Brian was an unassuming guy, a librarian by trade with a love for the quiet. His days were filled with the soft rustling of pages and the gentle hum of fluorescent lights. But tonight was different. He had always been fascinated by the supernatural, so when his friend handed him an old vinyl record claiming it was cursed, Brian couldn’t resist. “It’s a rare Tony Bennett album,” his friend had said with a mischievous grin. “But play it after midnight, and you’ll summon something… unusual.” Brian shrugged it off as a joke, but his curiosity got the better of him. That night, just past midnight, he placed the record on his turntable and set the needle down.
As the needle crackled to life, the smooth, familiar voice of Tony Bennett filled the room. But something was off. The tempo slowed, the pitch dropped, and soon the crooning turned into a haunting moan. Brian’s heart raced as a thick fog rolled into the room, seemingly out of nowhere. Before he could react, the fog condensed into a figure—an old man in a suit, but with decaying skin and lifeless eyes. It was Zombie Tony Bennett. Despite his ghastly appearance, the zombie was still impeccably dressed, crooning in a deep, gravelly voice that sent chills down Brian’s spine. “I left my heart in San Francisco…” Zombie Tony sang, but the lyrics were distorted, twisted with the voices of the damned.
Brian was frozen with terror, but as Zombie Tony continued to sing, he noticed something strange. The creature wasn’t malevolent, just… lost. With every note, it seemed more sorrowful than terrifying. Brian gathered his courage and approached the specter. He spoke softly, telling the zombie how much he loved his music, how it had touched the lives of so many. To Brian’s amazement, Zombie Tony’s eyes softened, and the fog began to lift. The room brightened as the song ended, and the zombie’s decaying form began to fade. With a final, melancholic note, Zombie Tony Bennett vanished, leaving Brian standing alone in the silence of his living room, his heart pounding, yet oddly at peace.
