Hello, readers, and welcome back to 31 Scary Story Nights!  Tonight’s tale has EVERYTHING!  Zombies, necromancy, kidnap, and even a love story…sort of.  It’s the tale of “Old Mad Henry” and it was related to me by a friend from New England who asked that her name not be included here.  According to my friend, the story of Old Mad Henry has been told to kids in her area for over a hundred years, and though she knows it’s just a story, well, she didn’t want to take a chance.

Turn down those lights, and let’s read the tale of Old Mad Henry, and the woman he loved…

***Writer’s Note:  We here at iHorror are big proponents of responsible parenting.  Some of the stories in this series may be too much for your little ones.  Please read ahead and decide if your kids can handle this story!  If not, find another story for tonight or simply come back to see us tomorrow.  In other words, don’t blame me for your kids nightmares!***

Old Mad Henry as related by Anonymous

Old Mad Henry lived all alone in a creepy run down mansion on the outskirts of town.  People in town told all kinds of stories about Henry.  Some said he practiced black magic, others said he ate human flesh, and still others said he could raise the dead.  Regardless of what they believed, no one ever had much to do with Henry and he seemed to like it that way.

One day, a new family moved into town and their beautiful daughter Anna caught the eye of every man who saw her including, to the townspeople’s surprise, Old Man Henry.

He immediately began to shower the young woman with gifts.  Nothing was too extravagant, but though she accepted the gifts of jewelry, fine clothing, and flowers that never seemed to fade, her heart belonged to another.  His name was Elliot, and he had just returned from university.  Not one week later, the two young people eloped.

Mad Henry was furious!

Upon returning from their elopement, Anna and Elliot threw a great party for everyone in town…everyone except Old Mad Henry, that is.  They all gathered at the town’s great hall to celebrate young love.

It was while the two young newlyweds were dancing a waltz that the earth began to shake and the doors of the great hall rattled right from their hinges.  A foul wind blew through the hall carrying with it the smell of death and decay, and suddenly Old Mad Henry stood in the center of the room, his eyes glowing red.  He raised his hands and to the townspeople’s horror, an army of the dead began to file into the room, blocking every door and window.

Two of the foul dead approached the couple and with inhuman strength grabbed handsome Elliot and threw him at their master’s feet.  Old Mad Henry produced a silver-bladed dagger from his coat and slit the boy’s throat with a look on his face that bordered upon boredom.

Anna screamed and begged Old Mad Henry, “I will not love you!  Kill us both!”

But Old Mad Henry picked the girl up and threw her over his shoulder and swept her from the room as lightning flashed and thunder roared overhead.  The dead followed them from the town hall after the old magician had time to escape into the night, leaving a maddened mob behind them.

The young couple’s parents led the search for young Anna, but they could find no trace of her, even when they stormed the mansion of Old Mad Henry.  The building was empty and no trace could be found of the madman or his captive.

The search went on for days, but finally they accepted they would never find young Anna.  Elliot was laid to rest in the local cemetery; the town’s great hall was torn down, and late one night a mysterious fire burned the former mansion of Old Mad Henry to the ground.

One year after the events of that fateful night, Anna’s parents were startled by a knock at the door late one evening.  Upon answering, they found a seemingly old woman whose skin and hair was grey and whose body was shriveled.  Anna’s father began to shut the door on the wraith-like woman when he noticed she carried the dagger that Old Mad Henry had used to kill Elliot the year before.

The dagger dripped blood on the doorstep as the man searched the face of the old woman.  Suddenly, it struck him…this was Anna!  He grabbed her up and carried her inside as her mother wept at the state of their only daughter.

It seemed the girl’s tongue had been removed so she could not tell them what had happened in the last year, but they inferred from her possession of that dagger that she had killed Old Mad Henry and escaped whatever hellish prison he’d held her in.

Anna died in her sleep that night.  They say she had a peaceful smile upon her face when she was found the next morning.

No one has ever heard from Old Mad Henry since that day so long ago, but they say, at night when thunder and lightning break the sky, you can hear his enraged voice calling Anna’s name in the darkness…

I don’t know about you, but I’m sleeping with the lights on tonight!  Thank you for joining us for this terrifying tale, and don’t forget to return tomorrow evening for another Scary Story!!