The Curse of the Mask

It was supposed to be a simple inquiry. But somehow, it became a tale of mystery and intrigue.

Janice Mason breezed past Sykes What Not Shop, as she'd done on her way home from the office many times. She loved that the old owner of the shop, Desmond Sykes, kept the traditions of his eighty decades of life. Each holiday, big or small, Sykes certain to spruce up his displays in the store window.

This time, Janice felt impelled to stop and study the odd looking mask in the window. It was one of those half masks with an ivory background and lots of gold glitter and sequins that appeared to be made of precious gold. Sykes must have forgotten to place a price tag on it as he had all of the other Halloween items in his window.

The gals at Quimby's Law Office were planning an after work Halloween costume party the week following. Janice thought this mask would be a perfect match for the Maid Marion costume she planned to wear.

She couldn't take her eyes off that mask. She knew she had to have it. She walked through the door of the What Not Shop. Mr. Sykes was standing behind the counter unpacking a box of inexpensive colored masks.

"I'm interested in buying that white and gold mask you have there in your window," Janice said.

Sykes didn't look up immediately. When he did, his expression was one of seeming annoyance.

"It's not for sale," he said, gruffly.

"Then, why is it in the window?" she asked.

"Just for curious people like you...to get your foot in the door," he replied.

"You mean it's some kind of drawing card to bring in customers?" she asked.

"If you say so," he answered.

"No really, I would like to buy that mask," Janice said, restraining her annoyance.

"That mask is an antique. It was worn by the Czarina of Russia. It isn't for sale," he said.

"I'll pay you any price for it," Janice said, pleading.

"There is no price. Besides, you know the story of the Czarina who wore it don't you?" he asked.

"No. I don't."

"When the beautiful Czarina Eudoxia was nineteen years old, she married the handsome, dashing, Peter the Great, three years her junior. She was born with the name Proskovia Illarionovna.

Peter's mother hoped by marrying him to Proskovia, a pious and very beautiful, young woman, her son would abandon his free-wheeling ways.

After their marriage, the Czarina bore Peter the Great three sons. But, not before she managed to alienate herself from the Czar by constantly nagging him. She was sent to a convent, as was the rite of divorce for Russian royalty.

On the night of All Hallow's Eve, Peter the Great filled his throne room with elegantly costumed and masked guests.

Eudoxia heard the whispers about the ball from visitors at the convent.

Shortly after evening vespers on the night of the ball, Eudoxia slipped away from the convent wearing the traditional garb, not of czarina, but of a simple nun and a white and gold mask, a symbol of feminine purity in those days.

She had no trouble with provisions for a horse and carriage. No peasant would risk ignoring the needs of a nun.

She arrived at the great hall of Peter and saw the gaily lit room with it rainbow of ribboned swags floating high about the royal dancing guests' heads. The guards at the door thought Eudoxia was a costumed guest and barely noticed as she passed them by.

Beneath her nun's clothing, she hid a dangerous item: a long saber she lifted from its place on a wall in the monastery. It had been a gift of a Christian crusader who had saved the convent from ruin by savage Mongols. It was venerated as a reminder of the courage of faith and Christianity.

Peter had already married his second wife, Yetkaterina. Eudoxia knew by his posture and enormous height of six feet and eight inches, the figure standing at the foot of the throne was Peter. Beside him was his wife and his arch enemy, half-sister Sophia and their courtesan maids.

Eudoxia slowly made her way to the throne. Brandishing the saber, she swung it toward Peter. Only his sudden impulsive turn to his left saved him. Instead, the saber sliced the neck of Sophia's courtesan maid, Irina Balastrovka, nearly beheading her.

Guests screamed as blood poured from the now mortally wounded Irina Balastrovka's neck.

Eudoxia was quickly apprehended by court guards and taken to a dungeon. Peter was livid and had her tortured and confined to a convent.

But, her punishment was not death. The mask she wore was permanently affixed to her face so it could never be removed.

Eudoxia lived for forty more years with her beauty hidden forever behind that mask.

The mask is believed to be cursed. Four women into whose possession it came, believed in the curse. One of the four was disfigured when she fell from her horse whose hooves trampled her face. Another lost her beauty to disease, turning her once beautiful face into shriveled leather and the other two both swore they lost their husbands to younger women after wearing that mask.

So you see why I cannot sell it?" Sykes asked.

Janice left the What Not Shop in silence and awe.

She wondered what it would take for Sykes to part with the mask.

She returned to the old man's shop three says later to find it was closed. She peered inside and saw a man and a woman placing items in boxes. As she glanced around, she saw that some of the shelves were empty. Glancing in the display window, the mask was still in its place.

She tapped lightly on the window.

The man unlocked the door.

"May I help you? Are you here for an order you placed? My father, Mr. Sykes passed away three days ago. I'm sorry if you order has been delayed; but, you do understand...?"

Janice decided to play a long shot. She knew she was about to tell a lie, the first in her life. Yet, she felt impelled to own that mask.

"It's the mask in the window. Mr. Sykes said he ordered one for me just like it," Janice said.

"Come in, miss. I'll check the order shelves for you," the man said.

The woman turned toward Janice and the two women exchanged smiles.

"I'm sorry Miss. I cannot find the duplicate. Would you settle for the mask in the window?" he asked.

"Why...I suppose so. But it does look a little faded from the sun and all. I was planning to pay Mr. Sykes for a new mask. It does match the costume I'm planning to wear. I suppose it will be alright," Janice lied.

"I'll tell you what...I'll give you the mask, free of charge. I'm sure that's what my father would have done."

He handed the mask to the woman and she placed it in a small round box. The man handed it to Janice.

"Are you sure I can't pay you for this?" she asked.

"No. No...I can't accept money for it. My father would not have wanted that," the man said.

"Well, I do thank you. I am so sorry to hear about Mr. Sykes passing. You have my sincerest condolences," Janice said, hanging tightly to the mask in the box.

She felt quite pleased with herself that she not only had the mask she had wanted so much but she also didn't have to pay for it.

When she arrived home, she tried the mask on. She felt as if she was transported back to  1629. It was a curious feeling as if the mask had the power of a time machine. Janice quickly removed it and placed it back in the box.

She had never had such a feeling in her life. She avoided the mask until the day of the Halloween Party. She hurried home to change into her Maid Marion costume. She kept the mask in the box while she drove to the party. Just before she entered the party room, she placed the mask on her face. It remained there throughout the evening.

When it came time to unmask, Janice struggled to remove hers. She tugged and tugged at it. But, it wouldn't budge. She ran into the ladies lounge to try and remove it with a dab of water. It seemed to adhere to her skin as if it was glued in place.

She rushed out of the party and hurried home. She stood before a mirror in the hall and stared at her masked image as she tugged on the mask. No matter what she did the mask wouldn't budge. She started to cry.

She slept with the mask on her face. Asleep, she had nightmares that she was the Czarina and she was being tortured by her husband, Peter. She awoke in the middle of the night screaming.

Was this the curse of the mask Mr. Sykes warned her about?

For nearly two days, Janice tried desperately to remove the mask. Finally, it fell away as if by its own will. She looked in the mirror at her face and it was shriveled as if she had suddenly aged beyond her years. She felt sure this was just a temporary condition.

When she awoke for work on Monday morning, she saw in the mirror that her face had large ripples of skin that sagged into her chin. The skin on her face looked like a shriveled orange peel. She couldn't appear in public like this.

For nearly a year, Janice Mason sought medical help for her "condition." There was none. Her own physician, Dr.Keller, told her he had never seen such a case before. He asked to see the mask.

When she brought it to him, he immediately saw it was quite old.

"I believe the answer might be that this old mask has some strange bacteria in the fabric from which it is made. I cannot be certain. That may be the cause of your strange condition."

Janice knew it wasn't. She decided to get rid of the mask. She placed an ad in the paper under "Antiques." After several weeks without response to her ad, a woman called interested in purchasing the antique mask.

When she saw the condition of Janice's face, the woman hurried away. The next response came several weeks later. This time, it was an antique dealer. Although he was shocked at the condition of Janice's face, he recognized the mask immediately.

"Why, Madame, this is a very valuable mask. It belonged to the Czarina Eudoxia of Russia," his said. His eyes seemed to glaze over.

"You know this mask?" Janice asked.

"Why yes. I do. You see, the Czarina is a very distant relative on her mother's side. My family name is Illarionovna. We westernized it to Illar many years ago. I am Uri Illar. I realize you probably don't realize the value of this mask," he said.

"I just want to be rid of it. I will warn you as someone once warned me. The mask is cursed. My face...I wore the mask to a Halloween party and I couldn't remove it. When finally it fell away, this is what it did to my face," Janice said.

"Yes. I know all about the curse. It has been one of those family tales told from one generation to the next," the man said.

"And you still want it?" Janice said, incredulously.

"I...we want it to prevent it from causing any more harm," he said.

"How will you do that?" she asked.

"We intend to send it back from whence it came. The maker of this mask or...at least, the family of the mask maker. You see, the mask has traveled far. But, there is one thing only the mask maker knew about the mask...it was intended to kill the Czarina," he said.

"But the old man I bought the mask from said the Czarina tried to kill her husband wearing that mask," Janice said.

"That is true. But the mask was left in the convent by an emissary of her husband, who wanted her dead. You see, she and her son plotted a second attempt on the Czar's life. When the Czar heard of this, he imprisoned her son and had her moved to a distant convent. Visitors to the convent told of her plot to kill the Czar on the night of his masked ball. He sent the mask to the convent hoping when she placed it on her face, the poison would kill her."

"Mr. Sykes said the Czarina was forced to wear the mask and affixed it to her face permanently," Janice said.

"That is so. When she died, the mask was removed and it mysteriously disappeared from the convent and was never seen again. When it showed up in the old man's store, it must have been because the curse had claimed yet another victim. That is why you are selling it, isn't it?"

"I am not selling it. I'm giving it to you. Take it. But please, send it back to its rightful owners before it claims a sixth victim," Janice said.

The man disappeared with the mask in his hands. Janice spent the next months having reconstructive facial surgery.

She picked up a newspaper a few months later and as she flipped through the pages, she noticed an article with the headline, "The Curse of the Mask Takes a Sixth Victim."