The Twighlight Manor

WHAT IS THE TWIGHLIGHT MANOR?
HOW DID IT COME TO BE?

I think the Epilogue from the first book in the series, says it best:
[QUOTE]
Epilogue:
Before our story begins…
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue… so begins a tale, of the discovery of a New World. What Columbus actually found was not a new world, but rather a new country on this the same world in which he already lived, and yet, in his journals he recorded strange sightings that were not of this world. Today’s historians believe that Columbus was sailing through what we now call the Bermuda Triangle, when he wrote of glowing ships that flew through the night sky. He spoke of beings that fell from the sky. Not only did he write about flying ships, but he also wrote about the deadly fish-like females that thwarted the sides of his ships, beckoning his crew with their silvery songs, and ultimately driving one ship to crash against the cliffs.
The reports of the flying ships, the glowing lights, the men that fell from the clouds, and the deadly sirens are rarely mentioned in school textbooks and are discredited by today’s historians, as drunken fits of cabin fever and sea-madness; and yet, everything else Columbus wrote in his sea-logs is taken word for word as historic fact, even though what we call truthful facts were often written in the same sentence with what we call drunken madness. Can we really discredit the things we cannot see today, as sea-madness? Could it be that Columbus was telling the truth? What if ALL of what Columbus wrote in his sea-journals was true? What if a race of singing fish people really did attack his vessels, sinking one of the three ships? What if a giant glowing ship really did fly down from the sky and circle his boats? What if men really did fall from the clouds? What if…
In 1313, Earth time, in a solar system far away, a planet lay dieing.
Rocked off it’s obit by a passing comet’s collision with it’s neighboring planet, a little planet was slung off course and sent hurtling towards it’s blazing hot sun. The end was eminent. Extinction was certain. Their only hope was the leave their planet before it hit the sun.
Thirteen great ships were boarded and sent off the planet in search of a new home, a new planet. What became of most of those ships remains a mystery. Two of those ships made it through space, traveling for many years, until they at last reached a tiny planet called Earth.
One ship, the VISION~D6 landed safely, hidden in the high mountains of The Carpathian Alps; it’s people taking up residence in a town called Transylvania. Only a few of the aliens survived the trip and less survived Earth’s climate. The few who lived, hunted the local creatures, those vile things that called themselves Humans. The Humans in turn, would called the aliens after a local legend. They called them: vampires.
The other ship did not fare so well. On board the VISION~D8, was the last of the Royal Family. Long before reaching Earth, the ship’s technicians had died. There was no one to fly the ship. No one to land her. She crashed into the cold icy waters of the unexplored North Atlantic Ocean. They were able to fly the ship back out of the ocean, but it landed only a mile inland, where it crashed into the midst of a great pine forest, never to fly again. The aliens found themselves now stranded in a cold northland, where even the Humans, dare not dwell.
Finding a great wealth of granite rock, the aliens set out to building themselves a new home: a mansion, long and smooth, with two great wings, giving it the shape of a giant five acre letter “U”. In this forest, the trees stood so tall that the sun rarely shown through to the floor. It was always twilight, all day. At night, no moon or star shown through. When the Humans eventually explored this land 200 years into the future, they would call it: The Twilight Forest. Those poor souls that were first to find the aliens and their grim grey mansion, would call it: The Twilight Manor.
Two hundred years the aliens lived in these forest wilds. Two hundred years undisturbed. They grew wild and savage. Brutal, violent beasts that fought amongst themselves. They were unaware of the Humans.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue… along the coast, he discovered a race that he called Indians.
More men came to explore this “New World”. The coastal living “Indians” warned the paleface Humans of a ghostly white skinned race with god-like powers. A race of strange men that had come from the sun. Fierce and deadly. The Indians warned the Europeans to stay near the coast, where it was safe from the fierce gods of the forest. The Europeans did not listen. Taking no heed to the Indian warnings, the Europeans went into the forest… only a few would return. They fled to their ships with tales of savage men… savage men hungry for Human flesh. Vicious men, who cut your scalp and took your head. Once their fear had died away, though, they told of a great palace, huge beyond measure, and laden with jewels and gold.
Back in Europe the story snowballed, first into a gold plated palace, and than into an entire gold plated city. Gold fever set in, as Europeans flocked to the shores of this strange new world, in search of the city of gold. Not even an entire lost city of Roanoke, could deter Man’s lust for gold. But, woe, unto those who would find their riches, for The Twighlight Manor was not a welcome home to Humans. Oh, what treasures await: the jeweled forks, the silver platters, the gold goblets… the main course at the dinner table.
Ride! Onward ride! In your search for Eldorado. Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly. Welcome to The Twighlight Manor. Come inside. Have a cup of tea. Why not stay for dinner…
[END QUOTE]
*Quote from: The History of The Twighlight Manor: Volume One: Friends Are Forever.
Used with permission.

FAQ:
Who owns the Twighlight Manor?

The Manor was built for the royal family of Planet Flame. King Vielder Swanzen was the first to actually live there. His brother's son Sir Roderic inheritated the Manor after Vielder's death in the late 1600's. Roderic has remained in the Manor since that time.
In the 1870's the black bobcat from Planet Dioan, EelKat, came to earth and took over the care of the Manor.

How did the Twighlight Manor come to be??
...answer coming soon...
What is Space Dock 13?

Other than my web site you mean?
The name Space Dock 13, like everything else, comes from the Twighlight Manor stories. As I said before, the Twighlight Manor is somewhat of a base camp for the aliens who live there. The #13 figures in strongly with the Manor’s history. Construction for the Manor began in 1313, after a spacecraft was sent off course and crashed on Earth. During its construction 13 workers were killed when one of the walls crumbled. The Manor was abandoned and went unfinished. Years later, construction resumed, and it was the first Emperor Swanzen, who officially made the Manor the space dock of planet Earth. His son Vielder added to the Manor, what would become one of the key elements behind the Manor’s curse…a giant floor clock. The clock sits in the front parlor, and at eight feet tall, it towers forebodingly over all who enter the front doors. The clock was said to fore tell doom, predicting the deaths of those who had at some point set foot in the Manor.
Vielder, was a merciless tyrant, his reign was one of terror. Vielder’s most famous additions to the Manor were two grizzly rooms now boarded up…the first was known as “The Head Room”, and as it’s name implies was the room which stored his human head collection. Vielder saw the planet earth as a primitive planet, and humans were nothing more to him, than alien animals waiting to be slaughtered and added to his ever-growing trophy collection.
A second room added by Vielder, remained undiscovered for nearly 400 years. Upon acquiring the Manor in the late 1800’s, EelKat had every room, every item, every book, and every artifact cataloged. During that time, was discovered a room that EelKat cataloged as “The Wax Museum”. It was quite simply a room filled with what on first sight appeared to very life like waxworks. They were, in actuality, taxidermed creatures from around the galaxy, many humans and earth animals make up part of the collection as well. Oddly though, while Vielder put the room and the older figures there in the 1400’s, EelKat’s scientists claimed that most of the human figures had been added in only the last 100 years, during the 1700-1800’s. And in the 150 years since the room’s discovery, its collection has nearly doubled in size. “The Wax Museum” remains one of the Manor’s darkest mysteries…who are the bodies? how do they get there? and who is continuing to expand Vielder’s horrid collection 400 years after his death? Since I’m writing the story, I know the answer to that….shockingly, the story’s darkest villain, is also one of its best-loved heroes.
So what does any of this have to do with Space Dock 13? Vielder’s reign of terror was the bloodiest ever seen, though not nearly as horrific as the murder’s committed by the book’s as of yet unidentified villain…known only as The Lansquin’s most devoted follower: The Red Dragon The people began to call the Twighlight Manor, Space Dock 13, after the death of King Vielder. Vielder’s death marked the end of his reign of terror, and the beginning of a series of murders, marked by their horrific, yet artist, public display, and a madman’s riddles written with the blood of his victims. While Vielder’s murder was not the first, it was the first to include the now trademarked blood riddles. This first riddle told of a lost key, a cursed rhyme, and a 3'O clock chime of death. The words had no known meaning, until the next death that soon followed.
After the mysterious murder of King Vielder, the giant floor clock stopped working properly. Many clockmakers have since been brought in, the clock taken apart, even it’s gears removed in order to stop it from running at all, but nothing has ever stopped it from it’s new function. Upon Vielder’s death the clock began running backwards, keeping time as usual, just now in reverse. It no longer chimed on the hour, it makes no sound at all. No one ever winds the clock, and after having it’s gears removed, no one knows how it continues to run. Possessed is how it’s explained. Exorcists were brought in, and the clock still kept on running, keeping perfect time, going steadily on, ever backwards.
Than one day, it stopped. A small clattering sound was heard, and the inhabitants in the parlor at the time, figured the gears had finally run down…but it had not, the hands of the clock began to move ahead rapidly until reaching 3 O’clock and for the first time since Vielder’s death, it chimed, 3 simple chimes, than began to run just as normal as any other clock. Normal that is until, when twelve hours later it reached 3'O clock again and chimed thirteen times instead, than went back to running in reverse once again.
The curse of the clock, was thus seen for the first time…for death had stuck yet again, now in time with the thirteenth chime. Since that day, every person who sets foot in the Manor, even for a second, the clock knows the time of their death, and tells all who are in the parlor to hear. If ever you hear the parlor clock chiming 3?O clock, than keeping time in perfect order, you know that some one somewhere will die twelve hours later when the clock chimes thirteen. And because of the clock’s thirteen chime, came the name Space Dock 13.
The clock itself, was inspirered by the cursed clock that kept a silent watch over a serial killer in the song "Clock of St. James" by Misty Morgan. A record that I played literaly to death in the mid 1970's, when it was my favorite song.
Clock Of St. James Lyrics

What About the Curse of the Blood Star Ruby?

Answer coming soon...

Are There Any Ghosts in The Manor?

Yes, there are at least two ghosts that have been sighted on multiple occasions. One is the ghost of King Vielder; the other is the ghost of his wife Queen Snowvee.
...more info on this coming soon

Who is the Red-Dragon and what has he to do with The Manor?

...this answer coming soon...

Who is the Lansquin and what has he to do with The Manor?

...The answer to this can be found HERE. ...

What is the connection between The Twighlight Manor and White Rock Asylum?

...this answer coming soon...

Just What Exactly Is The Twighlight Manor?
Where is The Twighlight Manor?
Can I visit The Twighlight Manor?

The Twighlight Manor is a house that I designed in 1982, but never built, so no you can’t visit it. The Manor is a stone castle-like fortress, 4 stories tall, with a triple level basement, and dungeon below them. The dungeon itself is built into a series of catacombs and caves, which exit in the side of Crystal Gorge. However, since it is in a series of books, therefore it must be somewhere, so, where is it? According to the story, it was built in the late 1300’s in a dense forest off the coast of North America. One of the characters after not seeing the Manor in nearly 200 years, set out to find it in the 20th century, armed only with the knowledge that it was hidden in a forest along the coast. Finding the Manor proved less than easy, as in the 200 years that had past, cities had built up and the forest was no more.
So where had the forest in the book, once been? Once upon a time there was a vast forest, thousands of acres of ancient White Pine trees in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, USA. In the late 1800’s it was named The Ross Forest, after the man who set out a petition to make this unique wonder a national park. What was so unique about The Ross Forest? Nowhere else in the world was there a forest of ancient pine trees growing along a pristine white sands beach. As a small child in the 1970’s I grew up exploring the last 500 or so acres of the Ross Forest. Today in 2005, I drive down the miles of houses, golf courses, and condominiums that line the Ross Rd and cry, because The Ross Forest is no more. My children will never know the joys of living in the forest on the beach, and in tribute to that tragic lose of a natural wonder, I re-created The Ross Forest I remember from my childhood, in my books, renaming it the Twighlight Forest, and The Twighlight Manor is set in the middle of it.

What is The Twighlight Manor Library?

The Twighlight Manor is a vast mansion; in its glory it had over 500 rooms, all furnished with artifacts from Sir Roderic’s travels around the world. Al~Keeme later added his own extensive collection of Egyptian artifacts. Etiole and finally EelKat would continue to add to the Manor. The Library, sits at the heart of the Manor on the second floor, and is a vast round room 3 stories tall, lined with twisting stairways and thousands upon thousands of books. The original collection belonged to Roderic’s first wife Melneeva. Al~Keem’s collection of ancient scrolls, papyri, and old documents, was later added, along with Dr. Vangoneese’ large collection. As large as The Manor’s collection had become, it was to nearly double in size when Micha moved into the house. Micha was the youngest son of the planet’s current Emperor Swanzen, and an avid book collector. The Manor’s collection was passed on to him. Micha now resides in the room along side the Library, and continues to add to the collection.

You have said that The Twighlight Manor Library is real. If The Twighlight Manor is a fictional place, how can The Twighlight Manor Library exist?

Ever since I first designed the Manor it has been my dream to see it built. A project of such magnitude would cost billions. As such, until I’m a rich as Scrooge McDuck, the Manor remains plans on paper. However, my favorite room in the Manor is of course it’s giant library. When I was ten years old, I decided, that if I can’t build the entire Manor, I’d build its library instead. It is my goal to recreate in its entirety, The Twighlight Manor Library. While the giant round room, full of mind-boggling spiraling stairs, is itself a dream that may never become reality, the collection does exist. I set out to collect a copy of every antique book I could find, as a teenager I became known as the best customer at every book sale at every library in Southern Maine…today those library’s look for me to be the first at every sale, every year, they even provide boxes, knowing that I won’t be leaving their sale with until there is absolutely no space left in our car…trunk, seats and floor, packed full, with hundreds of books. I can be found at yard sales and picking garbage during clean-up weeks, no book in the trash goes un-rescued.
One problem, was posed by trying to recreate Dr. Vangoneese’s part of the collection—medical books. Visiting local hospitals, doctors’ offices, and the medical college the old books and texts are useless once the new editions come out, and so are discarded quickly solved that problem. And thus the medical section of the Library grew.
I don’t know how many books exist in my collection, last time I’d counted I’d given up after 5,000 that was a few years ago. I’m guessing it’s closer to 7,000 today. I’m now in the process of cataloging the collection. A daunting task, requiring me to learn the Dewy Decimal System.

Why can’t I visit The Manor’s Library?
The Twighlight Manor Library collection, is a private collection. The books are not loaned out to the public. I am very protective of my books, no one handles them without the strictest of permission. The mishandling, damage, and defacement of books is looked on as a grave sin. In my experience with the many public libraries in this area, the average person is not capable of taken care of a book, that is not their own. Library books are routinely returned written on, soiled, pages torn, pages missing, pictures cut out, cover removed, and otherwise badly damaged. In view of the fact that most books in public circulation must be replaced or discarded after a few short years, I have chosen not to allow this collection to have public access. It is possible that in the future I may change this, but for now it remains a private library with no public access.
No book ever leaves to collection, once it is here, it is here for life, we never sell, discard, or give away any of the books in our collection. So if you ever run across a book marked as part of The Twighlight Manor Library collection, that book is either lost or stolen, and greatly missed. Many of the books are stamped Twighlight Manor Library, and ALL of them are hand signed by me with both my name and the Twighlight Manor Library “signature”. Any books found marked as such should be returned as soon as possible.
Disclaimer:
Twighlight Manor, EelKat, White Rock Asylum, Planet Ptarmagin, Crystonite Chronicles, Sir Roderic, Etiole, Razzbury, The Swanzen Family, and all other related characters, info, writings, names, images, and content were created by and Copyright to © Wendy C. Allen 1978-2007.
All content written and designed by Wendy C. Allen unless otherwise stated. No part of this site may be reproduced or transmitted without the express permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Reuse of these names, characters, writings, and images are not allowed without prior authorization. Permission has been granted by Wendy C. Allen for the creation of this character profile on MySpace.