I’m Mick McGee from Byte Sized Horrors and I want to tell you about a spoooooky story coming from the United Kingdom! Here is the best of the best from Tariq Sharif called ‘Forgotten Treasures’! Enjoy this story as we kick off the first season of the Byte Sized Horrors podcast for kids!
Forgotten Treasures by Tariq Sharif
Every Saturday, Tristan would wander around the city dump, absent-mindedly, from dusk till dawn. He was retching because of the musty winds, which were blowing the orange dust creating a mini sandstorm. His torn, worn-out shirt was capering in the winds and he used it as a mask whenever he bent down to inspect an ancient treasure. The smell of ancient, rusty objects wafted around his dusty nose. As he roamed the dump, the rat droppings’ stench tingled it as well. Wandering against his will, he curiously scavenged for mysterious things he could study and caress. To most, these things were detritus, however; to him, they were amazing artifacts. The dark-hearted, black, cawing crows almost made his ears bleed- their feathers falling as they were barely flying and each one gave him the message to leave
An old pirate’s compass whispered to him, face shattered, and the shards of glass spread all over the floor. In its dying breath, a mahogany, grandfather clock stole this curious boy’s interest in anything else when it chimed six times even though it was deep in the earth. He gaped in awe when he glimpsed an enormous, scarred and scorched rocket! He pondered what foolish person would have left a rocket that was hardly rusty at all. Tristan pretended to watch a TV show on the battered television set; yet there was one thing that grabbed his attention the most.
This thing was made of splintered wood and burnished metal. It had ancient, engraved patterns on the top and it had a rusty keyhole. “What is this?” he asked himself. It was blood-dark colored, with bits of silver. Carefully, Tristan lifted the box and blew. A giant cloud of dust formed and made him burst out a heavy bout of cough. As twilight appeared, he carried the box home but this unexpecting boy couldn’t have imagined what would happen next.
Continuing our AI journey from last time exploring Little Red Riding Hood herself as the Big Bad Wolf… All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.
How very… Phantom of the Opera predatory… this is definitely not what I had in mind. Maybe something more cutesy?
Ugh. Maybe not.
Wow, that seems like such a cop out, cropping off the head so you don’t have to depict it. And I don’t want to lose the Little Red Riding Hood reference completely.
So no surprise there, I knew that was too many references to work.
And as promised in Big Bad Poetry, we shall embark on our next AI journey, this time looking at Little Red Riding Hood. I had wanted to depict her as the Big Bad Wolf one and the same, although maybe not so big nor bad. But it just wasn’t happening quite as planned. All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.
So I actually like this even better than my original vision, it is playful and even a bit serene (especially given the Sinister style). The wolf is just being a wolf. It’s quite lovely, really. But it wasn’t what I had in mind, so I revisited the idea later to see if I could get that result…
Over the river and through the wood flashed the fleet-footed Red Riding Hood on her way to her “grandmother’s” house.
When running past, who should she see but just one of the little pigs three cowering like but a tiny mouse.
“But my dear piggy, what do you fear?” Red Riding Hood asked as she slunk near, teeth hidden under a sheepish smile.
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The nervous small pig looked up in fright and decided that Red was alright, missing the subtle clues by a mile.
“The Big Bad Wolf, that horrible beast upon the other wee pigs did feast!” the last little pig said with a squeal.
Red Riding Hood laughed with a great growl and threw back her heavy long-robed cowl, in a vast terrifying reveal.
For she was really the wolf Big Bad hidden beneath the cape that he had stolen from Red Riding Hood at point.
“And now I’ve caught you too my pretty and surely t’wouldn’t be a pity if I gobbled you up in this joint.”
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T’was then the wee pig leapt to his feet And cried, “Big Bad Wolf, I shall defeat, for I am no ordinary swine!”
The little pig also wore sheep’s clothes spun in spells every woodland witch knows; Old Granny herself was quite divine.
“Now give me back my granddaughter’s cape, before I grab you by your ruffed nape and send you pig-squealing down the road…”
The wolf dropped the cape and ran, that cur, but Granny was swifter and hexed his fur and the wolf she turned into a toad.
Thus the moral of this story goes, when in the woods, no one really knows what sheepish sheep’s clothing is a ruse that big bad wolves and old witches use.
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So this is actually an intro to my next AI art journey with NightCafe which developed from me not getting the results I wanted (Little Red Riding Hood herself as a wolf). Here’s a preview with Eric’s versions as he is much more literal in his prompting than I am, but where’s the fun in that? 😉
Prompts (from left to right) in Dark Fantasy style, executed Aug. 1, 2023:
Bipedal wolf in Red Riding Hood’s cloak
Bipedal wolf in Red Riding Hood’s cloak close up portrait
Bipedal wolf in red cloak close up portrait
Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.