horror effect

Stephen Breumontrost was eating a sandwich in his attic study.The sun was shining brightly this morning, illuminating the room brightly.Zou Yi, a big white cat, lay lazily on the window sill basking in the sun.Zou Yi is a three-year-old female cat with a pure white body. The reason for giving it this name is entirely the result of Stephen's admiration for the **** queen of the Byzantine Empire. The rectification must be submissive.

Just like most young men's rooms, Stephen's study is a mess, the bookshelves are full of books, and the books that can't fit are piled on the floor, starting from the door and going around the corner like a brick wall. lap.The place near the window is a desk, which is covered with books, computers, records, and various food boxes. It is difficult to know how the owner of the house found what he needed in this chaos.That's what happened, Stephen was holding a sandwich in one hand while he was busy clearing the table with the other.

He tossed empty boxes and waste paper into a large plastic bag, stacked books on the table leg, stuffed records on the shelf, and finally managed to get the table back to its original form, and by this time he was done with his sandwiches.Stephen clapped his hands, let the food crumbs fall to the ground, and started to turn on the computer to continue his so-called work.

A dense form is displayed on the computer screen. If we look closely, we can see some familiar names, such as Renee Hostatova, Nikola Theoros, etc., in the form behind the names Fill in their age, job and family situation.Stephen is working on a survey form for all members of the town. He has been doing this work for several months. First, he fills in the names, and then investigates the required information based on the names.If you just look at the form, it will definitely make people think that Stephen is working for a social agency, but in fact this form is completed by him alone, and no second person knows.

The form has grown many times over when he first made it, and now he begins to investigate the townspeople who have passed away.Stephen's purpose is not just for fun.He knew very well that if he told the real purpose, his parents would accuse him of being nosy, and the people in the town would laugh at him, so he had to do it secretly.

What drew Stephen to so much energy was precisely what Julian Raymond was also looking for—the secret of the white lion.Stephen knew about this legend when he moved to town with his parents as a child, and he was just scared and curious.After that, he spent most of his time studying in other places, and gradually forgot about it.But recently he has been living with his parents, and the activities of white lions seem to be more frequent, which aroused Stephen's interest in research.

The initial investigation was very difficult. Although everyone in the town knew the legend, few really understood it.The white lion first appeared more than 50 years ago. At that time, many residents had died or moved away, but few people could remember the scene at that time. During fifty years, the white lion appeared many times, and those who saw it died almost immediately, before they died, they all endured painful torture and spread horror legends into people's minds.

Stephen's attempts to consult the town's historical records and the police department's files had been disappointing.The town's records had been destroyed by war and political turmoil, leaving very limited materials, while the police station's files were locked deep in a safe and he was not allowed to see them.

However, none of these difficulties stopped him. Stephen started to make friends with the residents of the town, no matter young or old, and once he got acquainted with them, he would seek information from them.This job requires great patience, perseverance and caution.The older inhabitants revolved their conversation around themselves, and could not ask questions until they had heard their personal histories; Sometimes you have to help open their memories with food and wine.

After several months of investigation, Stephen finally basically figured out the list of people suspected of being killed by white lions. There were more than ten people in total, and he marked them on the form.He knew that some of these people must have died from other causes, and there were also those who he did not mark that might have been overlooked.All he's doing now is carefully sifting through to see if there's a connection between the dead.

These people were all born decades ago, and none of the victims were in the same era as Stephen himself. Therefore, in order to learn more about what happened to the deceased before his death, he had to ask the old people in the town for advice.

There are not many people in the town who are over 70 years old and have been living here. The owner of the Four Calendar Tavern is Colivan, and he seems to know something, but he has always been very tight-lipped; the other is Mrs. Pognech, But she is in poor health and has difficulty speaking; there is also sister Tofana who has been living in seclusion, but their behavior is mysterious and difficult to contact; the last one, who seems to be the most likely to be investigated, is Kang, who is already in her 80s. Stans Malmey, a painter and sculptor, lived a reclusive life, but she received visitors.Stephen determined the object of investigation for this day.

Julian Raymond came to the side of the church along the winding mountain road, then turned into an alley on one side, continued to walk inside, and finally came to a small independent courtyard.The owner of this courtyard was Constance Malmey, a painter and sculptor who made the townspeople proud.The reason why Julian came here was because Baishi's investigation had reached a stalemate. He had nothing to do and was in a panic, so he planned to resume his own job and interview people in the town.Julian learned from Martha that although this town is small, it has produced famous people, besides the financier Bouilly, this is Constance Malmey.This naturally made Julian very happy. In his opinion, a beautiful town is only perfect if it has such a character.

Yew trees and ivy were planted around the small courtyard, which are just dry branches now, but it can be seen that these plants are well cared for.In summer, it must be a pleasant place with trees and shade.Julian picked up his camera and took a picture.Then he rang the doorbell.After a while, light footsteps came from inside, and through the iron gate, a figure could be seen coming.

The first time he saw Constance Marmet, Julian was quite impressed.She was old, thin and gaunt, with silver hair and blue overalls, nothing special about her hairstyle or dress, but her eyes were bright and powerful, and it was these eyes that made Julian feel She is so different from ordinary old people that she looks extraordinary even though she wears an apron full of mud and paint spots.

After introducing himself, Constance agreed to his request for an interview.Julian followed the old man into the yard.The yard is not as big as it looks from the outside, but it is full of flowers and plants, and some juniper and holly hedges are still grey-green in winter.A small two-story building occupies the second half of the courtyard. The house is very old. Although the outer wall has been newly painted, the cracks and the plants climbing on the wall show a sense of vicissitudes.There are two rooms on the ground floor of the house, one is a living room and the other is a studio.Constance led Julian into the small living room.

Contrary to Julian's imagination, the small living room does not have the usual atmosphere of an artist's residence - furniture with a strong personality, a decorative wall with his own works hanging, abstract modern sculptures, these things are not available here in Constance.Her living room is very similar to ordinary people's homes. If you are not careful, you will hardly find the albums hidden in the corners, small gifts from other artists, etc.

Julian asks Constance to give an account of her history.The female painter thought for a while, and then began to speak in her unique hoarse voice.It was a quick process, because Constance lived like most people, going through war in her youth, political struggles in her middle age, and having to adjust to dramatic changes in her country in her later years.The only thing that surprised Julian was that Constance never married. "Did you give up your married life because of art?" he asked.

"It can be said that artistic creation occupies almost all of my time."

"You must have been in love, but in the end you chose art."

"Why do you say this way?"

"An artist must have a delicate mind. It is hard for such a person to imagine not being in love."

Constance smiled, the wrinkles on his face piled up. "You're right, I did fall in love, but falling in love does not necessarily lead to marriage, it has been a long time ago."

"You broke up?"

"he died."

Julian's heart sank suddenly.Although during his years as a reporter he tried to avoid mentioning unpleasant things for both parties, it continued to happen.People can always easily touch other people's scars.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Malmey." He apologized guiltily.

The female painter showed a gentle smile. "It doesn't matter, it was a long time ago, nearly 60 years... that's a long time to smooth everything out."

"Then, you believe in the power of time."

"Well, maybe. Time... it's a cruel thing. I'm running out of time, so I'm working hard every day, from before the sun rises until after night falls. I'm getting old , the farther you go, the farther you are from the world, and the closer you are to God. No one can know what day and what time. So I have to hurry up."

"I want to take pictures of you and see your work." Julian made a request.

Constance agrees, and she leads him into an adjoining room.Because the work has not started that day, the easels are all covered with cloth.There are paint pots and clay piled up everywhere on the ground, so there is almost no place to go.The female painter walked over and lifted a few covers, revealing the painting, filling the originally gray and white room with color.

Most of Constance's oil paintings are myths and legends and religious stories, and occasionally there are some fairy tales.The colors of the pictures are mostly earthy yellows and browns with warmer tones, and the lines are processed very vaguely, as if there is a layer of fog, which adds a mysterious atmosphere to the pictures.The painter has a unique skill in light treatment. Countless tiny light spots seem to come out from behind the paintings, making each painting present a pearly luster.After taking pictures, Julian began to study the paintings carefully.

Julian is very fond of these beautiful paintings.Slowly, he found that the characters in these paintings were always very vague, and the countless shiny spots and feathery layers of paint made it difficult to even identify their gender. "Very dreamy," said Julian, "I confess I did not expect your drawing to be so peculiar."

The female painter smiled lightly and said nothing.

He continued to look all the way, and found a covered painting at the corner of the room. The cover was covered with dust, and it seemed that it hadn’t been lifted for a long time. If he hadn’t bumped the cover when he moved the easel in front of him, he might Neither will find it.He gently pulled down the cover, but when he saw the picture for the first time, he was completely stunned, unable to move for a long time, a gloomy feeling surrounded him from all directions, and filled his whole body along with the blood , and there was a pain like a needle prick in his veins.

He saw a face on the picture, a beautiful and pale face, that face that once turned into Lydia's face to seduce him at night, and once pretended to be an angel like a devil to deceive him.It was a face he could never forget in his life, 'his' face.