bones and things

A Gorey Story For You

This is a collection of thumbnail stills from a film adaptation of Edward Gorey's short story titled "The Disrespectful Summons." Many aspects of the story have been changed to suit the needs and limitations of this particular film shoot. The film was shot on a one chip digital camera that I borrowed from a friend. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to this camera, so I was unable to import the entire series of pictures necessary to tell the whole story. I am including some basic text here to fill in whatever gaps there are in the storytelling.

Enjoy!

*theater lights dim....*


Miss Squill stood on the bridge bemoaning her lonely spinster existence.




Suddenly a handsome Devil appeared, offering a white rose.



The Devil smiled sweetly at her and told her he had been utterly captivated by the sight of her standing on the bridge, all alone. He wondered if she was in need of some company. Flattered by the attention, she smiled back at him. They talked and talked. He offered her his arm. They left the bridge and took a spin in the open meadow, tiny butterflies fluttering all about.


Later that same evening, Miss Squill reminisced about her wonderful afternoon. She felt her whole life had changed for the better. She couldn't wait to hear from him again.




The next morning, she took a stroll through the garden,




To her surpise, what should appear, but one of the Devil's minions.




He offered his calling card, written in elegant script, with the Devil's insignia placed at the bottom. Miss Squill was thrilled to receive word from her romantic suitor and immediately invited the minion into her home. Upon entry, the minion presented a book, curiously titled "92 Entirely Evil Things To Do."




They decided to spend the afternoon baking a pie for her favorite aunt with a recipe straight from the book.






She found the minion's company to be perfectly delightful, so she invited him to join her the next day for a picnic at the cemetery.




She brought her new book along, opened up first page and proceeded to follow the directions for a new project; her targets, those pesty neighbors from across the street.






Every little prick and jab was felt by the neighbors. The plan had worked out beautifully!




Back at the cemetery, the two mischief makers broke out into uncontrollable fits of laughter. They rolled along the ground, shrieking and giggling in a most unbecoming fashion. In fact, Miss Squill laughed so hard, tears began to stream down her face. Just as she went to dab her eyes with her lace handkerchief, the Devil popped out from behind a tombstone. She rose to her feet. smiled and curtsied, thinking he had come to join them for the picnic, but the Devil seemed to have an altogether different plan in mind for this day. He swiftly grabbed her by the hair, then forcefully began to drag her through the grounds.




She screamed and called out for help, but there was not a living soul around to hear her desperate pleas.


They travelled across what seemed to be miles and miles of rough terrain, cold wet weather and treacherous cliffs.




The dark cave beckoned at the end of their journey. Upon seeing the cave's opening Miss Squill let out a pitiable scream and pleaded for mercy. This only made the Devil laugh even more, because as everyone knows, Beezelbub is not known for his compassion. Laughing and mocking, he pushed her in with a brutal shove.




Down and down she fell. The end had come and this was it, her final destination, the flaming pit.




The End