Grim Bones and the Cursed Fiddle

It was another lonely day for Grim Bones. He was walking near the old marsh, it was dank and smelly. These things aside it was peaceful; no one ever came round these boggy fields which was fine by Grim. People didn’t much like him because he looked so different. He had a ‘way’ about him they would say. So this left Grim here, alone. He would occupy himself with all manner of things. Sticks, stones and of course the Hanging Tree. He did sometimes get bored though. Today was one of these days. He decided to venture a bit further out into the marsh. It was here he made a great discovery. Poking out from the surface of the swampy clumps of grass was a case. It was brown and beaten. The golden clasp was caked with mud, but to Grims eyes it shone brighter than the sun.

He skipped across the stones until he was within touching distance of the case. He carefully pulled it out, noticing it wasn’t the briefcase shape he was expecting. This heightened his excitement. He dashed quickly back to the Hanging Tree where he spent most of his time. Shaking at the idea of what may lie inside the case.

He flicked the clasp and pulled open the lid. He was stunned at what he found inside. He reached in and dragged out a fiddle, and underneath a bow, both still remarkably dry. ‘What a miracle’ Grim thought.

Of course Grim had no idea how to play it; he had never had any formal education at all. But Grim was lucky also, he did have some friends. Unconventional friends though they may have been. You see, the Hanging Tree still has some residents. The ghosts of many of the people who died by the branch of the tree still remained. One of whom, who was the stroke of luck, was a famed concert violinist called Niccoló. Niccoló had been hung in 1699 for the murder of his wife. This aside, he had always been very nice to Grim. He proved this by offering to teach Grim how to play the fiddle he had found.

The lessons were gruelling; Niccoló was very demanding and would only stand for the best. Grim persevered and became very good, very quickly. This was mainly due to the fact Grim Bones was always lonely and ghosts had nothing but time. Grim excelled so fast that within a year he was almost as good as Niccoló himself. Something which irked the dead master.

Grim ignored Niccolós grumpiness and played on; in just another half year he had surpassed the great Niccoló and began to practise alone. Without really thinking he began edging closer to town. His playing had become so good, it seemed his feet wanted other people to hear. With every pull of his bow, his steps carried him closer to civilisation. The one day it happened. Grim had been playing behind the barber shop when a man, after receiving a shave, came around the back. Grim stopped playing immediately. There was a face off. They both just stared at each other until the man bellowed.

“Well Boy…Play something you strange looking fellow!”

Grim didn’t know what to do. His brain was telling him to run as fast as he could, get out of there to the safety of the marsh and the tree. But something kept him there, urging him to play. And play he did. He drew the bow back and flew into the music; he got carried away with it and didn’t stop until his hands hurt. He used every flourish and trick he knew. Only after the performance was over did he look back to the man. The man however was not standing. He was slumped on the floor bleeding from his eyes and clutching at his throat. This only surprised Grim in it wasn’t what he expected to see. Being someone who mingled with ghosts regularly he wasn’t easily fazed. However he did decide to get away before the man who did this came back, or worse, he got the blame for the dead mans condition.

As he ran away he noticed a poster for a talent competition. The site of the poster excited him; he was hungry for another audience so he signed his name on the bottom and dashed off.

For two days he spoke of nothing else to the ghosts of the Hanging Tree. They were all very proud of him apart from Niccoló, who was not so secretly jealous of Grims attention. Grim and the other ghosts ignored Niccoló, he was always a little grumpy and no one ever knew why.

The day finally came and Grim packed up his fiddle and made his way into town. All of the ghosts gathered round Grim to wish him good luck. Niccoló stayed on the highest branch with his back to proceedings. When Grim finally got into town he was due on the stage in five minutes. The other performers ignored Grim, as people usually did, but today it didn’t matter. Grim knew his talent and soon everyone else would as well.

The Time Came.

The applause stifled when Grim came out.

“Look at him mummy!”
“What is he doing here?”

Grim ignored all of the voices. This time he would show them, it would be he crowning glory and he would make sure to look at the crowd while he played so he could see their surprised faces.

The first notes sound.

Grim began to float on his music. Soaring. He sinks deep into his sound. He must have been playing for nearly a minute before he remembered to look up at the crowd, see their excited faces. But when he does finally look up, he doesn’t see excitement. The crowd are all clutching at their throats while blood seeps from their eyes. It seems to last a life time before he stops playing. Once he does stop, the crowd stop choking and gagging, their eyes dry up and slowly they begin to revert back to normal as if nothing had happened. As they wipe the last remnants of blood from their eyes they all look up at Grim.

“WITCH!”
“SORCERER!”
“DEEEEEMMMMOOOOOONNNN!”

The crowd all begin to scream at Grim while slowly rising to their feet and moving towards him. His period as an ice statue ended. He bolted out of the theatre and didn’t look back until he was back at the Hanging Tree. He climbed up to his favourite branch and began to sob. He didn’t get too long however as his sobs were interrupted by Niccoló sounding as out of breath as a ghost can.

“I’m so sorry Grim, so sorry” he looked Grim dead in the eye.
“I never should have let you go, but I wanted to pay them back, all those who punished me when it wasn’t my fault, I took the long drop an innocent man, and I guess now in death I have become guilty.”

Grim was confused. He didn’t really understand what Niccoló meant.

“Innocent Niccoló? Guilty? I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’ll tell you my pupil. It’s all about that fiddle, it’s cursed. I know this because it was mine, I made it. I knew from the first moment I played it, it was cursed. You see I made that instrument in hatred. I had been first chair in the orchestra for ten years, and then all of a sudden I was denied any seat at all. I wanted to show them so much, so I crafted a new instrument, born of my loathing for everyone who deprived of me what I wanted. Once it was completed my poor wife was the first to hear its deadly crescendo. When I saw her laying their like they do when they hear it, I knew the fiddle was evil. So I brought it out here to the marsh lands. I thought no one ever came out here so it would be safe. Just as I took it to a far point of the marsh, the mob caught up with me.”
“They thought you meant to kill your wife?” Grim asked, almost knowing the answer.
“Yes, they did. They got hold of me, hearing me shout madness of a cursed fiddle and dragged me to the Hanging Tree, where I was hung all those years ago. After what seems like a thousand lifetimes on this tree I grew bitter, I wanted to show all of those who had condemned me. I wanted revenge. So when you brought the fiddle back here I saw my chance, and now I’m guilty of murder, I deserved my sentence.”

At this Niccoló began to cry hysterically. Grim has trouble trying to get his attention, as you can’t exactly tap a ghost on the shoulder. When Niccolós sobs finally died down Grim told him that he had stopped before the crowd had met their end. How he had seen the evil working in the fiddle and stopped playing. Niccoló was ecstatic. He flew all around the Tree. His celebration was cut short however when Grim reminded him that he was owed a favour for the fact he could no longer go into town. Niccoló felt bad at this news.

Grim Bones didn’t really mind. The people in town didn’t much like him anyway, and he could play his fiddle as much as he liked because all of his friends were already dead. Niccoló did repay Grim the favour he owed him also.

But that is another story.