Dreams Witch House
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Dreams in the Witch HousE A Lovecraftian Rock Opera THE LIBRETTO Dreams in the Witch House A Lovecraftian Rock Opera Libretto A witch stood trial for being godless GILMAN Act One Sentenced to be hung at dawn The night, so fraught with sound On the prison walls she’d drawn It never subsides, nor goes away Lines and curves, then she vanished! I strain to concentrate Her disappearance never was explained And find the answers which help equate Be it Satan’s work or sorceries attained Dimensions of reality Stay the night and soon you’ll be aroused There’s got to be a way W Some say she lingers still in the Witch House To step deliberately from earth To points beyond in space THE CONFESSION / ARKHAM OVERTURE MAZUREWICZ I will go higher Benedictus dominus I’ll make it there, no time to spare ELWOOD Benedictus dominus I’m losin’ self control In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, I will go higher bless me, Father for I have– ARKHAM CHOIR To comprehend, I must descend FATHER IWANICKI Within these moldy dank walls, a newborn baby cries Might even sell my soul Yes, my son. Go on. When was your last confession? A wicked rat roams, it’s the devil in disguise But I’ll go high ELWOOD I’ll go high Five weeks, Father. Thirty-seven days ago. That’s GILMAN Behind these slanting walls, a lurking place MAZUREWICZ eight hundred ninety one hours. My last confession Holy Spirit, lead me to a better understanding of the was fifty-three thousand, four hundred sixty minutes Cross of Christ! ago. More or less. ELWOOD FATHER IWANICKI Unbounded void transcending time and space The night so cursed, the Witch’s Sabbath is near Alright. What do— I kneel to pray ELWOOD GILMAN + ELWOOD Beware Walpurgis Night Three million, two hundred seven thousand, six Just stay the night, and soon you’ll be aroused The slaves of Satan, I keep at bay hundred seconds… Some say she lingers still in the Witch House Brandishing this crucifix FATHER IWANICKI Of silver in my hand It’s alright, begin your confession. WITCH The ghosts which haunt my hallowed room ELWOOD Behind these slanting walls, a lurking place Forever will be damned Father, I’ve seen evil. Evil incarnate. Unbounded void transcending time and space Fight fire with fire FATHER IWANICKI Stay the night and leave no room for doubt Transfixed upon this crucifix Men do terrible things my son. You’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House Until the break of dawn Fight fire with fire ELWOOD ELWOOD No, no, I’m not talking about men. I mean evil. Evil He was a genius. Truly gifted. beyond you, me, mankind. Real evil. Supernatural evil. GILMAN FATHER IWANICKI I hear his prayers from down the stairs Malevolent and eternal. You understand what I mean? Who, my son? FATHER IWANICKI Why must he carry on? ELWOOD I will go higher! I do. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under My friend, Walter Gilman. We were classmates at your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” Miskatonic and rented rooms in the same house. They MAZUREWICZ ELWOOD call it the Witch House. No, I don’t think so. Not this time, Father. Fight fire with fire FATHER IWANICKI Forsake evil deeds with rosary beads FATHER IWANICKI Ah yes. Legend has it the accused witch, Keziah “Our Father, who art in heaven…” This evil, tell me, where was it? Mason once lived there. Why would you choose such ELWOOD a place? Here. Right here, Father. All around us. GILMAN ELWOOD In these walls I see beyond boundaries FATHER IWANICKI Poor students can’t afford to be picky. Here? I will go higher! FATHER IWANICKI I’ll make it there, no time to spare, I’m losing self ELWOOD True. Here. In Arkham. control ELWOOD I will go higher! It was cheap, but Walter really wanted to live there DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE because of its history. ELWOOD FATHER IWANICKI Between Mazurewicz’s unrelenting prayers and Wal- It’s a dark history, unholy. ter’s fanatical devotion to his mathematical studies, he ELWOOD ELWOOD didn’t get much rest. The longer we lived in the house, There’s a haunted town full of whispered tales Walter had no fear of that. The story of Keziah Father, the more obsessed he became. The strain on About a creaking house of mystery fascinated him. Soon after we moved in he began to him was terrible. The doctor said he had some kind of This brooding, moldy tomb hear strange noises there. He called it the endless “brain fever,” but Walter swore it had something to With a crooked garret room cacophony. All I heard were the constant prayers of do with the irregular shape of his garret room. Hides a devilish history our neighbor, Mr. Mazurewicz. GILMAN Behind its slanting walls, a lurking place There’s something ‘bout these walls Unbounded void transcending time and space HIGHER FIRE / BREAKING ME DOWN Geometric and so strangely mathematical Stay one night and leave no room for doubt Hypnotizing You’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House Mesmerizing MAZUREWICZ I spend all night analyzing GILMAN May the Lord bless me, protect me from evil and bring Angles and curves hide secrets so surprising Centuries ago in a pious, fearful town me to everlasting life! Esoteric Asymmetric There’s a bridge to the stars There my mind truly soars Disguising something epic Dimensions near and far Cognizance exposing every door It’s slowly breaking me down! We could walk where no man has walked before There’s a bridge to the stars Geometrical, mathematical, I step deliberately BRIDGE TO THE STARS Fantastical, dimensional, through cryptic boundaries ELWOOD + GILMAN Improbable, impossible, abyss I must transcend And places very far FATHER IWANICKI Such frequency, a mystery too deep to comprehend Expand your mind, the world’s ours to explore Your friend does sound troubled, my son. ELWOOD BROWN JENKIN MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIR The worst of it was his strange, terrible dreams. Crawlin’ across the floor There’s a bridge to the stars FATHER IWANICKI Hellish beast men abhor Dimensions near and far An intelligent man studying both mathematics and Lurkin’ insidiously We could walk where no man has walked before occult folklore… no doubt it triggered his imagination. Mongrel monstrosity! There’s a bridge to the stars ELWOOD It wasn’t his imagination, Father. I think he made some MAZUREWICZ UPHAM kind of deal with the Devil. He’d gained abstract math- O bone et dulcissime Iesu Mister Gilman that’s quite intriguing ematical knowledge beyond human comprehension! Ante conspectum tuum genibus We were all astounded by it, especially our teacher, Me provolvo! MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIR Professor Upham. BROWN JENKIN To explore So here I come, you’ve seen me before Ahhhh Prepare yourself for what’s in store! PROFESSOR UPHAM There’s a bridge to the stars! So many questions Science is a vast frontier ELWOOD BROWN JENKIN + Of theory scrutinized Other students whispered about Walter in the hall- RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIR Deep exploration ways. Even the faculty were concerned for him. The So blasphemous, calamitous, you’ve everything to Of concepts we hold dear learning … he was coming unhinged. fear We equate and we describe FATHER IWANICKI I’m merciless, nefarious, the screeching that you Perhaps Gilman ought not to have studied so hard. hear UPHAM + ELWOOD + STUDENTS ELWOOD So deafening, this reckoning Our calculations never end It wasn’t only that, Father. Walter lived in the very room where Keziah herself performed black magic. GILMAN GILMAN FATHER IWANICKI It’s driving me insane! I’ve insight you can’t comprehend My son, witchcraft and science are two sides of the There’s a bridge to the stars same coin. Man has always hungered for the unknow- RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIR Dimensions near and far able, the divine. Unsettling and menacing I will go to a cosmos more immense ELWOOD There’s a bridge to the stars But Father, this isn’t divine at all. This knowledge was, BROWN JENKIN I don’t know… profane? Unholy? These dreams destroy your brain! PROFESSOR UPHAM FATHER IWANICKI Son, your notion’s quite bizarre Your friend Walter’s soul was in peril, my son. Yours MAZUREWICZ too, perhaps. The Lord of Darkness is always present O bone et dulcissime Iesu ELWOOD and can take many forms. Ante conspectum tuum genibus Walter, you’re not making any sense ELWOOD Yes, Father. Walter heard strange, unearthly voices GILMAN GILMAN in the house. He said there was a creature, a horrible Ahhhhhhhhh! Just hold on! thing bound to the Witch. Mankind’s perceptions are constricted by his fears FATHER IWANICKI Blindness soothes your mind It is said witches had familiars, evil spirits in the form of animals. NO TURNING BACK PROFESSOR UPHAM ELWOOD Bold speculation, but your theory thus implies Yes! That’s it exactly! He saw it, in his dreams. Flesh and blood of man survives FATHER IWANICKI GILMAN Such entry to another realm Dreams can be a battlefield, where the holy and unholy The Lord is my rock wage war for the soul. In him shall I trust? ELWOOD ELWOOD Is he the shield and horn of my salvation? Bound creatures, we’d be overwhelmed Walter’s dreams were now becoming terrifying nightmares. WITCH UPHAM + ELWOOD Don’t look away, the time has come On your bridge to the stars To abandon absolution Dimensions near and far THE NIGHTMARE Your body shivers, the quest begun Penetrate God’s grand delusion UPHAM I’m here, your fantasy I’m impressed, but it’s just a metaphor GILMAN In my dreams I see cubes and prisms Oh there’s no turning back GILMAN Idols shrieking cacophonous rhythms From all your sensual discoveries There’s a bridge to the stars Tentacles drag me deep into a labyrinth I can give you what you lack And places very far We’ll consummate a new reality It’s actual, and I can show you more Indescribably vile behaviors You’ll see! Ravage me, oh Lord, where’s my savior? ELWOOD Am I trapped in purgatory? Why don’t you run? Walter strode up to the black board and effortlessly My God! solved numerous Riemannian equations, which seemed Why do you feel like a prisoner in your own body? These monstrous visions, so surreal to demonstrate the possibility of man literally stepping Atop, cyclopean spires from one dimension to others of infinite remoteness.