The Tragedy of Severus Scorpio

((this is one of the first serious creepypastas I made. I have read that some people put their stories here to see their reception before being posted to the actual creepypasta wiki. if the reception is decent, i will remove this and put it in the creepypasta wiki, removing this disclaimer))

Have you ever wanted to write a successful book, movie, or another form of media? Maybe you want it for the fame. Maybe for the fortune. A rare few of you might actually want to do it for non-materialistic reasons. Unfortunately, writing a best-seller is almost impossible in today’s world; you have to stand out amongst the crowd, and doing so takes an extreme amount of money and talent. However, if you have none of this and can’t bother to do the hard work and study it takes to gain these, there is one more option. There exists a ritual that, if done correctly, can guarantee that anything you write will grant you all these things and more. It is based on the successful execution of an old English play named The Tragedy of Severus Scorpio.

 

It is unknown who wrote The Tragedy of Severus Scorpio, and the background knowledge behind its history is up for debate among the few scholars that even know of its existence; even fewer of them know about the ritual related to it. It is about a nobleman named Severus Scorpio and his wedding, during which his brother Donovan comes and assassinates all who attended, including Severus's would-be wife. The play ends with Severus willingly offering himself to the assassin, saying he no longer has anything to live for. But I doubt you are interested in the sparse background behind the play. No. You are here for the ritual.

 

Let me begin by saying that this is by no means an easy way to get the fame you seek. Nor is it moral in the slightest. You will have to perform the play in front of an audience. Where you perform it doesn’t matter; it could be as lowly as a small community theatre or as grand as London Theatre (though if you are able to perform it there, you have no need to do this ritual in the first place). Next you will need some actors to fill the roles in the play. There are only two limitations as to who can play what part. The first is that the actors must be the same gender as who they are playing. And the second is that you must play the assassin, Donovan Scorpio. Which leads to the part that turns away most who seek this ritual.

 

In case you haven’t found out, you must actually kill the various actors during the play. Of course, the other actors should NOT know that you are going to do this, as most people are not impartial to being murdered. If you find a script (which is obviously required to perform the play), you will see that the cues for the various assassinations have no specifications other than “murder (put character here)”. At this part, you may decide how to kill said character, with the following limitations. Firstly, you cannot use anything that was not available during the 16th century, so most modern guns are out (though you’d have to be an idiot to use one anyways, especially since they are illegal in some nations). Secondly, and most importantly, the audience must not know that you are actually killing them; they must think it is merely part of the play, and not actually happening. Be warned that, despite how much modern special effects have evolved in the modern world, there are some things that simply could not be faked, so getting too violent will probably expose you for what you are doing. Also, those you are killing ARE going to be resistant, so if you are not careful, their resistance could also expose you. If you are exposed, the ritual will instantly fail, and you will probably be on the run for the rest of your life, if you aren’t arrested immediately. You will likely be charged with any murder you have committed during the ritual, and your sentence (though it may vary depending on where you live) will most likely be life in prison.

 

There are other factors that could result in error and failure in the ritual. The play must be performed with 100% accuracy; any error in reciting the lines or doing the actions will result in failure. This goes for the actors too; if one of them fails, your ritual will also fail, so make sure who you chose is competent at memorizing lines. However, more importantly, you should remember that I said you will need to have the script in order to do this. This may be more difficult than you think. The reason why is because there are 3 known renditions of The Tragedy of Severus Scorpio, each one with very minor and subtle differences then the other. Only one, however, will produce the intended result. The other two will have alternate, less beneficial outcomes. Firstly, however, I will tell you of the intended outcome. If you succeed, upon killing the actor playing Severus Scorpio, heralding the end of the play, the audience will suddenly and abruptly break into a roaring applause. The applause is not natural, though; not only will they be cheering at the top of their lungs, causing many to go out of breath, but it will also last unnaturally long, maybe up to an entire hour. Then, they will stop as suddenly as they started, and leave as though nothing happened. Feel free to leave if this is the outcome you get; don’t worry about the bodies, as you will find that them, as well as the evidence that you killed them, have all disappeared as soon as the curtains were drawn.

 

However, the two false copies will not only not give you the boon you performed it for, they will also have immediate negative consequences. One of the false copies has been named by various occultists as the Rendition of Hysteria. Upon completion, it will appear as though you have completed it with a legitimate copy. The signs that you failed will only begin once you fall asleep. You will be filled with abyssal, horrific nightmares for the rest of your natural life. The form these nightmares come in are always different for each person who gains them. You may find yourself falling down an endless pit, reaching speeds so high that you start to catch on fire, burning with incomprehensible pain. You may be trapped in the web of a giant spider in a pitch black cave, while monstrous entities you cannot see approach you from the dark. Perhaps you will be trapped in an iron maiden, the rusty spikes piercing through your entire body as you scream in great agony. The only thing these will have in common is that there will always be a man with short black hair and gray eyes watching you in the distance, with a grimace of pure malice on his face. You will see him even if it should be impossible in the context of your nightmare. Some theorize this is the original writer of The Tragedy of Severus Scorpio, or at least the Rendition of Hysteria. You will have to deal with these vivid nightmares for the rest of your life; your sanity is guaranteed to die eventually.

The other copy has been named by many as the Rendition of Mayhem. Unlike the first one, this one will not have roaring applause after it is finished to fool you into thinking it was the legitimate version. This one will be much worse. As soon as you finish the play, the audience will immediately jump out of their seats and run at you with unholy rage. They will all be hellbent on attacking and killing you. You will also suddenly be paralyzed, making escape impossible. Pray that they find the weapons you used for the ritual to finish you quickly. After you die, they will then turn on each other in their rage, tearing each other apart in an orgy of violence. Nobody will survive this absolute frenzy; if you do it in a place with even a trivial population, this will be very likely to make headlines across the nation. Now, if you are truly wish to do this ritual, you are going to need the script. However, I will not release the script I have in my possession to the public. I do not want to be held responsible for what happens if someone actually tries to do this, especially if it is not the legitimate copy. Who knows, maybe an actual copy will be released by someone else in the future. But if it does happen, be careful. If it is fake, pray that it is a mere fabrication, rather than the Renditions of Hysteria or Mayhem.