The Spook's Bestiary - By Joseph Delaney Page 0,23

materialize.

Again that roaring filled the house, the bare stone flags beneath our feet beginning to move. As the noise reached its climax, the dog gave a shrill cry, shuddered, and lay still. It was dead—not because Golgoth had touched it with his cold deadly fingers. It had died of fright.

Gradually the noises subsided, the cold began to lessen, and the fear that had been squeezing my heart slowly released its grip. I had knocked the grimoire from Morgan’s hand before he could complete the ritual. Golgoth had been forced to return to the dark. For now, the County was safe.

It was the end of Morgan’s apprenticeship to me. I couldn’t keep him on after he’d done that. I should really have bound him in a pit. After all, I do that to witches. But his mother begged me not to, and I relented. He turned fully to the dark after that.6

Shamans

A shaman uses animism magic and employs the spirit of an animal as his familiar. He feeds it some of his life essence in return for its guidance and protection. Using this, a shaman projects his soul from his body and can venture far in the twinkling of an eye; in addition to his journeys to earthly locations, he routinely ventures into limbo. One famous shaman called Lucius Grim crossed over to the domain of the dark several times, until his soul was finally devoured by a demon. His body continued to breathe for many years afterward, but it was just an empty vessel.

Not all shamans are malevolent. Using their animal spirit, some practice healing; others attempt to control the weather, bringing rainfall to alleviate droughts.

Grimoires

These are ancient books, full of spells and rituals, used to invoke the dark. Sometimes they are employed by witches, but they are mainly used by mages, and their spells have to be followed to the letter, or death can result.7

Many of these famous texts have been lost (the Patrixa and the Key of Solomon). The most dangerous and powerful grimoires, however, were written in the Old Tongue by the first men of the County. Primarily used to summon demons, these books contain terrible dark magic. Most have been deliberately destroyed or hidden far from human sight.

The most mysterious, and reputedly most deadly, of these is the Doomdryte. Some believe that this book was dictated word for word by the Fiend to a mage called Lukrasta. That grimoire contains just one long dark magic incantation. If successfully completed (in conjunction with certain rituals), it would allow a mage to achieve immortality, invulnerability, and godlike powers.

Fortunately no one has ever succeeded, as it requires intense concentration and great endurance: The book takes thirteen hours to read aloud, and you cannot pause for rest.

One word mispronounced brings about the immediate death of the mage. Lukrasta was the first to attempt the ritual, and the first to die. Others followed in his foolish footsteps.

We must hope that the Doomdryte remains lost for- ever.

The Pendle witches have their own grimoires, but they never contain the ritual for summoning the Fiend. They consider this too dangerous to be written down: it is learned by heart and passed down through the clans from mother to daughter.8

* * *

Once again it must be stressed that it is very dangerous to trust a woman—especially a witch. There are many good women in the world, but even when dealing with a benign witch, never tell her everything; always hold something in reserve.—John Gregory

1This type of magic is rarely practiced by witches.—John Gregory

2The above is based upon the writings of a very early spook called Nicholas Browne, who traveled far beyond the borders of the County. Apart from his notebooks, there is no evidence that any of his assertions are true, but we must keep an open mind. The world is a big place and much remains to be explored.—John Gregory

3The word necromancer comes from the Greek nekros, which means corpse. —apprentice Mark Caster

4The black candles are identical to those used by malevolent witches in their rituals. Bony Lizzie had them in her house when I rescued the child called Tommy. I’ve seen them many times since, and their presence is always a bad sign. Their dark color is achieved by mixing human blood into the wax.—Tom Ward

5My master’s ex-apprentice, Morgan, turned from the light and practiced necromancy. In return for money, he summoned the dead from limbo for grieving families. Even worse, he trapped the spirit of my own father and made him believe