1 Tale #1: The Farmers Festival

Once there was a mountain where a village of farmers with the most prosperous land existed. It is said that they supply the most goods at land and get the most sufficient profits that lets their farming cycle to continue, and because of that, the farmers held a festival of harvest to give thanks to their god for the wonderful harvest each year.

The festival was held every first week of May which is the peak of harvesting on the land. They held many programs: dances to worship the god, gave many offerings for a more prosperous harvest next year and many more, but their festival is popular to the tourists and other villages because of the ceremony called "The Blooming of the Blue Flower'. It is popular because of the flowers' beauty and the blessing of those who watch it bloom.

The farmers believed that it is the sign from the god that if the blue flower bloomed at 5 o' clock at the last day of the festival, they are ensured that their harvest next year will be prosperous, and it indicates if the land is healthy or not. If the blue flower blooms a magnificent and large flower, the land is healthy, otherwise, there may be a storm coming while tending their crops, thus a warning sign that they need to be careful and prepare to protect their crops.

With this festival, all wonderful happening and such, will you believe me if i tell you that this festival hides a very morbid secret?

Will you believe me if i tell you that all those blue flower and stuff is just a lie? All made up?

Quite shocking isn't it? After knowing how wonderful this festival is, in a blink of an eye, you will know how morbid it is on the other side.

Well then, if you want to stay on that happy and joyful festival, i won't bother you anymore. I suggest you stop reading in here and jump on another book.

But, if you want to take the risk of destroying that happy thought of yours about that festival, then go on. Read the following... AT YOUR OWN RISK. This may change your views about all of the festivals you know.

Do you really want to know what's that festival is hiding? Well then, why don't you turn off the lights, hide under your blanket, and be quiet as much as possible. You don't want to be the next sacrifice, do you?

Well, it all started as a mere rumor, a mere whisper that every that every leader knows that it's true. It's been passed down in all lineage of chiefs in the land. And it's impressive how they made quiet about it so far.

You do know about the saying that 'No secret remains unraveled' right? Well there is one way of making that secret stay a secret forever.

For example:

There's this meddlesome women who did nothing but gossip all day long instead of helping for the festival. If you are thinking that they would get punished for not helping... well, you're wrong. It is not because they're not helping— it is because what they are talking about. They won't be able to celebrate the festival tomorrow.

Their muffled screams can't be heard by anyone as it is masked with the loud music and cheering of the people dancing at the plaza, enjoying themselves while those sorry women gets drag away into the darkness.

Oh, how pitiful.

They were— crying, begging, pleading to let them go at they thought that they are going to be punished because they just didn't helped and gossiped more during the preparations for the festival. Well, they're quite right— they are going to be punished but not for the sin they thought, but for the topic they were gossiping about.

The thing they are talking?

Is just another gossip they heard. They heard that someone somehow, disappears like they didn't exist at all before or after the festival. Some say it's a curse, some demon lurking around, or a sacrifice for the gods.

How foolish they are to listen to those rumors, and that foolishness will cost their life.

Now, back to the festival, as the villagers waste themselves in the night, preparing for the big event tomorrow, foolish women were tied up in a pole with a gag.

They're going to be the sacrifice this year. They cried even more once they saw the village chief in strange clothing, strange marks covering his body. They tried to scream, yell and beg for help. They sought explanation in the chief's eyes but all was in vain. The chief... is not the chief. It was someone— something that do not belong to this world.

They cried more and more and tried to scream. Their body quivered with fear as that thing approached them. They saw its eyes gleaming with hunger and its mouth twisted with a crooked grin, its sharp teeth that are like of a dagger. They feared for their lives. They feared for what will happen to them.

But the thing walked past them and goes to the altar for the gods full of offerings from the people.

It smiled even more as if it is satisfied for what is in the altar, and looked back to the women and said in a deep, demonic voice: Thank you for your offerings, I shall bestow you another blessing this year.

The women became a crying mess as they heard it talk. They tried to escape, tried to undo their ropes or even remove their gags to scream for help— but all is for nothing as they feel immense pain in their stomachs. They felt a warm liquid flowing on the floor. They looked down and saw a lot of blood gushing from their stomach, they budged even more but it only made the situation worse— as the blood gushes out, came their intestines out. The state caused them panic; a lot of questions, thoughts and things run through their minds. While the women suffer, it watched with glee as the sacrifices cling on their lives. It watched merrily waiting for them to take their last breath, so it could finally take its' meal.

The women finally stopped moving and they looked a real mess. It cared not on their bodies, but on their blood. Their blood flowed along a canal into the altar where its statue sits. It felt delighted as the blood touched its figure. As it sips all the blood, it reverted into smoke and flowed back to the idol.

As the fire in the temple blow out, began the viewing of the flower. As the people view the flower bloom, the real village chief entered the temple to retrieve the bodies.

If you thought that is the horror that surrounds the festival, it is not. The real horror starts now.

The village chief drags the bodies into the village compost pit — no evidence must be found or else doom awaits, and in there, he chops the bodies into little pieces, starting from the fingers: he chops the fingers one by one from the hands and into the toes. He then proceeds from the bottom to top— separating the feet from the ankles which take him three times to chop it off. After separating the feet, he chops it again into little pieces making it look like a ground meat. Next are the legs, separating the meat from the bone and finely chopping it up. He does this same process to the thighs, the hips, the upper body and the arms. All of the meat chopped like minced meat and tossed into the compost pit, mixed with dirt and leaves and animal excrements (trust me; it's a very good fertilizer for plants). The bones are grounded finely turning it into dust that is used by the farmers as another type of fertilizers.

Of course, the villagers do not know this. Imagine the horror in their faces once they knew that they've been sprinkling some grounded bones of other people in their crops. I can already imagine them throwing up, vomiting, shaking and going crazy because those of what they thought is a fertilizer is actually the bones of their fellow villagers. Oh, how pitiful.

Once everything is done, the head is the only part left, but the head isn't minced or grounded up. It isn't also mixed in the compost pit. What is done to the head is far worse than what you have read.

The head is then taken by the village chief into his own kitchen and there he cooks it, scrapping the meat from the head, taking the eyes and the brain out and is then chopped into fine pieces and is stirred together with various spices. It is then served to the villagers as an 'only served during the festival food'.

They're actually eating other villager's brain, eyes and meat.

They didn't question it as the village chief always said that it came from the gods as thanks. They never questioned the disappearance of other villagers for they believed it is the punishment of the gods for disobeying them and not doing what is tasked to them.

How naïve of them...

And it is not where the horror ends. I think you might noticed this while reading but— the reason those women ended like that isn't because they didn't obeyed or do what is tasked to them or because they are just unlucky and they became the sacrifice. It is because of their gossip: the disappearance of others is because they are being killed as sacrifice.

No secrets remain unraveled, but that doesn't mean that secrets can't stay hidden. In order for the village to survive, their ancestors worshipped the devil they thought was a god, and they are forced to do this things in order for them to survive or else, they would vanish. In order to survive, they took the wrong path, and now, their sin is carried on by their descendants, repeated again and again.

You know, I should've said this to you from the start but those who knew about the sacrifices must die in order to maintain peace in the village. And now that you know this, don't you think your life in in danger now?

Oh no... Looks like he noticed us. We better hide or we'll be the next sacrifice.

We're too late, they're hear. Can you hear those footsteps? It's inching closer. Oh no they're at the door. Hide in your blanket quickly. They're walking towards us. Oh god they're going to grab the blanket...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!