Haeckel's Tale Trivia Quiz

Answer: His wife

The story opens with a man, Edward Ralston, riding horseback in the dark. As he hitches his horse to a post outside an old house, he notices two graves in the front yard and makes his way to the front door. When he knocks, he is chastised for having a 'woodpecker-like' knock as opposed to the knock of a real man, according to the woman in front of the fireplace inside.

He explains that he came to her because she might have some ideas for him. Edward recently had to bury his wife, Samantha, and because this woman, Mrs. Carnation, was once a necromancer, she may have the key to restoring his wife to her mortal life. Mrs. Carnation says that she once dabbled in such things, but no longer does she do so.

She also explains that she should make her way to God, and that these things should not be tampered with, for everyone's own good.

She decides to go through with the task, only because his love for Samantha is so great, but in order to prove this, she explains that she will tell him the story of Ernst Haeckel, and if he still wants to raise his wife from the dead after hearing the story, they will proceed.

He pulls up a chair and listens intently.

Answer: Massachusetts

Mrs. Carnation begins the story by saying that Haeckel was a cocky student in Massachusetts, constantly forcing his own opinions. His story begins as a doctor teaches his students that the human body, after death, is no more than a machine without all the necessary parts; a fleshy husk without a soul. Haeckel constantly battles the fact when the doctor says that it is God's doing, as he feels that God is not a part of everyone's life.

He says that he, himself, is a man without God, and that recent experiments done in Germany can somewhat prove this fact.

These findings, done by one Victor Frankenstein, the doctor says, are no more than modern fairy tales. He says that with God, there is life, but once God takes it away, it is gone for good. Haeckel argues though, that the doctor must feel that there is life after death, to which the man agrees, but not the reanimation of the deceased's corpse. Haeckel says that he will prove him wrong there, by reanimating the dead.

Answer: Lightning

That night, Haeckel decides to prove his point to his class and professor. While a storm rages outside, he displays a young woman, dead from intoxication, on a wooden table. He explains that he read the meticulous notes of Dr. Frankenstein and created a mechanism that mimics the original design. Two large pillars would be used to harness the power of the lightning storm outside, and this would be used to spark the body back into life.

When Haeckel flips the switch, the electricity indeed courses into the corpse, and for a second, its eyes snap open.

However, the electricity (possibly, with the help of the alcohol consumed prior to death) set the corpse on fire, and by the end of the experiment, Hacekel was left with one charred corpse. The doctor tells Haeckel that he is disappointed, and that he hope God shows forgiveness in the wake of the experiment. Haeckel later cremates the body in the lab.

Answer: A dog

Following the experiment, Haeckel is visited by Chester, a man who wishes to sell him a corpse for a mere $10. He decides not to purchase it, feeling down from his most recent attempt at finding the key to life. Chester tells him that he'll discover the mysteries of life and death yet, as he's only a young man. Haeckel tells him not to be sarcastic, and Chester asks why he hasn't yet inquired about the problem with a necromancer. Haeckel explains that he does not hold faith in necromancers because they base their theories around the supernatural and magic, while he bases his on science. Chester claims that he saw the proof of the walking undead in the necromancer's wake, but Haeckel thinks the idea balderdash. The following day, Haeckel's curiosity gets the better of him, and he finds himself walking to a presentation of The Great Montesquino, whose caravan is outside town. During the presentation, Montesquino senses Haeckel's disbelief and decides to show him the proof.

He shows him a dead dog in a wicker basket, and with a few words, he revives it, albeit in a monstrous form. To stop it from hurting anyone, the necromancer shoots it in the head and shoves it back into the basket.

He states that the dog was a mere parlor trick, since it did not have a human soul. When a human is resurrected, he loses one year of his life.

Answer: A bottle of whiskey

That night, Haeckel returns to Montesquino's caravan to learn of the truth behind the 'necromancy'. The man says that he laboured for many years, and some of the things that were done were at risk of his own life. When Haeckel offers a bottle of whiskey, the man is angered, saying that necromancy comes at a much higher price.

He sends Haeckel on his way, deciding not to argue with the young man, but he takes the bottle anyways. The next day, Haeckel receives a message regarding his father's illness.

It has taken a turn for the worse. He decides to make his way to his' father's, and to do so, he sets out on foot through the forests. At one point, he sits down under a tree for a small snack. As he begins biting into a piece of bread, he notices a weird green substance dripping onto him from above, and when he looks up, he finds a man hanging from the tree.

He decides to continue on, dismissing the occurrence.

Answer: Elise

When night falls, the rain also begins, and to seek shelter from the storm, Haeckel sets up camp under a small shelter at the side of the road. Here, he is frightened by rats before an old man, who introduces himself as Walter, steps forth. Walter offers Haeckel shelter, a warm fire, and some food, as it is not safe to sleep at this certain point on the road. Haeckel, naturally curious, asks why it would be unwise, and Walter shows Haeckel that he has seated himself next to a wall separating the road from the Necropolis next to it. Haeckel shrugs the idea off, saying that he is not afraid of the dead.

They make their way through the graveyard and across a field to the house that the story opened with, where Edward spoke with Mrs. Carnation.

Inside, Walter and Haeckel are welcomed by Elise, Walter's wife. Walter tells Elise, over dinner, that Haeckel has been traveling for days to see his father in Windsor. When she asks what he is studying, he says that he wants to be a physician.

When she asks if it's to save his father, he says that it would be true, among other things.

Answer: Montesquino

As dinner ends, Elise walks to the window and Walter asks Haeckel if he thinks that Elise is beautiful, to which he replies that she is quite charming. Walter tells Haeckel that he must be wondering how such an old man could be with a young and fair Elise, but he says that it's the way of love to be mysterious. He also asks if he has ever been in love, but Haeckel says no, and he's never had the time. Haeckel soon decides to retire, so Walter has Elise come away from the window so that she can make Haeckel's bed.
When they proceed to the bedroom, Haeckel compliments Elise on looking so beautiful and he asks why she keeps going to look out the window, but she doesn't reply. Rather than follow Walter upstairs, Elise moves to the front window. Haeckel lays down in his bed, but watches Elise through the crack in his door as she caresses herself in the window. He decides not to think about it and goes to sleep.
Haeckel wakes up abruptly in the night though, and hears banging on the front door. He watches as Walter welcomes Montesquino into his house and he pays him in cash. Haeckel once again falls asleep.
He wakes up again later that night to find Walter sitting at the table and Elise tending to a crying child. Elise puts the child down and leaves telling Walter that it's been a full year. Haeckel decides to get up at this point.

Answer: A musket

Haeckel puts on his shoes and steps into the dining room to find Walter crying to himself. He asks if there's anything he can do to help, and Walter says not to follow Elise outside. Haeckel asks who Montesquino was, pretending not to know who he is, and Walter is an esteemed acquaintance. Haeckel also asks about the child that Elise was nursing earlier, to which Walter says that he is not the father, and he could never satisfy his wife, having been too old even from the time that they wed. The baby's father, and the only man Elise ever loved had died and was buried in the cemetery nearby.

When Haeckel hears a scream from the graveyard, he grows tense, and Walter continues saying that Montesquino is no phony. The things that he does, he continues, will allow Elise to be satisfied. Haeckel, fearing that Elise is being hurt in the process, rushes out to help her. Walter also follows behind in order to restrain him, and although he tries to coerce him numerous times, he fails in doing so.

As they near the Necropolis, Haeckel and Walter encounter the dog that Montesquino demonstrated his powers on, and in an attempt to kill it, Haeckel tries to bash its skull with a large rock. However, after numerous attempts at killing it, he stops. Walter explains that you can't kill something that's already dead. When the two arrive at the cemetery, Haeckel uses the butt of Walter's musket to break the lock on the gate. Walter says that he won't go into the place where Montesquino performs his dark magic, so Haeckel goes on without him.

Answer: Montesquino

When Haeckel ventures deeper into the Necropolis, he finds Montesquino smoking his pipe near a crypt. Haeckel asks him what he has done and Montesquino leads him to where he can see what Elise is doing. He finds Elise on a grave making love to her reanimated husband around a circle of undead. Haeckel stares in disgust, telling Montesquino that it was wrong to submit her to that, but the man says that it was merely what he was paid to do. Walter, having wandered in as well, appears behind Haeckel unphased, saying that it was the only way his wife could be satisfied, so he accepted the fact. Haeckel threatens Montesquino, telling him that if he doesn't stop the madness, then he will kill him, but Montesquino says that he can't do it.

In the meantime, Walter attempts to stop his wife by pulling her from the circle. Before he can get to her, however, he is pushed back by two of the zombies.

They both take him to the ground and tear into his stomach, pulling out his intestines. One takes his eye before he stops screaming. Haeckel beats the zombies off, and as Montesquino attempts to flee, Haeckel shoots him in the back. Haeckel asks one more time how to stop the ritual, but Montesquino explains that it ends when the sun rises- there's no other way. Montesquino uses the last of his energy to push Haeckel off of him, hitting his head on a grave.

When Haeckel wakes up the next morning in the graveyard, Montesquino and Walter are dead, and Elise is gone.

Answer: No

Haeckel slowly makes his way back to Waler and Elise's cabin where he finds Elise singing to the baby in a nursery. He asks if she remembers the previous night, and she says that she doesn't regret Walter's death as he was an old man, though she recognizes his kindness. When she stands, she says that her baby looks nothing like Walter anyways. As she shows the baby to Haeckel, he discovers that it too is undead and disfigured. As she comes closer to him, she asks him to hold her child. When he finally backs into a wall, she forces it upon his neck and it bites into his veins, killing him.
That night, the two of them proceeded to make love in the cemetery, and as the corpses gathered to their circle, they were joined by those who died in the Necropolis the previous night. In the end, Ernst Haeckel found his one love at the Necropolis, but at the cost of his own life.

As Mrs. Carnation finishes her story, Edward tells her that it was grotesque and vulgar. She seems taken aback by his comments and asks if he does not love his wife so much as to resurrect her body. He replies that he loved her soul, and Mrs. Carnation states that that isn't part of the guarantee. Suddenly, a baby starts crying from a nearby room and Mrs. Carnation goes to retrieve the child. When she brings it out, Edward discovers that Mrs. Carnation knew the whole story because she is Elise. As she nears him with the baby, the animated corpses of her first husband, Walter, and Haeckel emerge from their hiding spots and Edward runs from the house. Elise looks disappointed, but she tells her lovers that they can find some time to play after she finishes feeding the baby.