Post by f l y on Jan 30, 2008 1:15:00 GMT -5
"The wonderful history of the Château began a long, long time ago, on a rocky peak, the 'Akuta' rock during the Roman era, became Rochegude by the magic of language. Remodeled by artists working for Marie-Antoinette in the "Petit Trianon" and then by Viollet-le-Duc, it's the prestigious dwelling of this charming Provence."
The Château was continuously renovated century after century, passed on from generation to generation of the Noelle family line. By the 1800 it had become a world-renowned hotel; rated to be a full five stars. Renovations, and business itself, however stopped abruptly in 1901. The daughter of the then-owner (Lois Noelle) of the Château had gone missing. They searched for the sixteen-year old for months, but never found any sign of her. No one had seen her attempting to run away, and a body was never found.
The family in their grief left their castle in the countryside, and moved to the city of Paris. The locals never saw or heard from them again. The Château de Rochegude remained under the Noelle name, for they had no intention of selling it, and they did not want the hotel taken by the government. The building was left to crumble and mold, within a century becoming a ruin.
After the Château had been abandoned, some of the locals hiked up the hillside, wanting to take a look at the castle they had previously never had the money or privilege to enter. Once having reached the destination at the peak of the hill, only a small number dared to go past the gates. Those few were never seen again. The locals that hadn't entered the mansion hurried back to town and told their story. A search party was sent out for those that were missing, but there was no sight of them anywhere in the Château.
From this incident sprung forward tales of ghosts, sorcerers, and evil spirits. None of the locals dared come near the Château de Rochegude again.
Of course numerous brave tourists have tried to prove the locals wrong by entering the castle. Some came out again, and some didn't; and just as before, those who'd gone missing were never found.
In the present day, only few dare enter the dreaded castle, much to the local people's distress. Now a very small number of tourists, and an even smaller number of adventurous locals, go missing every year. . . never to be found again.
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