The Horrors Of Diman Dollar's Taxidermy Parlour

Hadley ran down the wet cobble path in her bare feet, the cold stone itching and scraping her. No noise, absolute silence. She had been down this street a thousand times, but this time it was different. She was heading to Diman Dollars Taxidermy Parlor, in search of some work. Her mother had fallen sick to the plague a few months prior, and her father was old and frail and could no longer work as a blacksmith to support the family. It was up to her to make money so her brothers and sisters could eat. Her father had known Diman Dollar many years ago and said he should be able to find suitable work for her. So here she was, outside the parlor, in the freezing cold rain with her hand on the brass doorknob.

The door was large and heavy, carved with intricate carvings and paintings. If took her a lot of effort to push open the door, which made loud creaking . Hadley walked through the door, expecting to be greeted by something like a small reception room. But what she saw was nothing like anything she had ever seen. It was a huge room, dark but grand. The walls were drowned in velvet and red wallpaper, with brass lights barely illuminating the huge space. There were two dark staircases on each side of the room, joining at the top and leading to two doors at the top. There were animals heads mounted on the walls. Hadley found this really strange, but she has to get used to it if she wants to work here.

Hadley took a seat on a couch near the door. It was worn and ripped down the sides, it seemed like it had been there for a thousand years. It was cold and hard, like a wooden board. As she sat there, she began to wonder about all the horrors that have occurred in this building. All the murders of animals, the stuffing's, the mountings. A chill ran down her spine. She could sense a presence in the room with her, yet all she could see where the dead animals. She looked all around the room, her eyes glazing over every corner of the room. She was searching for someone else. By now she had been waiting for a long time, in silence, with only the animal corpses to accompany her. Suddenly, her face went white, her blood ran cold. There was a dark figure at the top of the staircase, peering down at her with eyes made of ruby, gleaming with fire.

"Hello child, I am Diman Dollar. Who are you child"? Said Diman Dollar.
" I am Hadley sir, my father sent me,' she said softly and quietly". She was petrified, here she had been alone in this creepy building for almost and hour now, and all of a sudden this dark man with red eyes had appeared at the top of the staircase. "No child, you are not Hadley" said Diman Dollar, slightly louder than last time. As he said that, he raised both hands up in the air, causing the ground to shake and the air to temperature to rise. Hadley screamed, as the animals on the walls started to shake. There eyes were opening, their fur rising. They were coming alive. " I'm Hadley, I already told you that!" His eyes glowed bright red as she said that. "NO CHILD, YOU ARE NOT HADLEY! GRAB HER!". The animals were coming alive, and all of a sudden, two wolves came from behind her and bit her calves, knocking her to the ground. AAHH! She screamed and cried in pain.

2 days later, an article was posted in the local paper

"Last night, a small girl we now know to be named Hadley, was found bloodied, bruised and beaten down a small alley in the middle of town. She appeared to have been embalmed and stuffed with duck feathers, a common practice for taxidermists. This has come as a shock to the local people, and this case will be investigated by local authorities. A local man by the name of Diman Dollar has been assigned to give him expertise in this case, as the local coroner he is the best person to take this role. So far he has no leads to a suspect...