Welcome to Darklore Manor, where spirits of the dead do not rest easy, nor do they find releasefrom their eternal sorrow. The history of this household is a grim and tragic tale, steeped indarkness and blood. But are these tales true, or merely legends from America’s haunted past?

by Devon King

Artwork ©2003 Joseph Vargo, Nox Arcana

Haunted HistoryStories of haunted houses abound throughout America andEurope, but few can boast as many ghostly and unnaturaloccurrences as Darklore Manor, the haunted Victorian mansionthat once loomed over the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts,just up the coastline from Salem.

Strange tales have been passed down from the time of theearliest settlers to the region. Native American tribes named thearea “the place where shadows walk,” and seldom ventured nearthe surrounding forests. It is also believed that the area wasoriginally settled by citizens of Salem who fled the town duringthe infamous witch trials in 1692, and that the place became ahaven for practitioners of black magic.

The mansion was built by Edmund Darklore for his lovelyyoung bride Delarosa. Construction of the three-story, forty-room Victorian manor began in 1889 and was completed threeyears later. During the course of its construction, two stonemasons were crushed to death beneath a wall of bricks when ahoist rigging mysteriously snapped in two.

Over the next forty years, a series of tragedies and deathsplagued those who would call Darklore Manor home. In 1941,the last of the Darklore bloodline, Damon Darklore, his wifeElizabeth and their daughter Belladonna vanished without atrace overnight, leaving the mansion deserted.

Abandoned and left to fall into disrepair, this once elegantmanor began its decline into decay. Eventually, tales of ghostlysightings began to surface around the deserted mansion.Throughout the years there have been numerous reports ofstrange lights and sounds coming from inside the house. Adark form known as the “Shadow Man” has been sighted atthe entrance gates. Another ghost, known as the “Lady inBlack,” is believed to be the spirit of Belladonna Darklore,and has been sighted wandering the manor grounds and halls.It is said that her dark form appears when the clock strikes themidnight hour.

Mysterious DeathsOn the night of November 27th 1961, area businessman,Theodore Thompson and his wife were killed in an automobileaccident when their car crashed into a tree in front of themansion. They were survived by their six year old son, Theo Jr.,who told the police that his father swerved the car to avoidhitting a woman dressed in black who was standing in themiddle of the road, directly in front of the gates leading to thehouse.

On March 13th 1962, local councilman Richard Franklinwas found hanged to death inside the manor. Although no notewas found, the case was ruled a suicide. One curious footnoteconcerns the fact that Councilman Franklin was the lastsurviving member of the Brotherhood of Thule, a masonicorder of town elders that was founded by Edmund Darklore.

There have been rumors that a note was found nearFranklin’s body, but the facts were later covered-up. The allegedsuicide note was said to have had the words “forgive me”written in Franklin’s handwriting. Other rumors alleged thatthe word “sinner” was carved into his forehead.

The Darklore CurseIn a 1967 article appearing in Haunted Havens magazineentitled “The Curse of Darklore Manor,” the mansion isreported to be the site of more than a dozen mysterious deaths.According to the article, these fatalities are believed to beconnected to the occult rituals practiced by the Brotherhood ofThule. A letter written by Damon Darklore that was said tohave been recovered from his study claims that his ancestors fellvictim to a curse brought on by their own macabre delvingsinto the realm of black magic.

According to popular accounts of the legend, the Darkloresconducted arcane ceremonies involving black magic andsacrificial rites within a secret chamber deep below the manor.Whether intentionally or by accident, they awakened anancient evil which caused the plague of deaths surrounding themansion throughout the years. The legend goes on to state thatwhatever was conjured forth not only claimed several humanlives, but also stole the souls of those who died within themanor, leaving them cursed to haunt the mansion and groundsfor eternity.

Many believe that something unnatural still dwells there,lying in wait for unwary visitors, hungering for the blood of theliving and the souls of the dead.

Dark Realms Magazine, Issue 13, January 2004

Ghosts from the PastSeveral months after the Haunted Havens article waspublished, noted spiritualist Sandra Faradayinvestigated Darklore Manor and alleged to havedetected the presence of several paranormal entities.She claimed to make contact and speak with the spiritof Belladonna Darklore, who told her that she and herfamily were murdered and that their bodies remainhidden within the walls of Darklore Manor, however,a thorough search of the home revealed no trace of anyhuman remains.

Members of the paranormal investigative teamreported hearing a music box playing an eerie melody,though they could not pinpoint the source of theghostly music. Several members of the team alsoreported detecting the unmistakable aroma oflavender and being overwrought with anunexplainable feeling of sorrow while inside the house.

Faraday’s visit was cut short after her assistant,Pamela Moore was traumatized by a dark entity thatappeared on the main staircase. Miss Moore claimedthat she was startled as she was ascending the stairswhen an icy cold chill passed through her. She turnedto see a man dressed entirely in black, wearing aVictorian-style tophat and coat, standing directlybehind her on the stair. The man lifted his head toreveal two gaping black holes where his eyes shouldhave been.

Moore was visibly shaken by the encounter andrefused to return to the house. Though photographersshot several rolls of film inside the mansion, none ofthe pictures could be developed.

Unexplained DisappearancesThe Darklore curse reached its zenith in 1968 whenthree area teens were reported missing after setting outto hold a séance inside the mansion on Halloweennight. Seventeen year old Eric Shipley, along withsixteen year old James Murphy and Andrea Matherwere never seen again. Theories have arisen that theteens somehow gained access to the mansion and,once inside, the three held a séance to speak with thedead. But instead of merely communing with spirits,they disturbed and awakened some unnatural forcethat trapped them within the house and eventuallycaused their deaths.

On Halloween night in 1971, Darklore Manorwas the scene of a mysterious fire, and the mansionburned to the ground. The official police report liststhe cause of the fire as arson, however, there arerumors of a cover-up concerning certain facts of theinvestigation including the discovery of skeletalremains of several bodies found deep in thefoundation of the ruins.

Though few traces of the mansion remain, reportsof the Lady in Black continue to this day near the siteof the old manor house, and the mystery of theDarklore curse remains unresolved.

Dark Realms Magazine, Issue 13, January 2004

What does the name Nox Arcana mean?JOSEPH: The name, which translates to mean“Mysteries of the Night,” was taken from thelegendary book of spells, The Nox Arcana,which is said to contain dark, forbiddenknowledge of the old ways. We thought it wasthe perfect name for the kind of music wewould be creating.

What was the inspiration for this project?JOSEPH: It’s been four years since I worked withMidnight Syndicate on Realm of Shadows. Inthe meantime, I’ve had plenty of projects tokeep me busy, including creating The GothicTarot as well as co-writing and illustrating thegothic anthology, Tales from the Dark Tower.I developed a lot of new album concepts overthe years and now I finally have the time toreturn to creating music. William and I havebeen friends for several years, but we didn’t getthe chance to work together until recently.

WILLIAM: Joseph’s painting of Darklore Manorhas always been one of my favorite pieces, sowhen he approached me about workingtogether on a soundtrack based on theDarklore legend, I was really looking forwardto creating music that would capture thesame haunted atmosphere.

What can you tell me about the conceptbehind Darklore Manor?JOSEPH: Darklore Manor is based on the talesof a legendary haunted house near Salem,Massachusetts. We researched the newsarticles and rumors, and took all things intoconsideration when creating this storyline,which centers around the disappearance ofthree teenagers who set out to hold a séancein the house on Halloween night severalyears ago. The concept of the album is ourversion of what took place in the house onthat fateful night.

The story itself is somewhere between EdgarAllan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usherand H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of CharlesDexter Ward. It’s also reminiscent of ShirleyJackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Thisreal-life ghost story has all the elements of aclassic horror tale—an old mansion with adark history, a cursed bloodline, tales ofblack magic, murder, and vengeful ghosts.

The Nox Arcana website and cd bookletare f illed with some great gothic visuals.WILLIAM: The visual elements take the music toanother level with a complete storyline thatoffers a tour through a haunted mansion whiletelling a classic ghost story.

JOSEPH: Being an artist, the visual aspects of aproject like this are just as important to me asthe music. It amazes me when bands put somuch effort into making their music sound as

Best known for his acclaimed gothic fantasy artwork, Joseph Vargo returns to the music arena with his

strongest work to date. With his new project Nox Arcana, Vargo teams up with musician and composer

William Piotrowski and picks up right where he left off as producer and creator of the gothic vision

that launched Midnight Syndicate. Together, the two have created a superbly dark and moody

soundtrack to accompany the legend of a haunted Victorian mansion known as Darklore Manor.

Dark Realms Magazine, Issue 13, January 2004

good as they can, then put absolutely nothought or effort into making their packagingor websites appealing or even interesting fortheir fans. We worked closely with DarkRealms art director, Christine Filipak, whoshot the photos, gathered the articles and putthe whole thing together. Christine and Icreated the gothic look and identity forMidnight Syndicate.

Midnight Syndicate has really strayed fromthe classic gothic sound that you establishedwith them. Darklore Manor seems to be areturn to your original concepts.JOSEPH: Yes. The idea was to create a moodyand melody-driven gothic soundtrack, verymuch like we did with Born of the Night, butwith the addition of Gregorian chanting. Bornof the Night and Realm of Shadows havebeen used in Halloween attractions all overthe world, but we’ve also received numerousletters from fans who said that they have usedthe music to set the mood for everything fromgothic wedding ceremonies to candlelitbubble baths. We took these things intoconsideration when writing the music forDarklore Manor and the end result is a blendof darkly haunting melodies that encompassthe complete gothic spectrum—the romantic,the mysterious, and the horrific.

WILLIAM: The CD is a mixture of morbidsonatas, pulse-pounding orchestrations andsome creepy narrative interludes. Tracks like“Remnants” convey an eerie and melancholyfeeling. Likewise, the song “Belladonna,” whichis the theme for one of the ghosts that is said tohaunt Darklore Manor, is a very sorrowful andlonely melody. Other pieces such as “No Rest forthe Wicked,” “Nightmare” and “Resurrected”are much more ominous and foreboding.

How do you create the music?JOSEPH: As composers, we’re completely intune with one another and we collaborate onevery aspect of every song. We begin with oneidea from the concept of the album, thencreate a melody that conveys that particularmood. It’s really important to begin with astrong melody, otherwise the compositionsjust end up sounding like background music.Our basic melodies are composed on thepiano, then we determine what instrumentswould best fit the theme of the song.

WILLIAM: Since Darklore Manor is the tale of ahaunted Victorian mansion, we utilizedinstruments from the period, such as pipe-organs, harpsichords, violins, and tolling bells,then accented the compositions with ghostlychoirs to capture the perfect haunted feel.

What are your musical influences?WILLIAM: The music is influenced by JohnCarpenter, Danny Elfman, and various otherhorror movie soundtrack composers. JerryGoldsmith’s classic Academy award-winningsoundtrack for The Omen was the majorinfluence for the Latin chanting.

JOSEPH: I did several narrations with MidnightSyndicate and the idea was originally inspiredby a variety of sources, including thedisembodied tourguide voice from Disney’sHaunted Mansion, Vincent Price’s narrativesfor Alice Cooper’s “Black Widow,” and laterfor “Thriller.” Also the intro to Iron Maiden’s“The Number of the Beast.” The idea is to setthe story and let the various dark melodiestake you on a musical journey.

What are your plans for a live show or tour?WILLIAM: We would like to incorporate asmany visual elements as possible into our liveshow. Since a production like this requires agreat deal of time and resources, we mostlikely won’t be touring until after the next CD.

JOSEPH: At the moment we are in the planningstages, but it should all come together by nextHalloween.

What does the future hold for Nox Arcana?JOSEPH: We have several ideas for future conceptalbums, but we don’t want to reveal all of themtoo far in advance. We are currently putting thefinishing touches on Necronomicon, a darksymphony based on H.P. Lovecraft’s legendarybook of shadows. The album will be a musicalopus with gothic choirs chanting the forbiddenrituals contained within the pages of thisancient tome.

WILLIAM: We’ve already been approached bytelevision and independent film producers whohave asked us to score their movies and shows,but right now we have too many of our ownprojects and ideas that we want to completefirst. Beyond that, anything’s possible.

For more information on Nox Arcana andthe legend of Darklore Manor, visit:

WWW.NOXARCANA.COM

“Our goal was to create a blendof darkly haunting melodies thatencompass the complete gothicspectrum—the romantic, themysterious, and the horrific.”

— Joseph Vargo

“Darklore Manor is a conceptalbum that tells a ghostly tale as ittakes listeners on a dark musicaljourney through the haunted hallsof a Victorian mansion.”

—William Piotrowski

Dark Realms Magazine, Issue 13, January 2004