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The Grand Royale
by A.F. Stewart

In its day, the Royale Theater bustled in cinematic decadence and vivid Art Deco style. Gold, black, and crimson glittered in invitation, beckoning to a new world of plush velvet and flickering images. Once, all the great classics lit up the screen, dazzling living silhouettes breathing in the dark; the stage for stars like Valentino, Garbo, and Fairbanks. For the theatre’s patrons, it was an escape, a chance to throw away the drudgery and live a dream.

But dreams sometimes die. Sometimes they burn in fury and flames, in screams and agony, leaving frenzied, whispering echoes behind.

And every now and then, those ruined dreams linger.

Scorched and hollow, the Royale still stands, its glamour covered in grime and ages-old soot. Footsteps quicken as they pass, foreboding and the reverberation of wails swirling in their wake. Charred faces, long dead, press against shattered windows, and the choking fumes of smoke drift in the wind. Pass the Royale if you must, but never go in.

Those that enter now, never come out…

Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from A.F. Stewart:

Visions and Nightmares

Tragedy spares no one… and takes no prisoners.
In the twilight shadows, secrets are revealed past the whispers of madness.

Wander into the realm of the old gods with Elenora, where humanity and marriage are a prison.
Step through a looking glass of dark horrors with an Alice you never knew.
Join with Zenna to seek the truth as her death by magic grows closer.
Journey with Olivia as she crosses paths with a monster of the forest and runs for her life.
Watch Isobel summon the faerie to solve her problem of an unwanted husband.
Shiver as Doctor Killbride experiments with corpses to create life from death.
All that and more await within the pages.

Ten stories. Ten women.
Who will survive? Who will fall? And who will succumb to their inner evil?
Find out in Visions and Nightmares.

Warning: This book contains disturbing scenes that may be upsetting to some readers.

Available on Amazon!