Recent posts reminded me of part of the first chapter of a horror novel I wrote for the fun of it (It’ll never be published). It was written before Trump slithered onto the political scene. Parts of it that pertain to the rest of the story have been removed to shorten it. I thought I’d send it along.
***
The crafty leader knew the weaknesses of his people and he artfully played upon them. He began whispering lies against the ones who had protested the sacrifice of an innocent man.. He especially attacked the old woman.
“She gathers her mushrooms in the night when only the moon is there to light her way. Perhaps she uses the darkness to hide the purpose of her journeys into the forest. Perhaps she sees evil with that blind eye! She is a strange old hag.” he would whisper to some.
“Yes,” they would reply, “she is strange.”
“She with the evil eye! She is not like us.”
“Yes,” they replied again, “she is not like us.”
“Those that follow her are not like us.” He would whisper to others.
“Yes,” they said, “they are not like us.”
“They think they are better than us. They think they are smarter than we are!”
“They do!” cried the people, “They think they are better! They think they are smarter! Why else would they turn their backs to us? We will show them who’s smarter! We will show them who’s better!”
“Yesssssss!” their leader motioned for them to be quiet so the others would not hear, “Shhhhhhh, my children, shhhhhhhhh. We will take the evil old woman first for, surely, she must be a witch. She controls the others with her dark arts!”
“Yes!” they said, “Take the one-eyed witch first! She is not like us”
“Then, after we have done with her, we will take those who wished to follow her!” He called them in, closer around him, so that his evil could begin to entangle their senses and infect their thoughts. “No one must be allowed to insult our god! They do not believe as we do!”
“Give them to the sun!” the people shouted, “Give them to our god! They deserve to die! They are not like us!”
***
When they began to tie her to the altar, the old woman spoke to the people. “You have let yourselves be led to great evil. Do not be deceived by the silver in his tongue.”
The people grew silent again and, just before the stone blade pierced her heart, she cried out, “I am blind in one eye, my people, you are blind in both!”
With that, she was murdered. Her blood poured onto the foul altar. So it has always been. Evil leaders have ever played on the fears and prejudices of their weaker and less enlightened followers.