 5: Well, Evans had triplets. Three daughters named Faith, Hope, and Charity.

6:31 Speaker 3: Are you serious? Sounds like a Texas camp meeting.

6:35 Speaker 5: Yeah, they still live in that old house for some reason or another. I've made arrangements... for you to stay.

6:42 Speaker 1: There with them.

6:43 Speaker 5: You see, tomorrow is going to be a really big day for those young ladies.

6:47 Speaker 3: How so?

6:48 Speaker 5: Well, they turn 28 tomorrow. And according to the last will and testament of Leonard Evans, that's when they finally inherit his fortune.

7:02 Speaker 3: So, Greg, I drove to Cedarton. I stopped and talked to some of the locals who told me to stay away from the Haunted castle. It was starting to get dark when I arrived at the Evans estate. Your description of house was definitely an understatement. The place is literally a castle, complete with a tower at least three stories high.

7:47 Speaker 2: Go away. Please go away. Don't... Don't come near me.

7:54 Speaker 4: Please go away.

7:56 Speaker 3: Hey, easy, easy. It's okay. My name is Paul. Paul Ashton of the Daily Sun.

8:03 Speaker 2: Oh, yes. We've been expecting you.

8:06 Speaker 3: Who did you think I was?

8:07 Speaker 2: I thought you were. Daddy. Coming for me.

8:14 Speaker 3: But I thought your father was... Well... had passed on.

8:19 Speaker 2: He is dead, Mr. Ashton, but that is not keeping him from coming back.

8:27 Speaker 3: What do you mean?

8:29 Speaker 2: Daddy always said that he would keep his family together at all costs, even after he was dead.

8:38 Speaker 3: And you believe that?

8:40 Speaker 2: Yes, Mr. Ashton, I do. Because my sisters have told me That they have seen him walking the grounds the last couple of days.

8:51 Speaker 3: Have you seen him, Miss Evans?

8:56 Speaker 2: No, Mr. Ashton. I haven't. You see, I'm blind. I

9:09 Speaker 2: hope you like the tea, Mr.

9:11 Speaker 1: Ashton.

9:13 Speaker 3: It's very good. And why don't you just call me Paul?

9:19 Speaker 2: I'm Charity.

9:20 Speaker 3: The tea is very good. For being blind, you seem to do quite well.

9:25 Speaker 2: Thank you, Paul.

9:27 Speaker 3: Where are your sisters?

9:28 Speaker 2: Somewhere in the house. We never leave.

9:33 Speaker 3: What about your mother?

9:34 Speaker 2: She died giving birth to us. You see, Paul, I'm the youngest born blind. Faith is the oldest. She was born deaf. Hope was born without vocal cords, so she cannot speak.

9:50 Speaker 3: Oh, I had no idea. My publisher left that part out. So your father raised you?

9:58 Speaker 2: My father... hated us. He always said that we should have never been born. He blamed all of us for the death of our mother.

10:10 Speaker 3: Why didn't he just give you all up for adoption?

10:13 Speaker 2: And how would that have played in the press? World famous conductor gives up his disabled daughters after the death of their mother? He never would have lived it down.

10:29 Speaker 3: I mean, surely he took care of all of you.

10:32 Speaker 2: He was mean. Hateful to all of us. Worse, he made us listen to him play that damned organ.

10:42 Speaker 3: What organ?

10:46 Speaker 2: Come with me. I'll show you.

11:03 Speaker 3: This is the upper floor of the tower. I see.

11:05 Speaker 2: Yes, his precious music room. But for us, it was a room of torture.

11:16 Speaker 3: How so?

11:17 Speaker 2: Can you see the three chairs up against the wall?

11:20 Speaker 1: Yes.

11:21 Speaker 3: What about them?

11:22 Speaker 2: We had to sit there and listen to his playing every night. The same piece of music over and over again.

11:31 Speaker 3: At least Faith didn't have to hear it.

11:35 Speaker 5: Oh no.

11:37 Speaker 2: It was worse for her. Her chair is the one closest to the organ. She couldn't hear, but she could feel The vibrations. Can you imagine the hell that must have been?

11:51 Speaker 3: And this is the only window?

11:56 Speaker 1: Yes.

11:58 Speaker 2: Why do you ask?

11:59 Speaker 3: Because someone is walking across the yard. A tall man with white hair?

12:04 Speaker 2: No!

12:05 Speaker 6: It's Daddy!

12:07 Speaker 2: He's coming! He's here to take Faith because she's the oldest!

12:11 Speaker 3: Charity, listen to me. It's just a man walking. Nothing more.

12:16 Speaker 1: No!

12:16 Speaker 6: No!

12:17 Speaker 2: His daddy. He's coming. He's coming for faith and hope. And finally, finally, he will he will take me.

12:31 Speaker 3: I'll be the last charity. He's dead for seven long years now.

12:37 Speaker 2: I'll prove it to you, Paul. I'll prove it to you. His coffin will be empty now.

12:42 Speaker 3: Why do you say that? Did you dig him up?

12:45 Speaker 2: He's in the crypt next to the house. Over there. Should be the coffin.

13:01 Speaker 3: Yeah, I see it. And you want me to open it. Is that it?

13:06 Speaker 2: You won't be in there, Paul.

13:19 Speaker 5: Well?

13:21 Speaker 3: You're right, Charity. The coffin is empty.

13:26 Speaker 1: Ah!

13:27 Speaker 2: It's Daddy! He's in the music room!

13:30 Speaker 3: Someone's playing that organ.

13:31 Speaker 5: Come on!

13:32 Speaker 2: That sounded like... Sound like Faith!

13:51 Speaker 3: Come on, let's get in there.

13:57 Speaker 1: Paul?

13:58 Speaker 2: What do you see?

14:00 Speaker 3: It's... I'm guessing it's your sister, Faith. She's sitting in the chair that you told me was hers.

14:06 Speaker 1: Is she.

14:06 Speaker 2: Is she dead?

14:09 Speaker 3: Charity, is there another way out of this room?

14:12 Speaker 2: Only the door we came in through?

14:14 Speaker 1: Why?

14:14 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, Charity, but your sister is dead. She's been murdered. Her throat is slashed and her ears have been cut off.

14:29 Speaker 1: Charity collapses onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. As Paul leads her out of the music room, let us take a pause from the horror and return with Act Two shortly.

14:47 Speaker 5: It is in all of us.

14:47 Speaker 1: Waiting. Waiting.

14:50 Speaker 2: Watching. Growing.

14:54 Speaker 4: Evil Within by Winslow Swan. Now available on Amazon.

15:15 Speaker 1: The actor David Ogden Steers once said, Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. That's horrible.

15:32 Speaker 5: So what happened after you found the body of Faith?

15:35 Speaker 3: I took Charity back downstairs and told her to wait for me in the living room. I began searching outside to see if anyone was about. I saw someone in the distance heading for the crypt. I ran after them, but they seemed to disappear. I went to the crypt and opened the coffin again.

15:52 Speaker 5: And what did you find there?

15:55 Speaker 3: The withered body of Leonard Evans. And in his hand, he was clutching a bloody knife.

16:08 Speaker 2: My poor fate. My poor sister.

16:14 Speaker 3: Here, drink this.

16:18 Speaker 6: My poor sister Faith.

16:22 Speaker 2: She was so good to everyone. Daddy hated her the most.

16:28 Speaker 3: Now, come on, Charity. It's going to be alright.

16:34 Speaker 2: First, he came for Faith because she was the oldest. Next, he will come for Hope. And then... Then.

16:49 Speaker 3: Not if I have anything to say about it.

16:53 Speaker 2: Where are you going?

16:54 Speaker 1: Hey, you!

16:55 Speaker 3: Down the hallway! Who are you?

16:58 Speaker 2: What do you see, Paul?

16:59 Speaker 3: Looks like a girl. Long blonde hair, but I can't see her face. It's so dark down that hallway.

17:07 Speaker 2: It must be Hope. She's probably going to her room.

17:11 Speaker 3: I want to talk to her.

17:13 Speaker 2: Why? She can't speak at all.

17:16 Speaker 3: She can write, can't she?

17:18 Speaker 2: Shouldn't you call the police about... about.

17:21 Speaker 3: I tried, but the phone isn't working and there's no cell service up here. That's why I wanted to speak with Hope. I have to drive into the village and get the sheriff, but I don't want to leave you alone.

17:38 Speaker 5: Damn it!

17:39 Speaker 3: Come on!

17:40 Speaker 1: Start!

17:42 Speaker 3: What the hell is wrong with this stupid thing?

17:44 Speaker 2: Come on!

17:51 Speaker 5: The organ.

17:52 Speaker 2: Again.

17:52 Speaker 3: Paul?

18:00 Speaker 1: Are you in here?

18:01 Speaker 5: Right here.

18:02 Speaker 1: Charity.

18:03 Speaker 3: Come on, we're going to the music room now.

18:22 Speaker 2: Who is at the organ?

18:24 Speaker 1: No one.

18:25 Speaker 3: But there is someone in here.

18:28 Speaker 2: Is it Hope?

18:30 Speaker 3: Yes, Charity, it is. Her throat has been slashed, and her tongue has been torn out.

18:44 Speaker 2: I wish I could cry for Hope. I don't have any tears left. Oh, my poor Hope. Why?

18:55 Speaker 3: My car won't start, so I can't get to the sheriff. The phones aren't working either.

19:00 Speaker 2: I told you. Daddy always said that no matter what, he would keep the family together.

19:07 Speaker 3: Charity, was Faith or Hope or even you, were any of you married?

19:13 Speaker 1: No.

19:15 Speaker 2: Daddy wouldn't allow it. Even after he died, he... He didn't want us to be married and possibly have children. But why?

19:25 Speaker 3: I mean, after he died, you could have left for a better life, couldn't you?

19:30 Speaker 2: Daddy saw to it that we didn't leave this place. We were never taught any skills based on our disability.

19:43 Speaker 2: And even if we did leave, he told us he would cut us off. not a penny to live on.

19:50 Speaker 3: But you could have found someone that would have helped you.

19:53 Speaker 2: You don't understand, Paul. We were completely isolated out here. No one ever came here. He saw to that.

20:04 Speaker 3: Sounds like you hated your father the same way he hated you. Be honest, Charity. Did you or one of your sisters kill him?

20:13 Speaker 2: No, we didn't. But we would have, gladly. It's Daddy. It's Daddy. He's coming. He's coming for me.

20:25 Speaker 3: No one is coming for you, Charity. Let me handle it.

20:28 Speaker 6: I'm going to have a look around.

20:39 Speaker 3: Lock this door behind me.

20:51 Speaker 5: So you left Charity in the house. Then what'd you do? I.

20:57 Speaker 3: I went down to the crypt first thing. I knew deep down that the body of Leonard Evans would be gone.

21:02 Speaker 1: And was he.

21:05 Speaker 5: Yes.

21:07 Speaker 3: He wasn't there. I walked outside of the crypt in a daze, and then I looked back at the house and saw... saw....

21:16 Speaker 5: What did you see, Paul?

21:20 Speaker 3: I saw Leonard Evans at the front door. I watched as the door was opened. Evans slowly walked inside and the door closed. In a few moments, I heard the organ playing.

21:34 Speaker 1: American author Jim Butcher once said, there's nothing that makes you more insane than family, or more happy, or more exasperated, or more secure. I'll be back shortly with Act 3.

22:05 Speaker 2: Mystery. Horror.

22:08 Speaker 4: Thriller.

22:09 Speaker 1: Suspense.

22:11 Speaker 2: Novels and short story collections from Winslow Swan, now available from Amazon.

22:31 Speaker 1: Author Mario Puzo once said, the strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.

22:46 Speaker 3: Did you find Charity in the music room?

22:50 Speaker 5: No, Paul, we didn't.

22:53 Speaker 2: We?

22:54 Speaker 3: What do you mean?

22:55 Speaker 6: Who else is here?

22:56 Speaker 5: Hey, when I didn't hear back from you last night, I decided to call the sheriff. We both came out here, and, well, that's when we found you at the crypt door.

23:05 Speaker 3: And the bodies?

23:06 Speaker 5: Yes, we found Faith and Hope in the music room. Oh, man, a ghastly sight.

23:11 Speaker 3: But what about Charity? Where is she?

23:16 Speaker 5: Paul, you are probably the most logical person I know. Think it through. What exactly happened last night?

23:26 Speaker 3: I already told you. Leonard Evans came back and killed.

23:30 Speaker 5: No, Paul, he didn't. The man has been dead for seven years. Think it through. If it wasn't Leonard, then who could it have been?

23:43 Speaker 3: You don't mean... Of course, Charity.

23:46 Speaker 5: Yes, Charity. The only other person out here.

23:50 Speaker 3: But what about the person I saw? The one walking the grounds? That was not my imagination.

23:56 Speaker 5: Yeah, about that. I did some checking, Paul. Charity told you that none of the girls were married? She lied. She herself was married to a local delivery man that she knew out here.

24:10 Speaker 3: I don't understand, Greg.

24:11 Speaker 5: Greed. That's all. She killed her sisters because her father's will stated that on their 28th birthday, today, the estate would be divided between the three of them.

24:20 Speaker 3: But Charity wanted it all.

24:24 Speaker 5: That's right. So she killed her sisters and then set you up as being a witness.

24:29 Speaker 3: But I saw Leonard Evans walking on the grounds.

24:32 Speaker 5: Well, you saw someone walking. It was pretty dark, remember?

24:37 Speaker 3: And what about Hope? I saw her down that hallway.

24:41 Speaker 5: You saw someone with long blonde hair, remember? That was Charity's husband. pretending to be hope for your benefit. In reality, Paul, the two girls, they'd been dead for hours before you ever found them.

24:56 Speaker 3: But Charity was with me when we found Faith. We heard the organ playing and we heard the scream.

25:01 Speaker 5: What you heard was a simple recording. Nothing more. We actually found the device and the tape upstairs. It really was a rather clever way to commit murder.

25:13 Speaker 3: So where is Charity and her husband now?

25:16 Speaker 5: The police are searching the area right now. Don't worry. They're not going to get far.

25:25 Speaker 3: The organ! It's playing again!

25:27 Speaker 1: Damn it!

25:28 Speaker 5: I told them to get rid of that stupid recording!

25:34 Speaker 3: That... That sounded like charity.

25:36 Speaker 5: That's enough, Paul. Come on. Follow me. I'll prove to you it was just a recording.

25:42 Speaker 1: That's all.

25:53 Speaker 3: We didn't pass anyone coming up here. How did the recording come on?

25:58 Speaker 5: Probably on some sort of timer. There, you see? Nothing but... Oh my god!

26:07 Speaker 3: Charity, sitting in her chair, listening to her father play the organ. And you see? Her throat has been slashed, and her eyes have been gouged out.

26:20 Speaker 5: Paul, listen, listen. It was not the ghost of Leonard Evans. It couldn't have been. Obviously, her husband killed her.

26:28 Speaker 3: Are you sure, Greg? Look over there behind the organ. Do you see?

26:34 Speaker 5: No, it can't be.

26:40 Speaker 3: Is that the body of her husband, stabbed in the chest with his throat sliced open?

26:44 Speaker 5: Okay, well, then he killed his wife, and then he.

26:49 Speaker 3: Committed suicide? Neat trick. Where is it, Greg?

26:54 Speaker 5: Where is what?

26:56 Speaker 3: The knife. Where is the knife that he used to kill Charity and then himself? It's nowhere in this room, and the window was on the other side of the room. Did he kill himself and then throw the knife across the room?

27:08 Speaker 5: It must be here. There is no other explanation.

27:12 Speaker 3: I know where it's at, Greg. Would you like to go with me down to the crypt? and open the coffin?

27:21 Speaker 1: Greg begins to visibly shake. at the very thought of where the knife could be. No other explanation? Perhaps I can come up with one when I return with a final word.

28:06 Speaker 4: If you'd like to support us, visit our merchandise store. T-shirts, caps, mugs, and so much more. Visit doorwaytonightmare.com today.

28:35 Speaker 1: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy, wrote Shakespeare in Hamlet, and so we leave the ending to our little play, as we are so wont to do, strictly up to you. Was the body of Leonard Evans lying in his coffin, clutching a bloody knife? Or is there a more reasonable explanation?

29:08 Speaker 1: Our cast included Darren Marler, Crimson McKenzie, and Raven Adams. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swann. Doorway to Nightmare is brought to you in part by Swanage Publications. And now, a preview of our next tale.

29:34 Speaker 3: It is quite a peaceful town. I don't think... I saw anyone on the streets tonight. Most everyone goes to bed early. Yes, I could see myself living here. Relaxing, not bothered by any problems.

29:52 Speaker 6: Could you, Jake?

29:54 Speaker 3: Would you want to live here?

29:56 Speaker 2: With me?

29:59 Speaker 5: Sure, but since all of this is only a dream.

30:03 Speaker 3: Feel my hands. Touch them. Does this feel like a dream to you?

30:08 Speaker 1: This is Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us to the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the world of your terrifying imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.

30:33 Speaker 2: The butler didn't do it!