The Demon of Holy Innocence

Celeste Montgomery reached out to me three months ago and insisted on meeting for an in-person interview.

Before we met, she claimed to have pertinent information regarding the bizarre and unexpected closure of Holy Innocence Boarding School for Girls in upstate New York. We met at Darcy’s Pint, a local dive bar just outside of Albany. This was her idea.

I entered the tavern at 5:00 PM sharp. Celeste was already waiting for me in a booth near the far corner, and was sipping a gin and tonic. Her blonde hair was unkempt and had been hastily put into a bun. She was young and attractive, but her bloodshot, green eyes whispered of the pain she so desperately wished to purge.

“I appreciate you taking the time to meet me Ms. Montgomery.” I said as I sat down. 

“Celeste is fine.” She replied while taking another drink. 

“Thanks Celeste, you can call me John. Do you mind if I record our conversation? I can edit out anything you want to keep just between you and I.” 

Celeste looked down at the recorder, and back at me. “No problem at all.”

As the waitress walked by, Celeste motioned for another gin and tonic. She nodded and then asked to take my order. 

“I’ll have a coffee, thanks.” I glanced at the empty lowball glass on our table. “Oh and a shot of Baileys with it?” Celeste smiled at me, just before she began tapping her fingernails on the wooden table. Her chipped, black nail polish suggested this was habitual. I clicked on the recorder and looked up, 

“Take as long as you need, and start with whatever you feel most comfortable telling me. If you prefer, we can wait to begin.” 

She smiled again with less sincerity and took a deep breath. “I’d rather get right to it if you don’t mind. I guess the best place to start is the beginning, huh?” 

I nodded in agreement. 

“I never wanted to transfer to Holy Innocence, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I was a bad kid, I’ll admit it. My parents were wealthy and never around. So what do wealthy parents who are never around do with bad kids? They send them to boarding school.” 

“And what year did you transfer?” I asked. Celeste continued, “2006, the beginning of my junior year.”

The waitress dropped off our drinks, and Celeste quickly grabbed hers before continuing. “Holy Innocence couldn’t have been more different than the public school I had transferred from. It was run by six Catholic Nuns, and the Dean— Dr. Winters.” 

I took a sip of my coffee. 

“What were they like? How did they treat you and the other girls?” 

Celeste’s nails tapped faster.

“They were strict…really strict. There was a no-nonsense curriculum with harsh punishments. They even had this bizarre form of detention that boarded on abuse. They called it R.A.G. which stood for ‘Repent and Grow.’ If we talked back to one of the nuns, we weren’t allowed to speak for 24 hours. If we got caught sneaking out, we were locked in our rooms all weekend and lost social privileges. The worst was when we cursed or took the Lord’s name in vain. The punishment for that was drinking an ounce of vinegar to ‘cleanse our impure mouths.’” 

“Jesus.” I said in surprise. 

“Hey careful now!” Celeste said quickly. 

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“How about the other girls? Was it hard being a transfer student.”

Celeste took another drink before answering, and I wondered how many she had before I arrived.

“We got along okay… I mean…as good as you would expect a school full of angsty teenage girls to get along with one another. But, we all had one thing in common.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“We all hated that place... and that kind of brought us closer together. The type of bond I would expect prisoners to have.”

“That makes sense.” I said as I stirred my coffee.

Celeste grabbed my arm, and stared into my eyes.

“... I know the reason you wanted to speak with me, John. I can assure you, something truly sinister lives within those walls.”

I leaned in closer. “Can you tell me about the first night?”

She took another deep breath and began,

“The first night was like all the other’s, but I happened to be the first victim. Me and my roommate, Claire, were sitting in our dormitory and talking before lights out— Like we did every night. We were drinking the last drops of a bottle of scotch I kept hidden under a loose floorboard. We each had one or two shots before falling asleep, and that’s the last I remember of that night. 

Claire and I both woke up the next afternoon— a few of our classmates were shaking us awake as we had slept through class that day. I was disoriented, sore, and naked. I didn’t even notice the blood at first. Not until I rolled onto my stomach and the other girls started screaming.” 

Celeste took a long drink, killing the rest of her gin. I noticed her eyes beginning to well-up. 

“They were scratches, claw marks to be exact— running down my back, three fingered and deep. Claire had matching wounds. After we showered we realized our identical blemishes had formed inverted crosses on our torsos. I still have the scars. There was more… I could tell I had… been violated in other ways. I… I mean we…”

“It’s okay, I understand. You don’t need to explain.” I interrupted. 

Celeste thanked me and continued. 

“Initially the nuns and Dr. Winters blamed the other girls for what happened to us, thinking there was some sort of deranged bullying going on. Claire and I pushed our beds together and kept any eye on the door at night. A few days later, hazy memories from that night started to come back to us and sink in. We both remembered distinct flashes of red, a skeletal head with horns, and being taken to dark room. Throughout the next few months, it started happening to the other girls. Always the same— total memory loss or close to it, and the inverted cross scratches. Parents began pulling their kids out of school, and reporters started pestering the staff. Dr. Winters never let any of them on the property, and even threatened expulsion and lawsuits to any students or parents who talked to the press. A few days later one of the nuns, Sister Mary, went missing. Gone without a trace.”

Celeste leaned in close and whispered. 

“And… there’s more…but I am going to have to show you.”

“Show me?” I asked.

“You and I are going to break into Holy Innocence tonight.”

I wanted to laugh again, but the sincere look on her face told me she was serious. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was excited at the opportunity— to my knowledge I would be the only reporter to have ever set foot inside the school.

“I know the property is for sale, and the doors are chained. How would we get in?” I asked.Celeste was visibly excited that I was on board, she downed the rest of her drink as she continued.

“Trust me, I know that damned place better than the people that built it. I spent a lot of nights exploring vacant rooms, hallways, and stairwells. If I remember correctly there’s an entrance at the southeast corner with a faulty lock. I would smoke in the woods late at night and use that door to sneak back to bed. What do you say, John? It’s only 20 minutes from here.”

My heart started to race as a mixture of excitement and fear pulsated through me.

“With all do respect Ms. Montgomery, do you mind if I drive?”

Celeste climbed into my car and we hit the interstate. The drive was quiet for the most part. I inquired a few times as to what she was going to show me when we arrived. Each time I asked, she reassured me that it would be something I had to witness for myself. Around 7:15 PM Holy Innocence came into view. I can confidently say that the pictures do not do it justice. 

The Victorian monstrosity is nothing short of a castle, complete with turrets, stained glass, and a rather unwelcoming, iron gate. A sign near the entrance read that the property had just been sold and would be undergoing construction in a few months. Celeste seemed just as surprised as myself.

I nearly jumped as Celeste spoke, “Turn left up here and follow this backroad for a bit, it will lead to a clearing where you can park. We’ll be able to walk from there.”

The gravel clearing was exactly where she had remembered. The sun had completely set by the time we parked and climbed out of the car. Celeste handed me a flashlight from her purse as we walked though the woods towards Holy Innocence, and I knew this was her plan all along. As we reached the end of the tree line and stared at the enormous, barren fortress of a school my heart began to race again.

I had to try one more time.

“Before we go in… will you at least tell me why you have to *show* me what’s in there?”

Celeste took a deep breath and asked a question that took me by complete surprise.

“Are you a religious man, John?”

I’ve always found it best to answer honestly when taken off guard, so I did.

“I grew up that way. But, I can’t say I am anymore.”

Celeste looked at the school for a moment, and back at me.

“That’s what I figured. The reason I have to show you, is because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. You’re going to have to see what true evil looks like.”

I knew then it wasn’t worth asking anymore. She was set in her ways. I contemplated whether she found it therapeutic to walk the halls with an outsider, or if she just needed the visuals to help tell her complete story. Either way, I didn’t have much of a choice but to follow her to the door she so vividly remembered being broken. Sure enough, on the southeast corner of the main building was an old, wooden door with an iron knob. Celeste handed me her flashlight before gripping the knob with both of her hands. She turned it tightly until audible *crack* broke the quietness of the night, and the door creaked open. A wave of musty air filled my nostrils as we walked inside. The door opened to a narrow, spiral staircase. Celeste led the way as I studied the stained glass that decorated the walls. The stairs ended at the mouth of a long corridor with twelve doors on each side.

“These were the dormitories.” Celeste said. “Mine was the last room on the right.”

I glanced in each room as we passed, and everything seemed relatively untouched. Beds and furniture stood flush against the wall, barren of the items they once held. Nothing was overturned, broken, or out of place. We reached Celeste’s old room, and she broke the silence once again as we entered.

“Sister Mary, the nun that went missing just before the school closed— She was the sweetest to us despite her intimidating size. She would bring us warm milk before bed, and would check in on us at night after the ‘incidents’ began.”

Celeste walked to the foot of one of the beds.

“She would stand here and pray while we slept.”

Celeste slowly walked to the corner of the room, and stood in place. The floor creaked as she shifted her weight. She bent down to lift a board, reached inside, and retrieved an old, empty bottle of scotch. “Bad habits start young I suppose.” She said with a little laugh.

Celeste put the bottle and board back, and walked quickly out of the room.

“Come on.” She said. “It’s time to show you.”

I followed Celeste throughout the halls. The eyes of saints stared from their canvases as we passed. We walked by the old lecture halls and common rooms, and like the dormitories they were intact and seemingly untouched. Though winding corridors and staircases, we eventually made our way to the center of Holy Innocence— to the church. The eerie stillness washed over me as I examined the interior with my light. Rows of empty pews and religious statues stood as the only reminder that this sacred place was once full of life. Celeste beckoned me forward as she made her way to the back, towards the altar. Around the right side of the altar stood a single wooden door, out of sight from where the clergy once sat. Celeste turned the handle, and the door opened with ease. We entered a rather cluttered room complete with excess chairs, a piano, stacks of books, and other miscellaneous storage.

I was puzzled, Celeste had led me to a storage room in the back of a church. Just before I opened my mouth to inquire, she spoke.

“You know I always thought the nuns were strange. I’d spy on them a lot. It was pretty much the only entertainment I had since we didn’t have TV. They were just different in the way they lived, spoke, and acted. Especially Sister Mary. She just seemed so fake. Everyone loved her, but I always had this feeling, you know.”

“Here.” She said as she illuminated a large statue of an unknown saint in the corner of the room. 

“Help me move it.”

We walked to the side, and pushed the massive structure from the wall. I never would have seen it if it weren’t for her. The small key-hole in the top right corner. The statue was covering a door that was perfectly constructed to resemble the surrounding, white wall. Not only did Celeste know the secret door existed, she somehow had the key in her possession. For whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to ask why. The only thing on my mind was the set of stairs the door had just opened up to — descending into unknown darkness.

As I followed Celeste down the stairs, she spoke again.

“My theory was that she was a liar. It was confirmed the night I saw her in the kitchen making our warm milk. She had no idea I was spying on her. It seemed normal at first, heating it up and pouring them into individual cups. The cups had our names on them, so we didn’t accidentally grab the wrong one. After Sister Mary was finished I noticed she poured some powder into Katie’s cup.”

As we reached the bottom, the smell hit me and I nearly vomited.

Sulphur. Rot.

Celeste coughed as well.

Our flashlights lit up the room and I looked in horror. It was what I could only describe as a torture chamber. Shackles hung from the ceiling, and dark stains covered the stone floor. The walls were decorated in unfamiliar symbols and words. Hung in the corner was a crimson robe, and above it was some sort of horned mask fashioned from a bovine skull.

I was in total disbelief, my head spun as my brain attempted to process the information.

Celeste spoke again.

“I waited for everyone to fall asleep, and for Sister Mary’s routine check-ins. Just as I imagined, she went to Katie’s room last. Her roommate had already been pulled out of school by her parents, so she had the room to herself. After 5 minutes or so, Sister Mary pulled a very disoriented Katie from her bed and led her to this place. I followed the entire way, quietly creeping behind them. Sister Mary carried her like she was nothing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She stripped Katie naked and chained her to the shackles.”

I continued to stare at Celeste and listened in silent disbelief.

“Before Sister Mary started… she… went over here.”

Celeste pointed her flashlight on the far wall. There was a large metal door, securely fastened with a massive, iron latch.

“Ms. Montgomery…” I stuttered. “What’s behind that door?”

“It was some sort of, what do you call it? Some sort of shrine or something. All I could see when it was open were the candles- dozens of them, and some sort of *thing* in the middle.”

“What kind of thing?” I asked dumbly.

Celeste was beginning to cry now.

“I’m not sure… it was hard to tell from the candle light, but Sister Mary… she was talking to it. I couldn’t understand what she was saying. We used to study latin, but I couldn’t understand the words and she was talking so fast. I knew it was my only shot when she was in there… So… I did it. I slammed the door closed and locked it.”

Her sobs became louder.

“Sister Mary didn’t scream or anything. She just laughed. It was a crazy laugh and didn’t even sound like her. I… I… grabbed Katie and got her back to bed. I knew I couldn’t tell anyone because they wouldn’t believe me. I was the bad kid, and they would trust Sister Mary over me.”

I looked back towards the door. “My God so she’s still…”

Celeste wiped her tears as she tried to keep her composure.

“Someone just bought this property. I… I had to tell someone… and you seemed so interested and trustworthy from everything I’ve read… I…”

I wasn’t listening anymore. I walked toward the locked chamber and reached for the handle. Celeste ran up to me and clutched my wrist, begging me not to open it. Just as I grabbed the latch… we heard it. Celeste and I jumped back in unison. The faint sound of laughter spilled through the tiny gap between the door and wall. I looked back and stared at her, all the color drained from her face as she whispered to me.

“… that door has been closed since 2006.”