Dreams in the Witch HousE

A Lovecraftian Rock Opera

THE LIBRETTO
 Dreams in the Witch House
A Lovecraftian Rock Opera Libretto
A witch stood trial for being godless GILMAN
Act One Sentenced to be hung at dawn
On the prison walls she’d drawn
The night, so fraught with sound
It never subsides, nor goes away

W
Lines and curves, then she vanished! I strain to concentrate
Her disappearance never was explained And find the answers which help equate
Be it Satan’s work or sorceries attained Dimensions of reality
Stay the night and soon you’ll be aroused There’s got to be a way
Some say she lingers still in the Witch House To step deliberately from earth
To points beyond in space
MAZUREWICZ I will go higher
THE CONFESSION / ARKHAM OVERTURE Benedictus dominus I’ll make it there, no time to spare
Benedictus dominus I’m losin’ self control
ELWOOD I will go higher
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, ARKHAM CHOIR To comprehend, I must descend
bless me, Father for I have– Within these moldy dank walls, a newborn baby cries Might even sell my soul
FATHER IWANICKI A wicked rat roams, it’s the devil in disguise But I’ll go high
Yes, my son. Go on. When was your last confession? I’ll go high
ELWOOD GILMAN
Five weeks, Father. Thirty-seven days ago. That’s Behind these slanting walls, a lurking place MAZUREWICZ
eight hundred ninety one hours. My last confession Holy Spirit, lead me to a better understanding of the
was fifty-three thousand, four hundred sixty minutes ELWOOD Cross of Christ!
ago. More or less. Unbounded void transcending time and space The night so cursed, the Witch’s Sabbath is near
FATHER IWANICKI I kneel to pray
Alright. What do— GILMAN + ELWOOD Beware Walpurgis Night
ELWOOD Just stay the night, and soon you’ll be aroused The slaves of Satan, I keep at bay
Three million, two hundred seven thousand, six Some say she lingers still in the Witch House Brandishing this crucifix
hundred seconds… Of silver in my hand
FATHER IWANICKI WITCH The ghosts which haunt my hallowed room
It’s alright, begin your confession. Behind these slanting walls, a lurking place Forever will be damned
ELWOOD Unbounded void transcending time and space Fight fire with fire
Father, I’ve seen evil. Evil incarnate. Stay the night and leave no room for doubt Transfixed upon this crucifix
FATHER IWANICKI You’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House Until the break of dawn
Men do terrible things my son. Fight fire with fire
ELWOOD ELWOOD
No, no, I’m not talking about men. I mean evil. Evil He was a genius. Truly gifted. GILMAN
beyond you, me, mankind. Real evil. Supernatural evil. FATHER IWANICKI I hear his prayers from down the stairs
Malevolent and eternal. You understand what I mean? Who, my son? Why must he carry on?
FATHER IWANICKI ELWOOD I will go higher!
I do. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under My friend, Walter Gilman. We were classmates at
your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” Miskatonic and rented rooms in the same house. They MAZUREWICZ
ELWOOD call it the Witch House. Fight fire with fire
No, I don’t think so. Not this time, Father. FATHER IWANICKI Forsake evil deeds with rosary beads
FATHER IWANICKI Ah yes. Legend has it the accused witch, Keziah “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
This evil, tell me, where was it? Mason once lived there. Why would you choose such
ELWOOD a place? GILMAN
Here. Right here, Father. All around us. ELWOOD In these walls I see beyond boundaries
FATHER IWANICKI Poor students can’t afford to be picky. I will go higher!
Here? FATHER IWANICKI I’ll make it there, no time to spare, I’m losing self
ELWOOD True. control
Here. In Arkham. ELWOOD I will go higher!
It was cheap, but Walter really wanted to live there
because of its history. ELWOOD
DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE FATHER IWANICKI Between Mazurewicz’s unrelenting prayers and Wal-
It’s a dark history, unholy. ter’s fanatical devotion to his mathematical studies, he
ELWOOD
ELWOOD didn’t get much rest. The longer we lived in the house,
There’s a haunted town full of whispered tales
Walter had no fear of that. The story of Keziah Father, the more obsessed he became. The strain on
About a creaking house of mystery
fascinated him. Soon after we moved in he began to him was terrible. The doctor said he had some kind of
This brooding, moldy tomb
hear strange noises there. He called it the endless “brain fever,” but Walter swore it had something to
With a crooked garret room
cacophony. All I heard were the constant prayers of do with the irregular shape of his garret room.
Hides a devilish history
our neighbor, Mr. Mazurewicz.
GILMAN
Behind its slanting walls, a lurking place
There’s something ‘bout these walls
Unbounded void transcending time and space
Geometric and so strangely mathematical
Stay one night and leave no room for doubt HIGHER FIRE / BREAKING ME DOWN Hypnotizing
You’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House
Mesmerizing
MAZUREWICZ
I spend all night analyzing
GILMAN May the Lord bless me, protect me from evil and bring
Angles and curves hide secrets so surprising
Centuries ago in a pious, fearful town me to everlasting life!
Esoteric
Asymmetric There’s a bridge to the stars There my mind truly soars
Disguising something epic Dimensions near and far Cognizance exposing every door
It’s slowly breaking me down! We could walk where no man has walked before
There’s a bridge to the stars Geometrical, mathematical, I step deliberately
Fantastical, dimensional, through cryptic boundaries
BRIDGE TO THE STARS ELWOOD + GILMAN Improbable, impossible, abyss I must transcend
And places very far Such frequency, a mystery too deep to comprehend
FATHER IWANICKI Expand your mind, the world’s ours to explore
Your friend does sound troubled, my son. BROWN JENKIN
ELWOOD MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIR Crawlin’ across the floor
The worst of it was his strange, terrible dreams. There’s a bridge to the stars Hellish beast men abhor
FATHER IWANICKI Dimensions near and far Lurkin’ insidiously
An intelligent man studying both mathematics and We could walk where no man has walked before Mongrel monstrosity!
occult folklore… no doubt it triggered his imagination. There’s a bridge to the stars
ELWOOD MAZUREWICZ
It wasn’t his imagination, Father. I think he made some UPHAM O bone et dulcissime Iesu
kind of deal with the Devil. He’d gained abstract math- Mister Gilman that’s quite intriguing Ante conspectum tuum genibus
ematical knowledge beyond human comprehension!
Me provolvo!
We were all astounded by it, especially our teacher, MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIR BROWN JENKIN
Professor Upham. To explore So here I come, you’ve seen me before
Ahhhh Prepare yourself for what’s in store!
PROFESSOR UPHAM There’s a bridge to the stars!
So many questions
Science is a vast frontier BROWN JENKIN +
ELWOOD
Of theory scrutinized RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIR
Other students whispered about Walter in the hall-
Deep exploration So blasphemous, calamitous, you’ve everything to
ways. Even the faculty were concerned for him. The
Of concepts we hold dear fear
learning … he was coming unhinged.
We equate and we describe I’m merciless, nefarious, the screeching that you
FATHER IWANICKI
hear
Perhaps Gilman ought not to have studied so hard.
UPHAM + ELWOOD + STUDENTS ELWOOD So deafening, this reckoning
Our calculations never end It wasn’t only that, Father. Walter lived in the very
room where Keziah herself performed black magic. GILMAN
GILMAN FATHER IWANICKI It’s driving me insane!
I’ve insight you can’t comprehend My son, witchcraft and science are two sides of the
There’s a bridge to the stars same coin. Man has always hungered for the unknow- RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIR
Dimensions near and far able, the divine. Unsettling and menacing
I will go to a cosmos more immense ELWOOD
There’s a bridge to the stars But Father, this isn’t divine at all. This knowledge was, BROWN JENKIN
I don’t know… profane? Unholy? These dreams destroy your brain!
PROFESSOR UPHAM FATHER IWANICKI
Son, your notion’s quite bizarre Your friend Walter’s soul was in peril, my son. Yours MAZUREWICZ
too, perhaps. The Lord of Darkness is always present O bone et dulcissime Iesu
ELWOOD and can take many forms. Ante conspectum tuum genibus
Walter, you’re not making any sense ELWOOD
Yes, Father. Walter heard strange, unearthly voices GILMAN
GILMAN in the house. He said there was a creature, a horrible Ahhhhhhhhh!
Just hold on! thing bound to the Witch.
Mankind’s perceptions are constricted by his fears FATHER IWANICKI
Blindness soothes your mind It is said witches had familiars, evil spirits in the form
of animals.
PROFESSOR UPHAM ELWOOD NO TURNING BACK
Bold speculation, but your theory thus implies Yes! That’s it exactly! He saw it, in his dreams.
Flesh and blood of man survives FATHER IWANICKI GILMAN
Such entry to another realm Dreams can be a battlefield, where the holy and unholy The Lord is my rock
wage war for the soul. In him shall I trust?
ELWOOD ELWOOD Is he the shield and horn of my salvation?
Bound creatures, we’d be overwhelmed Walter’s dreams were now becoming terrifying
nightmares. WITCH
UPHAM + ELWOOD Don’t look away, the time has come
On your bridge to the stars To abandon absolution
Dimensions near and far Your body shivers, the quest begun
THE NIGHTMARE Penetrate God’s grand delusion
UPHAM I’m here, your fantasy
I’m impressed, but it’s just a metaphor GILMAN
In my dreams I see cubes and prisms Oh there’s no turning back
GILMAN Idols shrieking cacophonous rhythms From all your sensual discoveries
There’s a bridge to the stars Tentacles drag me deep into a labyrinth I can give you what you lack
And places very far We’ll consummate a new reality
It’s actual, and I can show you more Indescribably vile behaviors You’ll see!
Ravage me, oh Lord, where’s my savior?
ELWOOD Am I trapped in purgatory? Why don’t you run?
Walter strode up to the black board and effortlessly My God! Why do you feel like a prisoner in your own body?
solved numerous Riemannian equations, which seemed These monstrous visions, so surreal
to demonstrate the possibility of man literally stepping Atop, cyclopean spires I find your passion sensuous and bawdy
from one dimension to others of infinite remoteness. Rising, take me ever higher I want you desperately
Professor Upham was astonished. I was baffled at first, Above, beyond infinity
but soon I could see… Come on!
Oh, there’s no turning back ELWOOD You took a vow, before you now
For now you’ve woken up an entity There was something… a presence not of this world Three cosmic entities
Demonic giant, lean and black on the other side of that door, Father. We didn’t know
From worlds beyond he crawls relentlessly towards what to do! Mazurewicz handed me a crucifix and BROWN JENKIN
you prayed the rosary. His hands were shaking. Desrochers This is more than dream
There’s no turning back peeked through the keyhole and it was as if that Nothing’s what it seems
From a luscious world of blasphemy strange violet light had burned his eye, for he fell back Faith’s a lie
As your nightmare fades to black in utter terror! Fate draws nigh!
Come with me, abandon sanity FATHER IWANICKI
Did you enter the room, my son? WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
WITCH + GILMAN ELWOOD Nothing you can do will cleanse your soul anew
There’s no turning back! Yes. Nothing you can say can keep the truth at bay
There’s no turning back! By the power of God…
ELWOOD
WITCH ELWOOD + DESROCHERS Empty room, where did he go?
No, there’s no turning back …thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander
through the world for the ruin of… MAZUREWICZ
Through these walls the Witch Light glows
DESROCHERS + MAZUREWICZ
Souls! DESROCHERS
House of sorrow, house of woe
SIGNUM CRUCIS ELWOOD
A thing inside his room, we all saw it! A hideous GILMAN
ELWOOD creature like a huge rat, but with the face of a man. Nothing I can do will cleanse my soul anew
The old witch had become so real to him father, I Walter’s nightmares had somehow become real!
was afraid she might appear to me. It got worse as WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
May Eve approached, and our superstitious neighbors BROWN JENKIN Nothing you can say can keep the truth at bay
worried about Walter’s strange behavior. He was Mankind fails to see the truth
sleepwalking, and there were screams at night, and Your faith poorly misconceived WITCH + BROWN JENKIN +
that strange light that glowed from beneath his door. Dare you step into the violet light ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ +
FATHER IWANICKI You’ll see that you’ve been deceived DESROCHERS
You saw a light? Revelations he defends
ELWOOD
Not just me. We all saw it… a weird violet color. WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
FATHER IWANICKI NOTHING I CAN DO Science proves
In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti
ELWOOD ELWOOD +
FATHER IWANICKI + MONKS Then it vanished into the wall. Mazurewicz said the MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERS
Throughout the ages creature was Brown Jenkin, the Witch’s familiar. Can While faith condemns
Virtuous sages such things be, Father?
Spoke of a violet light FATHER IWANICKI BROWN JENKIN + WITCH
Waxing primeval The Devil assumes many shapes, my son. In the end we all descend
Causing upheaval ELWOOD
Come every Walpurgis Night Walter wasn’t there. We found bloody footprints on ELWOOD
the floor, but they stopped halfway across the room. It The evil had engulfed him, Father. And I felt it was
ELWOOD was as if he vanished before reaching the door! Was it going to consume me as well. Walter went too far
Our neighbor, Desrochers, woke me. He had heard witchcraft? The Devil? Where could he have gone? down the path. I want to turn back, but I’m afraid it
stranger than usual thumping coming from Walter’s might already be too late for me.
room up above. I lit a candle, and we climbed the stairs GILMAN FATHER IWANICKI
following the eerie noises. We found Mr. Mazurewicz Blistering, brilliantly It’s never too late to turn back to God, my son.
already listening outside Walter’s door. Glittering, gorgeously ELWOOD
MAZUREWICZ Minarets and pinnacles, as far as eyes can see I want to believe that.
In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti!
High above, sky aflame ELWOOD
MAZUREWICZ + ELWOOD Vibrant hues, none the same Nothing I can do, that’s why I turned to you
Cracks ‘round his doorway Far below, a city glows beyond the balustrade Nothing I can say, has faith led me astray?
In his quest to comprehend, mighty God did he offend?
MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERS Is this just a dream? Walter was my faithful friend.
Fatefully glowing In terror, I scream
God on high
MAZUREWICZ + Hear my cry
DESROCHERS + ELWOOD
Dreadful footsteps amplify Nothing I can do will cleanse my soul anew
Nothing I can say can keep the truth at bay
MAZUREWICZ Breaking down from my despair
Ominous talkin’ Rising up I say a prayer
DESROCHERS Where is God and does he care?
Somnolent walkin’
WITCH
FATHER IWANICKI + ELWOOD + Menacing minstrelsy
MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERS Swelling up rhythmically
There is a Devil inside From below, an overflow of piping symphonies
My God!
Maddening melodies
Rapturous rhapsodies
 The evil in this room afflicts us all
THE SLEEPWALKER Turn to your crucifix
ELWOOD ‘Tis April’s awful Sabbat
Act Two Somehow Keziah escaped. They found mystical lines
and curves on the walls of her empty cell.
Foul Walpurgis Night

V
FATHER IWANICKI DOMBROWSKI
Lines and curves like the ones your friend Gilman We hear the chants from Meadow Hill
studied?
ELWOOD DOMBROWSKI + MAZUREWICZ
Exactly, Father! Maybe Walter learned her secret. And pray to know God’s holy will
Maybe he followed in her footsteps.
MEADOW HILL CULTIST CHOIR
GILMAN Nyarlathotep Veni Veni
Am I dreaming? Daemonia Ia Yog Sothoth
ELWOOD
Am I walking barefoot down the streets of Arkham? Ars Magister, Clavicula
There’s something about the house itself, Father. It’s
Through these misty alleyways Gel Sabaoth, Nyarlathotep
always been cursed.
Beguiled, my mind in disarray
FATHER IWANICKI
The starlight beaming ELWOOD +
Do you believe in curses, my Son?
Figure gleaming, here in my hand MAZUREWICZ + DOMBROWSKI
ELWOOD
Exotic and damned, God forsake me Blessed are the faithful
I believe that there are forces that can corrupt even
the most innocent. I imagine that the witch, Keziah For Hell’s on the horizon
Mason, was pulled into that trap herself. She wasn’t The Devil has a thousand tricks
born evil, was she? BLESSED ARE THE FAITHFUL But can’t defeat a crucifix

‘Tis April’s awful Sabbat

LEGENDS & LORE ELWOOD
The neighbors knew Walter was in trouble. With May Foul Walpurgis Night!
Eve approaching, they were all terrified of what might When winds bear chants from Meadow Hill
WITCH We must pray for God’s holy will
happen. We knew that supernatural forces were at
Long ago light was elusive
work, and there was so much gossip in the town. In the
Darkness brought me dreams intrusive with MAZUREWICZ
morning I visited Walter with Joe Mazurewicz and the
Legends and lore Benedictus dominus
landlord, Dombrowski.
Legends and lore Benedictus dominus
DOMBROWSKI
Women then lived in God’s shadow DOMBROWSKI + ELWOOD
We’ve heard you walking in your sleep
Drawn by men into a hallowed holy war Blessed are the faithful
MAZUREWICZ For Hell’s on the horizon
And when my first born died Evil’s here and we predict
And seen that rat-faced creature too
I was cruelly brought to trial It’s time to wield your crucifix
My innocence denied, I couldn’t ignore
ELWOOD
The legends and lore ‘Tis April’s awful Sabbat
The dreams you’ve had have touched on something
deep Foul Walpurgis Night!
JUDGE HATHORNE When winds bear chants from Meadow Hill
And now it seems they’re coming true
In these times of superstition We must pray for God’s holy will
Guilty by your own admission
GILMAN
Faith must be restored ELWOOD
Help, what am I to do?
You Devil’s whore We wanted to help him, Father. Mazurewicz gave
DOMBROWSKI Walter a crucifix, and said that you’d blessed it.
Here you stand Keziah Mason FATHER IWANICKI
Blessed are the faithful
Our misfortunes you have hastened with your Yes, I remember that. Joe’s a good man.
For Hell’s on the horizon
Legends and lore ELWOOD
MAZUREWICZ Dombrowski promised to cover the rat holes in
Now I shall sentence thee Walter’s room with tin, and spread poison everywhere.
The evil in this room is thick
As I’ve sentenced all the others FATHER IWANICKI
You should have this crucifix!
We can’t show leniency I see.
Faith must be restored ELWOOD
ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ
Amidst legends and lore I told Walter he could come downstairs and sleep in my
‘Tis April’s awful Sabbat
Foul Walpurgis Night! room meanwhile. I’d keep watch during the night.
ELWOOD FATHER IWANICKI
The winds bear chants from Meadow Hill
Judge Hathorne and the others didn’t understand That was good of you, my son.
So pray to know God’s holy will
Keziah. She saw into the beyond, and they feared her. ELWOOD
FATHER IWANICKI No, Father. I failed him!
DOMBROWSKI
Fear has always driven men to desperate acts. Where FATHER IWANICKI
Hey, have you heard about the child?
fear comes, evil follows. I’m sure you—
Young Ladislas vanished last night
A pair of drunken townsfolk saw it all ELWOOD
WITCH We talked late into the night about Keziah and Brown
And in the dark of night Jenkin, and about the possibility of traveling to other
MAZUREWICZ
While the frenzied town was sleeping dimensions. I only made things worse!
Now I hear shrieking through your walls
There came a violet light
The Devil’s at our door
Which opened a door
To legends and lore
ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ +
Legends and lore
Legends and lore
DOMBROWSKI CRAWLING CHAOS
Blessed are the faithful
Legends and lore
For Hell’s on the horizon FATHER IWANICKI
How could you have made things worse?
ELWOOD GILMAN WITCH
We talked about the Black Man, Father, the emissary My God, what have I done? Weaving through it means we must appeal to
of terrible powers. Azathoth
FATHER IWANICKI We followed lines and curves and now they’ve
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. brought us here
ELWOOD To share his awesome might beyond the spheres
And then we were both so tired. I was supposed to
AZATHOTH
protect Walter, but I fell asleep. WITCH + BROWN JENKIN + REVELERS
CRAWLING CHAOS Oh, oh, oh, whoa!
FATHER IWANICKI
Bow before him, face the master of the night
You’re only human, my son.
Now behold the Daemon Sultan at his height BROWN JENKIN
ELWOOD
Here you shall revel Walpurgis Night is here!
I failed him, and inhuman forces found Walter that
Succumb, pay homage, he is Prime We bow in prostration
night.
An ancient evil
That lurks beyond all space and time WITCH
SLAVE CHOIR Now before us lies a naked babe
Space and time
Ia Nyarlathotep!
Sened Nyarlathotep! BROWN JENKIN
Azathoth!
Ia Nyarlathotep The blood of innocence flows in his veins
All appalling truths revealed
Sened Nyarlathotep!
Azathoth! WITCH
Ia Nyarlathotep
Writhing madness unconcealed To know the truth we have to pay this price
Oosur Nyarlathotep!
Azathoth! He shall be our sacrifice
At the throne of chaos, yield to Azathoth!
BROWN JENKIN
Azathoth! WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
Our Lord is near
The time has come
I must admit, you’ve conjured us quite brilliantly
GILMAN
You kneel in fear WALPURGIS REVELERS
I fear this book before me may be filled with lies
And understand that we are the true Trinity Ia!
I hear the sound of terror in a baby’s cries
Yeah!
I must awaken
Soon we shall be cut from the same cloth WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
but something holds me to this ground
Yeah! This must be done
I am forsaken
Mortal, sign the book of Azathoth
I signed the book, my soul is bound WALPURGIS REVELERS
It’s bound Ia!
GILMAN
To Azathoth!
Ahhhhhhh!
At the throne of chaos, yield WITCH + BROWN JENKIN + REVELERS
Azathoth! We chant aloud in exultation
WITCH
Is this just a dream, surreal? Our Lord is real
And now you’ll see
Azathoth!
With your own eyes the power of Divinity WALPURGIS REVELERS
Now in my own blood I kneel to Azathoth!
Awake, like me, Ia!
Azathoth!
To his commands across gulfs of infinity
WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
ELWOOD
ELWOOD To him we kneel
Walter awoke the entire house with his screaming,
The Black Man appeared to Walter that night, Father.
Father. WALPURGIS REVELERS
Nyarlathotep! The Crawling Chaos himself! At his
FATHER IWANICKI Ia!
command Keziah and her familiar showed Walter the
He sounds like a tortured soul.
Book of Azathoth. They wanted him to sign it in his
ELWOOD WITCH
own blood!
Yes. I think he was dreaming even when he was I raise my knife
FATHER IWANICKI
awake.
My God!
FATHER IWANICKI BROWN JENKIN + REVELERS
ELWOOD
May God have mercy on him! Fhtagn!
He tried to resist…
ELWOOD
There was no mercy for him the next night, Father. GILMAN
GILMAN
May Eve itself had finally arrived! The neighbors And bring damnation!
Now that the truth is so clear
whispered about the missing child, and believed that
How do I get out of here?
Walpurgis revelers would gather down in the ravine ELWOOD
I lost myself in temptation
beyond Meadow Hill. Mazurewicz insisted that Walter Gilman was horrified, Father. He saw the missing baby
Forever a sinner
wear the silver crucifix that he had given him and Wal- there on the witch’s altar, a huge knife, a ritual bowl,
ter put it on. Then came the worst nightmares of all! and something in him finally snapped free.
WITCH
FATHER IWANICKI
You must sign!
Thank God for that!
You must sign!

SLAVE CHOIR THE SACRIFICE / NO TURNING BACK GILMAN
I see now it’s madness
Ia Nyarlathotep!
Sened Nyarlathotep! (reprise) My heart fills with sadness
This evil consumes me
WITCH Forbidden knowledge only dooms me
BROWN JENKIN + WITCH
Bow to the Chaos before you As night falls and day ends
The veil drops, our path bends WITCH
Vow, let his power restore you
The stars turn, aligning Don’t forget you signed your soul away
Your world is lost in temptation
God’s light, growing dimmer Here dream and truth are intertwining
BROWN JENKIN
BROWN JENKIN Never dream that you’ll forget the things you’ve seen
BROWN JENKIN today
You will sign! The fabric of the cosmos is a ragged cloth
 GILMAN BROWN JENKIN Oh I prayed that God would bring deliverance!
God I never thought the truth would be a curse to You’ll never win! Atterete dominatum
learn But demons came at night instead
GILMAN Denique interimo
WITCH Forgive my sin Poor Walter didn’t know the difference
You can travel space and time but you cannot return She senses death Benedictus qui venit
And takes her final breath! When he said
GILMAN
In nomine Daemon Sultan
No! No! Oh, no, no, no! WITCH
Don’t look away, the time has come GILMAN
BROWN JENKIN
Can’t you see I’m your reflection? I want something more than life!
We’re gonna see him bleed!
My spirit withers, this life undone
My demise, our intersection ELWOOD
GILMAN
Kill me and I will ascend The worst came that night, Father. We heard Walter
The spell is now broken
And in my place you’ll descend shrieking in terror.
The quest for knowledge shouldn’t be denied
There’s no turning back FATHER IWANICKI
Until it turns into the sin of pride
There’s no turning back What happened?
The Devil’s curving lines will not bind me
ELWOOD
I’ll trust a holier geometry
WITCH + GILMAN He was writhing in agony, covered in blood!
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!
There’s no turning back FATHER IWANICKI
To God I pray
Oh my God!
GILMAN ELWOOD
BROWN JENKIN
There’s no turning back A horrible rat-like creature had attacked him. It
You’ve lost your way
emerged from his chest and escaped!
BROWN JENKIN
GILMAN FATHER IWANICKI
Don’t think you’ll prevail
This crucifix is my salvation Brown Jenkin!
As her breath exhales
ELWOOD
WITCH Soon, when I return
It killed him, Father! Walter was dead!
No turning back Your soul will burn
FATHER IWANICKI
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual
WITCH + BROWN JENKIN
light shine upon him!
We will attack!
BETWEEN REALITY AND DREAMING ELWOOD
GILMAN
Between reality and dreaming
Thy Kingdom come ELWOOD
Evil consumed his beating heart!
Thy will be done! He failed to save the child, Father. Brown Jenkin bit
For me there’s nothing that’s redeeming
through the baby’s wrist and completed the sacrifice!
WALPURGIS REVELERS FATHER IWANICKI MONKS
Ia! But my son, it was all just a dream. Atterete dominatum
ELWOOD
MAZUREWICZ No! Don’t you see? The baby vanished in real life too! DESROCHERS
Nomine It was all real! This house is vile and sinful! Ia!
WALPURGIS REVELERS FATHER IWANICKI
It’s a tragic coinci— MONKS
Azathoth Denique interimo
ELWOOD
MAZUREWICZ We found Gilman on the floor of his room, nearly cata-
MAZUREWICZ
Patris tonic. There were bruises on his throat and his crucifix
Hail the master of the night!
was gone! He had gone stone deaf: both eardrums
WALPURGIS REVELERS ruptured. The doctors couldn’t explain it! Walter truly ELWOOD
Ia! went somewhere in his dreams that night, Father. And I prayed that God would bring deliverance
I haven’t told you the worst yet. But now I’ll never sleep again!
MAZUREWICZ FATHER IWANICKI
Filii I envy those who live in ignorance
I’m sure you did all you could. The sin isn’t yours.
WALPURGIS REVELERS ELWOOD DESROCHERS
Yog Sothoth But I have sinned, Father. The sin of despair. I don’t This house is vile and sinful! Ia!
know what’s true anymore!
ELWOOD MAZUREWICZ
Walter? ELWOOD I give unto the violet light!
Reality, I always thought it had finality
FATHER IWANICKI
Walter sacrificed himself, Father. Even as he heard the But now I doubt its actuality
…perpetual light shine upon him... may his soul and
chanting coming from Meadow Hill, he wrenched the knife And nothing is what it might seem
the souls of all the faithful departed… through the
from the old woman’s claws, sending it clattering away mercy of God... rest in peace... my God!
into some nether world within his dream. She and Brown Nonentity, I’ve lost all sense of my identity
Jenkin fought back with tooth and nail, and as she choked The only thing I feel with certainty
CRAWLING CHAOS
him he felt the chain of the crucifix grinding into his neck. Is that the world is just a dream
Bow before him face the master of the night
He pulled it free and his own hands reached out for the FATHER IWANICKI + MONKS
witch’s throat. Before she saw what he was doing he had ELWOOD
Faith in God restores man’s life
the chain of the crucifix twisted around her neck! Am I dreaming?
ELWOOD
GILMAN Belief in God is a delusion! MONKS
Don’t back away Atterete dominatum
There’s hell to pay, yeah! A soothing fairy tale I chose
The time has come Denique interimo
This must be done But so are science’s conclusions, God knows
And now you’ll know extermination! Atterete dominatum
Denique interimo
MADNESS IS MY DESTINY
GILMAN
Now the night is dawn, darkness drifts away
Enlightenment shines, intervening
Life now conveyed, a mere masquerade
Cloudless, my mind seeks the meaning

Spirit now withdrawn, this figure fades away

Vanquished, my soul cries out screaming
Condemned to a plight to terrorize the night
As a violet light faintly gleaming

The most merciful thing in the world is blindness

towards reality
False perception, deep deception led to my insanity
Dreams eternal, life infernal
Madness is my destiny

And who was I to strive for more than men should

know?
We’re all oblivious souls in a cosmos that’s all aglow
In an everlasting state, the world I contemplate
Fear’s just of the flesh and it poisoned man long ago

The most purposeful shroud in the world, credence in

the Trinity?
False perception, deep deception led to my insanity
Dreams eternal, life infernal
Madness is my destiny

BROWN JENKIN
Madness is your destiny!

GILMAN
False perception, deep deception led to my insanity
Dreams eternal, life infernal
Madness is my destiny
Madness is my destiny
In black seas of infinity!

Executive Producer
Dreams in the Witch House Mike Dalager

A Lovecraftian Rock Opera Cover art by Carlos Garcia Rivera

Music by

R
Chris Laney Anders Ringman Lennart Östlund

Lyrics by
Mike Dalager Andrew Leman

Book by
Sean Branney Andrew Leman
© 2013 Platform West, LLC
Based on “The Dreams in the Witch House” by H. P. Lovecraft All rights reserved.