The Suicide King
Modern playing cards are filled with layers of meaning and symbology that can be traced back centuries. The four kings, for example, are based off of real rulers: the king of diamonds represents the wealthy Julius Caesar, the king of clubs is the brutal Alexander the Great, Spades represents the strong but kind David of Israel and Hearts represents the… emotionally disturbed, shall we say, Charles VII of France. It is this king that we will be dealing with today. It should also be noted that Charles was the only one of the four who was actually there to see the day that his face was printed on a playing card, which may rationalize why he acted apart from the others.
Charles’ visage was put on the king of hearts at the very beginning of his rule, but he never really got a chance to come into contact with playing cards until many years later when he became very ill with a fever and was informed that he would be bedridden for the rest of his life. It was during this period that Charles began learning card games to pass the time, such as an early version of black jack, “vingt-et-un” (twenty one).
Charles lay in his bed for two years, constantly fiddling with the cards and always getting weaker. As time continued to pass, there were reports that Charles had begun obsessing over the idea that the king being the thirteenth card in a suit was causing him bad luck. He talked about how he was starting to see the number pop up everywhere and that he was close to figuring out its secret. Of course, his ramblings were blamed on the fever, and by the end of the second year, he had been declared insane, and his son Louis XII took over the thrown.
One day, several months after the end of his reign, one of Charles’ physicians went to his chamber to find the frail old man standing in the middle of the room wielding a large sword. Before the doctor could react, the king said, “Ils m’ont montré la vérité de treize, et il n’est pas signifié pour les yeux mortels.” which roughly translates to, “They have shown me the truth of thirteen, and it is not meant for mortal eyes.” Without hesitation the king proceeded to ram the blade in through the left side of his head (between the ear and temple) until it came out the other side. He wavered a moment, before collapsing to the floor dead.
After the incident was announced and it was made public that the king had gone mad, the image of Charles on the king of hearts was altered to show himself offing himself. Although the picture is now shown significant-ly less graphically, the image of Charles thrusting the sword into his skull can still be found on modern day playing cards. Perhaps the strangest part of the whole story, however, is the day that Charles chose to kill himself: 7/6/1462. Whether or not it was intentional of the king, the facts that 6+7=13 and 1+4+6+2=13 can only be explained as coincidences.
//
Credited to John ♠.
You Might Also Like
Threes and Sevens
Three and seven; the fold was imminent. I looked conspicuously around at the other two player’s faces to…
Read Now
All of Our Mistakes Are Never Forgotten
Day 0 As much as I despise having to type this, I’ve since come to terms with my…
Read NowThe Scuttler
This is the first time I’ve ever shared the story I’m about to tell you. Sometimes, in the…
Read Now
Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.
I hate correcting people but I have to tell you that symbology is not a word. I think the word you were looking for in the first paragraph is symbolism.
Great story otherwise :)
I hate to be “that person”, but “symbology” is not a word. I think the word you were looking for in the first paragraph of the story is “symbolism”.
Great story otherwise :)
toshowhimselfoffinghimself
Otherwise lovely.
Who the fuck cares for accuracy? Have some imagination you wastes of life. This story was amazing, as a lot of the stories on here are. It pulled me in, and now I’m searching for a deck of cards to play with.
the story it’s self ain’t creepy but guys I’m surprised no one noticed this but I found it a nice touch that the story was uploaded at 9:31 pm
9+3+1=13 ironic no?
I didn’t know there were would be reposts here but it is still a bit tasty the second time around.
Posted 3 months and 1 week ago. 3 and 1. At 9:31. 9+3+1=13. 85 comments. 8+5=13.
Huh.
Wrong, Charles VII of france actually died 7/22/1461 and aged to be 58, There is, however, a pattern in his death date and age when he died. All those numbers still add up to another set of numbers
7+2+2=11
1+4+6+1=12
5+8= 13
Also, this may be pushing it, but his birthdate was 10/21/1422.
2+1=3
1+4+2+2=9
9 is 3 squared.
Creepy huh?
umm… i went to look for some playing cards to see if it was true, but when i looked under my foot, the king of hearts was laying right there away from the rest of the deck which has been in a drawer since i got them one year for christmas (it was trick cards, but i dont have anyone to use them on so i just put them away) i haven’t even touched the deck since i got it… i’m getting really scared, you guys, i got this deck when i was 13
being a card lover, this was great 9/10. Wasn’t my usual interests but I liked the background. Maybe it’d be a good story for some type of magic trick with the king. Good pasta :)
and no offense but people, cmon. We’re seriously gunna correct people on grammar and spelling? Why? To piss people off? It’s a blog type thing, not a novel.
84TH!!!!!
I always wondered why the hell the King on the cards had a sword in his hand. I even remember a comic strip poking fun at it, saying “get this stick out of my head!”
There is a demon of great evil, that will be able to walk upon the Earth if someone is told of its existence and does not repeat the name to another. To the best of my ability, his name roughly approximates \"Jkqxxllyuo\".
This was told to me by a rather unkempt man on the street; if you have not noticed it already, I just told it to you.
(calling nabor) nabor: WHAT R U DOING THERE ARE PYCHOPATHS OUT THERE -me: can u plz send ur dead wifes blood? i need to barrow some-nabor: oh well,sure i could use some to ill give u a quart-me: WHY U(goes to nabor and kills him)
“So, tell me, what’s the ‘symbology’ there?”
“Symbology? Now that Duffy has relinquished his “King Bonehead” crown, I see we have an heir to the throne! I’m sure the word you were looking for was “symbolism.” What is the ssss-himbolism there?”
Also, very interesting. ^_^
RutilusHemal:
You are my new best friend.
Symbology?
Perhaps King Charles should be replaced by \"King Bonehead\". I\’m sure the word you were looking for was \"symbolism.\" What is the ssss-himbolism there?
Interesting at most, but not quite creepypasta.
Blah.
@doodily.
shit. I fucked up xD.
I look like a total douche, talking about spelling then putting in “through it off”.
Sorry guys, I love munching on pasta when I’m high
it was a good story, I thoroughly enjoyed it, although the little awkward sentences near the end through it off for me.
I mean, I\’m just being nitpicky, it is good, just the misspelling of \"throne\" vs \"thrown\" and the \"showing himself offing himself\" seemed weird in my mind.
I just know it distracted me from the actual story, thus lessened the creepy factor, but still very cool. 7/10
thats an awful lot like the ending to martyrs….
Good Creepypasta. 7/10. Was yummy. But not creepy really. Also Fuck you Obama!!!
idg how he got the sword to the other side of his head.
I guess I should start commenting on what I have read in here so far.
Suicide king, well, not that good. With the title, you’d think that it’s about an emo guy, but going to the first part of the story would definitely make you think fast and go on with the chase already. Story made me search for the playing card’s photo, and it’s origins. And I must say, good job with this one.
That was nice. I like these types of pasta that build on something that’s already familiar to the reader.
I liked the urban legend feel to this pasta. Yeah, it’s not historically accurate or scary, but it’s very enjoyable.
I’m sorry, but even disregarding the historical accuracy and/or lack thereof, this was boring.
Not true but still entertaining. nomnom
@ Blaine Keter, I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23 is definitely a better creepy number. Lost and the movie The Number 23 made me want to be haunted by it.
I found this very well thought out. Delicious pasta, sir!