Golem — Todd Maternowski

In the late 16th century, the Jewish Quarter in the ancient city of Prague was under attack. Roving bands of anti-Semitic Christians were threatening the Jews with extinction. In response, legends say, a rabbi went down to the Vltava River and fashioned a huge, horrifying creature out of the mud of the riverbank.

This creature was the Golem.

The Golem did its work, protecting the Jewish Quarter from its attackers. Some say it did its work too well, and had to be put down for the safety of the rest of the city. The Holy Roman Emperor intervened, asking the rabbi to control the creature, offering protection for the Jewish people if he did so. The rabbi agreed, removed a magic glyph from the Golem's chest, and locked it away in the attic of the Old New Synagogue.

Five hundred years later Zev, a student from a Midwestern college, is in Prague for his friend's bachelor party. Having heard the story while shopping at the Synagogue's gift shop, Zev decides that he must break into the attic and see this Golem for himself.

What he finds, however, is something completely unexpected...