This incident happened to me ten years ago, a memory of peculiar feast which would last a lifetime. I took voluntary retirement from the Police Service of Russia in 2009. I joined the police when Russia was in turmoil in the early 90s, as Soviet Union was officially dissolved, and Russia became a Republic State, and the Cold War with United States were officially ended. I was posted in Moscow, and I witnessed the bloodshed in 1993, during the Russian Constitutional Crisis, and I had witnessed many criminal gangs on rise on the streets of Moscow, and now we have to focus on the turmoil sweeping in Russia. However, immoral times have an end, so by God's grace everything in Russia is stable now, as the government has cracked down on criminal gangs; I have taken part in many operations against criminals and terrorists. I had mercilessly killed many criminals and terrorists. In the early 2000's, I was transferred to Nalychevo Park which is one of the famous National Park in the country, and I had a good time there, as the place has a huge reserves of various flora and fauna. There were many snow peaked mountains, and active volcanoes, but in those beautiful places, there were hideous acts in progress. As it is a national park, there were hooligans who had housed many illegal objects in the forest, but I was successful in hunting them down. My home town was some miles away from the national park, and after taking voluntary retirement, I decided to settle there. I was given a memorable farewell by my colleagues, and that would cherish my memories forever.

Before some months prior to my retirement, I had purchased a house in a small rural town at Tilichiki, my home town; it was generally a small town. I didn't have any house there, as we had been staying in Moscow for years, and during the holidays, I used to visit my relatives, but they are now settled in other cities. I purchased a one-storey house in the sleepy town, but the house was at the border of the town, and it was close to one of the largest highways in the country. The house was shadowy coloured, and it had semi-walls which enclosed the house. At the front there was an iron gate, and towards the left there was farmland for cultivation. I had no neighbours, as I resided at the border of the town, and the highway served as my neighbour, I enjoyed cultivation of potatoes, as my family lineage were skilled in farming, so I had an expertise in farming. However, farming is not a laid back job, it involves toiling in the field, watering the crops, and conserving the fertility of the land. During my service at the Police force, I had done a part-time course from a famous university on agricultural management, so the knowledge combined with hard work yielded me good returns. I used to sell the potatoes at the market of my hometown or I used to visit nearby towns, I had a farm truck, so I used to load huge jute bags stuffed with potatoes on my truck and traverse in the nearby towns, and sell it. The stiff work yielded decent revenue, and also I am a recipient of monthly pensions. As an asset, I had the house, farm truck and the sedan.

During the weekends, I used to take rest and cease toiling in the farm, while in the evening, I used to visit Orthodox Church in my hometown where I used to visit during weekends. There was an Orthodox Steeple some few steps away from my house, which was out of town, it was a peaceful place to worship, very few people used to visit the steeple, and it was mostly visited by the hitchhikers and the travellers. The Priest at the steeple belonged to another town, as it was a serene place, so I used to visit the steeple regularly. I belonged to a God-Fearing Family, and during the Soviet Times we use to practice our religion secretly, fearing the Communist Authorities; however, everything in the country has changed, and now Russia is a Republic and a Secular Country. The steeple was 2 kilometres away from my home, so I used to go there on foot. I used to see a Babushka at the pew, praying for a long hours, she used to dress in a long gown and a saffron headscarf; she used to smile at me, when I visited the steeple. The babushka was a stout lady, with a healthy physique; she had wrinkled ruddy skin, a hooked nose, and large eyes and ears. She seemed to be in 80s or more, and then she cracked conversation with me, I am an Ambivert and I gradually gel up with people. However, the Babushka was pleasant and I liked talking to her. The Babushka was residing at the nearby town, and she is staying alone as she has embraced Celibacy. She had previously worked in an arms manufacturing unit, and she had experienced the hideous days of World War 2, she has been in defence industry for the last 30 years, and now she is retired and spending her days reciting the names of God. She used to visit the steeple daily on her sedan; the sedan was antique as it belonged to Soviet Era.

There was a mystical appearance waiting for me which will change my life.

The evening was breezy, and it was a Saturday. I went to steeple for prayers, and I found Babushka on the pew reciting prayers, I sat on the pew praying, and after concluding my worship, I went outside the steeple. I heard a familiar voice coming from the steeple, I spun around to see Babushka stepping towards me, she was walking briskly, and not to mention she had the vigour of the youth. She summoned me to the bench at the premises of the steeple, and then she began her conversation. The Babushka was conversing mystical subjects to me, at first I was perplexed, but then she told me that she has extensive knowledge of the mystical powers, she has the power of intuition, and she can perform exorcism. I didn't believe it at first, but as she talked her face grew sombre and her subtle eyes turned hard, I uttered, "Perhaps, I don't have any gist of these mystical things." The Babushka replied with an authority in her tone, "These subjects are clandestine but they are for real and you cannot deny that, it is as good as the existence of God." She told me to meet tomorrow, and she drove on her sedan.

The next day after the Sunday mass, I sat on the bench, shadowed by a large willow tree. As there were few people, there was no hustle and bustle at the steeple, unlike the church in my place. The Babushka came towards me with a thin line of smile appearing on her face, she had a satchel hanging on her left shoulder, and she sat near me. The Babushka resumed the conversation we had the other day, she told me that the power of clairvoyance was a gift to her since childhood, and this was her family lineage. She had confined this secret as the Soviet Rule had exacerbated for those who claimed to have mystical powers, either they were hanged to death or they were deported to gulag. She tucked her hand in the satchel and handed over an old book and an amulet, on touching it, I felt the energy thumping through my body, and she conferred about it. The book was a Doxology, but this Doxology was written by her, and also the amulet was a Divine Amulet shaped in hexagon, it was buttery coloured, with the inscription of Psalm printed in tiny black colour. She instructed me to wear this Divine Amulet around my neck forever, and also to read the Doxology daily anytime. I exclaimed, and asked, "Good God!!! I apologise but why me?" The Babushka chuckled, and replied with an authority in her tone, "No need to apologise, I would like to inform you, that you seemed sincere to me, so I decided to reveal this to you, and I would like to reveal to you something." The Babushka revealed my personal details to me, which was confined in my heart, and not to mention, I was flabbergasted listening to my facts which was known only to me, and she explained me with precision.

I couldn't utter anything due to my amazement, and my sceptical feeling about her was cleared. She is going to her relative's home for a month or more, so she would not visit the steeple, and this was the reason she disclosed her secret identity to me. I thanked her for the concern, and we rose from her seat, she stepped towards her sedan, and bid adieu to me. I saw her sedan disappearing in the highway, among the line of vehicles, and I stepped towards home. I did as per the instructions from Babushka, and every morning before going to the field, I read the Doxology, it contained many Ancient Hymns of God, which were known only to the Priests. I was astonished as there are many Hymns which are an immune against evil spirits, ghouls and from deception of unholy things.

The insidious was waiting to leap on me, and as a general rule I was unaware of it.

One weekend, I was sitting on my porch reading Doxology, and then I read the newspaper. I heard a clattering sound at the gates, and I saw a Postman standing at the gate, I waved at him to come, and he handed an envelope to me. I signed the acknowledgement copy, and thanked the postman; I stepped inside the house, and sat on the dining table. I was running my fingers on the soft envelope; I tore the upper flap, and read the letter from an anonymous person, Mr. Gustav. The letter stated that Mr. Gustav wants to transfer all his assets, including his liquid assets to a person who is reliable, and who requires money to meet their ends, and so Mr. Gustav has selected me for inheriting his large property, as he don't have inheritor who can inherit his property, and he is conducting a feast after one week, so he wants me attend it. After reading the letter full of gibberish, I laughed out loud, thinking that this is some kind of joke, but after a while, it seemed that the letter was emphasizing truth, and it was no prank. I discarded the idea of inheriting the large wealth, as I was Spiritual so I was satisfied with what I yielded from the farm, and from my pension. Later that night, I decided to burn the letter at the hearth, however, I looked at the letter, and no sooner did I read the letter again, than an idea crammed my mind. I decided to acquire the immense wealth of Mr. Gustav, but it was out of charity and not greed.

I use to donate some money, but the donation primarily consists of heavy chunk of crops and clothes to orphanage and many charitable organisations, I thought that, if I inherit the wealth, so I will distribute them among the orphanages and charitable organisation, while the leftover wealth will be used in developing my farm and increasing the production. Mr Gustav was staying in the district of Apuka, and the letter mentioned that he is going to conduct a feast; I made up my mind to visit Mr. Gustav. I sold all the stocks of my crops, which were lying in the cellar, and I earned huge profits from selling the unsold stocks. I had rarely used my sedan for driving, so I spent money on upkeep of the car, as the district was one day travel from my hometown. At last, I packed my portmanteau, which contained a few clothes, my mobile phone, the Doxology, 9 mm pistol and a police baton. I carried the gun and the baton as a protection against any untoward incident, and I had used the gun and baton during my service in the police force.

I drove my sedan towards the steeple for my prayers, I sat on the pew for nearly half an hour and after my prayers, I stepped inside the sedan, turning the keys, and sloping ahead on a new journey. The day was dull, dark, and soundless, the clouds were hanging, and covered the sun in its dismay darkness, and I passed through the scenic beauty of nature, as I saw tall conifer and fig trees covering the opposite sides of the road. After a while a thin snowflake began to fall from the heavens, and it gradually covered the roads, and it was a long drive. I saw the light approaching from a structure at the bend of the road; the structure was dimly visible as the snowflakes gradually rose in the afternoon. The structure was a restaurant, as I was ravishing so I decided to gulp down foods; I halted the sedan at the premises of the restaurant. I scuttle my way to the restaurant to escape the snowflakes, and I walked inside. The restaurant was small but beautiful, the walls were painted in crimson, and the walls were decorated with the lights which resemble the yesteryear days of Soviet, and I washed my hands at the far end of the restaurant, thus grabbing a seat for me. At the walls opposite to me, and there were murals of the National Leaders of the country, an attendant came to me, asking my preferred foods, and I requested for grilled cubes of meat and farmer's cheese which is a common dessert of the country. After a while the attendant served me the food ordered, I started gobbling down the foods, and after lunch, I ordered Vodka. I was gratified, and then I paid the bills by my debit card, and paid handsome tips to the waiter in cash, and he thanked me for my gesture.

As I paced out of the restaurant, I saw the snowflakes ceased but the sky was still murky, and then I speeded up my sedan towards the destination. I looked at the directional road sign, and it signalled the destination was a few miles away, as the sun began to set, the clouds grew hazy. I stopped the sedan beside the road, and I opened the luggage, studying the letter where the direction of the house was mentioned. I drove the car steadily at the corner of the road, and as per the direction mentioned in the letter; there was an adjoining road which connected a small town. I steered my sedan towards the adjoining road, and paced ahead, the road snaked through a forest, and there was a signboard which mentioned the name of the town. The road headed to a small town, I saw the glittering of the lights from distant, as I reached the town, and the familiar sounds of hustle and bustle crammed my ears, the light emitting from the shops and hotels at the corner flooded the roads. People were huddling to malls, and theatre, as I accelerated ahead the jingles of the town gradually lowered, perhaps I was heading at the end of the town. I saw nearby there were tuck shops and restaurants, I decided to ask one of them passerby the address of the house, and then I halted the car near a tuck shop.

I asked the owner of the shop, who was an old man, the address of the house, as soon as I asked him, than the crinkle skin of the owner grew pale, and sombre, he asked, "Gentleman, don't grudge against me, but why are you going there?" I smiled and replied, "I got a letter from a person, and he has invited me for a feast." He tucked his hat out from his head, and scratched his bald head, which had sideburns, and his facial hair was moulded into van-dyke. He started at me, and uttered, "Sir, while moving ahead, you will see a raw road towards the right, which heads towards that house." I thanked him, but he continued, "Sir, I asked you the reason, because the forest ahead is believed to be haunted, and there are many unholy calamities that will fall ahead, and I had never been there during night in my entire lifetime." I soothingly replied, "It is just a matter of a few days, then I will go ahead." The man extended his hand to one of the ledge inside and grabbed a water sprinkler, the old man said, "Sir, I know that you will go for your business, but I humbly request you to take the Aspergillum." I looked at the Aspergillum made up of beautiful brass-work, and it was 20 centimetres in height, the Holy Object felt cold, and brittle. I thanked him, and paid the higher price, but he refused to take it. However, I appealed to him politely, and then he accepted the money, the old man uttered, "God Bless You, Gentleman and please do take care as the forest is treacherous." I smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sir I will be careful, and will meet you soon." I accelerated towards the destination.

There are some destinations where we move without knowing the consequences of it, but I didn't know that my quest for a destination will be life changing.

As I moved ahead, the town ceased to exist beyond, and the road snaked through dense forests. After a while, I saw an adjoining raw road at the right, I steered towards the raw road, and it was a bumpy ride for me among the woods. As I moved ahead, I saw a house rising among the bough, and as the house began to rise, I felt a gloom which prevailed on my spirit, the structure was a one-storey house, and it was large, the walls were bleak, coloured in fading brunette, it had a large chimney, and the windows of the house seemed like a vacant eyes. The house towered among few decayed trees. I felt like a depression weighing on my soul as I sighted the house, I was grappled with shadowy fantasies, and the house was an epitome of sorrow, and despair, as I approached the house, there was a black and lurid tarn that lay unruffled, as if it was residing here for centuries in subtle silence. I looked at the premises of the house, there were three cars shrouded in the dust, I made an opinion that this belong to the Mr. Gustav. Nevertheless, in this gloomy mansion, I was a guest and I don't have the privilege to confer about the house. I stopped the sedan adjacent to the dusted cars, and I looked at the mobile phone to check the network, but the signal was feeble here, perhaps I had entered the primitive age.

I got down from the sedan, and then carried the luggage, stepping at the porch, the porch light wasn't bright, to throw adequate light. However, I rang the bell, and it seemed that there was a loud gong thundering within the house, I shrugged my shoulder and glared at the mahogany door. I heard a click of the door knob, and from behind a tall man stood opposite to me, he was dressed in a tuxedo, with long hair waving below his shoulder, he looked sombre and had pale skin. The man uttered in the gruffly voice, "Good Evening Sir, Do you have an invitation from Mr. Gustav?" He was a valet; I replied, "Yes I do." I tucked my hand inside my coat, and showed him the envelope. A thin line of smile appeared on his sombre visage, and he replied, "Please come in Sir, we have been waiting for you." I thanked him, and stepped inside the house. The room was large and elegant as compared to the outer appearance of the house, there was a huge chandelier which seemed to fill the room, and the floor was pale marble. At the left corner, there was a wide staircase curved up, and before the staircase, there was a large elegant sofa, followed by the hearth and near to it laid two overstuffed chairs and a tea table in the midst. At the right there was a large oak polished table, which served as a dining table, and there were three large windows, while at the wall opposite to the door, there was a large portrait of a man sitting with his legs crossed on a large overstuffed chair, and near to the portrait there was a hallway to kitchen.

The valet summoned me to sit at the overstuffed chair near the hearth, I sat on the chair, and placed the luggage near me, he held the poker, and pushed the woods for amplifying the fire. The valet informed me that there would be more people visiting here, I was astonished at first and asked him the number of people attending the feast. The valet didn't have the information about it, but there will be tentatively more than five people, but it didn't bother me, as there will be people for company. After few minutes, I heard the bell gonged, and the valet brisk walked towards the door, I looked over the shoulder to check whose there at doors. I saw few gentlemen and ladies huddling inside the room, the valet offered them to sit on the sofa, there were ten people, he clapped loudly, and a group of people darted from the hallways to the visiting room. The valet ordered them to place our luggage at the top floor, and he told us that, Mr. Gustav will be meeting us at dinner, so he summoned us to the rooms for us to stay. We walked on the stairs, as we reached the gallery, there were two passages one at right and other at left, some of them were provided the rooms at the right, while two people and I were offered the rooms at the left. The passage was lighted with tiny dim lights at the ceiling, and the passage walls had the portraits of beautiful mansions and scenery.

I entered the room allocated to me, the room was huge and beautiful, there were two large windows draped in curtain, opposite to the door, at the left there was a dressing table followed by the huge bed, fresh room, and a huge cupboard. There was a study table, adjacent to the door; the electric lights crammed the room making it look elegant, my luggage was seated next to the study table, I parted the curtain and opened the window, to feel the cool breeze gushing on my face, I could hear the crinkling of the night creatures loud and clear, it was dark outside but the moonlight reflected on the ground and on the conifer trees, covered with the sheets of ice. I looked at the premises where more vehicles stood, some were adjacent while the others stood tailgating my sedan; I closed the window, and covered the window with curtain. I freshen up myself and pulled over fresh tuxedo for dinner, and I stood at the dressing table giving my attire a final look. I heard a knock at the door, and the door opened slowly, the valet informed that the dinner is ready for us. I walked outside, and closed the door, I saw the people stepping in the passage, the guests were talking with each other, and then one of them commenced to talk with me. We sat at the dinner table; I sat at the corner of the table, facing the window.

The dinner table was filled with various scrumptious dishes; the aroma of the dish pierced through the air, the chandelier threw lights on the floor, while I could hear the crackling of the fire at the hearth warming the room. People were conversing at the table, whilst waiting for the arrival of Mr. Gustav; I looked at the pendulum clock besides the window, the clock strike at 8pm. I saw an old man at the gallery looking at us, he is accompanied by his tall valet, and everyone at the table grew still. He was the man whom we awaited for, and definitely he is Mr. Gustav. He was a tall and tubby, but not taller than his valet, he had grey well-trimmed beard, he was bald, and his head was shining like an egg in the light of the chandelier. He had a walking stick, and he leaned on the stick will walking, the stick was hazel in colour, and it was Black throne Derby styled stick, which was similar to the 17-century stick in Western Europe. He was clad in black dinner suit; he had a wax coloured skin, his nose was large and his cheeks were red, and he had wrinkles on his skin. The valet adjusted the seat for him, and the old man sat on the large oak chair, he chaired the dining table. The dining table was near his portrait, as he sat on the chair, his back towards the portrait, the portrait seem to hang above his head, the younger version of Mr. Gustav in the portrait, while the old version is sitting on the chair in front of us. He smiled at us, and said, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am Mr. Gustav, and I am delighted that you have come for this feast. You might have a question, that how did I come to know your name and address." Everyone replied unanimously, "Yes." He chuckled glancing at us, as he chuckled his skin wrinkled, and his skin reddened. Mr. Gustav replied, "Well, I was working in post office, so I had hands on the address of many people around the nation, so I selected some of you among the billions." We looked at each other, and Mr. Gustav continued, "I have inherited this large property, but I don't have any legal heir who can inherit it, so I have decided to distribute my immense wealth amongst you."

Everyone were stunned, and they started chattering, one of the person sitting beside me talked to me, and I could see the happiness glinting in everyone's eyes, but I didn't had the intention to own the wealth, and my purpose was to donate the wealth. Mr. Gustav exclaimed, "Ahem!! Alright people, congratulations, you all are now partners to my immense property and in few days my lawyer will visit here, and we will decide the sharing of the property." He continued, "This tall burly man, standing beside me is the valet, and he takes care of everything around the house, his name is Ivan, so if you need any help, you can approach him". I looked at Ivan, who towered amongst us; his head was held high as Mr. Gustav introduces him. Mr. Gustav urges us to commence the feast, and we started the great feast, I don't know much about others, but for me this is a grand feast. We started to devour the dinner, the dinner was scrumptious, there was variety of foods catered for us, Chicken Kiev, fish fingers, grilled meat cubes, stewed fillets, and many more. I was famished, so I gobbled down everything, we were served with vodka, and for desserts, we had porridge, fudges, caramel custards and many more. My belly was crammed, and perhaps this was the best feast, I ever had in my life. Mr. Gustav urged that he wants to show his house, Ivan and his assistants cleared the dishes for us. Mr. Gustav lead us to the nooks and corners of the house, he showed many unoccupied rooms at the top floor, which are large and beautiful, after a while Ivan joined us to assist him. One of the rooms were decorated with the valuable artefacts of Soviet and Imperial era, which will fetch huge chunk of money if sold in the market, while moving ahead he showed a room, which was unusually large, and it had small window shrouded by a black drape. As we entered the room, I felt unusually cold and depressing, the room had a chandelier as the source of light, and it was decorated by objects used in occult.

Mr. Gustav chuckled like a child, and said, "I had collected these artefacts for collection, when I traversed across the world." I looked at the room, at the right, there was an ancient table, which had three stone slabs stacked, and it contained rune of some unknown language. There was a huge showcase; its corners were designed in medieval fashion. The showcase contained voodoo dolls of diverse types, also there was a book studded with ivory, and there was an unusual designs curved on the book, on examining it, I found that it seemed like a man or demon, with long limbs and empty eye sockets. On the other side of the room there were large wooden face masks hung on the walls, it was worn by the tribesmen of Africa for conducting black magic, and also there were many objects used my shamans in our country. I saw an object leaning against the wall; it was a black coloured wand, at the top it had a rectangular shaped object with rungs thrust within in, and above that there was three grinning skulls staring at us. The room was creepy, and I guessed that, Mr. Gustav likes to collect all the objects regardless of its appalling features. I saw people talking to each other as some of them didn't like the room, and it was palpable as the room served for harbouring unholy objects. Mr. Gustav continued to show other rooms, and after a while, he bade good night to us, and we all retired to our rooms.

I freshen up and pulled over night clothes, I looked at the sky, where the crescent moon stood among the nimbus sky, and from the far the howling of jackals grew louder and louder, as they are looking for a solitary company. I unpacked my luggage, and took the Doxology Book, and I switched off the lights. However, I switched on the table lamp at the study table and began to study, and after a while, I looked at the watch hanging on the wall above the bed, and it was around 10.30. I closed the book and hoped on my bed getting ready to sleep, I pulled the quilt up to my chest, and I glared at the windows. I could see the crescent moon, now partially shrouded by the nimbus clouds, also I could hear the twittering of the night creatures, and it sounded melodious. I didn't know when I slipped into deep slumber.

The house of horror was unknown but when I realised it will be too late.