((This is an in-character account of the ChiTauloween event held in October 2022. The event involved many people. It is fair to say that Merilee was the mastermind behind it, no doubt with the full support of Ancilla and Trasee. The cast also included Kenneth Menefer, the Mortician, and The Red Death. But the story was ultimately told by us, the Children of Chi Tau.))

For nearly a month, Death walked among us. It started with a break-in at our library. An ancient tome, The Sumerian Book of the Dead, was vandalized, with twenty-nine pages torn out and scattered, hidden in and under our city. Neither the library staff nor the police could catch, or even identify, the shadowy intruder. But at this point, the threat was to property and the preservation of antiquities. I recall it as a serious matter, but not one that directly affected me.

All that changed with sightings of what we would soon be calling The Red Death started on October 9, 2022. It was seen at the Hellfire Club, where it touched and cursed Tala. Tala and Sens are dear friends, so this was suddenly personal. Hellfire neighbors the Library, The Red Death appearing so close to the vandalism was suspicious. How were the two related?

I joined ‘Team Tala’, and began searching the town for the missing pages. The pages have a dark aura, just getting close to them could set that hairs on the back of your neck to stand up. This was a blessing and a curse, it let you know that you were close. The dread hit me in Hospital, I immediately suspected the bloody body in the morgue area. That was not the case, but the sight of the body was almost enough to make me vomit. Only later did I realize that particular page was in City Hall—the evil aura was not stopped by building walls or property lines.

After hours of work, I had searched the safer parts of town, finding several of the missing pages. Others had joined in the hunt, so I was hopeful that we would be able to gather the missing pages and perhaps solve the mystery threatening the life of a dear friend. Feeling optimistic, and eager to avoid the dark auras, I went to a dance. It was right around halftime, Sara and I had been teasing Keith, so I had missed Ancilla’s warning. With my hands overhead, Keith was removing my top. As he lifted, I was momentarily blinded and my arms pinned overhead. At that moment, The Red Death touched me between my breasts. Even blinded by my top, I knew the cold, menacing touch could not be Keith or Sara. As my top lifted, I saw The Red Death. I screamed, “You! You want me?” But I could already feel the cold of death. In a moment, she was gone. I could not believe it, I did not want to believe it. But then Ancilla was hugging me, promising to find a cure. Sara was near, I grabbed her too. I had to touch, to hold the living. It was still where I belonged. I mocked The Red Death. Tonight, I danced with Keith and Sara—if I were to die tonight, it would be la petite mort in the arms of lovers.

My bravado held for the night, but the upcoming days my outlook became darker. I was not just searching with friends to protect a friend. Now, I was fighting for my life. I took risks that I never would have considered. I searched Old Town and The Slums. Using allies when I could, I searched throughout the entire city. The dark places were now just another place to search. The dread that I had felt when I was close to the dark pages now brought me joy. The bloodstained limestone of a buried castle showed me what it meant to be weak in the face of The Red Death. I would not give that bitch that satisfaction—I raged at my fate. Deep under the city, I searched for the pages. In a deep cave, there was a statue of a giant serpent bathed in an unholy light, I felt a special connection to The Red Death. That felt like the right place to kill that bitch.

I remembered St. Lucy’s Day in 1287. On that night, Lussinatta to the Swedes, the North Sea stormed ashore at high tide in my homeland. Lake Flavo sank to the bottom of the newly created Zuiderzee. In that deluge, 50,000 souls were lost to the sea that now covered the lands of my ancestors. In my nightmares, I heard the futile cries of children as homes were washed out to sea. The dark goddess Lussi led that Wild Hunt that claimed so many souls. My life, the lives of Chi Tau, were nothing before the rage of Lussi on that night. I prayed to Lussi for the rage to face The Red Death.

I learned about the Mortician. The technician of death was to be my guide. I met Erick and we traveled to Old Town. There we met Corey. Together we approached the Mortuary, where we found the Mortician, Kenneth Menefer. To Menefer, I was just another college slut off to a costume party. We had a long talk—it was more of a fencing duel with words. He wanted to know the precise title of the damaged book, which we did not know. With clues but no clear solution, we left for the library.

At the library, I went to ask for more details about the damaged tome. Savvy Vortex, the head librarian, helped as best she could, the book was named The Sumerian Book of the Dead. That name was nagging at me. I had seen something like that before. I recalled an old news clipping I had seen in the sorority. It was a story about Associate Professor Ashley Williams, a faculty member of our very own Chi Tau University. Why was the clip saved? Perhaps a professor had made an impression on the founding sluts of our sorority? From the clipping, I learned that the good professor had written The Definitive Translation of the Book of the Dead. I giggled when I read of his attempted translation, “I believe this expression translates to English as ‘Klaatu Barada…Necktie? But I am not convinced about that last part.”

I tried to get a copy of his work, but it was not to be found in our library. The book was so unpopular that it could not even be found on inter-library loan. However, I knew that Amsterdam was a center of book dealers, so I sent my brother Ari to look for a copy. He found a copy at a book dealer in the Red-Light District. So as soon as he could get out of the district and ship it priority mail, the book was in my hands.

I spent a few days reading the book. Changing between the various calendars used throughout human history is a challenge. Mankind has used lunar calendars, solar calendars, even lunisolar calendars. These calendars related man to his place in the cosmos – they were of great religious importance. I could deduce that the next Holy Day for the ceremony would be in a few days, October 30, 2022, the eve of modern Hallowe’en. Thinking back to school,”who, what, where, when”? I still needed the where. During my searches, one dark chamber came to mind. Entering the room, bathed in dancing green light, under the hypnotic gaze of the basilisk, in my head, I hear the cackling of Lord Voldemort – I was in The Temple of Slytherin. Imagination, reality, fears all swirled in my head—I felt a tenuous grip between worlds. If there was a place to send The Red Death to hell, this would be the place.

While I was in our library, the old Mortician, Kenneth Menefer, dropped by. He recognized the cypher used. We suspected that Kyphi, mentioned in the damaged pages, was a key word. Several of us were working to uncover the meaning—Corey, Joan Tone, Star, Erick and yours truly. I was able to decipher “Burn Kyphi tell ….” But the rest of the letters looked like gibberish to me. Then I remembered Prof. Williams’ translation attempt, ‘Klaatu Barada…Necktie” Soon I had “Burn Kyphi tell Klaatu Barada …” With that, I could finally solve “Burn Kyphi tell Klaatu Barada Nikto”. It turned out that Corey and Joan had already beaten me to it, but I was very pleased to have the formula for the Kyphi and the incantation.

On the day of the ceremony, the victims gathered – Tala Alphaville, Woodwise, Trash Neko Sam, and me. To my joy, a number of our friends and fellow citizens braved the dark evil of that place to help us confront The Red Death. We marched to the woods, down the caves and into the tunnels. The selfless brave—Erick, Tabitha Fahlen Katt, Nicholas Sandell, Sensualmale Alphaville, Joan Tone, Alessandra, Astralios, Cassie and Star. They stood with those of us cursed by The Red Death. We stood together. We burned the Kyphi, we faced The Red Death. She came to mock us, to claim the damned. But with one voice, we cried out, “Klaatu Barada Nikto!” The Red Death screamed, her flesh burned until only bones remained. Kenneth Menefer looked on, adding with some satisfaction, “You have done well, Children of Chi Tau.” Then, he added a warning, “But do not rest easy. The Red Death is not dead, but for the time being, defeated.”

Together, for now the victors, the Children of Chi Tau returned to the surface. For now all had stood together for those of us cursed by The Red Death.