Knightshade Manor Volume 1 Letter of Introduction

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afterlife, beginning, Fiction, horror, Introduction, Knightshade, Letter, madness, mental, Psychology, Raven, Simon, supernatural

To whom it may concern:

This is a letter welcoming the living to peruse the psychological files of the dead; it is an introduction to the Knightshade Manor and the Mission Statement of the Manor.

The staff is more than happy to welcome you, rooms are always available, but once you have checked in, it is nearly impossible to check out.

For you see, Knightshade Manor houses, the dead, ones that would be considered a threat to others or themselves.  They find themselves at Knightshade Manor, on of several afterlife institutions for spirits.  They are expected to learn from their experience, and prove that they are no longer a threat to others or themselves.

Consider the situation they are in, they are dead!  Because of their negligence, their inability to keep alive is astounding, it is a basic instinct that every human is born with, so to die before biological aging does usually indicate negligence on the part of the individual at some point in their lives, they could made a different choice or action that would lead to a different series of events and perhaps avoided their premature deaths.

The mission statement of the Knightshade Manor is that each individual is allowed to live, in no matter what form, design, or function.  It is within their rights as souls to live, it is the actions and decisions that one makes at various junctures in their lives and deaths that determine their results.  It is the responsibility of the staff of the Manor to assess the endangerment of the soul and through various methods encourage individuality and responsibility on the individual’s part as to what effects they are forced to endure as a result of their decisions and actions.  Once they have learned how to change that action, they are then released back to their lives to either change things or move onto a different life or to Heaven or Hell.  It is entirely up to the individual.

The manor is set up as a chateau with the imagery of a grand hotel.  This is all part of the therapeutic process.  There are various levels, each pertaining to the various lessons that the guests (we don’t like to use the term patient, the term guest ensures that they will vacate, as soon as they determine they are ready, rather than the term patient which would indicate that they would need some else’s permission to leave the Manor.)

Simon Knightshade who currently oversees the Manor; has asked me to create this monthly compilation of files.  The forthcoming volume is one in which, I will present three tales involving the guests of the Manor.  I think it is in the hopes that it will be read by some of the living, and perhaps save us from the task of registering future guests.  For in the centuries that have passed since the Manor opened, the living world has become more populous.  As each of these monthly installments introduce new staff and guests, the first portion of each journal is dedicated to providing an outline of the location, and incidents that occurred that defines the current state of the institution as well as providing a character sketch of each of the current caretakers working with the guests whose tales are contained therein. I will also introduce the staff, as well as the Manor itself, for it has absorbed so much ectoplasm, that poltergeist activity is rampant.  Yes, the house itself is alive.  It is in writing this, one does hope that it will assist you in comprehending death, understanding life, and to learn from the mistakes that others have made.

Sincerely,

Raven Knightshade

Alfred Knightshade: An Introduction

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Alfred, Caroline, Fiction, horror, hospital, Introduction, Justin, Knightshade, Knightshade Manor, medical, paranormal, Raven Knightshade, Simon

He is cousin to Aaron, Jessica, Raven and the others at Knightshade Manor.  His mother is Caroline.  His uncle is Simon.  No one speaks of his father, for it throws Simon into a rage.  A product of his wife’s infidelity. Thus, no one speaks of him.

During his lifetime, he was an accomplished renaissance man who studied art, music, science and various academic pursuits.  Quite found of Salisbury Town, he can often be found within its multitude of art galleries. His role as general manager of the hospital is one that he adheres to slightly.  His interests lie in other directions hence leaving Jonathan Carter more or less in charge.

 A headstrong man, overweight smells of expensive cologne with a faint hint of sweat and cognac.  A purveyor of the fine things, his brown eyes surveying the room of which he had recently entered.  His skin ruddy from his life of excess.  His brown hair finely trimmed with a purposeful dishevelment.

He tends to shift his weight from foot to foot as he stood.  When he was hosting an event or conducting a meeting, he gave the sense of a large beast about to pounce.  His aggressive personality required that he hold everyone in suspicion until they proved otherwise.

His deep baritone was music to one’s ears.  He preferred to whisper to his family and friends when dealing with staff his voice could be heard throughout the corridors.

He is sexy, regardless of his weight.  He finds lovers easily, though his appetites were voracious.  He rarely pursued anyone for any significant length of time.  He has a crush on Aaron and Raven.  The three of them were inseparable.  They attended many events together, like in the tale Serendipity Pond in Knightshade Manor Book I.

He had been a doctor in life, and had conducted several procedures while deeply intoxicated.  The inevitable joke “what happened to my watch,” joke is attributed to an actual mistake Alfred had made.

His mother Caroline Browning was the heir to the hospital, she deeply trusted her son’s expertise, as he is the love child of Caroline and her brother-in-law, Justin; Alfred he had never been accepted by Simon, hence he avoided going to Knightshade Manor.

Alfred adores his mother, and loves working in the environment of which he is accustomed.  Often, he once again operated on those patients that he had killed while that patient came to terms with their death.  He experiences no remorse as he went through the actions that led up to the deaths of his patients.  Part of the reason he stills works as a surgeon.  His role as manager of the hospital requires a frequent interaction with administration from the various afterlife institutions.

Within Kerringer Castle, Alfred worked with Marina Kerringer when a pediatric patient was ready for release from Browning Memorial Hospital to the afterlife playground Kerringer Castle, where all one’s childhood dreams come true.  The staff from Kerringer Castle would visit the Hospital to determine whether the children were ready to leave.  Ariel would take them through the forest and play games while introducing them to the other residents of Kerringer Castle. Claire and Marie would observe as their counselors to determine their transitions to another afterlife institution or return to the living.  The twins would accompany the children to the castle or to the world of the living to show them where they could spend their afterlife.

As per agreement with the afterlife institution, Knightshade Manor, the caregivers, Aaron, and Dena would periodically visit the Hospital to determine whether any of the patients would be checking into the Manor after they had healed from their injuries.

The agreement with Justice Hall were that anyone whose life consisted of supporting or breaking the law of the living would eventually reside in Justice Hall.  Alfred worked exclusively with Chief Justice Jarod in transporting criminals back and forth between their institutions as if a spirit imagined an injury, they would be sent to the hospital via ambulance and healed.  After which, they would be returned back to the prison.

Alfred spent much of his leisure time as a supporter of the Arts,  his favorite citizen was Claude.  He often purchased artwork from the local artists to display in the corridors of the hospital.

At the Abbey, Alfred worked with Sister Grace, although they have an agreed upon hatred.  He preferred to meet with Ocean, as she was more eclectic and fitting to his tastes.  He had an off and on again relationship with Ocean and her spiritual and hippy ways allowed for his infidelity and allowed for stability when he sought it.