The Watchmaker's Gift

by Charles Zitta

  “Right. In you pocket,” Shelley replied sarcastically, while John continued to look intently at the young witches pocket—still not convinced Lila had a flashlight.

  Seeing that John and Shelley were not going to let the flashlight thing go, the quick-minded witch said, “Here, I’ll show you”. While reciting the words, “memories removed,” she pulled her hand from her pocket, a flash of green light shot out from her palm and struck the two cast members in their heads simultaneously. Seconds later, neither could remember what had just happened, nor were they aware of Lila’s presence.

  “I think we need to hurry and get over to the load area, Shelley. It’s almost time for a shift change, and I bet Joe is getting hungry.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea, John,” Shelley replied, with a blank expression on her face.

  The two cast members quickly darted off—opposite of where Lila was headed, and faded into the darkness of the dimly lit hallway.

  Again, the young witch recited, “Illuminate the way,” as her half-cupped hand lit up like a flashlight. Just beyond the next corner—behind the clock room, a seam was revealed. Its definition was so fine, that seeing it in such dim lighting was nearly impossible. Lila gave a subtle smirk and whispered softly to herself, “This has to be it.” Facing the secret doorway, she positioned both hands—with palms facing each other, and in one quick motion, opened her hands like a butterfly spreading its wings, thrusting them forward towards the wall she said, “REVEAL”.

  The hidden seams in the wall suddenly began to give way to piercing rays of blue light that were pushing through from the other side. Lila quickly pulled her hands away from the wall—the hidden doorway swung open. Carefully, she bent over and stepped through the opening. The door slammed closed behind her. Standing before her, only five feet away, was a steep wooden stairway that led upwards. It was flanked with hand carved railings textured with raven feathers. The haunting sounds of the Mansion that had been present just a moment ago, could no longer be heard. Where am I, she thought to herself while gazing up the stairway—wondering what may lay ahead. As she began her ascent up the dusty, untraveled steps, paintings once hidden on the dimly lit walls came into view, each resembling fictional family members or previous occupants including pets, of the Mansion. Continuing up the stairway, the eyes in each painting slowly followed her.

  At the top was a small room, no more than the size of a child’s bedroom. The floor was covered with intricately detailed, burgundy carpeting. The walls were lined with fully-stocked book shelves—covered in decades of dust. In the center of the room, opposite the staircase, was a small circular table—barely four feet in diameter. Above it hung a miniature chandelier, highlighted by the flames of five wax candles. In the back right corner of the room was a bronze pedestal. And atop it sat a large black crow with blood red eyes—which followed every movement Lila made. As she approached the table, the bird cawed, as if telling her to be seated. She obliged, and sat down. The bird turned slightly to its right—now facing the back wall, and cawed three more times. A hidden doorway, making up the center shelving unit, slowly began to creek open, exposing an eerie, narrow hallway covered with spider webs. Some fifty feet away, an animated mass of grey, smokey haze was quietly and effortlessly making it’s way closer towards the table where Lila sat. Trails of smokey-green vapors followed its path, as it floated through the air. The grey mass grew larger and brighter as it approached. Gradually, a face, arms, body, legs and feet began to materialize from within it’s core, until it became clearly evident what Lila was looking at, the spirit form of a woman, suspended in air—her silvery blue hair, floating around her pale face as if gravity did not exist. Slowly, she descended to the floor, walked over, and sat down at the small circular table. “Good evening child. I’ve been…expecting you. Please, sit down,” her voice echoed graciously.

  Lila hesitated—giving the mysterious woman a look of distrust.

  “What’s the matter, dear, don’t you recognize me? It is I, the real Madame of the house.”

  “Madame Leota?”

  “No child, I am the shadow spirit, Madame Sera. True ruler of this humble abode. But please, call me Madame S. Sera is so old fashioned, and I really cannot stand being referred to as old fashioned like my aunt. You know, the one who works the seance room downstairs and out west at Disneyland.”

  “Madame Leota? She’s your aunt? Interesting,” Lila said.

  “Yes, I guess you could say we’re related. Except for the fact that she was created and duplicated by Imagineers, while I was conjured up by a darker force. A past admirer of your great-uncle, I believe.”

  “So the imagineers know nothing about you?”

  “Precisely young lady,” Sera replied—which allows me to roam freely within the manor and do as I wish, when I wish, and to whom I wish. And all without the imagineers even knowing,” she said, followed by an eerie bit of laughter. “Regardless, that’s the least of my worries, darling. I understand you are here to carry out your great-uncle’s wishes?”

  “That’s right. How did you know?”

  “He stopped by for a visit not too long ago, we’re good friends you know. He told me you would be coming by. You would be surprised how many roaming spirits frequent our establishment. It’s a shame we have to turn most of them away. There’s just simply not enough room here. Too much spiritual activity going on, if you know what I mean. Anyway, here you are. So, how may I be of service?”

  “Oh, we have many things to talk about,” Lila responded, while showing Sera her villainous grin—her blue eyes giving way to their true color, green, as they sparkled with evil intentions. “And, did I hear you mention that you can only roam freely ‘within’ the manner?”

  “Yes, unfortunately that is correct, dear,” the Madame of the house replied. “Because of how I was created, my presence can only exist within the walls of Gracey Manor.

  “Well, Madame S, I may have a solution to your problem.”

  While exiting the Haunted Mansion, the girls were all curious as to where Lila had gone?

  “Have any of you guys seen Lila?” Vicky asked.

  “I thought she was like, right behind us or something,” Bunny replied.

  “Yeah, I swear, she like jumped in the Doom Buggy right behind us, Vicky,” Katie added.

  “Well we can’t just leave her behind. That would be so rude,” Vicky said.

  “I agree, Vicky. That would be rude,” Lila replied in a chilling manner—gaining everyone’s undivided attention, as she came walking around the corner of the exit area—dressed once again in her Evil Queen costume.

  Vicky laughed half heartedly, as did the other girls—who were all caught off guard, even somewhat shocked, by Lila’s sudden reappearance. “Hey. Uh, hey Lila. Like, what happened to you? I mean, I thought you were right behind us?” Vicky asked.

  Lila had already woven a story in her wicked little mind to cover her tardiness. “Oh. Well, one of the paintings on the wall near the loading area caught my attention, and I wanted to get a closer look before boarding a doom buggy. So by then, like the next wave of stretching room guests had flooded the area, which put me even further behind. Next thing you know, there were like, fifty or sixty people ahead of me! Oh, it was horrible”, she said in an overstated manner.

  “Oh Lila, how terrible. You poor thing,” Bunny replied sarcastically. Lila had fooled them all, which really, was an easy thing to do for such a smart young witch like herself.

  The other girls enjoyed a big chuckle over Lila’s overdramatized story, then immediately moved to the next conversation.

  “So girls, what do we do now?” Trixie asked.

  “Vicky?” Katie asked, queueing their leader to reply.

  “Oh. Yeah. Right. Well, I’m kind of feeling a little playful tonight. So what do you say we head over to Fantasyland and take a little flight on the Peter Pan ride? And then maybe Dumbo and Small World?”

  “You rock, Vicky,” Bunny responded.

 
“It’s like, you could read my mind or something,” Trixie threw in.

  “For sure,” Katie added.

  “Definitely,” Lila contributed—just to keep the other girls believing she was one of them. “Of course, being the Evil Queen and all, I wouldn’t mind taking a spin on Snow White’s Scary Adventures,” the young witch said with a raised brow.

  All the girls broke into a hysterical laughing fit over Lila’s facial gesture. She had definitely won them over.

  “Okay-okay-okay. Ladies, it looks like Fantasyland wins,” Vicky replied, as they all mutually agreed and darted towards Peter Pan’s Flight.

  As the girls made their way through the portal from Liberty Square to Fantasyland, Katie made a comment which caught Lila’s attention. “So, did it seem like the Haunted Mansion ride took forever to you guys?”

  “I felt the same way, Katie,” Vicky replied. It was like, the longest ride ever.”

  “Yeah, it felt like we were in that buggy for like, one or two centuries,” Bunny added.

  “That attraction is quite involved, I must say,” Lila injected—trying to make light of a topic she knew much more about than the others. As it turns out, when she had met with Madame Sera, the shadow spirit had placed the entire attraction under a time-and-motion spell. This made time move much slower for anyone who was in the Haunted Mansion queue or on the attraction. That is, except for Lila and herself—who, durning the duration of the spell, were able to conjure up a most devious plan to be launched later that Halloween night.

  Midnight was quietly approaching, the moon, unusually large and orange in hue, glowed ominously in the southern sky—highlighting Main Street and the rooftop of the Walt Disney World Railroad Station. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was in its final hour of tricks, treats and ghastly family fun, as creepy colors danced across Cinderella’s Castle to the beat of the spooky park music.

  Lila and her unsuspecting friends had just finished trick or treating and were strolling past Rocket Tower Plaza—all with fully loaded bags of tasty Halloween goodies they had received along the way.

  “What are you girls up for next?” Vicky asked.

  “How about a little spin on Buzz,” Trixie shouted out.

  “Or the tea cups,” Bunny added.

  “And of course, we have to make sure we’re in the last group they let through the Haunted Mansion tonight. I mean, it is Halloween after all. Am I right, ladies?” Lila cleverly slipped in.

  “Oh, like yeah. Without a doubt. That has to be our last ride of the night,” Katie replied. “Right, Vicky?”

  “Absolutely,” she said. Vicky looked at her watch, noting the time—three after eleven. “Looks like we have just enough time to hit Buzz and the tea cups before visiting the Mansion for one last ride. So let’s like, get moving girls—before the clock strikes midnight.”

  Nobody else had to say a word. Like greyhounds darting out of the starting gate, the girls took off walking at a brisk pace towards Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and never looked back.

  Lila could not be any happier. As she kept pace with the other girls, a devilish smirk came across her face—hidden from the others, who were too busy huffing it to notice. Her plan was working. Less than one hour from now, her great-uncle’s wishes would be set in motion.

  The peek hour of Halloween was upon them—eleven fifty six. Only four minutes remained until midnight. The girls had timed the end of their evening perfectly. They slowly walked through the empty Haunted Mansion queue as a female cast member, dressed in creepy fashion, chained off the entrance to the attraction behind them. They would be the last guests to experience the Mansion that evening.

  The girls briefly paused at the entryway doors, as a pale-faced figure with sunken cheeks and ill-shadowed eyes appeared from the darkness within. His sinister smile led the way, welcoming the five young ladies into the mansion for a visit. No words were spoken, as the cryptic butler quietly guided them under the cobweb-ridden chandelier, and towards the stretching room, to begin their haunting experience. But unlike their earlier visit to the Mansion that day, the girls were the only occupants in the stretching room besides the butler. The emptiness surrounding them only drew more attention to the chilling sounds echoing throughout Gracey Manor—increasing the scare factor exponentially, and adding yet another level of ghoulish delight to an experience already considered spooky enough for the average guest. The five young ladies looked at each other, then up at the iconic paintings, as the door closed behind them—and on queue, the ghost host started in with his welcome speech.

  “Welcome, foolish mortals. To the haunted mansion. I am your host. Your, ghost host.”

  As he continued on, the room slowly began to stretch—all eyes were wide open and filled with spine tingling excitement, as the girls watched the paintings around the room grow taller, revealing their dark secrets. Then, everything went black! There was a flash of lightning, a crack of thunder, and a blood curdling scream—as a corpse, dangling from the ceiling above, was highlighted by another sudden flash of light. The room went dark again…but instead of the stretching room doors opening up to the hallway, which led to the doom buggies, everything remained dark. And stranger still, the room felt as though it were actually descending! Which, as any serious Walt Disney World fan knew, was not possible in this version of the Haunted Mansion. Five, then six seconds passed, and still the floor continued to descend into the unknown darkness below. The frightened girls held on tightly to each other’s hands, not knowing what to expect next—each, in a silent state of horrified panic. Finally, the silence was broken.

  “Like, what is going on? This is not normal,” Vicky whispered to the other girls.

  “Yeah, I mean, if Disney is trying to freak us out, they’re doing a really good job,” Bunny nervously replied.

  “Maybe like, it’s a secret entrance into the utilidor tunnels?” Trixie said. The other girls all whispered hopeful replies, wishing Trixie’s proposal was actually true.

  Lila played along, pretending to be scared as well, though inside, she was thoroughly amused by the other girls reactions to everything going on around them.

  There was a deep sudden THUNK, which shook the room. The floor had finally come to rest. Candle-like fixtures resting in the hands of Gargoyles above simultaneously lit up, as a hidden doorway just behind where Lila was standing, slowly opened. Beyond the opening sat a large expansive room, fairly circular in shape. Its jagged walls were cave-like, the floor, made of black polished marble. Engraved in the floor, at the center of the room, was a large ten foot, ornately decorated crest. In the center of the crest were the letters MS. And around the circle’s outer perimeter, facing inward, sat five sturdy, tall-back chairs. They were made of intricately carved, black stained oak—with the seats and backs covered in diamond-patterned, dark purple, velvet padding.

  The girls remained motionless, too petrified to move, as they cautiously looked over every square inch of the unexpected room that sat before them.

  “Well Vicky, what do you think?” Lila asked, in an attempt to get the girls moving. “It looks like this is our only way out. And I don’t see anything very threatening. Do you?”

  “I think she’s actually right, Vicky,” Bunny replied while peering out the doorway into the large, mysterious room.

  “Well…” Vicky hesitated.

  “After all, it is Disney, Vicky,” Lila added. “I’m sure this is probably just some kind of special Halloween stunt they pull every year to up the experience for select guests. Don’t you think?”

  “I guess you’re right, Lila,” Vicky replied in a relieved tone. “It’s like, Disney World—the most magical place on earth. I’m sure it’s just part of the show. Okay, c’mon girls. Lets go check out those awesomely cool chairs the imagineers left behind for us to sit in.”

  “Yeah, like the one on the left has my name written all over it,” Katie confidently replied.

  “I call the one closest to us,” Trixie hollered.


  Like a game of musical chairs, each girl anxiously claimed their spot until all five were taken. As they sat and admired the chairs they were sitting in, a great debate rose up from within the group of self-centered teenage girls. Whose chair was the best of the five, and why? Spiraling out of control, the discussion reached a state of verbal chaos, with red faces, loud screeching voices and wild hair flips. In fact, it had gotten so far out of wack, they had completely forgotten about their immediate surroundings.

  Except for Lila, that is.

  “Wait. Did you feel that?” Katie said. “Whoop! There it is again. It feels like—”

  “Like the floor is moving,” Vicky confirmed.

  “Yeah. And we’re headed towards the ceiling,” Bunny added.

  Everyone looked up at the ceiling, which was slowly opening to make way for the circular section of the floor the girls were sitting on. Beyond the crack of the opening ceiling, bright rays of moonlight pushed their way through—highlighting the crest in the center of the rising floor. As the opening grew larger and the floor rose higher, it became apparent to the slack-jawed girls that they were headed outdoors. The floor locked into place, sealing off the opening through which it had just passed.

  Not knowing how to react, the girls sat silently in their large black chairs; looking around in utter disbelief.

  The large Halloween moon sat high in the midnight sky, flooding the area with its bright orange hue. Long, dark shadows cast from willow trees, prickly thorn bushes, and a large stone wall topped with pointed iron rods, surrounded most of the area where the girls sat.

  “Where are we?” Bunny asked. “I don’t recognize this part of the park.”

  “I’d say it’s pretty obvious”, Vicky said, pointing behind Bunny.

  Overlooking the moonlit courtyard, in ominous fashion, sat a familiar structure to all who visited the Magic Kingdom. Though none had ever seen it from a vantage point quite like this.

  Bunny turned and was immediately taken by surprise, as the words “I don’t get it” flowed from her lips. Before her stood what was only too obvious. It was the back of the Haunted Mansion.