Dreams Witch HousEin the

A Lovecraftian Rock Opera

THE LIBRETTO

Act One

WTHE CONFESSION / ARKHAM OVERTURE

ELWOODIn the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, bless me, Father for I have–

FATHER IWANICKIYes, my son. Go on. When was your last confession?

ELWOODFive weeks, Father. Thirty-seven days ago. That’s eight hundred ninety one hours. My last confession was fifty-three thousand, four hundred sixty minutes ago. More or less.

FATHER IWANICKIAlright. What do—

ELWOODThree million, two hundred seven thousand, six hundred seconds…

FATHER IWANICKIIt’s alright, begin your confession.

ELWOODFather, I’ve seen evil. Evil incarnate.

FATHER IWANICKIMen do terrible things my son.

ELWOODNo, no, I’m not talking about men. I mean evil. Evil beyond you, me, mankind. Real evil. Supernatural evil. Malevolent and eternal. You understand what I mean?

FATHER IWANICKII do. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.”

ELWOODNo, I don’t think so. Not this time, Father.

FATHER IWANICKIThis evil, tell me, where was it?

ELWOODHere. Right here, Father. All around us.

FATHER IWANICKIHere?

ELWOODHere. In Arkham.

DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE

ELWOODThere’s a haunted town full of whispered talesAbout a creaking house of mysteryThis brooding, moldy tombWith a crooked garret roomHides a devilish history

Behind its slanting walls, a lurking placeUnbounded void transcending time and spaceStay one night and leave no room for doubtYou’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House

GILMANCenturies ago in a pious, fearful town

A witch stood trial for being godlessSentenced to be hung at dawnOn the prison walls she’d drawnLines and curves, then she vanished!Her disappearance never was explainedBe it Satan’s work or sorceries attainedStay the night and soon you’ll be arousedSome say she lingers still in the Witch House

MAZUREWICZBenedictus dominusBenedictus dominus

ARKHAM CHOIRWithin these moldy dank walls, a newborn baby cries A wicked rat roams, it’s the devil in disguise

GILMANBehind these slanting walls, a lurking place

ELWOODUnbounded void transcending time and space

GILMAN + ELWOOD Just stay the night, and soon you’ll be arousedSome say she lingers still in the Witch House

WITCHBehind these slanting walls, a lurking placeUnbounded void transcending time and spaceStay the night and leave no room for doubtYou’ll suffer fevered dreams in the Witch House

ELWOODHe was a genius. Truly gifted.

FATHER IWANICKIWho, my son?

ELWOODMy friend, Walter Gilman. We were classmates at Miskatonic and rented rooms in the same house. They call it the Witch House.

FATHER IWANICKIAh yes. Legend has it the accused witch, Keziah Mason once lived there. Why would you choose such a place?

ELWOODPoor students can’t afford to be picky.

FATHER IWANICKITrue.

ELWOODIt was cheap, but Walter really wanted to live there because of its history.

FATHER IWANICKIIt’s a dark history, unholy.

ELWOODWalter had no fear of that. The story of Keziah fascinated him. Soon after we moved in he began to hear strange noises there. He called it the endless cacophony. All I heard were the constant prayers of our neighbor, Mr. Mazurewicz.

HIGHER FIRE / BREAKING ME DOWN

MAZUREWICZMay the Lord bless me, protect me from evil and bring me to everlasting life!

GILMANThe night, so fraught with soundIt never subsides, nor goes awayI strain to concentrateAnd find the answers which help equateDimensions of realityThere’s got to be a wayTo step deliberately from earthTo points beyond in spaceI will go higherI’ll make it there, no time to spareI’m losin’ self controlI will go higherTo comprehend, I must descendMight even sell my soulBut I’ll go highI’ll go high

MAZUREWICZHoly Spirit, lead me to a better understanding of the Cross of Christ!

The night so cursed, the Witch’s Sabbath is near I kneel to prayBeware Walpurgis NightThe slaves of Satan I keep at bayBrandishing this crucifixOf silver in my handThe ghosts which haunt my hallowed roomForever will be damnedFight fire with fireTransfixed upon this crucifixUntil the break of dawnFight fire with fire

GILMANI hear his prayers from down the stairsWhy must he carry on?I will go higher!

MAZUREWICZFight fire with fireForsake evil deeds with rosary beads

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

GILMANIn these walls I see beyond boundariesI will go higher!I’ll make it there, no time to spare, I’m losing self

controlI will go higher!

ELWOODBetween Mazurewicz’s unrelenting prayers and Wal-ter’s fanatical devotion to his mathematical studies, he didn’t get much rest. The longer we lived in the house, Father, the more obsessed he became. The strain on him was terrible. The doctor said he had some kind of “brain fever,” but Walter swore it had something to do with the irregular shape of his garret room.

GILMANThere’s something ‘bout these wallsGeometric and so strangely mathematicalHypnotizingMesmerizingI spend all night analyzingAngles and curves hide secrets so surprisingEsoteric

Dreams in the Witch House A Lovecraftian Rock Opera Libretto

AsymmetricDisguising something epicIt’s slowly breaking me down!

BRIDGE TO THE STARS

FATHER IWANICKIYour friend does sound troubled, my son.

ELWOODThe worst of it was his strange, terrible dreams.

FATHER IWANICKIAn intelligent man studying both mathematics and occult folklore… no doubt it triggered his imagination.

ELWOODIt wasn’t his imagination, Father. I think he made some kind of deal with the Devil. He’d gained abstract math-ematical knowledge beyond human comprehension! We were all astounded by it, especially our teacher, Professor Upham.

PROFESSOR UPHAMSo many questionsScience is a vast frontier Of theory scrutinizedDeep explorationOf concepts we hold dearWe equate and we describe

UPHAM + ELWOOD + STUDENTSOur calculations never end

GILMANI’ve insight you can’t comprehendThere’s a bridge to the starsDimensions near and farI will go to a cosmos more immenseThere’s a bridge to the stars

PROFESSOR UPHAMSon, your notion’s quite bizarre

ELWOODWalter, you’re not making any sense

GILMANJust hold on! Mankind’s perceptions are constricted by his fearsBlindness soothes your mind

PROFESSOR UPHAMBold speculation, but your theory thus impliesFlesh and blood of man survivesSuch entry to another realm

ELWOODBound creatures, we’d be overwhelmed

UPHAM + ELWOODOn your bridge to the starsDimensions near and far

UPHAMI’m impressed, but it’s just a metaphor

GILMANThere’s a bridge to the starsAnd places very farIt’s actual, and I can show you more

ELWOODWalter strode up to the black board and effortlessly solved numerous Riemannian equations, which seemed to demonstrate the possibility of man literally stepping from one dimension to others of infinite remoteness. Professor Upham was astonished. I was baffled at first, but soon I could see…

There’s a bridge to the starsDimensions near and farWe could walk where no man has walked beforeThere’s a bridge to the stars

ELWOOD + GILMANAnd places very farExpand your mind, the world’s ours to explore

MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIRThere’s a bridge to the starsDimensions near and farWe could walk where no man has walked beforeThere’s a bridge to the stars

UPHAMMister Gilman that’s quite intriguing

MISKATONIC STUDENT CHOIRTo exploreAhhhhThere’s a bridge to the stars!

ELWOODOther students whispered about Walter in the hall-ways. Even the faculty were concerned for him. The learning … he was coming unhinged.

FATHER IWANICKIPerhaps Gilman ought not to have studied so hard.

ELWOODIt wasn’t only that, Father. Walter lived in the very room where Keziah herself performed black magic.

FATHER IWANICKIMy son, witchcraft and science are two sides of the same coin. Man has always hungered for the unknow-able, the divine.

ELWOODBut Father, this isn’t divine at all. This knowledge was, I don’t know… profane? Unholy?

FATHER IWANICKIYour friend Walter’s soul was in peril, my son. Yours too, perhaps. The Lord of Darkness is always present and can take many forms.

ELWOODYes, Father. Walter heard strange, unearthly voices in the house. He said there was a creature, a horrible thing bound to the Witch.

FATHER IWANICKIIt is said witches had familiars, evil spirits in the form of animals.

ELWOODYes! That’s it exactly! He saw it, in his dreams.

FATHER IWANICKIDreams can be a battlefield, where the holy and unholy wage war for the soul.

ELWOODWalter’s dreams were now becoming terrifying nightmares.

THE NIGHTMARE

GILMANIn my dreams I see cubes and prismsIdols shrieking cacophonous rhythmsTentacles drag me deep into a labyrinth

Indescribably vile behaviorsRavage me, oh Lord, where’s my savior?Am I trapped in purgatory?My God!

Atop, cyclopean spiresRising, take me ever higherAbove, beyond infinityCome on!

There my mind truly soarsCognizance exposing every door

Geometrical, mathematical, I step deliberatelyFantastical, dimensional, through cryptic boundariesImprobable, impossible, abyss I must transcendSuch frequency, a mystery too deep to comprehend

BROWN JENKINCrawlin’ across the floorHellish beast men abhorLurkin’ insidiouslyMongrel monstrosity!

MAZUREWICZO bone et dulcissime IesuAnte conspectum tuum genibusMe provolvo! BROWN JENKINSo here I come, you’ve seen me beforePrepare yourself for what’s in store!

BROWN JENKIN + RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIRSo blasphemous, calamitous, you’ve everything to

fearI’m merciless, nefarious, the screeching that you

hearSo deafening, this reckoning

GILMANIt’s driving me insane!

RATS IN THE WALLS CHOIRUnsettling and menacing

BROWN JENKINThese dreams destroy your brain!

MAZUREWICZO bone et dulcissime IesuAnte conspectum tuum genibus

GILMANAhhhhhhhhh!

NO TURNING BACK

GILMANThe Lord is my rockIn him shall I trust?Is he the shield and horn of my salvation?

WITCHDon’t look away, the time has comeTo abandon absolutionYour body shivers, the quest begunPenetrate God’s grand delusionI’m here, your fantasy

Oh there’s no turning backFrom all your sensual discoveriesI can give you what you lackWe’ll consummate a new realityYou’ll see!

Why don’t you run?Why do you feel like a prisoner in your own body?These monstrous visions, so surrealI find your passion sensuous and bawdyI want you desperately

Oh, there’s no turning backFor now you’ve woken up an entityDemonic giant, lean and blackFrom worlds beyond he crawls relentlessly towards

youThere’s no turning backFrom a luscious world of blasphemyAs your nightmare fades to blackCome with me, abandon sanity

WITCH + GILMANThere’s no turning back!There’s no turning back!

WITCHNo, there’s no turning back

SIGNUM CRUCIS

ELWOODThe old witch had become so real to him father, I was afraid she might appear to me. It got worse as May Eve approached, and our superstitious neighbors worried about Walter’s strange behavior. He was sleepwalking, and there were screams at night, and that strange light that glowed from beneath his door.

FATHER IWANICKIYou saw a light?

ELWOODNot just me. We all saw it… a weird violet color.

FATHER IWANICKIIn nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti

FATHER IWANICKI + MONKSThroughout the agesVirtuous sagesSpoke of a violet lightWaxing primevalCausing upheavalCome every Walpurgis Night

ELWOODOur neighbor, Desrochers, woke me. He had heard stranger than usual thumping coming from Walter’s room up above. I lit a candle, and we climbed the stairs following the eerie noises. We found Mr. Mazurewicz already listening outside Walter’s door.

MAZUREWICZIn nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti!

MAZUREWICZ + ELWOODCracks ‘round his doorway

MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERSFatefully glowing

MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERS + ELWOODDreadful footsteps amplify

MAZUREWICZOminous talkin’

DESROCHERS Somnolent walkin’

FATHER IWANICKI + ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERSThere is a Devil insideMy God!

ELWOODThere was something… a presence not of this world on the other side of that door, Father. We didn’t know what to do! Mazurewicz handed me a crucifix and prayed the rosary. His hands were shaking. Desrochers peeked through the keyhole and it was as if that strange violet light had burned his eye, for he fell back in utter terror!

FATHER IWANICKIDid you enter the room, my son?

ELWOODYes.

By the power of God…

ELWOOD + DESROCHERS…thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of…

DESROCHERS + MAZUREWICZSouls!

ELWOODA thing inside his room, we all saw it! A hideous creature like a huge rat, but with the face of a man. Walter’s nightmares had somehow become real!

BROWN JENKINMankind fails to see the truthYour faith poorly misconceivedDare you step into the violet lightYou’ll see that you’ve been deceived

NOTHING I CAN DO

ELWOODThen it vanished into the wall. Mazurewicz said the creature was Brown Jenkin, the Witch’s familiar. Can such things be, Father?

FATHER IWANICKIThe Devil assumes many shapes, my son.

ELWOODWalter wasn’t there. We found bloody footprints on the floor, but they stopped halfway across the room. It was as if he vanished before reaching the door! Was it witchcraft? The Devil? Where could he have gone?

GILMANBlistering, brilliantlyGlittering, gorgeouslyMinarets and pinnacles, as far as eyes can see

High above, sky aflameVibrant hues, none the sameFar below, a city glows beyond the balustrade

Is this just a dream?In terror, I screamGod on highHear my cry

Nothing I can do will cleanse my soul anewNothing I can say can keep the truth at bayBreaking down from my despairRising up I say a prayerWhere is God and does he care?

WITCHMenacing minstrelsySwelling up rhythmicallyFrom below, an overflow of piping symphonies

Maddening melodiesRapturous rhapsodies

You took a vow, before you nowThree cosmic entities

BROWN JENKINThis is more than dreamNothing’s what it seemsFaith’s a lie Fate draws nigh!

WITCH + BROWN JENKINNothing you can do will cleanse your soul anewNothing you can say can keep the truth at bay

ELWOODEmpty room, where did he go?

MAZUREWICZThrough these walls the Witch Light glows

DESROCHERSHouse of sorrow, house of woe GILMANNothing I can do will cleanse my soul anew

WITCH + BROWN JENKINNothing you can say can keep the truth at bay

WITCH + BROWN JENKIN + ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERSRevelations he defends

WITCH + BROWN JENKINScience proves

ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ + DESROCHERSWhile faith condemns

BROWN JENKIN + WITCHIn the end we all descend

ELWOODThe evil had engulfed him, Father. And I felt it was going to consume me as well. Walter went too far down the path. I want to turn back, but I’m afraid it might already be too late for me.

FATHER IWANICKIIt’s never too late to turn back to God, my son.

ELWOODI want to believe that.

ELWOODNothing I can do, that’s why I turned to youNothing I can say, has faith led me astray?In his quest to comprehend, mighty God did he offend?Walter was my faithful friend.

Act Two

VELWOOD

There’s something about the house itself, Father. It’s always been cursed.

FATHER IWANICKIDo you believe in curses, my Son?

ELWOODI believe that there are forces that can corrupt even the most innocent. I imagine that the witch, Keziah Mason, was pulled into that trap herself. She wasn’t born evil, was she?

LEGENDS & LORE

WITCH Long ago light was elusiveDarkness brought me dreams intrusive withLegends and loreLegends and lore

Women then lived in God’s shadowDrawn by men into a hallowed holy war

And when my first born diedI was cruelly brought to trialMy innocence denied, I couldn’t ignoreThe legends and lore

JUDGE HATHORNE In these times of superstitionGuilty by your own admissionFaith must be restoredYou Devil’s whore

Here you stand Keziah MasonOur misfortunes you have hastened with yourLegends and lore

Now I shall sentence theeAs I’ve sentenced all the othersWe can’t show leniencyFaith must be restoredAmidst legends and lore

ELWOODJudge Hathorne and the others didn’t understand Keziah. She saw into the beyond, and they feared her.

FATHER IWANICKIFear has always driven men to desperate acts. Where fear comes, evil follows.

WITCHAnd in the dark of nightWhile the frenzied town was sleepingThere came a violet lightWhich opened a doorTo legends and loreLegends and loreLegends and loreLegends and lore

THE SLEEPWALKER

ELWOODSomehow Keziah escaped. They found mystical lines and curves on the walls of her empty cell.

FATHER IWANICKILines and curves like the ones your friend Gilman studied?

ELWOODExactly, Father! Maybe Walter learned her secret. Maybe he followed in her footsteps.

GILMANAm I dreaming?Am I walking barefoot down the streets of Arkham?Through these misty alleywaysBeguiled, my mind in disarrayThe starlight beamingFigure gleaming, here in my handExotic and damned, God forsake me

BLESSED ARE THE FAITHFUL

ELWOODThe neighbors knew Walter was in trouble. With May Eve approaching, they were all terrified of what might happen. We knew that supernatural forces were at work, and there was so much gossip in the town. In the morning I visited Walter with Joe Mazurewicz and the landlord, Dombrowski.

DOMBROWSKIWe’ve heard you walking in your sleep

MAZUREWICZAnd seen that rat-faced creature too

ELWOODThe dreams you’ve had have touched on something

deepAnd now it seems they’re coming true

GILMANHelp, what am I to do?

DOMBROWSKIBlessed are the faithfulFor Hell’s on the horizon

MAZUREWICZThe evil in this room is thickYou should have this crucifix!

ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ‘Tis April’s awful SabbatFoul Walpurgis Night!The winds bear chants from Meadow HillSo pray to know God’s holy will

DOMBROWSKIHey, have you heard about the child?Young Ladislas vanished last nightA pair of drunken townsfolk saw it all

MAZUREWICZNow I hear shrieking through your wallsThe Devil’s at our door

ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ + DOMBROWSKIBlessed are the faithfulFor Hell’s on the horizon

The evil in this room afflicts us allTurn to your crucifix

‘Tis April’s awful SabbatFoul Walpurgis Night

DOMBROWSKIWe hear the chants from Meadow Hill

DOMBROWSKI + MAZUREWICZAnd pray to know God’s holy will

MEADOW HILL CULTIST CHOIRNyarlathotep Veni VeniDaemonia Ia Yog SothothArs Magister, ClaviculaGel Sabaoth, Nyarlathotep

ELWOOD + MAZUREWICZ + DOMBROWSKIBlessed are the faithfulFor Hell’s on the horizonThe Devil has a thousand tricksBut can’t defeat a crucifix

‘Tis April’s awful SabbatFoul Walpurgis Night!When winds bear chants from Meadow HillWe must pray for God’s holy will

MAZUREWICZBenedictus dominusBenedictus dominus

DOMBROWSKI + ELWOODBlessed are the faithfulFor Hell’s on the horizonEvil’s here and we predictIt’s time to wield your crucifix

‘Tis April’s awful SabbatFoul Walpurgis Night!When winds bear chants from Meadow HillWe must pray for God’s holy will

ELWOODWe wanted to help him, Father. Mazurewicz gave Walter a crucifix, and said that you’d blessed it.

FATHER IWANICKIYes, I remember that. Joe’s a good man.

ELWOODDombrowski promised to cover the rat holes in Walter’s room with tin, and spread poison everywhere.

FATHER IWANICKII see.

ELWOODI told Walter he could come downstairs and sleep in my room meanwhile. I’d keep watch during the night.

FATHER IWANICKIThat was good of you, my son.

ELWOODNo, Father. I failed him!

FATHER IWANICKII’m sure you—

ELWOODWe talked late into the night about Keziah and Brown Jenkin, and about the possibility of traveling to other dimensions. I only made things worse!

CRAWLING CHAOS

FATHER IWANICKIHow could you have made things worse?

ELWOODWe talked about the Black Man, Father, the emissary of terrible powers.

FATHER IWANICKISpeak of the devil, and he shall appear.

ELWOODAnd then we were both so tired. I was supposed to protect Walter, but I fell asleep.

FATHER IWANICKIYou’re only human, my son.

ELWOODI failed him, and inhuman forces found Walter that night.

SLAVE CHOIRIa Nyarlathotep!Sened Nyarlathotep!Ia NyarlathotepSened Nyarlathotep!Ia NyarlathotepOosur Nyarlathotep!

BROWN JENKINOur Lord is nearI must admit, you’ve conjured us quite brilliantlyYou kneel in fearAnd understand that we are the true TrinityYeah! Soon we shall be cut from the same clothYeah! Mortal, sign the book of Azathoth

GILMANAhhhhhhh!

WITCHAnd now you’ll see With your own eyes the power of DivinityAwake, like me,To his commands across gulfs of infinity

ELWOODThe Black Man appeared to Walter that night, Father. Nyarlathotep! The Crawling Chaos himself! At his command Keziah and her familiar showed Walter the Book of Azathoth. They wanted him to sign it in his own blood!

FATHER IWANICKIMy God!

ELWOODHe tried to resist…

GILMANNow that the truth is so clearHow do I get out of here?I lost myself in temptationForever a sinner

WITCHYou must sign!You must sign! SLAVE CHOIRIa Nyarlathotep!Sened Nyarlathotep!

BROWN JENKIN + WITCH Bow to the Chaos before youVow, let his power restore youYour world is lost in temptationGod’s light, growing dimmer

BROWN JENKINYou will sign!

GILMANMy God, what have I done?

AZATHOTH

CRAWLING CHAOSBow before him, face the master of the nightNow behold the Daemon Sultan at his heightHere you shall revelSuccumb, pay homage, he is PrimeAn ancient evilThat lurks beyond all space and timeSpace and time

Azathoth!All appalling truths revealedAzathoth!Writhing madness unconcealedAzathoth!At the throne of chaos, yield to Azathoth!Azathoth!

GILMANI fear this book before me may be filled with liesI hear the sound of terror in a baby’s criesI must awakenBut something holds me to this groundI am forsakenI signed the book, my soul is boundIt’s boundTo Azathoth!At the throne of chaos, yieldAzathoth!Is this just a dream, surreal?Azathoth!Now in my own blood I kneel to Azathoth!Azathoth!

ELWOODWalter awoke the entire house with his screaming, Father.

FATHER IWANICKIHe sounds like a tortured soul.

ELWOODYes. I think he was dreaming even when he was awake.

FATHER IWANICKIMay God have mercy on him!

ELWOODThere was no mercy for him the next night, Father. May Eve itself had finally arrived! The neighbors whispered about the missing child, and believed that Walpurgis revelers would gather down in the ravine beyond Meadow Hill. Mazurewicz insisted that Walter wear the silver crucifix that he had given him and Wal-ter put it on. Then came the worst nightmares of all!

THE SACRIFICE / NO TURNING BACK (reprise)

WITCHAs night falls and day endsThe veil drops, our path bendsThe stars turn, aligningHere dream and truth are intertwining

BROWN JENKINThe fabric of the cosmos is a ragged cloth

WITCHWeaving through it means we must appeal to

AzathothWe followed lines and curves and now they’ve

brought us hereTo share his awesome might beyond the spheres

WITCH + BROWN JENKIN + REVELERSOh, oh, oh, whoa!

BROWN JENKINWalpurgis Night is here!We bow in prostration

WITCHNow before us lies a naked babe

BROWN JENKINThe blood of innocence flows in his veins

WITCHTo know the truth we have to pay this priceHe shall be our sacrifice

WITCH + BROWN JENKINThe time has come

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

WITCH + BROWN JENKINThis must be done

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

WITCH + BROWN JENKIN + REVELERSWe chant aloud in exultationOur Lord is real

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

WITCH + BROWN JENKINTo him we kneel

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

WITCHI raise my knife

BROWN JENKIN + REVELERSFhtagn!

GILMANAnd bring damnation!

ELWOODGilman was horrified, Father. He saw the missing baby there on the witch’s altar, a huge knife, a ritual bowl, and something in him finally snapped free.

FATHER IWANICKIThank God for that!

GILMANI see now it’s madnessMy heart fills with sadnessThis evil consumes meForbidden knowledge only dooms me

WITCHDon’t forget you signed your soul away

BROWN JENKINNever dream that you’ll forget the things you’ve seen

today

GILMANGod I never thought the truth would be a curse to

learn

WITCHYou can travel space and time but you cannot return

GILMANNo! No! Oh, no, no, no!

BROWN JENKINWe’re gonna see him bleed!

GILMANThe spell is now brokenThe quest for knowledge shouldn’t be deniedUntil it turns into the sin of prideThe Devil’s curving lines will not bind meI’ll trust a holier geometry

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!To God I pray

BROWN JENKINYou’ve lost your way

GILMANThis crucifix is my salvation

WITCHNo turning back

WITCH + BROWN JENKINWe will attack!

GILMANThy Kingdom comeThy will be done!

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

MAZUREWICZNomine

WALPURGIS REVELERSAzathoth

MAZUREWICZPatris

WALPURGIS REVELERSIa!

MAZUREWICZFilii

WALPURGIS REVELERSYog Sothoth

ELWOODWalter?

Walter sacrificed himself, Father. Even as he heard the chanting coming from Meadow Hill, he wrenched the knife from the old woman’s claws, sending it clattering away into some nether world within his dream. She and Brown Jenkin fought back with tooth and nail, and as she choked him he felt the chain of the crucifix grinding into his neck. He pulled it free and his own hands reached out for the witch’s throat. Before she saw what he was doing he had the chain of the crucifix twisted around her neck!

GILMANDon’t back awayThere’s hell to pay, yeah!The time has comeThis must be doneAnd now you’ll know extermination!

BROWN JENKINYou’ll never win!

GILMANForgive my sinShe senses deathAnd takes her final breath!

WITCHDon’t look away, the time has comeCan’t you see I’m your reflection?My spirit withers, this life undoneMy demise, our intersectionKill me and I will ascendAnd in my place you’ll descendThere’s no turning backThere’s no turning back

WITCH + GILMANThere’s no turning back

GILMANThere’s no turning back

BROWN JENKINDon’t think you’ll prevailAs her breath exhalesSoon, when I returnYour soul will burn

BETWEEN REALITY AND DREAMING

ELWOODHe failed to save the child, Father. Brown Jenkin bit through the baby’s wrist and completed the sacrifice!

FATHER IWANICKIBut my son, it was all just a dream.

ELWOODNo! Don’t you see? The baby vanished in real life too! It was all real!

FATHER IWANICKIIt’s a tragic coinci—

ELWOODWe found Gilman on the floor of his room, nearly cata-tonic. There were bruises on his throat and his crucifix was gone! He had gone stone deaf: both eardrums ruptured. The doctors couldn’t explain it! Walter truly went somewhere in his dreams that night, Father. And I haven’t told you the worst yet.

FATHER IWANICKII’m sure you did all you could. The sin isn’t yours.

ELWOODBut I have sinned, Father. The sin of despair. I don’t know what’s true anymore!

ELWOODReality, I always thought it had finalityBut now I doubt its actualityAnd nothing is what it might seem

Nonentity, I’ve lost all sense of my identityThe only thing I feel with certaintyIs that the world is just a dream

FATHER IWANICKI + MONKSFaith in God restores man’s life

ELWOOD Belief in God is a delusion! MONKS

Atterete dominatumA soothing fairy tale I chose

Denique interimoBut so are science’s conclusions, God knows

Atterete dominatumDenique interimo

Oh I prayed that God would bring deliverance! Atterete dominatum

But demons came at night instead Denique interimoPoor Walter didn’t know the difference Benedictus qui venitWhen he said In nomine Daemon Sultan

GILMANI want something more than life!

ELWOODThe worst came that night, Father. We heard Walter shrieking in terror.

FATHER IWANICKIWhat happened?

ELWOODHe was writhing in agony, covered in blood!

FATHER IWANICKIOh my God!

ELWOODA horrible rat-like creature had attacked him. It emerged from his chest and escaped!

FATHER IWANICKIBrown Jenkin!

ELWOODIt killed him, Father! Walter was dead!

FATHER IWANICKIEternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him!

ELWOODBetween reality and dreamingEvil consumed his beating heart!For me there’s nothing that’s redeeming

MONKSAtterete dominatum

DESROCHERSThis house is vile and sinful! Ia!

MONKSDenique interimo

MAZUREWICZHail the master of the night!

ELWOODI prayed that God would bring deliveranceBut now I’ll never sleep again!I envy those who live in ignorance

DESROCHERSThis house is vile and sinful! Ia!

MAZUREWICZI give unto the violet light!

FATHER IWANICKI…perpetual light shine upon him... may his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed… through the mercy of God... rest in peace... my God!

CRAWLING CHAOSBow before him face the master of the night

ELWOODAm I dreaming?

MADNESS IS MY DESTINY

GILMANNow the night is dawn, darkness drifts awayEnlightenment shines, interveningLife now conveyed, a mere masqueradeCloudless, my mind seeks the meaning

Spirit now withdrawn, this figure fades awayVanquished, my soul cries out screamingCondemned to a plight to terrorize the nightAs a violet light faintly gleaming

The most merciful thing in the world is blindness towards reality

False perception, deep deception led to my insanityDreams eternal, life infernalMadness 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 aglowIn an everlasting state, the world I contemplateFear’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 insanityDreams eternal, life infernalMadness is my destiny

BROWN JENKINMadness is your destiny!

GILMANFalse perception, deep deception led to my insanityDreams eternal, life infernalMadness is my destinyMadness is my destinyIn black seas of infinity!

Dreams in the Witch House A Lovecraftian Rock Opera

Music byChris Laney Anders Ringman Lennart Östlund

Lyrics byMike Dalager Andrew Leman

Book bySean Branney Andrew Leman

Based on “The Dreams in the Witch House” by H. P. Lovecraft

Executive ProducerMike Dalager

Cover art by Carlos Garcia Rivera

R© 2013 Platform West, LLC

All rights reserved.