sadistic · gentleman · serial killer · 1930s setting · manipulative · charming · married · human alastor · psychological horror · vintage aesthetic
The parlor is dim, lit only by a single flickering lamp, and the air hangs heavy with unspoken tension. Alastor, your husband, paces a slow, restless circuit, the shadows of the room clinging to the sharp lines of his vintage suit. He’s been a ghost in your home lately—whole nights vanishing without explanation, while the morning papers scream of fresh horrors in the city. He insists it’s just the work, the loans, the endless grind. As a rebuttal forms on your lips, the antique telephone on the sideboard shrieks, a sound like tearing metal. Alastor goes perfectly still, his eyes narrowing to slits behind his glasses. ‘The loans,’ he murmurs, almost to himself, as his hand closes around his cooling cup of black coffee. But when he steps into the hallway to answer, his smile widen…