The following was a writing prompt to compose a flash fiction work about the image above, mixed with Franz Kafka landscape scenes.
Edgar’s Descent
In the depths of a desolate forest, where shadows danced with sinister delight, stood an eerie mansion. Its decaying facade exuded an air of unspeakable dread as if it held secrets too ghastly for mortal comprehension. The moon, shrouded by ominous clouds, cast an ethereal glow upon the scene, intensifying the macabre ambiance.
Within this wretched abode dwelled a man named Edgar, plagued by a mind tormented by both the supernatural and the absurd. He had long lost touch with reality, his existence trapped in a nightmarish amalgamation of Martinez’s horrors and Kafka’s uncanny landscapes.
Edgar’s nights were consumed by restless visions. He would find himself wandering through vast labyrinths of grotesque proportions, where walls pulsated with life and whispered secrets that threatened to unravel his sanity. Each step he took seemed to lead him deeper into a realm where nightmares and reality merged into one.
One fateful evening, when the moon hung low in the sky, Edgar discovered a hidden passage behind a crumbling bookshelf. As he ventured further into this hidden realm, he stumbled upon a chamber bathed in an otherworldly glow. In its center lay an ancient tome, bound in weathered leather and adorned with cryptic symbols.
Edgar’s Descent continued
Driven by curiosity mingled with trepidation, Edgar reached out to touch the forbidden book. At that moment, the room seemed to tremble with anticipation, and the air grew thick with malevolence. The tome sprung open of its own accord, revealing pages filled with unutterable horrors and bewildering landscapes that defied all reason.
As Edgar delved deeper into the book’s whispered pages, he felt his mind unraveling, his perception of reality slipping away. He became entwined in a grotesque dance between Martinez’s creatures of the night and Kafka’s absurdity, trapped in a maddening loop of terror and bewilderment.
Days blended into nights, and Edgar lost all track of time. His existence became a haze of monstrous apparitions and distorted landscapes, each more horrifying than the last. He yearned for escape, but the book held him captive, its pages turning endlessly, tormenting him until the day that the book is once again discovered, and opened up.
The article is by dark fiction author, Willy Martinez, released for the Ritual Blog for Mind on Fire Books.
Willy Martinez is also featured in our anthology Mad Men, available for sale now.
Spread the word
Enjoyed the Chat? Don’t Leave Without “Digital Fangs.”
Thanks for diving deep into the world of Folk Body Horror! If you want more unsettling tales where the body mutates and the land has a claim, join the Mind on Fire insider list today. As a welcome gift, I’ll send you “Digital Fangs,” a complete, dark story from the Folklore and Flesh collection—absolutely free!
GIVE ME MY FREE STORY NOW
Leave a Reply