The Tale of Edward Cook

A Story by funkyguy97

Allow me to tell you a tale of love, and greed.

This is a story about an old, humble man named Edward Cook, he is 37 years old and lives in a mansion in the town of Charming, California. He spent his life here for the last 27 years and did the same routine all of his life. He’d get out of bed, brush his teeth, eat breakfast, then he would go to town and he always passed by this strange oddities shop on his way to the grocery store. Edward always wondered what was in the oddities shop, but he never got a chance to go in. One eventful day, on his way back from the grocery store, a sudden storm struck. The closest shelter was the oddities shop he’d passed by for years, so he had no other choice but to run in there to keep dry and safe.

As he walked in, he was stopped by the many weird and bizarre things that were in this shop. There were various rusty and old looking weapons displayed on the walls, Edward had never seen these type of weapons before. Jars were displayed on the counters and shelves that contained what looked like body parts and organs. A bookshelf was at the back of the store and the books it contained were strange and the titles of the books were in a strange language. Edward didn’t want to be rude so he rang the bell to see if anyone was even in this odd place.

After about three rings of the bell, Edward heard what sounded like footsteps coming his way, as he looked around a figure appeared. This figure looked older than him and was very short, walked with a cane, a limp, had a hunchback and wore very dark glasses. “Welcome, Edward Cook, to Morrighan’s Shop of Mystery!” she said in an old, raspy, Irish accent. Edward was stunned, “How did you know my name Morrighan!?”. She replied “I know many things Cook, and I have seen many events happen in my life that some people would rather have not seen, but time for the real question, why are you here? I can tell you are very disgusted and repulsed by my home.”

He replied, “There is a storm outside and I am miles away from my home so I just ran in here to take shelter until it clears up. I'm sorry, I didn't mean any harm.” She looked at him with a smile “Well boy, you are always welcome in my shop, and no harm done at all.” She walked over to the window and looked through it, “Well it looks like this storm isn't letting up anytime soon, so Edward tell me about yourself.” Edward said, “Well, I live in a man's-” getting interrupted by Morrighan “I meant tell me something I don't already know about you.” Edward then looked shocked once again, “How do you know so much about me Morrighan? Are you stalking me? Following me around all day? Of course none of that would be possible since you look older than me and you even have what looks like serious walking problems.”

“I do not follow you, nor do I watch you or hire anyone to do that for me, I have my own special ways to keep an eye on everything in this town and everyone as well.” Now Edward was scared more than anything but also a little bit intrigued, “Tell me Morrighan, what is your special way of watching people.” She then said “I do not only watch people my boy but I can do many other things as well, almost as if I have special powers.”

She then made a motion with her hands and in her palm appeared a small pitchfork. “Go on take it and feel that it is real.” Edward picked it up and sure enough it was real, he couldn't believe it, was this magic he thought or is it all a trick? “How are you able to do these things Morrighan? It’s like sorcery out of Harry Potter or movies, and even though I just saw it with my very own eyes I still find it a bit hard to believe.” He said. She replied “Well if you are truly having doubts then maybe you need more convincing. How is your money situation Edward, of course I already know the answer to that?” She then cackled, He replied “Well yes you are right I am struggling with finances.” he then slumped into a chair and put his head down.

Morrighan then walked over to him and said “Well dearie you know that I can help you with this money trouble” she said as she conjured up a one hundred dollar bill. “But that would be asking too much wouldn't it Morrighan? I mean you've got your house here and it looks like you haven't left in a very long time.” he said. “Who said anything about me doing it, or leaving? No... No... Dearie I have something much bigger in mind.” she replied with a devilish smile on her face. “What do you mean Morrighan? Is there someone else who has these powers of yours?” he asked. “No one else has these powers, yet, my dear boy.” she said as she walked behind the check-out counter and grabbed a very large and dusty scroll from the shelf.

“Yes please tell me how I could get these powers Morrighan!” he said excitedly as he nearly fell over rushing to the counter. She unrolled the scroll on the counter and as soon as it fully unrolled, thunder clapped from outside as the storm seemed to have gotten worse, she said “this scroll has the power to give whoever signs it anything they want. All they have to do is sign their name and write what they want the most.” thunder clapped once again as Edward approached the counter. “So all I have to do is sign my name and write that I want your powers? Then I will have them and be able to do anything?” he said. “Indeed you will dearie,You can then take care of your money problems and anything else you want to do it is your choice.” she said with a very evil grin.

“And if I do this will there be any consequences at all?” Edward said as thunder clapped once again. “Of course not Cook. And if there is any i'll be sure to try and remember to tell you.” she said. “Ok Morrighan I’ll do it. I’ll sign it.”

Edward then grabbed the quill on the counter and signed his name (Edward Cook) thunder clapped again and again over and over as the scroll was being signed. He then wrote down what he wanted most (I wish to have unlimited power like Morrighan to be able to control anything I want and to be able to fulfill my deepest desires). As Edward finished that last word thunder struck again and the rain was pouring so hard hitting the window it sounded as if the window was going to break. As the thunder struck and the rain fell Morrighan cackled and laughed as Edwards head spun and he fell hitting his head on the counter.

He looked up with blurred vision he couldn't see anything but it looked almost as if Morrighan was flying above him she then shouted “You are a fool Edward Cook! Not only have you sealed your doom but now you have signed with the devil! You see I have been watching you waiting for the day you stepped into this shop! Now you shall have ultimate power but something incredibly horrible will happen to you at the hands of your closest loved one! So enjoy your eternal hell Edward Cook!” Thunder clapped and rain fell hard, the building then looked as if it was being torn apart, Morrighan Cackled and laughed like a demonic witch and then all of sudden...silence.

Edward then woke up at his house, he looked at the clock, it was 6:47am. He laid there wondering if what just happened was a dream or was it reality. He got out of bed, brushed his teeth and walked out skipping breakfast. As he stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked around the world seemed normal but there was one important thing Edward had to do. He rushed to the spot where Morrighan's shop was and it had vanished almost as if it had never been there in the first place.

Edward then walked home and on his way home he thought to himself was this all a bad dream? Or was it reality and the shop really did disappear and break as he saw in his dream? If it was real then that would mean that Edward had the powers that he obtained in his “dream”. Just then Edward heard a truck horn he turned toward the gigantic beats heading towards him and he put one of his hands up in fear. Then he heard crashing and screeching of tires he looked and saw that the truck had flipped over.

This would mean that Edward had obtained his powers otherwise he would've been dead at that moment. Edward rushed home and ran in shutting the door behind him. He was scared and frightened and he didn't know what to do. Just then there was a knock at the door, Edward answered it and it was the mailman he handed Edward an envelope and left. Edward opened it and it was more bills and an eviction notice just then Edward remembered the whole reason he signed that scroll it was to take care of his money problem.

He thought to himself, would it really be that bad if he used his new powers to do what he originally intended to do? The only problem was that he didn't know how to conjure anything at all. Just then he tripped over an enormous book and he looked at it. The title said “Conjuring and Dark Magic”. Edward opened the book and looked for how to conjure money, after looking for what seemed like forever he finally found it. He followed the instructions and he successfully conjured one hundred dollars.

He was excited and a little bit proud of himself for doing it then he conjured enough money to pay back all of his bills. Now he didn't have a care in the world but then he thought what else could he do with this power. He conjured more money and a suit and left to town to spend unlimited money on whatever he wanted. In town he spent money on an outrageously expensive dinner and Edward was happy having whatever he wanted whenever, after all he studied the book well enough to know a good amount of spells. While walking downtown he passed this beautiful beggar woman. She had fire red hair, gorgeous green eyes and freckles. Edward pulled fifty dollars out of his wallet and gave it to her.

“Here you go miss.” he said smiling and handing her the dollar. She looked at him and smiled “I'm sorry but i can't take this from you it's simply too much.” He replied “Please, I insist,take it, it's the least I could do for someone so beautiful and excuse me for being so rude I am Edward Cook.” She smiled and said “my name is Christa Coleman.” Edward smiled and said “tell me christa, why are you out here alone and begging for money? how old are you anyway?” she then replied “i'm 37, I ran away from my home in Texas when I was 17 years old and came here to Charming. So far it hasn't been going good, even though I barely have enough money to support myself.” Edward replied “Well, come with me back to my house I can get you some clean clothes and make you some food.” Christa agreed and went with Edward to his house.

They entered his house and Christa was amazed at how big it was and the fact that Edward lived all by himself. “So how long were you planning to be in Charming Christa?” Edward asked while looking at Christa and smiling. “Since i'm homeless it's hard to stay in one town. sometimes if I manage to get enough money, I catch a bus to another town and stay there, but i've never been in a town for more than a month.” she said looking at the floor sadly. “Well Christa Coleman you are always welcome to stay here, as you can see there is plenty of room.” Edward said.

“No I couldn't possibly do that, I wouldn't want to be a bother to you.” she replied. Edward walked towards her and sat next to her and said “I insist someone as beautiful as you should never be out in the world and face the evil that is out there.” Christa looked at him and said “thank you very much Edward you are the only person to be this kind to me.” she then hugged him and Edward hugged her back. Months passed and Edwards feelings grew from just helping someone in their time of need to something much more. Edward started feeling something he hadn't felt in a long

time and for once in his life he was happy.

Even though Edward had used his powers to give Christa anything and everything she wanted at this point he did not remember the Devil’s curse and had forgotten that something incredibly horrible will happen at the hands of his closest loved one. The only thing was Edward didn't know if Christa felt the same way about him. In his mind he thought the only way he could know was to ask her to marry him. Edward then conjured up a ring with a 50 karat diamond and it looked like it was worth a couple million dollars.

He then approached Christa and talked to her casually as they had talked for months. When he was ready he got down on one knee and said “Christa Coleman , will you be my wife for the rest of my life?” She looked at him with a big smile "yes I will Edward Cook!" She hugged him and kissed him passionately and soon they got married, they spent the next 10 years living in that same house as happy as they could be. But every good thing must come to an end, Christa was always suspicious of how Edward always got the things he did, how bills would get paid right away, and she began having her crazy thoughts.

One day while Edward was out running errands she began looking around. There was this one room in their house that Edward told Christa not to go in, and it was always locked and only Edward knew where the key was. As Christa looked for the key she thought and tried to figure out where Edward would hide the key. Then she remembered, he always kept a small coin bag with him and since he always had bills and she never once saw him pull out a penny from that bag, the key had to be in there. She went upstairs to their bedroom, she was praying it would be up here and that he had forgotten it and sure enough there it was, on the nightstand so she grabbed it and opened it and the key was in it like she had said.

She quickly took the key and rushed to the door. She unlocked it and opened the door slowly and what she saw horrified her. There was weapons that she had never seen before displayed on the walls, jars containing various body parts, brains and eyeballs. She didn't even want to walk in but her curiosity got the better of her. As she walked in she only got more horrified and disgusted, there was a list on one of the many old and bloody tables, it read (people to kill) in order from top to bottom, it read (Marilyn Manson, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus) and the last name said (Christa Coleman) she dropped the note and stepped backward bumping into a podium she turned around and saw what was on the podium. It was Edward's book of spells he had gotten many years ago.

She looked through it and every page had something that they had gotten, but there were also pages that had darker spells. Christa was scared of the fact that her own husband had had this secret life for 10 years and she knew nothing about it. She then saw a closet and walked to it, as she was about to open it she noticed that there was fresh blood on the knobs. As much as she didn't want to she had to open it, so she did and the body of her father fell on her. She screamed as loud as she could and ran out of the room, down the stairs and to the phone to call the police.

As soon as she started to dial the number she was hit on the back of the head and knocked out. She woke up hours later in the middle of the room she ran out of tied to a chair. The door opened and Edward walked in, smiling and holding a rusty and bloody bone saw. "I warned you to never come in here Christa and yet you came in anyway." Edward said walking in slowly like a tiger stalking its prey. "How could you do these things Edward how could you kill my dad? How did you even find him? I told you I ran away." Christa said with tears running down her face.

"I have my ways of finding people, and I found him and he threatened to take you away from me and I couldn't let that happen." He replied "What are you planning to do to me Edward? I taught you loved me." She said crying even more. "You don't know my full story Christa or what happened before I met you. The only reason we are able to have all these nice things is with this book." He said picking up the book of spells. "Before I met you I made a foolish deal with the devil and she told me that something horrible would happen to me at the hands of my closest loved one, so I have been practicing killing and after the first kill it just got easier and easier. The reason why is because there is a way to break this curse. And it's to kill my loved one before they killed me. Killing is really easy now and I hardly feel any emotion while doing it. The only emotion I feel is pleasure. You were going to be last but I guess now you will have to be next." Edward said walking behind her, putting the saw against her throat.

"You don't have to kill me Edward please I love you with all my heart. We can figure something else out." Christa said while she continued to cry. "There is no other way my wife and I'm sorry you had to be the one to be killed next." He raised the bone saw as if he was going to swing it and decapitate her. Christa lunged forward hitting him in the stomach, as they both fell to the ground Christa managed to escape the poorly tied rope around her hands and stumbled out of the room. She ran to their bedroom and grabbed the 44. Magnum that they had kept in their nightstand drawer. As Edward walked in she turned around and pointed it at him.

"Stay right there you psycho!" Christa yelled. "How dare you. You ungrateful girl. After everything I gave you. You pull a gun on me?!" Edward said walking slowly towards her. "Everything you gave me was fake Edward! And you say how dare you to me yet you were going to kill me?" She said still crying. "You're no killer Christa and besides you can't kill me. I have powers you don't understand. I want a normal life so you must die for me to be able to have that."

He started to conjure a gun of his own but before he could Christa shot and the bullet flew through the air, Before Edward could react it found its home between his eyes. His body fell to the floor, blood forming a puddle underneath his head. Christa looked shocked for a second almost as if she didn't mean to shoot, but she knew it needed to be done. She stepped over his body and went downstairs and called the police. They arrived shortly and rushed in, they then put Edwards lifeless body in a body bag.

A police officer approached Christa outside "what happened here ma'am?" He asked her. "My husband tried to kill me. He... Was doing horrible things and I had to stop it.he killed other people to and also my dad. I just wish I could've helped him and all those people." She replied showing with no emotion. The police then proceeded to bag up all the evidence and also put Christa's father in a body bag as well.

The news report aired as followed. "Hello I am Nancy grace here reporting live at the Cook residence. What started as a normal day lead to tragedy as Christa Cook shot Edward Cook in self defense as she claims. Police say that what they found in a secret room of horrors as they call it can be described as, being in a horror film. The house is reportedly to be condemned and closed and is now considered unsellable, more on this story and an exclusive interview with Christa Cook at 11'.

And so is the story of Edward Cook. A man who gave into greed and made a deal with the devil. He had everything he wanted until as predicted by Morrighan he met a horrible end at the hands of his most loved one, and after all I should know, I am Morrighan. I write this story of yet another foolish human to sign a deal with me. I can take many forms as they say, so keep a watchful eye out. For the next time you see me, I could be an innocent child or someone asking to use your telephone saying that my car broke down, And if you remember anything from this story, remember two things. One, always know who to trust and who to not trust. And two, I am always watching.