Stained Glasses
Stuart Barrow and Barbara Robson
An investigator is helping an elderly friend or relative to move
house. While clearing out the attic, a box labelled "Glasses" is found.
When asked where he wants it put, the old man pales and mumbles that he
had forgotten all about that box. He suggests that it should be
destroyed, and cautions against opening it.
Possibilities
1 The box contains a pair of opera glasses. The
glasses allow scenes at a distance to be viewed with remarkable
clarity, but (due to a malicious enchantment) show such scenes in the
worst possible light. Viewed through the glasses, a loyal dog looks
like a rabid beast and a friendly conversation takes on the appearance
of a whispered conspiracy.
2 The box contains two beautiful, slender
champagne flutes. They have been enchanted with a love charm. If
two people drink the same wine from the glasses, they will certainly
fall in love. The charm, however, has been corrupted by the dark magic
used to effect it. A love begun by the glasses will, over time, become
a jealous, possessive and fearful thing.
3 The box contains fragments of glass
reminiscent of the glass formed of sands beneath a nuclear strike. It
is in fact the remnants of a similarly destructive event - an
incarnation of Hastur on earth, many years ago. The old man helped to
eradicate the menace in his time, but fears that this glass could
provide the link necessary for its return. He is unsure why he has kept
the fragments, but the miswritten label provides evidence of his
unsettled mental state at the time.
Copyright (c) 2001 Barbara Robson and Stuart Barrow
Click
here to see Stuart and Barbara's other Tales
of Terror.