Venom

Prologue

Ah, splendid… You’ve all arrived. Welcome to The Venom Estate.

Please come in and make yourselves comfortable.

Choose any room you’d like; they’re all quite accommodating in their own ways.

The lights are fickle, the mirrors are peculiar, the pipes rattle, and the wood creeks a bit at night, but I assure you that everything here works as intended.

The staff has long since retired, but the house has a way of tending to your needs.

The stories you may have heard, the ones about the guests who never left, are terribly exaggerated.

Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors about the walls moaning at night, or the portraits whose eyes follow you around, or maybe the one about the mirrors don’t always reflect what stands before them.

Absurd, though charming. People have such vivid imaginations.

I must extend my most sincere apologies for my departure this evening, as I will not be staying on the grounds. Unfortunately, my work has drawn me away to more pressing matters. But rest assured, the house knows how to care for its guests.

Now, before I take my leave, some matters of housekeeping.

You may hear a faint hum beneath the floorboards as the house grows quiet in the evenings.

It’s nothing to fear; the old generator in the basement has a temper, but it is essential to the estate’s delicate balance.

Should it ever stop running, well… it’s best not to let it, hm?

I will leave you all to unpack and settle in.

I wish you the most unforgettable stay.