Ravensghast

Hello and welcome! My name is Eleanor, but please do feel free to call me Ellie. Everyone does. I’ll be sharing this blog with my dance partner, Otis. Pay no mind to his grouchiness. He’s really very sweet. Also joining me is my younger brother Dominique,...

[newberryprinting]

Popular in the 18th and 19th century, dance cards were used by women to record the names of their dance partners. It appears these cards were also used for a question-and-answer game requiring prospective dancers to answer a riddle before being granted a dance.

Newberry call number: Wing Ephemera File, Des Arts Studios

[your-obedient-phantom]

Oh to be a ballroom dancing ghost in the haunted mansion

[rp-meme-glaceon]

Force my Muse to Spill their Secrets

🌧- For a heavy, emotional secret

🙃- For a lighter, slightly embarrassing secret

🌟- For a secret wish or desire of theirs

🍏- For something they secretly wish didn’t exist

🍎- For something they secretly wish did exist

❤️- For a secret crush

📲- Talk about someone/something you dislike, but only pretend to like

👁‍🗨- Talk about someone/something you like, but pretend to dislike

🍻- For something bad/mischievous you did as a child or teen that your parents don’t know about

🌜- For a ‘weird’ habit or tic that no one knows about

💃- For a talent that they like to keep hidden from others

🏹- For a talent they wish they had

👻- For something that scares or disturbs them, but they refuse to tell anyone

☢️- For a controversy or scandal they have been able to keep mostly under wraps

🐇- For a secret item they keep (stuffed animal, comfort object, etc)

📒- For a secret journal/diary they keep (Bonus: Share an entry from it!)

📔- For a secret sketchbook they keep (Bonus: Share a sketch or doodle within it!)

🖤- For something they secretly wish they could do with your muse

❓- Free Space! Ask them about a specific secret!

[yourdoombuggy]

[hauntedhearse]

pet cemetery at the Haunted Mansion ∞

[yourdoombuggy]

[expressions-of-nature]

by Javier Ignacio Muñoz

[starlight-avenue-deactivated202]

@asktheghosthost This reminds me of Dorian’s garden. ☺️

[asktheghosthost]

“Ah, these do look like my lovelies!”

[mansionmisfits]

(ravensghast) "H-hello...?" Dominique stepped timidly past the ballroom balcony. He could have sworn that he heard a cat meow softly. He hoped it hadn't gotten trapped in the mansion. He wouldn't let the poor thing starve to death in the dusty, old place. "Where are you, kitty?" he called, though in barely more than a whisper. The last person he wanted to bother was Constance, this close to the attic. Or anything else, likely far older and dangerous.

@ravensghast

A black cat floated headfirst out of the wall, at almost shoulder height to Dominique. It stopped about halfway, hanging unnaturally, but very calmly, in the air, its front legs dangling. It was swiveled from side to side, as if checking the perimeter. Then arms appeared underneath of it, showing what was holding the animal aloft. The rest of the person appeared as she stepped out of the wall.

She was tall and willowy, with long, blond hair trailing down to her mid back. Her big, green eyes blinked methodically at Dominique. She shifted her hold on the cat, so it was on one arm. With her free hand, she pulled a pair of opera glasses out of a pocket of her white gown, and held them up to study him even further. She was only a few inches away from him.

“Ailuros likes you,” she said in an airy voice, as if that explained everything. “She wanted to say hello.”

“Mwar-ow,” said the cat.

[ravensghast]

A little surprised, Dominique took a step back and bowed as he had once done during his days as a butler. 

“M- my apologies, ma'am. I didn’t mean to bother you. I only thought that there was a… well, a living cat trapped somewhere inside the mansion,” he explained, “my name is Dominique, by the way. Dominique Ghast. I don’t believe we’ve met. I- I look after the pets in the cemetery, as well as help tend the gardens. Or… what’s left of the winter garden and the roses, anyway.”

[asktheghosthost]

“This is Ailuros…” She bobbed the cat. “I’m called Ophelia Criswell,” she said, putting a hand to her collar and bowing her head. “Friends would call me Ophie if I had them.”

She tilted her head, studying him. Once more, she held up the lenses. The big, green eyes in them blinked out of sync with hers. “Your mother used to tend the gardens, but she is no longer with us.”

[ravensghast]

“My… my mother?” he said, taken aback. Dominique tried to think back on what his sister had told him about her. Tending the garden made sense to him and considering all the work he had put into it, himself, the thought made him smile. 

“So, then… did… did you know her, at all?” he asked, hopeful, “I’m afraid she passed away before I was old enough to remember her. But she sounded like a wonderful person.”

[mansionmisfits]

Ophelia frowned and shook her head. Whisps of her golden hair bobbed in slow motion with the movement, as if she were underwater. “I’m afraid not, Mr. Ghast. I was brought in when the mistress of the manor bought my portrait some decades ago.” Her pale lips curled up in a small smile at that. “My apologies. Mrs. E. Gracey. I should have clarified. So many people have lived here and claimed it as their own.”

She lifted Ailuros up to her shoulders, where she curled around her neck like a stole. Then Ophelia folded her glasses and tucked them away into a pocket.

Putting a hand to her chest, she explained, “In life, I was an infamous seer. Mrs. Gracey found my portrait while she was visiting California, and bought it as a gift for Madame Leota. I’ve been here since.”

[ravensghast]

"Mrs 'E'? Does the 'E' stand for 'Eulalie', by any chance?" Dominique guessed, adding with a frown, "I don't remember her actually bringing in a painting, especially for Madame Leota. I wonder how she knew it was haunted? Or... maybe she didn't, actually. I can think of a few people in my family who would have been able to tell, but..." 

"Regardless if she did or not," he continued, waving the thought away, "did anyone talk to you? That was alive, at the time? I apologize that I wouldn't have, then. I didn't know yet that some ghosts could be friendly, I suppose. Aside from the animals, that is." 

"Ailuros is a lovely cat, on that note," he said, offering a scratch to the feline's head, "I've only ever met one not-so-nice ghostly animal- another cat, with one eye. He clawed me and... I still have the scars, actually. But he was cruel to everyone."

[mansionmisfits]

(ravensghast) "H-hello...?" Dominique stepped timidly past the ballroom balcony. He could have sworn that he heard a cat meow softly. He hoped it hadn't gotten trapped in the mansion. He wouldn't let the poor thing starve to death in the dusty, old place. "Where are you, kitty?" he called, though in barely more than a whisper. The last person he wanted to bother was Constance, this close to the attic. Or anything else, likely far older and dangerous.

@ravensghast

A black cat floated headfirst out of the wall, at almost shoulder height to Dominique. It stopped about halfway, hanging unnaturally, but very calmly, in the air, its front legs dangling. It was swiveled from side to side, as if checking the perimeter. Then arms appeared underneath of it, showing what was holding the animal aloft. The rest of the person appeared as she stepped out of the wall.

She was tall and willowy, with long, blond hair trailing down to her mid back. Her big, green eyes blinked methodically at Dominique. She shifted her hold on the cat, so it was on one arm. With her free hand, she pulled a pair of opera glasses out of a pocket of her white gown, and held them up to study him even further. She was only a few inches away from him.

“Ailuros likes you,” she said in an airy voice, as if that explained everything. “She wanted to say hello.”

“Mwar-ow,” said the cat.

[ravensghast]

A little surprised, Dominique took a step back and bowed as he had once done during his days as a butler. 

“M- my apologies, ma'am. I didn’t mean to bother you. I only thought that there was a… well, a living cat trapped somewhere inside the mansion,” he explained, “my name is Dominique, by the way. Dominique Ghast. I don’t believe we’ve met. I- I look after the pets in the cemetery, as well as help tend the gardens. Or… what’s left of the winter garden and the roses, anyway.”

[asktheghosthost]

“This is Ailuros…” She bobbed the cat. “I’m called Ophelia Criswell,” she said, putting a hand to her collar and bowing her head. “Friends would call me Ophie if I had them.”

She tilted her head, studying him. Once more, she held up the lenses. The big, green eyes in them blinked out of sync with hers. “Your mother used to tend the gardens, but she is no longer with us.”

[ravensghast]

"My... my mother?" he said, taken aback. Dominique tried to think back on what his sister had told him about her. Tending the garden made sense to him and considering all the work he had put into it, himself, the thought made him smile. 

"So, then... did... did you know her, at all?" he asked, hopeful, "I'm afraid she passed away before I was old enough to remember her. But she sounded like a wonderful person."

[mansionmisfits]

(ravensghast) "H-hello...?" Dominique stepped timidly past the ballroom balcony. He could have sworn that he heard a cat meow softly. He hoped it hadn't gotten trapped in the mansion. He wouldn't let the poor thing starve to death in the dusty, old place. "Where are you, kitty?" he called, though in barely more than a whisper. The last person he wanted to bother was Constance, this close to the attic. Or anything else, likely far older and dangerous.

@ravensghast

A black cat floated headfirst out of the wall, at almost shoulder height to Dominique. It stopped about halfway, hanging unnaturally, but very calmly, in the air, its front legs dangling. It was swiveled from side to side, as if checking the perimeter. Then arms appeared underneath of it, showing what was holding the animal aloft. The rest of the person appeared as she stepped out of the wall.

She was tall and willowy, with long, blond hair trailing down to her mid back. Her big, green eyes blinked methodically at Dominique. She shifted her hold on the cat, so it was on one arm. With her free hand, she pulled a pair of opera glasses out of a pocket of her white gown, and held them up to study him even further. She was only a few inches away from him.

“Ailuros likes you,” she said in an airy voice, as if that explained everything. “She wanted to say hello.”

“Mwar-ow,” said the cat.

[ravensghast]

A little surprised, Dominique took a step back and bowed as he had once done during his days as a butler. 

"M- my apologies, ma'am. I didn't mean to bother you. I only thought that there was a... well, a living cat trapped somewhere inside the mansion," he explained, "my name is Dominique, by the way. Dominique Ghast. I don't believe we've met. I- I look after the pets in the cemetery, as well as help tend the gardens. Or... what's left of the winter garden and the roses, anyway."

[rp-meme-glaceon]

Send a symbol for your muse to find mine...

🌷- Alone

🥀- Dying

🤕- Injured/sick

☠️- Dead

🐥- Alive

😈- Possessed

👻- As a ghost

😼- Transformed into an animal/monster

🦋- In a joyful mood

☔️- In a somber mood

☀️- Overheated

☃️- Shivering from the cold

💫- Dazed and dizzy

💦- Crying

🍇- Extremely hungry

🏇🏻- Being chased

🗜- Stuck in a trap

🔮- In a dream

🛌- Bedridden

📖- Reading/studying

🎍- Tending to a shrine/visiting a grave

🌼- Caring for some plants

⭐️- Stargazing

☄️- In a dangerous situation

[anxietyproblem]

[ravensghast]

"Elenore and Otis. The ghost dancers?"

Ellie: "Yes, we are one of the dancing couples you may have seen in the ballroom of Gracey Manor. Pleased to meet you!" 

Otis: "We occasionally switch with someone else to allow other couples a chance to dance. Despite what you living folk may believe, we've opted to not dance relentlessly for all eternity." 

Ellie: "But we *do* enjoy it whenever we *are* waltzing." 

[ravensghast]

"Is the grim hound black?"

Dominique: "Come to think of it, yes. That makes it easier for him to hide in the shadows when he gets nervous."

[asktheghosthost]

I read a theory you were Little Leota’s father? What is your defence Ghost Host? Hmmmmmmm?????????

“Don’t bring that awful bit of gossip to Madame Leota– she would probably throw up in her crystal ball.

"It’s bogus, and furthermore insulting to both women. Leota and I have never… courted or been romantically involved in any way. She’s always seen me as an obnoxious little brother, due in part to she and my sister being such close friends. And Little Leota is far too adorable to have had me as a parent.

"That all said, I don’t know who L. L.’s father is, and I never felt it was my business to ask Leota about him.”

[ravensghast]

Ellie: "Of all of us, myself, Domi and all of our half-siblings, I would like to point out how very hurtful that is to us and you! We inherited some of your physical traits, after all." *taps on her crooked nose* "You look fine, papa, and I'm not the only one who thinks so, apparently. Otherwise, I wouldn't have so many siblings!"

[asktheghosthost]

"Do you occasionally get ghost animals around the mansion?"

“Oh, we have an entire pet cemetery in the side yard, and the creatures therein are always welcome indoors. My pet duck, Waddle, is commonly found patrolling the halls or snoozing in her bed in The Ghost Relations Department.

"Not long before opening our happy haunting grounds to the public, I took in a grim hound. The poor thing was scratching at our door one night, and I couldn’t turn him away. He was all ectoplasm and bones! (He’d suffered from a terrible case of postmortem mange.) You’ve probably seen him, howling in the graveyard. I dubbed him Barkhest, and he’s been a loyal protector ever since.”

[ravensghast]

Dominique: *picks up grim hound* *whisks it away for treats and tummy rubs*

[asktheghosthost]

(ravensghast) Dominique entered a room, engrossed in a list he had written. "Dori? I was tending to the flowers and color-wise, I think the blue ones would look better next to the pur-" he froze, eyes wide as he realized he had entered the wrong room- the sewing room. Spying his aunt, his eyes widened as he went nearly transparent. A sheet appeared, covering him out of fear. His usual disguise to hide behind. "M-my apologies," he stammered, "wrong r-room..." Dominique scurried out.

Catching the ghostly reflection in her boudoir mirror, Eulalie turned and regarded her nephew with a smile. “Ah, Dominique!” In a swish of skirts she was over to greet him.

“I haven’t seen you in ages, darling.” She lifted the sheet to look at his face. “Still wearing this old thing? If you’d like, I could embroider something onto it, make it a more personal piece. I understand you take part in Beau’s tours? Is this your costume? I could put little animals on it. I remember how much you love your pets. A pattern of cats and rabbits, what do you think?”

[ravensghast]

“No. I mean, yes! I- I- I mean…” Dominique stuttered, stumbling backward, “I didn’t mean to intrude- that is, I was looking for Dorian and I- I was just going to ask him- ah, uh…" 

Fiddling with the buttons on his waistcoat, vaguely aware that he was turning gray with fear, he finally blurted out, “I should go!”

[asktheghosthost]

“You’re not intruding at all.” Her brow creased in concern. “If you have to… Are you feeling all right, sweetheart? Maybe you should sit down for a moment.” She urged him towards a chair.

[ravensghast]

“No, please don’t!” he gasped, his voice cracking, “You can’t! I have to stay and… protect… Dori.“ 

The ghost eyed her carefully after letting his thoughts slip so easily. The poor soul had been a witness to many dreadful things, even before his own death, and murder was one of them. More than once. The memories were still as fresh as the blood on the floor had been. 

“You… you c- can’t have me, too, because y- you can’t have him,” he said as firmly as he could with a quivering lip. Dominique trembled with fright, but did his best to hold his ground.

[asktheghosthost]

She froze, and a tiny gasp left her. She gaped at him in wide-eyed shock. He could have slapped her, and it would have garnered the same reaction.

"Domi… I… I would never hurt you. Or Dorian. Please…” She went to step forward, but thought better of it. “Let me explain… And what I tell you, I only ask of you not to tell your cousin or father.”

The candles dimmed, the door quietly shut, and a chair pulled itself forward, offering the young man a seat.

“I’m not about to ask for forgiveness, but perhaps some understanding.”

[ravensghast]

Dominique refused to sit and leaned against the door instead, in case he felt he should pass through it to escape. His mismatched eyes narrowed. 

"I know,” he said quietly, “about the doctor. I took care of the mansion alone, for years. I’ve come across many old files, reports and letters that could condemn dozens. So I know what he did and no, I haven’t forgiven him, nor do I have any inclination to do so. He could have taken Ellie or myself or… a large number of people here, easily, I know. But I would never have killed him. I would never have considered stooping to his level. The same for ‘Master’ Gracey. Yes, I saw the knitting needles. I knew they were yours.”

“I thought you were someone I had left that I could trust,” he said bitterly, “my own father had abandoned me. He didn’t see fit to stay for me. Still, I’ve forgiven him for it, regardless of how much it hurt. I eventually did the same, after all, though there was hardly anyone left to leave behind, by then." 

"I considered it back then, too, though,” he admitted, “I thought it would be only a relief to ‘disappear’, too. But I couldn’t leave Dorian. I always thought that, if you were willing to kill them, the it would only take something small for you to make us your next target. He was my priority. He always has been, ever since we were left alone. So you can never him. Not without tearing through me, first." 

The stress and anger he felt was showing through. Dominique could feel himself age into what he had been on his last day alive- gaunt, sunken features, tired eyes that intensified their color and steel gray hair pouring into his face in a rare disarray. It ached, like he had, then, but he stood his ground.

[asktheghosthost]

"Domi…” Her usually sharp voice was soft, practically gentle. “I would never harm Dorian. Or you. Or your sister. I did what I did to protect my son and my baby brother.

"When your father… passed, he was a broken man. He wouldn’t have left you if his mind was healthy. It wasn’t his choosing. And that all started with Dearnons and what he did to Beau when he was just a boy.” Here, her glower returned. “That so-called doctor hurt your father in unforgivable ways. He ruined his adolescence. It was only through the love and patience of people like your mother that he had any healing.

"But Domi, Beau wasn’t the only child Dearnons violated. That entire hospital was corrupt. Just because Beau was gone, it didn’t mean he stopped. Monsters like Dearnons don’t let things like a change in victims or even time hinder them. Given the chance to stop him, I didn’t hesitate to take it.”

She was quiet for a moment, letting the old anger leave her through a shudder.

“Reginald… Reginald I have some regret over, if only because there were some times he wasn’t a total bully. But he had time and time again chosen to make everyone around him miserable.”

[ravensghast]

"I know that. I know about what that man, that so called 'doctor' did," Dominique said in hardly more than a whisper, as his eyes welled up with tears, "I won't deny that it was vile and that... He deserved it. But... why you? Why did it have to be you? Why is it that Dorian was the only person I could really trust, in the end? Otis Ravenscroft was the only person I knew who outlived me and he had his own problems, in his own home. A father to look after." 

"I blame myself for losing Dorian," he continued, his voice cracking, "but I was hardly stable, myself. There was no one there to stop me, you know. It was quite easy to ride my bicycle off of that cliff.  I was truly, utterly alone, by then, left to rot. Sometimes, I'm glad I lost my memory for so long. I wish most of it hadn't come back. The ghosts, you see... It was a terrifying torment to endure for nearly half a century. Holding that in, along with your dark secrets- all of your dark secrets..." 

"I kept quiet," Dominique explained, beginning to tremble with sobs, "for so long. I never wanted to be a bother. But it... it... oh, it tore me apart. I wasn't allowed to heal. There just wasn't enough time, it felt like. Dorian was really all I had left, then I didn't even have him. I'd do anything to make it up to him. I just can't lose him- or anyone- again. I-it would be too much."