ACT I, The Rededication.
The tale of Villeroy, vile and evil Count
Of Zindorf, descendent of Zinzendorf.
He set out to undertake, surmount,
Recreate Herrnhut, rock hewn from its torf.
Built upon ancient pagan temple stone,
Villeroy believed he could purify land.
He built halls made for holy song alone—
Pious, holy, separated in bands.
It is then that I, Amelia, came,
To that terrible place—Zindorf Castle—
Highest devotee of The, here’s the name,
Devoted Women of Prayer—his vassal.
We stood there that day on that ancient ground,
Rededicated—not pagan—Christ bound.
ACT II, The Abbess.
From thenceforth I served under the abbess,
Lisbeth—Zindorf’s Mother of Devotion—
Different from my former I must confess,
Seemed mysterious, filled with emotion.
Within her power swelled in commotion,
And I found myself swooning to its hold;
Yet, my faithfulness was more than notion,
And I resisted, though feeble, her mold.
Over time, though, that resistance grew cold
Because Lisbeth showed me her truest love,
Devotion to Lilith—ours to behold—
Goddess spurned by men below, not above.
Villeroy thought Lisbeth was his very own;
Yet, he was really hers—brittle as bone.
ACT III, The Vigil.
Deep below the castle lay an old crypt
Once made sacred by Goddess worshipers.
She went within priestess of conjurers,
That Lisbeth truly did—was that a script?
Within, she had the whole inner hall stripped
Of the ornaments and the murmurers.
There, she brought in me and all wanderers—
Back then, my allegiance hadn’t yet slipped—
And she versed us in the songs of Lilith,
Goddess mother spurned by patriarchal men.
The Count thought it revelation for us,
Unaware she was subverting his myth.
She taught us all through song and through the pen,
How a man’s lust will always lead to thus.
ACT IV, The Hollow Chapel.
The spells from the chamber deeply took root,
Splitting the rock like vines of green ivy.
Each enchantment shook the place like a brute,
Here I record truth as great Livy.
Vile Villeroy did not even take notice,
As he was preaching to “good” men upstairs.
His sermon, though, came out soundlng like...
...men’s focus became hocus.
Villeroy’s body gone
Soul nailed into the walls
Lisbeth...most...vanished.
Smoke wafted.
I—only I—
Escaped.
ACT V, The Chronicle.
For centuries I have told my true tale,
Of the Count Villeroy of Zindorf Castle,
Who thought himself pure enough to upscale
Herrnhut’s queer way to being Christ’s vassal.
Of course, you know how tales turn out to be,
Others shared what they heard and it then grew
To be of a Count who was quite deadly—
Raising the dead with great magic he knew.
My words, as such, mutated over time
In sermons, pamphlets, and dreadfuls as well.
Still, no one remembers my name—sublime—
Only the dark monster I spoke from hell.
No more will any man find comfort here,
For Castle Zindorf will always spread fear.
© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, October 27, 2025.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: October 27th, 2025 07:18
- Comment from author about the poem: For Macabre Monday. This is the seventh part in my series Devilishly Dreadful, drawn from the little-known Victorian penny dreadful The Count of Villeroy; or, The Mesmerist’s Victims. My poem reimagines Villeroy through a theological Gothic lens—melding faith, heresy, and horror within my invented composite form The Globe’s Stage, a five-act structure of five distinct sonnet types, including my own Ghost Sonnet form.
- Category: Gothic
- Views: 11
- Users favorite of this poem: Paul Bell, aDarkerMind
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Comments6
ooh, so deliciously dark! 🕊️🙏
Why thank you! That is exactly what I love to hear! 🕯️🦇📜🙏
The real Count Zindendorf wrote some hymns. Was he on MPS writing hymn-poems too?!
And is that Peter Cushing there in a scene from a film?! lol. And the other two could be Obi in disguise. heehee.
Hehehe! Yes. He was quite the character and, of course those Moravians and their love feasts and all. Of course, SpongeBob is all into that! Not sure about Popeye, though, he\'s only a yes if spinach is involved and, that doesn\'t make the best love feast, if you know what I mean! 😂🤣🕯️🦇📜🙏
And yes. You’re right. Just how did Peter Cushing get here? He’s not friends with Popeye too, is he? 🤣
We'll lose track of how many people are with Popeye & Co. Not Mr P. Cushing too?! lol.
This is why I don't let women into my castle, you introduce them to the Saturday night S/M chain retention session, and before you know it, you're in the chains, and she's off with the title deeds. Does sound like my sort of holiday destination, mind you.
LOL! 😂 Noted! You and I holiday in the same types of places! Quite the time share, crypts are, no? 🤣 As for the S/M...I can see who that could all spiral the wrong way. Villeroy should have known better! 🤣 Thank you, my friend. Your comment made my evening! Your time and support are much appreciated! 🕯️🦇📜🙏
Gothically grand, Historically set and genealogically graphic with the linage laid out in old vampire manner. Well done Tristan
Why thank you, dearest Soren! Glad it delivered, and I am glad you caught the lineage too! Your keen eye and support are alway valued, dear friend! 🕯️🦇📜🙏
You are always most welcome my friend
Even now, at second reading I'm still not totally sure what manner of hanky-panky went on there.... and perhaps that's what 'spiritual' really means - not knowing for sure.
One thing I am totally sure of though - you sure knows your Gothic, Tristan.😜
Why thank you, Dave! I, confess, I do love a good Gothic atmosphere. 🖤🪦 I am glad it delivered...as for the hanky-panky. They can neither confirm nor deny...by we all know some manner of it happened! 🤣🕯️🦇📜🙏
another work of art my friend...
awesome!
stand back and take a bow and enjoy the applause;
Thank you, Melvin! Glad you enjoyed it and that it delivered. Always appreciated! 🕯️🦇📜🙏
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