作者 主题: 恐怖故事  (阅读 7149 次)

副标题: Tales of Terror

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恐怖故事
« 于: 2018-05-29, 周二 19:00:24 »
介绍

由史蒂夫.哈瑟(Steve Hatherley)

在COC战役的过程中,不断满足调查员对于探索的需要这点对可怜的KP来说可以算是相当大的压力。一本充斥着能随意变化的灵感的小册子对他们来说可能是无价之宝。

恐怖故事是基于这点而在脑海中所构思出来的。这些"故事"可以快速、轻松的融入任何的游戏中。在进行初步调查时,KP将能决定事情是基于三种可能性中那种而发生的(如果有的话)。更进一步的细节可以基于KP的需要而创建。

许多的COC模组都设定的太庞大了。旧日支配者、拉莱耶、外神和有着山脉的大小的怪物威胁着我们所知的文明。在这些重大的冲突中,应该有些比较小的斗争。一窝吸血鬼、闹鬼的房子与意外的死亡。恐怖故事充满了这些较低调的调查,能让调查员从拯救世界中转移他们的视角。

恐怖故事也是红鲱鱼与相关线索的来源。追踪深潜者???(又或许是罗伊格尔?、邪恶的东方人?、还是吸血鬼???)这里有着能带来混乱、点缀与恐怖的故事。

最终,恐怖故事是一个充满的小册子。这里的每种情况都有可能扩展成一个完整的冒险。模组往往是由一个或两个独立点子所组成。景象、火花或其他东西。恐怖故事包含由描述性文本中提炼出来的这些想法。

按照你的意愿使用它。



墙上的涂鸦

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

被胡乱的涂在墙壁上的潦草符号与残缺字母并非来自于任何可识别的语言。它们看起来就像是一个孤独的醉汉试图到处乱画的结果,并不是特别的引人注目。除了一点:它们出现在每个地方。在卡车与列车、学校和教堂。在乡下、在城里。在棚子与墙壁、窗户和招牌上。它们通常是以油漆绘制的,除了一两次的血液外。

可能

1)这些符号象征着一群小型但快速增长的邪教徒的边界。而这些符号随着它们在城镇间逐渐延伸的势力而让人惊恐的扩散开来。

2)旧时代的灵线(ley lines)现在已经衰退了,以至于罗伊格尔无法将其作为能源。但在这个工业的时代,这里还有着其他来源 - 电力和电话线。罗伊格尔将信息植入睡眠者的大脑中,迫使他们在全国绘制这个符号。它们最终被翻译为某种人工智能的演算法。该算法被隐藏在电脑系统中并"促使"着某种全新电缆的建造。而以这种方式形成的力量回路(circles of power)使得罗伊格尔开始吸收并恢复它们的力量。

3.符号(由梦游者撰写的)源于某种在许久之前就被遗忘的语言。它们最终被翻译成一个词。"喜悦(Rejoice)"这是什么意思?它是来自上帝的暗示吗?
然后,第二个字:"为"。然后是"他"与"是"和"即将到来"。
"为了即将到来的他而喜悦吧(Rejoice for He is coming)。"但他是谁?



叉形之舌(FORKED TONGUES)

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

马丁·科尔福德-约翰斯(Martin Coleford-Johns)着迷于恐龙。他的父亲致力于挖出那些变成化石的巨型生物的骨骼并将其交给马丁。他也理所当然的前往牛津去研读古代生物学。现年42岁的马丁·科尔福德-约翰斯目前是该领域公认的领导者。他是个高富帅,许多的女性都爱上了这个有着贵族气息的男性。然而马丁只爱着一种东西 - 恐龙。除了这个他最喜欢的科目外,他对任何事物都带着冷漠并且不感兴趣的态度。当与任何人提到和史前世界有关的任何事情时,他突然变得充满活力并且思绪敏捷,就好象完全变了个人似的。

然而,这个隐居的人不喜欢宣传他在干嘛。他住在某栋被隐藏在高高的砖墙之后、位于一个广阔花园旁的家族庄园里。他有着两个帮助他的仆人,分别是一个管家和一个女仆。目前他只有一个继承人,贾斯汀.科尔福德-约翰斯(Justin Coleford Johns)。这个男孩目前正住在寄宿学校,他的母亲则在分娩时死亡。科尔福德-约翰斯很少出现在公开场合,他更喜欢在野外或他在庭院里所建造的大型实验室工作。当他确实出现时(只有会在晚间约会的时候),他总是会打扮的一副无可挑剔的样子。

前来参观这所房子的人不会受到欢迎。如果参观者不能对大量的爬行动物收藏品或化石研究表示出兴趣,那么他们就会被送往门口。否则,科尔福德-约翰斯将会与客人讨论相关的话题,直到他厌烦了他们为止。

多年来,科尔福德-约翰斯家族一直是蛇人的避难所。在《外貌摄取术》的帮助下,蛇人取代了马丁、管家与女仆。而在屋子里里还隐藏着其他的蛇人。

这个家族中唯一的人类是贾斯汀,他被尽可能送到远离房子的地方。一旦他成年并且至少拥有一个继承人,蛇人将会杀害并取代他。

房子里则摆满了与爬行动物和恐龙有关的书籍。书架上排列着任何与这个主题有着模糊的联系的东西。这里也有着化石、骨骼与恐龙的几种不同大小的模型。这里也同样有几本与蛇人有关的卷册,但它们被隐藏的很好。为了避免照出将泄漏它们真实身份的背影,屋内的灯光总会是微弱的。蛇人绝不会在明亮的阳光下出门,它们大部分的日常生活需求物都是从哈罗德(Harrods)百货公司直接提供的。

科尔福德-约翰斯除了研究化石之外还有其他的目的。他正在参与一项计划,以便让蛇人回归,成为为地球的合法主人。他在房子下面的密室藏着几个等待孵化的蛇人蛋。

而他在全球范围内的化石搜索则隐藏了一个更为险恶的目的。在某个遥远的国家里凿石头是他真实目标的某种非常好的掩护 - 寻找蛇人失去的庙宇。

蛇人是一种暴力、有着强烈占有欲的种族,并且曾与其他想争夺地球的许多外星人战斗过。然而,他们的敌人狡猾并强大,在二叠纪末期,它们开始进行保护着他们的古老种族的准备,直到它们能自行夺回这个世界为止。

他们的准备工作包括分散在世界各地的一系列神殿。在每个神殿里都有着一些被保存在深度冬眠状态下的蛇人与他们的大量(现已遗失的)科技与魔法。最终,当战争结束时,他们将醒来,重新收回地球。

然而,有什么问题发生了,神殿里的居民从未醒来。随着时光飞逝、地壳变动,许多的神殿被摧毁。其他的则消失于陷入地底、海水倒灌或被其他种族发现并摧毁。而在当年的辉煌的两亿三千万年后的现在,只剩下他们所建造的几座神殿了。马丁·科尔福德-约翰斯想找到他们。

可能

1)贾斯汀.科尔福德-约翰斯被有关于爬行动物的噩梦所困扰着。在梦里,他看到以奇怪的嘶嘶声来交谈的巨大、行走着的蛇类。有时候,在他极度恶劣的恶梦里,他的父亲变成了它们的一员。他定期性的逃离寄宿学校,但总是被发现并送回。

2)当马丁·科尔福德约翰斯在美国犹他州为了某个大型化石工作时,他在不经意的情况下于阳光下被拍摄到了照片。摄影师是一名报导了这次探险的记者,他并没有注意到这个奇怪的非人影子。然而,当马丁仍在美国时,这份照片却出现在伦敦的一份报纸里。该报有附上照片的印刷品,其能更清晰的看出影子存在。

3)如果有某种关于指出一个新的蛇人群落的消息传到他的耳里时,马丁将会随即展开调查。关于恐龙、巨型爬行动物与脱落的皮肤样本的故事将激起他的兴趣。

如果调查员参与其中,他可能会试着通过施放《外貌摄取术》来渗透团体。科尔福德-约翰斯可能会决定使用多种不同的样貌来避免引起人们对于他的避难所的注意。



谁是杀手?

由格雷厄姆.西奥博尔斯(Graham Theobalds)

其中一名调查员收到了莎拉.史宾赛(Sarah Spencer)小姐的联系。她相信有人要杀她,但不知道是谁或为什么。她需要帮助并愿意付钱。

两天前,她收到一封带有当地邮戳的信。这封信是由一台缺少"e"的打字机上打出来的。

亲_的莎拉小姐(D_ar Miss Sarah),
    你的生_即将结_(Your lif_ n_ars its _nd)。
    我的愤怒也将完_(My wrath is compl_t_)。
    你将死_(D_ath is yours)。
    详_请参_当地媒_(S__ local pr_ss for d_tails)。

她本来打算不管它,但她昨天在报纸的个人专栏中发现了一条消息。

亲爱的莎拉小姐。还有两天。

今天则是另外一条消息。

亲爱的莎拉小姐。又一天过去了。我将复仇。

她已经离开了她的工作场所并已预订了一家旅馆。

消息被以打电话的方式传达到报纸上,由一个叫罗伯特.库克(Robert Cook)的人付钱。将在明天的报纸上发表的是:"休息吧,亲爱的。呼出你最后的一口气。"

可能

1)史宾赛小姐是个危险的精神分裂症患者,而且已经完全的疯狂。她通常是史宾赛小姐,但有时会在压力下变成罗伯特.库克。库克正在逐渐获得更多的控制权并相信通过杀死史宾赛小姐的行为将让他完全自由。他会的,但不会像他所想的那样。

斯宾塞小姐的那栋干净而整洁的房子里有一间完全是凌乱而蓬乱的房间。它是库克的,那里有着一台缺少“e​​”字的古董打字机。

2)这封信是由简·马什(Jane Marsh)小姐写的,她是罗伯特.库克善妒的前情人。史宾赛小姐现在正在探望库克,而马什小姐已经发誓要杀死她并嫁祸给他。她知道史宾赛小姐住在哪里并发出了让库克去那里探望她的邀请。他会在警方到达时发现史宾赛小姐被肢解的尸体。

3)史宾赛是一位"转变"前的深潜者,她打算将调查员诱入死亡。而他们越来越接近了。她说自已正居住着的悬崖边上的旅馆里又老又破,闻起来还带着一股鱼腥味。



可怕的肖像

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

说的好听一点,德克斯特·卡尔多罗斯是一位才华横溢的艺术家,虽然他的画技粗糙、构图业余。尽管如此,他的肖像画却受到追求时髦的有钱人的追捧。等候名单长达数个月之久,因此,卡尔多罗斯的生活方式比起许多有着比他更为精良的画技的其他艺术家而言更为优渥。

他因为他那新奇的创作而获得了成功。卡尔多罗斯最擅长的是令人毛骨悚然的肖像画,他会在死亡中揭示了他的主题。有时候他画像里的主题将会呈现出倒卧的姿势,但它们经常被取出内脏并且残酷的被肢解。在某些爱好者的圈子里,死亡越残酷越好。

然后,他们开始死亡。

卡尔多罗斯是第一个死的。他的自画像显示他的尸体在一间空无一物的房间(barren room)里被切碎。(正是对这幅画的反应,让他找到了自己的市场)而他的尸体被人发现在一间空无一物的房间里、被剁碎,看起来就和他的画一模一样。它起初被认为是一个非常恶心的玩笑,然后其他的人开始死亡。

可能

1)卡尔多罗斯的画并非预测未来,而是创造未来。卡尔多罗斯自己被某个从精神病院里逃跑的疯子杀死了。而其他人将成为事故受害者、自杀、或死于野生动物袭击。除了德克斯特·卡尔多罗斯那超凡的艺术品之外,每一起的死亡都毫无联系。死亡发生的速度与绘制肖像画的速度相同。随着模式的清晰,担忧的画主将能够确定自已的死亡时间。除了破坏掉这些暴力的艺术品之外,没有其他出路。

2)在每次的杀戮前,都会有一个身着高雅黑衣的高大黑人接近画主。他提供了一份契约、某种合同。作为简单的签署那张复盖着某种以打字机打出的难以辨识的文字的一页纸的回报,画主将得以幸存

起初,被试者将不会理他并且付出代价。然后,当他们之中的第一个人从看似无法抵挡的残酷谋杀中逃脱后,合同就曝光了。签下了以某种未知的语言所书写的这份契约的画主会在不自觉的情况下将自己的灵魂交给了奈亚拉托提普,匍匐而来的混沌。

但为何外神会想要他们的灵魂?祂是什么时候开始收集的?

3)真正的画家是卡尔德罗斯的疯狂兄弟,他的作品来自于德克斯特所提供的粗糙的素描与照片。他被锁在阁楼上,只为了绘画而生。然后,他的病情恶化了,他使他的兄弟变的时髦,把尸体装扮得有如他的艺术般。现在的他在街上游荡,寻找其他的新题材。



猩红热

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

这是一种相当罕见的疾病,它会将肌肉溶解成厚厚的红色果冻状物质,只留下骨头和完好如初的皮肤。身体机能直到最后都会是健全的。由于它是如此罕见,以至于目前还没有名称,更别说是治愈了。

被害者往往对于自已得到了这种疾病一无所知。他们只有在自已被割伤时才会意识到它的存在:从伤口里流出的并非血液,而是红色的果冻状物体。他们的皮肤无法愈合,如果在被害者的液化肌肉渗出时没有将其包扎,就只会留下一片缩水与皱褶的皮肤。

可能

1)这种疾病是由某个罗伊格尔所引起的。在它所设计的邪恶过程中,罗伊格尔、克尔区(Clerghh),将有能力占据身为人类的被害者。由于这种占据的过程是如此的成功,以至于它在许多年内都不必变为爬虫形态。

而这个不幸的人并不知道占有最多只会持续六个月的时间。在那之后,身为这个过程副产品的疾病将导致人体无法挽回的面对死亡。而克尔区将继续前进。

2)一个吸血鬼正在活跃着,它以预消化的人类肌肉为食。它有两种样貌;第一种是高大英俊的男性、另一个是多足的蛆状生物,有着一条尖锐的喙。

吸血鬼需要在进食前的几个月先给猎物注射消化液。它会进行两次的拜访,首先注入果汁、然后在受害者成熟后返回。

3)被害者永远是男性。一个致力于为奈亚拉托提普奉献的邪教徒会定期的在疯狂的仪式里为祂献上少女。那些被祂拒绝的将会被邪教徒撕裂,那些祂喜欢(与奈亚拉托提普想品尝的)将被要求接受祂的提议。如果少女接受了,她将成为祂的新娘并在恶魔苏丹的宫廷里度过她的永生。

那些拒绝的人将被释放并且被诅咒。她们遇到的每个男性都将死于一种可怕的疾病。在每个满月的午夜,奈亚拉托提普将返回并再要求她一次。如果她接受,外神会将她带到阿萨托斯的宫廷里进行婚礼与使其发狂的婚姻。如果她拒绝,更多的男性将面对恐怖的命运。

最后,奈亚拉托提普将对他的新娘感到厌倦,是时候选择另一个了。



蜘蛛人

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

他是他们最不喜欢的病人。每个人、甚至是蜘蛛学家,都会发现他身边蜘蛛存在多到让令人不安的地步。它们遍布着空荡荡的房间:地板、墙壁与天花板上。他们在他的床上成群出现、蹦蹦跳跳的穿越他的衣服、在他的头发上乱跑。

他们忽视了这个病人,众所周知的,海景之家的工作人员把疯子称为"蜘蛛人"。他坐在椅子上,头歪向一边,茫然的在凝视着什么。他不会说话并需要有人来喂他,这在工作人员中并不是热门的任务。

蜘蛛挫败了一切试图改变它们的企图。拥有钢铁般的勇气的清洁人员曾试图定期性的打扫房间,但它们每次都会在一周内返回。现在他们已经放弃了。此外,蜘蛛人似乎并不介意。

可能

1)由于被一场严重的风暴给从航道上吹离,一艘倾复的不定期货船上的船员发现自己漂流到了某个太平洋的小岛上,那里住着一群蜘蛛崇拜的当地邪教徒。

在接下来的几个月内,没有遇害的人已经陷入完全的疯狂。最终,这群邪教徒从船员中选出一个人来承担神性,并让他在余生的永恒内化为某种带有宗教性质的存在(sacred for the rest of eternity)。他们把他拖到救生艇上,打算用他来向群众宣传,完全没有意识到他的脑海已一片空白。

这名男子被一艘军舰寻获,被宣判发疯并送到海景之家里。在那里他吸引了当地蜘蛛群的注意。他是它们的神,它们喜欢待在他的身边。

2)蜘蛛人是阿特拉克-纳查之子的宿主,祂是一只有着脸孔的可怕巨型蜘蛛。在探索幻梦境时,他偶然发现了阿特拉克-纳查和祂的网。阿特拉克-纳查高兴的中断了工作,祂愉快的抓住机会将她的后代注入合适的宿主中。

他在惊恐的尖叫中醒来。如果这只是一个梦,他为什么会这么痛苦?然后他看到在他腹部的整齐伤痕,并感觉到它们的存在。它摧毁了他的心智。

现在蜘蛛正在等待着那将使它们兴奋的一天,阿特拉克-纳查之子将从他那肥沃的的肉体中破壳而出。在蜘蛛人柔软的皮肤下,它们正慢慢的成熟,很快就会孵化。

3)蜘蛛都是同种物种。蜘蛛人一直在对它们杂交育种。当他被允许进入花园并为他的房间捕捉蜘蛛时,他无精打采、毫无生气的生命变的充满活力。他在那里培育着一种新的物种。

蜘蛛人曾经是一位优秀的昆虫学家,他被有着社会性组织的昆虫所吸引,并对缺乏这种秩序的蜘蛛感到困惑。他是某个曾远征到格‧哈伦(G'harne)的探险队里的唯一幸存者,那是一次悲惨的错误,现在他正在进行他自己的实验并试图创建一个新的蛛网膜秩序。



海顿庄园的幽灵

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

海顿庄园的幽灵

海顿庄园位于德文郡的埃克斯穆尔的南部,那里的风从未停止过,是一个古老的闹鬼之地。这个荒原沉浸在传说和迷信中,但没有一个像海顿庄园的水幽灵一样有着文献记载。

在1837年,当时住在庄园里的波普尔福德勳爵首次记录下了这段历史。

波普尔福德勳爵经常在睡觉时做梦,并以日记的方式记录下他漫长(而且高度不寻常)的夜间经历。这些记载都留在他的床上,在里面也记录着水幽灵,正如他描述的那样。他写着:

"1837年5月25日。昨晚水幽灵又再次来访。我再次的意识到某种巨大的摇晃声,它彷佛从庄园所在地表之下方传来的。它们在夜深人静之时将我唤醒,我听着那个声音来来回回踱来踱去超过一个多小时的时间。最终,它们逐渐远离。当在我早晨醒来时,我发现和以前一样,地板上有潮湿的污渍而且厨房淹水了。庄园里弥漫着某种邪恶的气味,就好像是某种死去以久的湿答答的存在散发出来的。"

被归因于幽灵的其他影响包括"冒汗的墙壁"与"闻起来和大海一样的空气"。潮湿的污渍是它过去的常见标志,就像它在夜间发出的"晃荡的声音"一样。波普尔福德勳爵从未直接看过这个幽灵。

从那时起,水幽灵就很少出现了。最后一次记录的目击事件发生在1895年,当时它导致当时住在那里的人匆忙的离开。海顿庄园现在无人居住。

古老的乡间住宅,T.A.弗莱明,1917年。

可能

1)水幽灵是一头古老的深潜者,生活在海顿庄园底部的地下洞穴中。它是被某个个古老的咒语困在那里的,只能在有限的时间内逃出庄园并从食物柜中寻找食物。

2)它是一个真正的幽灵。某个渔夫的狂躁鬼魂在庄园里闹鬼。庄园主冤枉了他并使他死在一场可怕的暴风雨中。他现在经常出没于大房子里,缠着住在那里的人。

3)它仅仅是传说和迷信。潮湿的旧房子和某些不寻常的海风吹拂的洞穴(产生了晃动的声音)的结合使得波普尔福德勳爵想的太多了。



开膛手

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

开膛手的笔记被盗

昨晚,现存的唯一一份吉迪恩.布莱德医生(Doctor Gideon Black)的日记从牛津大学的图书馆里被盗。布莱克博士的日记在他死后被发现,当时人们普遍认为他就是传奇杀手"开膛手杰克"。

这本手写的日记详细记录着布莱克博士所进行过的许多不必要的实验。这位医生是牛津圣玛丽医院的一位外科医生,但他在开膛手出没的时间出国旅行,刚好住在伦敦。考虑到额外的必要条件,他在该时间段里执行过许多手术。后来布莱克博士的日记被详细的检定,现在的人们已相信他并非传说中的伦敦杀手。

牛津警方目前正在寻找一名60多岁的外国绅士,他在日记被偷走前曾询问过有关日记的情况。

最后一名看过这些笔记的人是这所大学的其中一位学生。他可以被联系并让调查员看看他的笔记。尽管这本日记的字迹在过去就曾被与"杰克"的笔迹比对过,但学生们已经研究双方并得出这个结论:它们可能是以同一只手所书写的。

可能

1)布莱克博士就是开膛手杰克,而且已经复活了。他偷回了自己的笔记并打算继续他的研究。一周后,一系列的开膛手谋杀案中的第一起案件登上了头条版面。

2)笔记是一个精心制作的骗局。他们是由某些医生共同写来惊吓他们某个同事的。如果搜索得当,可以在文档中找到几个"内部笑话(in-jokes,类似只有业内人听的懂的笑话)"。

3)布莱克博士并非开膛手,但他从事着类似的研究。虽然不是神话存在,但他和他们有着联系。这些日记记载着布莱克博士购买某些他用来工作的尸体的地方 - 并备注着他们其中某些尸体几乎可怜的快被啃光的情况。



门外的狼

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

一位身为医生的PC被某个名为夏洛特.兰利(Charlotte Langley)的人联系。她在夜里会作着某些让人不安的梦境,她希望医生能开一些处方药来阻止梦的发生。

夏洛特已经23岁了,她颇具吸引力。自从她13岁左右她就开始做这些梦了。它们几乎总是一样的 - 血迹、纠缠的毛皮与对于在黑暗潮湿的森林中自由奔跑的渴望。夏洛特不知道梦的起源。

然后,大约一个星期前,梦想开始增强。它们变得更加强烈、具有更强的占有欲。从那以后,她每晚都会在恐惧中惊醒。医生能做些什么吗?

夏洛特是个狼人。她是在13岁时被一头感染的狗咬伤时被传染的。在那以后,这种疾病一直在慢慢的成熟。她的症状很快的就会步进最终阶段,她会变成一只可怕的狼人并杀死几个无辜的人。而夏洛特将不会记得这点。

与流行的传说相反,这种疾病并非总会在满月时出现。然而,它确实严格遵循着每28天重复一次的月球周期。

成功的治好夏洛特将是一种相当大的荣誉,如果每个玩家都相信这点的话。一颗银弹可以杀死夏洛特,但医生能在他有希望治愈她的情况下使用它嘛?
 
可能
 
1)如果医生不怀疑夏洛特,那么他应该被导向相信她是一名灵视者的路线。如果夏洛特的梦想能预测这些可怕的谋杀,那么她也许可以用来解决犯罪。

2)医生在睡觉时监视她,而当女孩的正发生着从人到狼的身体变化时,他也在场。在狼人醒来之前,医生只有几分钟的行动时间。如果医生已经被夏洛特感染,情况可能会变的更加复杂。

3)夏洛特在幻梦境里一位不自觉的梦想家,而在那里的她是一头狼人。在疾病最严重的几个小时间,一个可怕的、无法阻挡的野兽将在了德拉斯-利恩(Dylath-Leen)的大街上游荡。银在德拉斯-利恩里相当少见,没有人会想将它浪费在野兽的身上。

她的身体也发生了变化 - 躺在床上的夏洛特变成了狼人,但从弱醒来。她将以虚弱的形式醒来,感觉自己像是刚参加过马拉松比赛一样。在这种疾病消退之前,已经过了几个夜晚(每个夜晚将在幻梦境里持续八周)。直到下个月。

在这种情况下,这些梦境有可能已经持续了数月,而夏洛特刚决定去看医生。她不知道幻梦境的事。



镣铐

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

镣铐

"镣铐"是一簇令人生畏的岩石,它们从利泽德角东北东方向外约九英里的海面上延伸出来。尽管面积只有一平方英里,但是这些"镣铐"却破坏了数百艘船只,并夺走了数千人的生命。

距离一英里外的圣凯沃纳教堂的坟场里埋葬着四百多名的沉船遇难者。而海床下则包含着更多的。

镣铐的名字起源于某个年轻的男孩与撒旦交易的古老而晦涩的传说。传说中这个男孩讨厌他那个总会残忍的鞭打与殴打他的父亲。最终,由于对父亲酒后的暴力感到厌恶,这个男孩与撒旦做交易 - 但撒旦的要价很高。祂想要这个男孩的灵魂。

这交易是秘密进行的,撒旦信守诺言。父亲精神失常并从悬崖处摔死了。这个男孩悲痛万分,去找神父忏悔他的罪。牧师宽恕并祝福了这个男孩,但无法阻止撒旦索取他的报酬。

在盲目的恐慌中,这个男孩偷了一条船,然后划到海里,拼命的想躲避撒旦。然而魔鬼并不愚蠢,祂在海上独自逮到了这个男孩。撒旦伸出有如山脉般大小的爪子,索讨他的灵魂。然而,这个男孩是有福的,当撒旦的巨爪抓住了他时,他们一起变成了石头。

传说撒旦还在海底,被祂的石头镣铐困在同一个地方。

现在,这个传说几乎完全被遗忘了,而且在平静的天气里,镣铐是一个很受欢迎的捕鱼区。

《康纳尔的神话和传说》、G.哈尔(Hall)、1921年

除了这本书外的别的地方地方都找不到这个传说。镣铐的名字源于康瓦尔(Cornish)语中的的"maen eglos",意思是"石之教堂"。

在附近的马尼尔点(Manacle Point)(在附近的海岸)的是波斯托克斯(Porthoustock)。那里的悬崖被最近被广泛的爆破雕刻成怪异的形状。

可能

1)传说部分是正确的,一个旧日支配者被囚禁在海底。波斯托克斯已经由一小群的邪教徒展开采石和爆破的行动,他们希望能释放出旧日支配者来。

2)传说是完全虚构的,但曾有过某种邪恶存在。在镣铐上能发现一座古老的深潜者神殿 - 石之教堂。它在几个世纪前被遗弃,任何探索镣铐的人都能找到它。

3)石之教堂仍然是一座仍活跃的深潜者神殿,混血深潜者们在波斯托克斯采石,以释放被困在那里的克苏鲁的星之眷族。他们距离解放这头巨兽还有很长的路要走。



米拉克(Midlock)之龙

由史蒂夫.哈瑟

以下来自剑桥大学图书馆的各种资料来源(详见附注)的17世纪手稿副本详细描述了德比郡米拉克村的一个有趣的传说。

手稿详细描述了一位名叫乔治的英雄与某些强大的龙之间的战斗,它们的名字包括了"钠格尼亚(Gnatonea"、"罗尔尬(Llorga)"与"克尔区(Clerghh)"。

龙奴役着这个村庄里的人,并强迫他们献上牛、羊、甚至是其他人类作为祭品。

村民因为时常发生的疾病、近亲繁殖与毁容的行为而被迫进行着野蛮的行为。

然后乔治抵达并展开了一场包含许多魔法的伟大战役,他击败了龙并将它们驱逐到一个隐蔽的地方使得村庄获得了自由。不幸的是,龙的人类崇拜者阴谋策划并最终杀死了乔治。

直至今天,乔治仍被埋在一棵仍在生长的橡树下。

以上是收集调查员收集到的论文顺序,这些论文可能是由同事或学生提供。可以从那些需要涉及到需要费力阅读的古英语论文里找到更多的内容。

对于任何学者来说,证明米拉克之龙是圣乔治和龙(St. George and the Dragon)的传说的原始起源将是一件非常大的荣誉。

可能

1)传说的大部分是真实的,但龙实际上是一群罗伊格尔。乔治是上个世纪的调查人员,学会相当多的魔法并击败了罗伊格尔。罗伊格尔想回来,但它们用来吸取力量的石圈被破坏了。

2)乔治并没有与任何真正的龙搏斗,而是从当地地主的暴力统治中解放了米拉克村的村民。在战斗的描述里暗示着"龙"使用了魔法,而且在古老的庄园中还存在着某些类似这样的东西。

3)这里有过某种类型的战斗,但没有具体的证据表明这是否传说的真正来源。




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结晶
由比约恩·汉森(Björn Hanson)提供
(瑞典.斯德哥尔摩)

结晶...无害?或者它们有?

托马斯.雷丁(Thomas Redding),一个中年的富裕地主在暴风雪中从他的庄园里消失了。两天后,他被邻居报告失踪。在搜查房子的过程中,警察在屋子里发现了明显的斗争与破坏的迹象。在寻找房子时,警方在房子里发现了明显的挣扎和破坏迹象。家具和窗户被打破,房屋内有几发射击过的痕迹,但却没有发现任何武器。他们也发现了很多很陌生的东西;几个大的晶簇,它们有着隐约可见的人类和蜘蛛的形状。

根据他的亲戚、朋友和邻居表示雷丁先生并没有任何敌人。事实上,他的声誉很好,并向当地大学捐赠了大量的资金。邻居或他的朋友或家人都不知道水晶的用途,以前甚至没有人看过它们。

雷丁先生最好的朋友乔纳森.道森(Jonathan Dawson)是在托马斯失踪前最后一个看过他的人。在暴风雨的三天前,乔纳森被邀请来吃晚餐、喝威士忌与抽几支雪茄。在道森先生的司机把他赶回家之前,他们一直呆在那里聊天,直到午夜时分过去。雷丁先生似乎对某些事情感到不安,乔纳森对对聊天时的话题感到惊讶,因为托马斯通常从不会谈论到过去的事。

可能

1)托马斯雷丁已经死了。雷丁先生试图通过阅读记载在某本书里说明指南创造出一种非有机的"初生之汤"并用它来创造生物。它奏效了。晶体生命开始从位于地下室里的"汤"中慢慢的生长。随着时间的推移,它们变得越来越高等......但也越来越具有侵略性。它们开始吓唬他,他很快的就锁上了地下室的门,试图无视它们。但这是不可能的,他能听到它们在那里四处走动。他把楼下的女仆派到地下室里以了解下头发生了什么事。当这些生物袭击她时,女仆试图逃离,但雷丁把门给锁上了。之后,这些生物似乎冷静了一段时间,但很快它们又开始发出声音。他认为他们一定饿了,并开始担心他的小命。与道森先生共进晚餐后,他使用枪支威胁他的厨师、司机与他的管家进入地下室«(是说你就不会放把火然后离开嘛)»。这一次,他看着这些生物将他的仆人给活生生的吸干。他所制造的晶体似乎"感染"了这些尸体,并很快的就将其转化为人形的晶簇。这些生物也因为液体的关系越变越大,它们最后在暴风雪中挣脱了出来并杀死了托马斯。他设法射击了某些类似小型蜘蛛般的生物,但最终仍被淹没、吞噬并结晶化。那把枪上长满了水晶,并仍被握在他的手中。

2)托马斯.雷丁被他的妹妹蕾贝卡.哈丁(Rebecca Harding)和她的丈夫拉斯.哈丁(Lars Harding)谋杀,他们希望能继承托马斯的财产。拉尔斯买了一把被偷的枪、射杀托马斯、把现场清理干净,然后将尸体倾倒在附近森林里的一个废弃的小屋里。丽贝卡将尝图在她或其他人能"发现"的遗嘱里安插一段假遗嘱,这将使她有获得这笔钱的权利。但没人知道托马斯实际上已经接近死亡,他得了相当严重的癌症。只有他和他的医生知道这件事。 他邀请他的朋友乔纳森过来吃晚饭,本来是打算告诉他这点,但他没有勇气说出口。晶体是托马斯癌症的原因。托马斯最近从朋友那里买到了这些奇怪的水晶。但他们都不知道这些晶体隐藏着铀并有着危险的放射性。

3)托马斯雷丁负债累累。他与一些错误的人做了一些不好的打赌,现在他无力偿还,他们决定让他以身作则。他们在暴风雪中绑架了他,现在他们把他藏在工业仓库里,偶尔会折磨他。但不会持续太久的,除非有人发现他,否则他们将终结他的小命。水晶群仅仅是托马斯以晶簇制作的艺术作品,它们被粘在一起形成奇怪的生物的行状,这也是托马斯最近的爱好。

剧透 -   :

Crystals
by Björn Hanson
(Stockholm, Sweden)

Crystals... harmless? Or are they?

Thomas Redding, a middle-aged wealthy landowner disappears from his estate during a snowstorm. Two days later he is reported missing by a neighbor. During the search of the house the police finds clear signs of struggle and destruction in the house. Furniture and windows have been broken and several shots have been fired inside the house, but no weapon has been found. They also found something much, much stranger; several large crystal clusters that are vaguely humanoid and arachnid in shape.

Mr. Redding don't have any enemies according to his relatives, friends and neighbors. In fact, he has a very good reputation and is known to donate large amounts of money to the local university. Neither the neighbors, his friends or family know anything about the purpose of the crystals, no one has even seen them before.

Mr. Redding's best friend Jonathan Dawson was the last person that saw Thomas before he disappeared. Jonathan had been invited to dinner, some whiskey and a few cigars three days before the storm. They had stayed up until midnight talking about old times before Mr. Dawson's driver had driven him home. Mr. Redding seemed troubled by something and Jonathan was surprised by topic of the conversation since Thomas usually never talk about the past.

Possibilities

1. Thomas Redding is dead. Mr. Redding attempted to create life from a non-organic "primordial soup" he had created after reading the instructions how to from a book. It worked. Crystalloid life forms started to grow from the "soup" that he had in the basement. As time passed they grew more and more advanced... but also more and more aggressive. They started to scare him and soon he simply locked the basement door and tried to ignore them. But it was impossible, he could hear them move around down there. He sent down his housemaid downstairs to find out what was happening down there. The maid tried to flee when the creatures attacked her, but Redding had locked the door behind her. The creatures seemed to calm down for a while after that but soon they started to make sounds again. He figured that they must be hungry and started to fear for his life. After the dinner with Mr. Dawson he forced his cook, his driver and his butler down into the basement as well under gun threat. This time he watched as the creatures sucked his servants dry from fluids. The crystals that they creatures were made of seemed to "infect" the bodies and they were soon transformed into human-shaped crystal clusters. The creatures grew larger and larger because of the fluids until they managed to break free and kill Thomas during the snowstorm. He managed to shoot a few of the smaller spider-like creatures but was eventually overwhelmed, devoured and crystallized. The gun became overgrown with crystals and still remains in his hand.

2. Thomas Redding was murdered by his sister, Rebecca Harding and her husband Lars Harding in hope that they would inherit Thomas' fortune. Lars bought a stolen gun, shot Thomas, cleaned up and then dumped the body in an abandoned cabin in a nearby forest. Rebecca is going to try to plant a fake will in the estate that she or someone else can "find" which will give her right to the money. But what no one knew was that Thomas was in fact dying, he had a severe case of cancer. Only he and his doctor knew about it. He had invited his friend Jonathan over for dinner to tell him this, but he didn't have the courage to do it. The crystals were the cause of Thomas' cancer. Thomas had recently bought these strange crystals from a friend. But neither of them knew that the crystals contains traces of uranium and is dangerously radioactive.

3. Thomas Redding was in deep debt. He had made some bad bets with the wrong people and now that he couldn't pay up they decided to make an example out of him. They kidnapped him during the snowstorm and now they're keeping him in a industrial warehouse where they occasionally torture him. But not too soon they will end his life unless someone finds him. The crystal clusters were merely works of art made by Thomas using crystal clusters that had been glued together to form strange creatures and is a hobby that Thomas had taken up recently.




古巴连接

罗伯.伊林(Rob Illing)

当地的烟草商刚进了一批非常特别的雪茄。这些手卷的哈瓦那雪茄每支都非常的昂贵,但它们已被证实相当受欢迎。也许有点太受欢迎了。

可能

1雪茄是由聪明但冷酷的古巴暴徒制造的。它们含有许多高度成瘾性的麻药,不仅能吸引吸烟者,而且会吸引吸烟者附近的人。

2雪茄由古巴教徒制造。它们的成份包含着有仪式用的熏香,会在燃烧时召唤怪异的精神。这些精神会引发一种幸福感,但也同样会以靠近它的那些人的生命能量为食。这些能量的一部分将被转移给邪教徒,被用于他们的邪恶活动中。

3雪茄是由阿洽伊(Atchai)的奴隶制造的。每支雪茄里都含有一只阿洽伊,一种类似微小的三叶虫的生物。当雪茄被点燃并放在嘴唇上时,阿洽伊便会爬进吸烟者的嘴里。一旦进入了体内,它就会将自已附着在神经系统上并开始控制大脑。

剧透 -   :

The Cuban Connection
Rob Illing
The local tobacconist has just got a new batch of very special cigars. Each of these hand-rolled Havana cigars is extremely expensive, but they are proving popular.  Perhaps a little too popular.

Possibilities
1     The cigars are manufactured by clever but ruthless Cuban gangsters.  They contain a number of highly addictive narcotics designed to hook not only the smoker, but those in the vicinity too.
2     The cigars are manufactured by Cuban cultists.  They contain ceremonial incense that summons strange spirits when burned.  The spirits induce a feeling of euphoria, but also feed on the life energy of those in close proximity.  A portion of this energy is transferred to the cultists for use in their nefarious activities.

3     The cigars are manufactured by the Slaves of the Atchai.  Each cigar contains one Atchai, a creature resembling a tiny trilobite.  When the cigar is lit and put to the lips, the Atchai crawls into the smoker's mouth.  Once inside the body, it attaches itself to the nervous system and begins to take control of the brain.

Copyright (c) 2004 Rob Illing




古曼童(Guman Thong)

保罗.舒斯特(Paul Shuster)

在一家古董店或者在某个线上的拍卖网站里,调查员发现了一尊迷人的诡异雕像。卖家解释说这件商品是一件古曼童。"有魔法的幽灵男孩!你的鬼魂儿子将帮助你在日常生活与商业活动上走运。"

雕像附带小心指示:新主人应该口头上将他或她视为自己的儿子,并给它礼物与玩具。新主人必须小心,别让活着的孩子陪伴他或她,因为鬼魂可能会嫉妒。

可能

1)雕像真就像文章里说的那样。一个小孩的精神被束缚在雕像里,而人的遗体被隐藏在里面。只要调查员遵循店主解释的仪式,里头的幽灵就会保护并帮助调查员。但是,对雕像的不当处理或真实小孩的出现都可能会造成危险。一种释放精神的仪式相对的容易找到,虽然在网路出现之前也许会更加困难。调查员能通过释放幽灵来获得内心的平静。

2)该雕像是假的,类似的假古曼童正被一群外星的怪物种族用来渗透当地的东南亚社区。与人类的遗骸相反,每座雕像里都包含某个小小的、软泥状的生物。这个生物每天晚上都会溜出去觅食,让雕像的主人平平安安的独处,除非它找不到其他的食物。一股神秘而致命的疾病笼罩着这个社区。

3)创造了雕像的大师在仪式里犯了一个错误,并将某个危险并嗜杀的超自然力量束缚在雕像中。这种力量不会随意的表现出来,只能在情况正确时出现。(例如,一年中的某些时刻,或当雕像被放置在在风水意义上的错误位置)。这个雕像可能会在幸福的新主人不知道危险的情况下和平的坐上几年。

剧透 -   :

Guman Thong
Paul Shuster

In an antique store, or perhaps on an online auction site, the investigators discover an attractive if eerie statue. The seller explains that this item is a Guman Thong. "MAGIC SPIRIT BOY! Your Ghost Son will help you to be lucky in life and business."

Careful instructions come with the statue: The new owner should treat it as his or her own son both verbally, and by giving it treats and toys. The new owner must be careful that no live children stay with him or her, for the spirit may react with jealousy.

Possibilities

1     The statue is the genuine article. The spirit of a small child is bound to the statue and the human remains concealed inside of it. As long as the investigator follows the rituals the owner explained, the ghost inside will protect and aid the investigator. However, improper handling of the statue, or the presence of a real child can create peril. A ritual for freeing the spirit is relatively easy to find, although perhaps more difficult before the advent of the Internet. The investigator may gain peace of mind for freeing the spirit.

2     The statue is a fake, and similar fake Guman Thongs are being used by a race of alien monsters to infiltrate the local Southeast Asian community. Rather that human remains, each of the statues contain a small, slimy creature. Each night, the creature sneaks out to feed, leaving the statue's owner in peace unless it can find no other sustenance. A mysterious and fatal disease grips the community.

3     The master who created the statue made a mistake during the ritual, and bound a dangerous and homicidal supernatural force to the statue. This force cannot manifest itself at will, but only when conditions are right. (For example, certain times of the year or when the statue is placed in the wrong position in a Feng Shui sense.) The statue may sit peacefully for years with the new owner blissfully unaware of the danger.




暴瘦

菲利普·马尔曼(Philipp Mählmann)

让我们看看,邮箱里有什么:

帐单、通知、广告,帐单 - 哦,一个包裹…...啐,另一种的营销技巧,一种被称为"暴瘦"的新减肥药的免费样品 - 100%保证减肥,即使在吃了一周肋排,而只动了动你的咀嚼肌的情况下...…嗯,它是免费的,你已经有点过重了 - 它能坏到那里去?

可能

1)它有效!它令人难以置信的有效!在过去的几周里,暴瘦让成千上万的顾客开心了起来,他们能享受着任何他们想吃的东西,同时仍然在减肥中。毫无副作用,什么也没有,一直都是如此,人们喜欢吃的更多...…还有更多…...还有更多………"大脑!"

2)在暴瘦背后的是一群崇拜旧日支配者的邪教徒与商人。药物本身包含着某种显微镜才能看到的大小的外星幼虫的卵,它们会在体内扩散,并以身体的脂肪来滋养自己。他们不会伤害宿主的身体或器官(至少第一年不会……)。然而,它们将开始控制它们的被害者的身体,首先只有在睡觉或无意识的情况下,后来甚至会在有意识状态时使宿主服从来自邪教徒的心灵感应命令。

3)一周后:当然,没有体重减轻。只是另一个虚张声势的包裹!事实上,分析表明药物只含有通常的成分,并含有以下的非处方药:药草、水、盐、钚……钚?!

剧透 -   :

Slump-Fast
Philipp Mählmann

Let's see, what's in the mailbox:

Bill, notice, advertising, bill -oh, a package... pfft, another marketing trick with a free sample of a new diet drug called Slump-fast - 100% guaranteed weight loss, even after eating prime ribs for a whole week while only working the chew muscles... well, it's free and you've gained a bit weight - how bad can it be?

Possibilities
1     It works! Unbelievable, it works! Slump-Fast got thousands of happy customers in the last few weeks, who enjoy eating anything they want, while still losing weight. No side effects, nothing - and all the while, people enjoy eating more... and more... and more... ... 'Brains!' ... !

2     Behind Slump-Fast is a group of cultists-cum-businessmen, who worship the old ones. The drug itself contains eggs of a microscopic form of extraterrestrial larvae, which will spread inside the body, nourishing themselves from body fat. They won't harm the carrier's body or internal organs (at least in the first years...). However, they'll start to take control over their victims body, first only while sleeping or unconsciousness, later even in conscious state, making them obedient to the cultist's telepathic orders.

3     A week later: Of course, no loss of weight. Another bluff package! In fact, analysis shows, that the drug only contains the usual ingredients allowed for a non-prescriptive drug: herbs, water, salt, plutonium... Plutonium?!

Copyright (c) 2008 Philipp Mählmann








Captive Audience
James David Beard

One of the investigators finds an anonymous package on their doorstep. Inside is a framed painting. There are clues to its origin on the object, e.g. the artist's initials (K.M.) and the date it was painted, and the investigators soon learn the truth - everyone who has previously possessed the painting has died within a week of first seeing it.

Possibilities
1     The painting appears to be modern art, with many bizarre intersecting lines and angles. However, it is in fact very old indeed, having been painted by Keziah Mason, the witch mentioned in 'The Dreams in the Witch House'. The painting is a one-way window 700,000,000 years into the past - it allows the Hounds of Tindalos to observe whoever looks into it. One of more of the Tindalos will be arriving in seven days, and the investigators had better act soon.

2     The painting is of a hideous old man (or woman, if appropriate), decrepit and ugly. As the investigators search for clues to its origin, they notice that the figure in the picture is becoming younger - and beginning to resemble the investigator that first received the painting!

The painting is stealing life from the investigator, and they soon experience rapid aging. If they cannot find a way to stop the process they will soon wither and die. They cannot simply destroy the painting, as it now contains part of their soul - damage inflicted on the painting is also inflicted on the investigator - and so they must find a way to dispel the curse.

3     The painting is desired by a ruthless art collector, who will stop at nothing to get it. The investigators will soon be targeted by thugs and assassins in his employ. This also happened to the last few people to own the painting, resulting in their rapid demise.









Flask of Curses
James David Beard

A series of disappearances are occurring in a single area of Arkham, in and around a large house which was once home to a famous alchemist. This man displayed unnatural long life and local legend has it that he had discovered the Elixir of Life - the fabled target of alchemical research.

Recently, workmen in the house found a mysterious silver flask concealed behind oak panelling. Its contents are unknown, and both the bottle and its discoverer have now vanished.

Possibilities
1     The theory of the Elixir of Life was that it would transfer the incorruptible properties of solid gold to the body of its creator, making him immortal - in theory, once transmutation of lead into gold was achieved, this achievement was only a matter of time. However, the Elixir in the bottle is flawed. If drunk, it will slowly transform the body of the drinker into solid gold. The workman who found it has drunk it, and been driven mad as he slowly transforms into a golden - and almost indestructible - monster.

2     The bottle did not hold the Elixir of Life - instead it contained a Mythos Being like that in 'The Lurker in the Attic', conjured and imprisoned by the alchemist-sorcerer hundreds of years ago. The Being hates other living things and has been murdering humans around the house. Fortunately, it can be forced back into its bottle with the proper ritual.

3     The bottle indeed holds the key to immortality. If the potion inside is drunk, the drinker will be slowly transformed, one part of their anatomy at a time, into a Deep One, therefore gaining eternal life. This knowledge was a gift from the Deep Ones, in order to create hybrids without breeding with humans. The workman who drunk it is now insane and has been murdering people - and the group of Deep Ones spying on their new offspring aren't helping either.

Copyright (c) 2003 James David Beard










Highway to Hell
Sterling Olson

A car has been causing some problems for its drivers. It drives normally until out public view, then breaks through dimensional barriers and into other universes. So far each of its owners has driven stubbornly onward through the universes in shock and terror until they revert back to Earth after one mile. Then they leave it by the roadside. It always ends back in the city.

Possibilities
1     A cultist owned the car, and used a spell that allowed him to phase in and out of reality. He disappeared after an unfortunate run-in with an other worldly entity.

2     Through choice or force, a dimensional shambler is bound to the car and has been unable to break free of its magical bonds. It keeps trying, though.

3     Nyarlathotep has been having some fun with his new mask, driving insane its various owners.












The Key
Matt MacAdams

The investigators are asked to look into the strange goings on at a local mansion. Their friend, a struggling real estate agent, informs them that no one will buy the house due to its dark history of murder, insanity and disappearances. He gives them the address and a huge ornate key to the place, telling them that the last eight owners have either been murdered, gone insane or vanished inside its walls.

Possibilities
1     The key is not just for the mechanical locks on the doors. It serves as the critical component in the summoning of byahkee: it is a summoning whistle.

2     The house is actually a giant conduit for wind to be channelled through its bizarre architecture. When the "key" is placed in the correct position, well hidden in the wall, the wind will blow through the key like a whistle, causing random summoning and horror.

3     The house sits upon a witch's burial place. Her disturbed and violent spirit has been driving all occupants insane leading to murders and mayhem.














The Typewriter
Chris Kerr
"Every man is a book; if we're opened... we're red."

Leonard Russell is a young man with a burning ambition to be a novelist. He recently left home and moved to a cheap apartment in the big city where he was sure he'd find inspiration to write. It might be a romantic notion, but it seems to have worked, because people who've read his stories agree that he's improved remarkably in a surprisingly short time. It surely can't be long before a publisher accepts a manuscript and Leonard earns the recognition he's hungry for.

However, recently Leonard's health began to suffer. He became pale and shaky, and occasionally drifted off into a daze without warning.

People started to worry, and with good reason: just a couple of days ago he collapsed while walking down to the corner store. Fortunately, a concerned onlooker was able to drive him to the emergency room where doctors made a startling discovery -- there was so little blood in Leonard's veins it was a surprise he'd been able to walk at all. Odder still, his fingers and palms were dotted with dozens of tiny scabs, some of them still bleeding.

Possibilities
1     Leonard picked up a bit of spare cash a few months ago translating an old French play, "Le Roi en Jaune" (The King in Yellow).

During the translation he was struck by an idea which at the time seemed so simple it made him gasp -- with just a few minor modifications he could rebuild his typewriter into an engine for cranking out brilliant prose. It worked, and Leonard now owns a typewriter which can make those words that sound so good in your head look equally good on paper.

Anyone could use this typewriter to pen a bestselling novel. But there's a price to be paid -- each key has a tiny needle embedded in it which draws a drop of blood every time it's pressed down, and transfers it to the ribbon. Leonard's brilliant manuscript is quite literally written in blood, and producing it has taken its toll on him.

Leonard is now completely mad, and unless someone intervenes, he discharges himself from hospital and eagerly returns to his desk to die in the process of finishing what will be acknowledged as the decade's greatest novel. His typewriter passes to a relative...

2     Leonard likes his fiction to be as realistic as possible, and borrowed a few phrases in an obscure language for his characters to repeat at intervals in the novel's progression. The speech came from an old book of occult lore he browsed through in a second-hand bookshop. Unfortunately, Leonard has a habit of muttering the words under his breath as he types them out on paper, and has been unknowingly summoning a star vampire every time he sits down to write.

The summoning spell includes a binding component, so the vampire hasn't been able to kill him -- it just takes its payment in blood each time it's summoned and waits patiently for orders from its master before finally returning to where it came from when the spell wears off. Mind focused on his work, Leonard hasn't even noticed the slow, repeated drainings, but now he's lost too much blood to ignore.

If Leonard returns to writing his novel, the vampire finally takes enough blood to kill him. The binding spell fails, and the vampire is free to do as it likes on Earth. Worse yet, the novel is published, putting a dangerous magical spell in the hands of the unsuspecting public.

3     Leonard has been spending time with recent immigrants to research his novel. During that time he picked up a new and undiagnosed disease which the foreigners have a resistance to, but which locals do not have antibodies for. The disease is spreading through his blood and soon other parts of his body will also show the tiny sores. It spreads by touch, so bloodstains in Leonard's apartment and especially on the keys of his typewriter have become a vector for its continued dispersal. The disease isn't fatal to young and strong people, so his life isn't in danger, but infants and the elderly are at risk.

If the authorities don't realise the situation in time to isolate Leonard and destroy his belongings, the city is gripped by an epidemic worse than a new strain of influenza in less than a month.

Copyright (c) 2004 Chris Kerr












Bubbles
Eli Arndt

In the back of a local exotic pet store there is a small, dusty, forgotten fishbowl. The water is perpetually murky but something definitely bobs and undulates within the fetid water.

Closer inspection of the water reveals that there is an odd, vaguely fish-like creature in the bowl. It has bulbous eyes that seem to orbit independently. A toothless sucker mouth is the only other feature on its "face". It posseses fins sprouting in all angles as well as a cluster of tendrils and two small, almost lame-looking forelimbs ending and fragile digits.

The thing in the bowl seems quite aware of those looking in on it though it does little to interact with them. It will simply watch them, follow them, sometimes with an eerie intensity.

Asking the aged shopkeep anything about will bring only the vaguest of answers. The thing was brought into the shop by his grandfather and has been there through three generations of his family. It rarely leaves the shop and always seems to be returned - usually in a hurry and often left on the doorstep.

The old man will also caution against feeding it. Though it seems to sustain itself well enough through consuming the filth in its bowl, the thing groes rapidly if it eat anything else. It was the size of a pea when his grandfather brought it to the shop and has grown, through various happenstance, to the size of a grapefruit over the years.

The creature has a name too. It is named "Bubbles".

Possibilities
1     Bubbles is little more than a deformity. Possibly a fish or amphibian that has managed to survive. Any suggestion of it having something more than dull awareness of its surroundings is merely the projection of struck onlookers.

2     Bubbles is the embrionic phase of some greater creature. The shopkeepers grandfather found it while seeking exotic creatures bringing it home as a mere curiosity.

The creature has been sustaining itself through some unknown means, its growth kept in check by the lack of flesh in its diet.

3     The creature is a prisoner. The shopkeeper's grandfather had found it and subdued it, weakening it from some greater beast and withering it in the prcoess. Placing it in the bowl in his own shop and entrusting it to his family,he had hoped to keep it emprisoned.

Fate and time have blurred the origins of the creature and the reasons for its addition to the shop and it has slowly gained in power as it has been sold and let out into the world. Fortune and its buyers' low tolerence for its oddity have been the only things to have kept it in check for all these years.








Curses for Sale
Chris Kerr

It's the strangest advertisement ever to have appeared in the local paper:
Curses for sale

Afflict your enemies

Sabotage your rivals

Take revenge for misdeeds

Send $50 cash (no cheques)

plus a photo of the one to be cursed

to

PO Box 55/141

Results guaranteed!

It seems like the work of a harmless crackpot, but it's harder to laugh off a week later when the post office where the private box is located burns to the ground.  Firefighters investigating the blaze find the bodies of a young man and woman in the wreckage.

The man is charred beyond recognition, the woman is identified as Regina Trett, a local who has often been seen in bad company and is known to have an interest in the supernatural.  She seems to have died of smoke inhalation, her body is unmarked except for an occult symbol burned into her neck.

Possibilities
1     Regina recently broke up with her lover, and helped herself to a few of his prized occult books when moving her things out of his house.  The spells she's read don't look too hard, and she's always been inclined towards mysticism, so she decided to set up shop as a witch for hire.  She had some sporadic success with the curses, managing to summon the odd swarm of flies or force a car to swerve off the road.  This was enough to alarm Mitchell Firth, the ex-boyfriend.  He knew her haphazard approach and willingness to gloss over anything she didn't understand was courting disaster.

She ignored his warnings, and an attempt to break in and reclaim the books was foiled by the tough women Regina has been rooming with.  Becoming more and more worried, for his own safety as well as hers, he waited at the post office and confronted her when she arrived to pick up the latest batch of answers to her advertisement.

Furious at the interference, Regina spoke a spell she'd memorised and summoned a mystical fire creature to scare him.  She flubbed it though, and while she got the creature she wanted, it wasn't bound to obey her.  Mitchell was killed on the spot and Regina was burned as she attempted to call it to heel while it spread flames around the tiny post office, eventually succumbing to the smoke.

Regina's adventure is over, but the danger isn't -- somewhere along the way she managed to summon something much stronger and darker than she imagined, without making any of the customary offerings or taking any of the basic precautions against its malevolence.  It's still making its way closer across the planes, but it won't be long now.  Its approach can already be sensed by the psychically gifted.

2     The adverts were placed by a secretive order of modern-day alchemists.  They're not serious about curses, their interest is in the people who answer, as test subjects for their researches into the chemical processes of human hatred.

Regina was the first of their customers, and studying her advanced their understanding of the brain's function tenfold.  Completely drained of anything resembling will or thought, she also made a useful living automaton, returning to the post office every day to collect a new batch of subjects presenting themselves for research.

Sick with worry after days of wondering where she'd been, Mitchell was alerted by a bystander who recognised Regina's face from a flyer posted outside the post office.  The reunion was short-lived, though -- Regina had been programmed to immolate the letters and herself if recognised by anyone.  The pair of them lost their lives in the fire that destroyed the post office.

Even without the latest batch of customers, the conspirators have a list of dozens of potential victims and no fear of being uncovered.

3     The advert was placed by Terry McGivern, a university student studying psychology.  He didn't believe in the supernatural, he just wanted subjects to write about for his thesis.  It was a pleasant surprise to the amoral young man that he could make some money from their credulity at the same time.

Regina wasn't interested in buying a curse, but she was terrified that someone had paid to have one put on her.  She staked out the post office and latched onto Terry as he arrived to pick up the money from his next bunch of suckers, begging him to sell her protection.  Amused as well as hoping for a profit, he made a show of reluctantly agreeing to sell her a magic charm to protect her from bad spirits.

It's Terry's bad luck as well as Regina's that a friend of hers was injured in a car accident the same afternoon.  Convinced she'd been outbid by whoever intended her harm, she confronted him again the next day, demanding that he honour their deal and provide her with stronger protection -- as well as healing the friend.

Nothing he could do would persuade her that black magic wasn't the cause of the accident, or that he didn't have the power to mend her friend's wounds.  Pleading escalated to threats.  Regina splashed Terry with a bottle of gasoline and repeated her demands holding a lit match... which she subsequently lost control of, causing their deaths.

Terry is out of the curses business, but his landlady discovered his stash of research material and is embarking on a campaign of blackmail against his customers.












Ailurophobia
Emily Johnsen

For the past week, cats have been showing up outside the investigator’s house. At first it was only one or two cats, but as time went on more and more began to arrive until they presented a bizarre and almost alarming spectacle which has caused much comment among the neighbors. Dozens of cats of all colors and sizes sit outside the house waiting… for something.

Possibilities
1     Many thousands of years ago in a previous incarnation, the investigator was a favored priest of the cat goddess Bast. Now some new threat has arisen against all of cat-kind, and she needs his aid once again. The cats are her way of getting the investigator’s attention; she will also send dreams that gradually reveal details of his past life.

2     Shortly before the cats began to arrive, the investigator accidentally killed a small, black kitten by running it over with his car. Ordinarily this would be nothing to worry about, but due to an unusual collection of occult circumstances, the area where the investigator lives has begun to intersect with certain regions of the Dreamlands. Some of the Cats of Ulthar have crossed the divide, and are preparing to enact the terrible vengeance which is the just due of any human who dares to kill a cat. The investigator may get a hint of his coming fate when he reads a newspaper article about some other cat-killers, whose skeletons had been found curiously gnawed and licked free of any trace of flesh.

3     The cats are not supernatural, just hungry. For some time now, the reclusive old lady across the street has been feeding dozens of stray cats in her back yard. A few days ago she fell and broke her hip, and in the absence of her handouts the cats have been searching for sustenance in the rest of the neighborhood. The injured woman remains trapped on her floor, helpless and dehydrated but still alive (at least for the time being).

Copyright (c) 2008 Emily Johnsen




















Barratt's Brain
Chris Kerr

Eric Barrett's short life wasn't a happy one. Confined to an asylum at the age of four when he began to exhibit autistic behaviour, he spent three years scribbling weird, meaningless shapes on any scrap of paper he could reach, before finally dying of unknown causes.

Eager to study an unusual case further, the asylum's doctors have convinced the grieving parents to allow them to perform an autopsy and craniotomy to identify the cause of death.

They cut into the boy's skull and find...

Possibilities
1     ...a brass clockwork engine where his brain should be.

It's still ticking over, tiny wires tugging at nerves and muscles that no longer respond. Interior convolutions of the skull suggest that the engine somehow GREW in its current position.

Eric's uncle Phillip was an investigator into the unknown who looked too deeply into mysteries he should have avoided, and slowly went mad. In his insanity, he talked about the things he'd discovered. No-one listened, except his nephew, who didn't really understand what he was hearing. He understood one thing, though -- the name 'Hastur'. He made a game out of repeating it, and even invented a pretend playmate named Hastur.

The childish chanting, coupled with a boyish imagination treating him as real were enough to evoke a partial manifestation of the Great Old One, with extremely limited power. Eric and Hastur spent countless hours together, and Hastur told him things even his uncle didn't know. The boy's devastating transformation is the result.

The three years of drawings he left behind contain mythos secrets imparted by Hastur.  Only a few, but they're big ones, and each is repeated hundreds of times.  Someone with the right knowledge could interpret them to reveal information with horrible implications for the whole human race.  The Barrett's have no idea what they have stuck on their fridge.

2.    ...a hollow, filled with nothing but bloody fluid.

Three years ago, parts of Eric's brain were extracted by mi-go while the family vacationed at a mountain lake resort.  They left enough to maintain basic functions, but took everything responsible for higher thought.  These pieces of Eric are currently part of a mi-go mining machine, burrowing for minerals under the same lake he stayed at with his parents.

What's even worse is that a week ago, his parents received a phone call in a buzzing, metallic voice claiming to BE Eric, begging them to come and rescue him.  They thought it was a cruel joke, but now the incident will have to be considered in another light.  If the boy is still alive in some form, something will have to be done.

The scribbled drawings are maps of mine shafts, somehow transmitted by the remainder of his brain.

3.    ...a bullet.

While she was pregnant, Eric's mother was injured in a drive-by shooting. Because it was so close to her unborn baby, the doctors who attended her elected to leave the bullet in place and remove it after the boy was born. However, exploratory surgery failed to locate it after the birth.

It seems that the bullet penetrated Eric's skull, and his brain formed around it.  However, the lead slowly poisoned him, leading to the mental breakdown and eventual death.

The gangster responsible for the shooting was never convicted, and is now a wealthy and powerful man.  A ballistic examination of the bullet could be the evidence which finally puts him behind bars -- unless it's prevented.

The drawings are meaningless.















Gloomy Sunday


Chris Kerr

'Gloomy Sunday' is a mournful song about a young man deciding to follow the woman he loves into death, written and recorded in Hungary in 1933. A composer named Reszo Seress wrote it shortly after breaking up with a long-time girlfriend, and it quickly became popular, but also began to develop an odd reputation as the 'Hungarian Suicide Song'. A number of deaths were linked to Gloomy Sunday, with suicides following a playing of the song, or lyrics from it appearing in suicide notes. Shortly after he approached her seeking a reconciliation, the composer's girlfriend killed herself, leaving a note reading only "Szomorú Vasárnap" -- 'Gloomy Sunday'.

An English language version was recorded, and Gloomy Sunday's reputation as the suicide song spread across Europe and America, to a lesser degree than in Hungary, but still worrying authorities to the point of banning it from radio in several places.

(This is all true. There are websites that detail the song's history or debunk the 'suicide song' legend, and various recordings available for download.)

Now, a dusty and rather scratchy original recording of the song being played by its composer has been restored and duplicated with a clarity never heard before, and the original Hungarian version of Gloomy Sunday is regaining popularity -- but this version of the song seems to have a power over its listeners that none of the previously mass-marketed recordings came close to matching. Listeners find themselves babbling snatches of Hungarian they don't understand, experiencing terrible and sourceless fears, seeing strange visions they can't explain, and killing themselves at a frightening rate.

Possibilities
1     Seress was a cultist, and quite mad. Along with the strange and troubling music he composed, there were rituals venerating forgotten gods. He forced his fiancee to join him, and at first she went along with it willingly, humouring a man she loved and believed could be brought back to sanity with patience and quiet surroundings. But soon the forbidden knowledge she was learning through their descent into the mythos began to horrify her. When she protested, Seress threatened to kill her if she backed out or if she told anyone of what they were doing.

His efforts were building towards a final rite he was reluctant to tell her about, but her own researches gave her an idea of what he was planning, and the sick fear of it became too much for her: she killed herself. Seress was furious at her betrayal, but continued his preparations for the rite as though he believed there would still be a second participant.

Now, the specially-prepared Gloomy Sunday recording acts as a kind of trap for the woman's spirit, periodically forcing her to inhabit and possess a listener's body against her will. It also calls to Seress, who immediately gives chase, armed with magical methods to force her to join him in the final ritual. The repeated suicides are the unfortunate ghost's only way to free herself from the trap.

If nobody intervenes, the deaths continue until Seress finally captures his late fiancee and goes ahead with the ritual.

2     Seress wasn't much of a composer, but he was a charming man with a wide range of acquaintances, and an accomplished plagiarist. One of his friends was a German-Hungarian scientist experimenting with brainwave transference using salvaged mi-go technology and money provided by Hitler's Reichstag. He was exploring a promising method of transferring thoughts and memories from one mind to another encoded in repeating tones like the melody of a song. Seress liked the 'music' he heard in the scientist's home one night, and left with the recording hidden under his coat, eventually publishing an adapted version of it with lyrics written by another acquaintance, as Gloomy Sunday.

Now listeners are experiencing some of the scientist's recorded thoughts as they listen to his brainwave-duplicating sounds, including his growing doubt and guilt over accepting money from nazis, and increasingly paranoid fear of what can only be mi-go attempts at intimidation in order to reclaim their equipment.

If nobody intervenes, the Gloomy Sunday reputation continues to grow and the recording's publisher quietly takes that version off the market. Isolated suicides continue, as private copies still exist.

3     Gloomy Sunday is simply a sad, regretful song with nothing supernatural about it. The wax the recording is pressed from is contaminated with toxic chemicals that fill the air with poisonous fumes when played. The hallucinations and deep depression listeners experience are symptoms of exposure.

In time, the recording company will switch to a safer material and try to hush up the deaths, leaving thousands of potentially deadly records in the hands of the public.














New Bugs
Paul Hebron

At the local university, Doctor York of the biology department is prepared to show the board an incredible discovery he has made. He claims to have discovered a whole new species of insect just this morning!

As he places the large glass case at the table, he dramatically pulls back the covering over it revealing...

Possibilities
1     Hundreds of tiny, scuttling white spider like creatures. They are still tinged red with blood and internal organs.

Josephine Thayer was a student at the University. She was also a powerful dreamer, who wandered into the labyrinth of Eihort. She accepted Eihort's dread bargain. A week later, she felt her whole body alive with pain. She was trying to get to the medical room, when she stumbled into Dr York’s room. She fell apart into hundred of tiny white spiders, which York, his mind now broke, scooped up into a specimen case.

2     A strange, blob-like creature.

Dr York is an ambitious but flawed cultist. He is more concerned with making cash than worshipping anything nasty, but he finds an odd invocation to Zathokkwua necessary when he wants to learn how to transmute lead into gold.

His latest experiment was trying to summon a servant creature for himself. He ended up calling on the "Primal Slime" to grant him one of its children. He received a small disgusting blob like creature, which he was very disappointed with. He decided to make some cash by claiming it was a new species of insect, and selling it too the University.

It is one of the protozoa like spawn of Ubbo-Sathla. In time, it will grow in size and sprout many tentacle like appendages. It will then begin to absorb every living thing around it.

3     An empty box.

While Doctor York was having his breakfast this morning, he found a centipede like creature in his melon. Excited, he thought it was an unknown creature, and bundled it into a box to take to the University. When York pulls back the covering, the box is empty.

The centipede is in fact a known poisonous species, and York has somehow unleashed it on the University. It won't be long before students start to drop dead.









An Apple a Day
Philipp Mählmann

A short walk across the countryside, far away from the troubles of the city - a perfect way to relax and regain - or perhaps to investigate some hidden mysteries behind the facade of innocent rural life? Whatever lead you here, right now you are walking along a small plantage with ripe, red apples. Plopp - right down before your feet falls one of the fresh apples, just if it wants to tell you 'pick me up and eat me'. Well, an apple a day keeps the doctor away...

Possibilities
1     The apple is not from an ordinary tree. The tree is in fact a direct offspring of the Tree of Knowledge from the garden Eden. How it got here, is unknown - its owner bought a couple of ordinary seedlings on the market, and this year would be the first time to harvest.

A bite from one of the apples will give the eater a prophetic look into past (a view into paradise and the origin of the tree) or future events, good (the correct numbers in the lottery) or bad ones (the eater apparently lying dead in a puddle of blood) or really bad ones (a view into hell itself, that will drive the eater mad).

2     The apple is not from an ordinary tree. The tree is possessed by a paranormal creature (demon, dryad, fairy, evil spirit). Through the creature's magic, the apple's seed will sprout inside the eaters stomach, feasting on its blood with its roots, which causes the eater severe stomach's pain. The creature might order the eater to obey its command to avoid a death caused by an apple tree bursting out of the eater's stomach - or just gin and tell the eater of his inevitable doom...

3     The apple is from an ordinary tree. The tree belongs to Mr.Jones, a farmer always carrying a shotgun and avoided by his neighbours who consider him to be completely mad. Mr.Jones believes in the values of private property. Thieves, including people who steal his apples, are punished by doing hard labour in chains. And so far no one has ever pressed charges against Mr.Jones...








Bad Dog
Paul Hebron

There hasn’t ever been a problem with strays in the neighbourhood, until about three weeks ago. A huge, black dog has been seen and has caused all kinds of mischief. Bins have been overturned, cars have been chased and the local children routinely terrified when something sleek and threatening bursts through the undergrowth, teeth barred. Cats refuse to go outside. Nobody’s really gotten a good look at the dog, so its breed hasn’t been identified. Nor has any owner.

Things change when a man is found dead in an abandoned house, savaged and ripped to shreds. The victim is identified as homeless man Ken Charles, and for a time the police comb the area hoping to catch the dog, but have no luck. The predator remains at large and the sound of howling echoes through alleyways, to the terror of man and beast alike.

Possibilities
1     The dog is normal in body, but not in mind. It contains the spirit of a murder who vowed to survive death and return to have vengeance on those who condemned him. The murderer, Wilbert Johns, was a homeless man who shared an abandoned house with Ken Charles and another man, Tom Warburton. Johns murdered Warburton as part of an occult ritual but didn’t realise he was being observed by Charles, who went to the police. Johns died fighting with the officers sent to arrest him, but not before he had put certain plans in place for his survival. He viscously killed Charles by trapping him in the house they’d squatted in, displaying intelligence highly uncharacteristic of a normal dog. The only problem for Johns is that he has to share his mind, that of a coldly psychological killer, with that of a dog, sometimes causing him to act out animal impulses.

2     The dog is a creature of a magical nature (demon, faerie or ghost, etc…) that was attracted to the neighbourhood by the magical energy radiating from the abandoned house which had a powerful artefact hidden away within it. Charles was killed when he disturbed the dog while it was searching the house. The dog isn’t really a large problem, but the artefact is going to start attracting things that are smarter and more dangerous in the hopes of claiming its power.

3     Ken Charles was not a simple derelict, but in fact a disgraced professor who had been researching the possibilities of time travel, requiring isolation to perfect his research. In a secret room in the basement he designed a machine that could facilitate the opening of a portal to the past, but to his misfortune it let through a prehistoric wolf that gravely injured him and ran off into the streets. Charles was able to drag himself into the basement and seal off the time machine room, but didn’t manage to close it off before he died.










The Bus Survivor
Nicolas Dao Phan

The investigators are riding in a tour bus. They are having a pleasant time and enjoying the view. Eventually, one of the investigators notices that his neighbor is quite nervous. The investigator asks her what is wrong. His neighbor explains to him that she gets nervous in buses due to incident a year earlier. She was on a similar trip and noticed that her neighbor was nervous. He told her about a curse that killed everybody in a bus leaving only one survivor which would carry the curse on to another bus which would then cause the death of every passenger except another one and so on. He then told her that he was the only survivor of a bus accident year earlier. The investigator's neighbor then tells that, by all rights, she shouldn't have survived when her bus fell off a cliff.

Possibilities
1     The curse is real. The bus the investigators are riding on will soon have an accident which will cause the death of every passenger except one, unless the investigators find a way to stop the curse.

2     The whole story is made up. It is only a joke to scare the investigators.

3     The accidents and death are real. But the story about the curse isn't true. The woman was the only survivor of the accident but she imagined the curse as a post traumatic experience.









In the cards
Brian Woodman

A friend of the characters reads Tarot cards. Their latest client drew the death card as the final card. The client, a middle-aged man, was murdered shortly after. The cards may contain significant clues to unmasking the killer -- if, of course, divination is real.

Possibilities
1     The cards do indeed reveal the identity of the killer. He is a professional criminal who was hired to kill the client and make it look like a random mugging. The victim's wife and lover hired the thug, who is not a full-time hitman.

2     The cards are meaningless. The death of the client is a coincidence. The culprit is a hitman hired by business associates of the victim. As the card reader says, "the death card is actually positive -- it signifies change".

3     The fortune teller actually killed the man to boost his own profile as a fantastic reader. The victim described the reading to friends before his demise. The card reader will try to mislead the characters with false clues and red herring suspects.









Missing Kids
Marius Incognito Blomkvist

Two 19-year-olds, a boy and a girl, are missing from a lakeside camp. The name of the lake: Crystal Lake.

A popular ghost story is that some years ago, a boy drowned in the lake, and never resurfaced.

Possibilities
1     The two kids have eloped, intending to cross the stateline to get married. A forgotten diary or a bunkmate might divulge this information. The ghost story is just that - a story. Every camp has one.

2     The two kids went for a late-night swim in the lake, and happened upon an underwater cave. As it happens, the ghost story is real, and the ghost of the drowned kid haunts the area. Unfortunately for the two missing kids, they got lost in the labyrinthine cavern, and while they are in a pocket of air... their time is running out.

The ghost, if encountered, might actually prove helpful - he's not a bad sort, just unfortunate. Of course, if he's enlisted, he might latch on to an unfortunate investigator, who then gets saddled with his very own haunting...

3     The missing teenagers have watched a few too many horror movies, and are hiding, planning to recreate the horror from the Friday the 13th series.











Not Quite Dead
by Angela Burns
(UK)

The investigators come across news of people presumed dead being spotted alive and well. There is no apparent connection between them, save for the fact that they all were reported to have perished in a mass disaster two years ago, and their bodies were never recovered.

Possibilities

1 The disaster was part of a ritual to gain knowledge on raising and controlling the dead, and the cult responsible has just released its specimens.

2 The disaster area was cursed and now the first batch of undiscovered dead is coming out to play.

3 All of them faked their deaths to escape their previous lives. They just want to be left alone. Given the fact that in order to establish a fake identity (or even need one in the first place!), underworld connections are to be expected, if the players are perceived as a threat, they could end up with some pissed-off mobsters on their tail.









O Apple Tree
Paul Hebron

On the edge of town there is an apple tree that stands alone in a field, its branches picked clean of fresh green apples around summertime by the town’s children. This year is no different as the children make the journey across the field, keeping below the line of the hedges to avoid the farmer’s eye line, and filling their upturned shirts with apples before making the return journey back to market to sell the apples to the market stall, eating the choicest ones on the way.

However, something is different this year. The children fall sick and are confined to their beds, and a few even die. Thankfully no one else eats the apples and gets sick, but the town is still looking for someone to blame for the deaths of the children.

Possibilities
1     Farmer Evan Wolcott’s farm is failing and every year he has had a smaller harvest, and had to sell on a little of his land to neighbours. Wolcott has turned to extreme measures to protect his interests, and a few months ago he turned to the books locked away in the attic that had belonged to his brother, the one who had travelled east to learn about magic and summoning.

On the first day of summer Wolcott carried out a solstice ritual from the book and asked for the old gods of fertility to bless his farm, which they did, infusing the farm with a vigour that Wolcott had never known before. The nature spirits that guard the farm against ruin are ruthless. The spirits struck out against the children for stealing from the farm, and the sickness will kill the rest of them if something isn’t done.

2     The apple tree had a name a few hundred years ago; the Gallows Tree. A notorious witch was hung from the tree by the name of Jane Williams and her last words were reputed to be that she’d live on forever. Williams used magic to bind her spirit to the tree, and she has remained within the tree since then. She has strived to recreate her old body by exerting her limited influence on anyone who lingers near the tree and has been responsible for a small number of murders and suicides in the town.

When the children came this year she tried a new tactic by transferring a portion of her soul to the apples the children picked. The cursed apples will eventually kill all the children and Williams plans to reanimate their bodies and then enact a ritual to restore her body.

3     The apples have nothing to do with the sickness of the children, but the man who bought the apples from the children did. The apple vendor is a serial killer who travels from town to town poisoning children. He gave the children some poisoned sweets as thanks for the apples, which are the cause of the sickness.













The Princess Claire
Megan McKnight

Something is wrong on board the Princess Claire, a luxury cruise ship. For the past eight months, three or four passengers have vanished on nearly every trip. Naturally, this cannot go on unnoticed or be allowed to continue. Enter the investigators...

The owner of the ship, Gerald Whitmore is onboard, along with his daughter Irene. Other people of note include Marcus Carlton, an acquaintance of Whitmore's rumoured to have ties to organized crime; Sean Lyons, a wealthy young man just out of med school; and Dr. Muraki, a famed Japanese surgeon and private personal physician of Irene Whitmore. (Irene was born with a heart condition, and credits Dr. Muraki with saving her life.)

A rumour circulating among the ship's crew is that the disappearances are the work of the ghost of the first passenger to vanish, a young woman named Iris. But if it is, then she's been very quiet for most of this particular voyage; no one has disappeared yet. Despite this, Whitmore seems very stressed and worried.

Eventually, someone lets slip that Whitmore and his daughter were on every trip where passengers vanished.

Before this connection can be investigated, bigger problems arise. Marcus Carlton is found dead in the VIP lounge; his heart literally cut out of his chest, and taken away. Dr. Muraki performs an autopsy, and discovers that Carlton was actually strangled to death. A note is found next to the body, addressed to Irene Whitmore: "I did this for you. I am the one that truly loves you."

Upon reading it, Irene faints, and is immediately taken to her cabin and tended to by a concerned Muraki.

Suspicion falls equally on Whitmore and Muraki; a crewman witnessed Carlton having an arguement with Whitmore, and there is a possibility of blackmail.

But Dr. Muraki obviously knows something about it, and hints that Carlton was only the first. But the doctor is quickly cleared of suspicion: he is found dead in his bed the next day. There is another note just like the first, and Irene becomes confined to bed. Sean Lyons volunteers to perform the autopsy and finds that Muraki was poisoned.

Two days after the doctor is killed, any suspicions that Whitmore is the killer seem confirmed when he is discovered in his own cabin, apparently a suicide. A final note is found, and is identical to the other two.

Possibilities
1     The disappearances had nothing to do with the murders. Sean Lyons has been quietly stalking Irene for months, and has decided to make his move.

Carlton made an unwanted pass at Irene, so Lyons strangled him in a rage and cut his heart out. He poisoned Dr. Muraki at dinner from jealousy at his spending so much time with Irene. Then he faked Whitmore's suicide, both to take suspicion off himself, and because he felt that Whitmore was keeping him from his beloved. Lyons will be very sympathetic and comforting, but if Irene does not return his affections, he may become violent.

2     The disappearances are the victims of an organ theft ring based in a concealed operating room onboard. The idea was suggested when Irene had a heart attack during a voyage, and Dr. Muraki felt that the only way to save her was to perform an emergency transplant. He found a passenger who would be a likely donor: Iris, the young woman who vanished first. He murdered the girl and transplanted her heart into Irene. Unfortunately, Whitmore cooperated with that, and Muraki used that leverage to set up the operation. Carlton found out about it and tried to blackmail Whitmore.

Unfortunately, Whitmore was tottering on the edge of madness, tormented by guilt (and ghostly voices that only he heard). He finally snapped, and strangled Carlton. Muraki cut his heart out because it was a perfect opportunity. Whitmore then killed Muraki, knowing that the doctor would never let him stop otherwise. Then he committed suicide in order to spare his daughter from finding out about it.

3     Dr. Muraki is not dead. He was running the organ theft ring, but not for the money. Muraki is a sorcerer, and it was merely to cover up his own nefarious researches. He has finally completed his project, therefore saw no reason to maintain the charade. Carlton tried to force him to keep doing it, so Muraki hypnotised Irene into killing him and cutting out his heart. He then faked his own death, and hypnotised Sean Lyons to provide a feasible autopsy. After he had the run of the ship, he had Irene kill her father.

The notes served a dual purpose: they confused matters and amused his perverse sense of humour. If discovered before the ship docks, Muraki tries to have Irene kill the investigators. He is also very powerful and has access to very powerful spells. If Irene is somehow freed from his control, he tries to murder the girl and anyone who knows his secret, by magic if possible, but he has no objections to more physical methods.

(Inspired by Yami no Matsuei: The King of Swords.)








The Ride Home
Timothy Goss

Following a near fatal bus accident, which the characters survive unscathed, they begin to notice that they are being followed by gaunt cadaverous beings with ashen skin and eyes the color of frozen meat dressed in drab gray Victorian suits; their faces are locked in a deathlike grin associated with rigor mortis.

When the characters are together, these beings stay their distant, watching the characters with their cold unblinking dead eyes. Once the characters break up or go their own way they attack that individual investigator working their way until they have killed every one who survived the encounter.

Possibilities
1    The beings are apparitions of accident victims on that stretch of land. They are haunting the investigators to see if they can get released into the other side. However, after several days of being ignored, they no longer seek release but instead seek to make the investigators one of them.

2    The investigators escaped death - they should have died that night. The cadaverous beings are minions of the grim reaper, sent to kill the investigators and uphold the balance of nature.

3    The investigators did not escape the accident unhurt; they are all in Miskatonic Hospital in comas. The beings that they are seeing are the warped form of their visiting friends and loved ones.







Southern Discomfort
Tim Deer

It's a hot summer day in 1897, when renowned millionaire industrialist Henry Bowens invites family, friends and acquaintances, including the investigators, to a wedding between his son Eric, and Amelia, the lovely daugther to a banker.

Henry, who pays for the entire wedding, has arranged for the celebration to take place on a riverboat cruising the Mississippi river for a couple of days.

But halfway through the dinner party, the lovely bride suddenly pours a bottle of liqour on herself and ignites it with a lit candle. Quick reacting family members and guests manage to extinguish the burning bride, but it's too late; Amelia succumbs to her injuries and dies.

As they are witnessing the bride's death, a mutual question is asked by the horrified family members and guests; what made such a lovely lady do such a horrid thing to herself?

Possibilities
1     A man bent on revenge and skilled in voodoo made Amelia kill herself. But poor crisp Amelia was not the vengeful man's target. Her father-in-law, Henry Bowens, was.

The man, Raymond LeManeux, is the sole survivor of a bloodbath on his family during the American Civil War. A bloodbath that was ordered by Henry Bowens when he was a high ranking officer in the Union army.

For several decades, Raymond has plotted to track down and exact his revenge on the murderous Henry. And now, armed with a vengeful heart and dreadful skills in voodoo - which he learned from a small band of runaway slaves who cared for him - Raymond has finally succeeded.

Raymond infiltrated the wedding party disguised as a cook. He now exacts his vengeance on Henry Bowens and his family, using his voodoo spells through the cooking. But even though his first victim, Amelia, went up in flames, Raymond believes that "Revenge is a dish best served cold".

2      Forbidden love drove Amelia to kill herself. Even though Amelia was marrying Henry Bowen's son, her heart belonged to another.

The marriage was arranged - Eric Bowen became smitten with Amelia and even though he realised that she didn't return his affection, he got his father to exercise his wealth and influence on Amelia's family. Soon after, Amelia was engaged to marry Eric. She was also forbidden to see her true love, Frederic Jones - a young man of meager status and wealth.

Despite her family's plans and prohibitions, Amelia continued to meet with Frederic, in secret. Unfortunately, Eric found out and, once again, he ran to Daddy. He informed Amelia's family and a few days later, a fatal "accident" befell poor Frederic. Distraught to learn about her lover's fate, Amelia quickly realized the sinister truth about his death. But instead of confronting her family about her suspicions, Amelia conspired a plan all by herself. A suicide plan.

With hopes of an eternal reunion with her lover in Heaven, Amelia poured the liqour over herself and ignited it, setting herself ablaze.

3     Mental illness drove Amelia to kill herself. During her teen years Amelia began to show signs of a progressive mental illness - brought on by her father's molestations of her during her childhood years. Worried about her wellness, or rather, what the local gossip-mill would say, her family arranged for her to be married to the son of a business friend, Henry Bowens. The family also hoped that the marriage would banish Amelia's mental ilness.

But the family's plans and expectations did not banish anything. It only made it much, much worse. But no-one took time to notice her deterioating mental ilness.

Amelia's mind finally snapped moments before she turned herself into a human torch.

Copyright (c) 2008 Tim Deer








Stare of the Monster
by Philipp Mählmann
(Greifswald (Germany))

A travelling freak show is visiting the town. In various tents visitors can see Siamese twins, the furred lady, the man without limbs, the Elephant girl...

But the biggest attraction is 'the medusa'. Inside a cage that is obscured by curtains the director proclaims, resides the mythological creature the Greek hero Perseus encountered, whose sheer view could turn people into stone. To protect the visitors,the medusa is not shown directly, but only its shadow silhouette projected on the curtains by a light inside the cage. The Silhouette seems to be that of a female figure with moving, hissing snakes extruding from her head.

To prove further, that it is a real medusa, the director holds a living bunny through a gap in the curtains, which in his hands seems to turn into stone!

Possibilities

1 It's a swindle - the medusa is a normal woman with a pair of harmless snakes bound to her head. The bunny turning to stone is a trick, involving a fake stone bunny.

If the swindle is openly revealed, the members of the freak show, who've just lost their main attraction, will be really angry with the spoilsport... ever seen the movie 'Freaks'?

2 It's a swindle - though 'the medusa' really has a pair of moving extrusions like extra fingers on her head. In fact, all the freaks are the product of the director, an insane but powerful sorcerer abducting and experimenting on normal people to create a race of 'improved' humans - with the freaks being the failed results who at least survived his procedures but stay because they have nowhere else to go. The director always looks for new test subjects...

3 It IS a real medusa - and she does not like to be trapped...

Copyright 2010 by Philipp Mählmann









The Missing Body
Randi Drysdale

It's been a big topic of conversation for three days now. Renowned anthropologist Marvin Reardon was found dead in his home with a knife in his chest. At the morgue, his body disappeared without a trace. However the investigators get involved, a few things come out. Reardon's lover Cordelia Loomis was the last person to see him. Her story is she had an argument with him but left him alive. Loomis is a rich girl, and there are many rumors about her past and source of money, including criminal activities. She often vacations at seaside resorts.

The coroner Jackson Walters has been acting nervous since the body went missing. He took a week off and has rarely left his house. Friends are mystified at his odd behavior.

Possibilities
1     A alien worshipper of the Outer Gods is hiding in Jackson Walters' attic. Walters has been feeding it dead animals, but it has demanding more so Walters stole a body from the morgue. As the thing tells him about the mythos Walters loses more of his sanity. It won't be long before he steals another body or worse.

2     Cordelia Loomis is a deep one cultist. When Reardon was drunk she took him to a cult ceremony where he drank the blood of a deep one while the cultists chanted. The blood and the ritual turned him into a deep one hybrid. When Reardon found out he didn't take it well and threatened to stop the cult forcing her to kill him. Later the body was stolen to keep the secret. Jackson Walters found evidence of Reardon's transformation and was shaken up.

3     Loomis was mad at Reardon and summoned a star vampire to kill him. When it was done she stuck a knife in him to make it look less suspicious. Jackson Walters found him drained of blood and received a threatening note in the mail to get rid of the body or be killed. He did what it said and this is the reason for his nervousness.










Petrification
by Stefan Jonsson
(Sweden)

The authorities are baffled, the press speculating and people are frightened by people, from all walks of life, turning to stone both in their homes and in public.

Until now, no witness exist. And no explanation...

Possibilities

1 The petrifications are occurring worldwide. All the victims were found in front of their computers or with a cell phone crushed in one hand or lying nearby. All had an expression of horror on their face and seem to be trying to cover their eyes...

In a small town exists a small and declining cult worshipping Ghatanothoa - not for their own benefit, but to keep humanity safe from his menace. They have, for generations, sacrificed to him so he shall remain under the ocean floor and not seep up to crawl around in the world of men to satisfy his need for nourishment.

But in modern times the cult has had difficulty getting new members, continuing the sacrifices, and making anyone believe in Ghathanothoa.

The leader is old and worried since his cult will most likely die with him. But he knows that Ghatanothoa is not only satisfied by sacrifices, but from the tormented minds of his petrified victims. The leader just needed to find a way to create more and more victims for Ghathanothoa to petrify.

The leader invented a modern solution to hold humanity safe even after his and the cult's death. One night he summoned Ghatanothoa to a deserted beach (he was protected by "T-yogs formula" to avoid petrification) and photograped the Great Old One. The photo of Ghatanothoa he put into a computer-virus which he released onto the Internet.

The virus is not very active or aggressive. Mostly it only hides inside computers, slowly spreading itself via email and like. But on very rare occasions it flashes the Ghatanothoa-photo on the computer screen for a few seconds -which causes petrification for all who see it...

2 The petrifications are occurring only in a certain city, where there also exists a witch-cult worshipping Yig. The serpent-god visits the cult from time to time to claim sacrifices and have sex with the witches. This has resulted in a two immortal snake-human hybrids that are kept in the basement under the cult's temple.

The latest offspring, however, was extra-ordinary: A Medusa, a snake-women hybrid. The Medusa is just like the Greek legends - except that it's not Medusa's gaze that turns victims to stone, but her poison.

The young Medusa escaped and now hides in the sewers. She hunts for food by night and is highly aggresive-which has resulted in a couple of petrified humans and animals so far.

The cult is furious over losing their "holy child" and is searching for her. They are mortally afraid that the petrifications will draw Yig's wrath and that he will make them pay for their negligence.

3. The petrifications are limited to a single city and aren't confined to people. Other creatures have been found petrified too.

The city's sewer-system was recently expanded. The work has run into difficulties (the first petrifications), and has been temporarily aborted. Something that has never been made public is that the tunnel-diggers hit a natural but apparently bottomless shaft. Soon after the workers became the first petrification victims.

The shaft leads down to red-lit Yoth and from there a vapour of Yoth has emerged. The vapour is a huge gas cloud, which smells strongly and unpleasantly.

The cloud is highly flammable and posses a rudimentary conciousness. It needs to regularly replenish itself with certain chemicals found in living organisms - but this feeding also reults in petrification of the organism.











Unexpect Guest
Nicolas Dao Phan

An old friend of one of the investigators has called for a meeting at his home. Apparently, there are matters to be discussed between people with knowledge of the Mythos. The investigators arrives at their friend’s place. They find him sitting in the lounge. In front of him is a Mi-Go.

Possibilities
1     The Mi-Go have developed some kind of cloaking device allowing them to take the appearance of humans. Since nobody seems to notice the Mi-Go’s nature, it appears that the investigator is the only person immune to the illusion. How or why? Maybe the Mi-Go knows. Or perhaps it doesn't.

2     Its a trap! The Mi-Go plan to capture the investigators - they have an alien need for the investigators' knowledge. The old friend has struck a deal with the Mi-Go -  he has sold out the investigators out in exchange for Mi-Go technology.

3     The Mi-Go isn’t hostile and is here to bargain for some assistance concerning a threat to the Mi-Go coming from a group of cultists. The Mi-Go are proposing technology and knowledge in exchange for the investigators' services.










After the Funeral
Nicolas Dao Phan

One of the investigators is attending the funeral of an old friend with other investigators. After the funeral, they go to one of the investigators home to have drinks together and talk about their lost friend. Suddenly one of the investigators look through the window and sees the dead friend staring back.

Possibilities
1     At first, the investigator thins its just a trick of the mind... until he sees his friends staring at through the window too. Is it a ghost? Is their dead friend trying too send a message from the other side?

2     The dead friend is actually a vampire and wants to see his acquaintances one last time before leaving for somewhere else.

3     After blinking the dead friend disappears. It was just a trick of the investigators imagination. Now why are there footprints below the window?











Bad Trip
Tony Hickie

It is a long, hot, dry summer. News reaches the papers of a late-night bus crash in a mountainous part of the country. While travelling between two small, remote communities, the bus came off the road on a steep incline, crashing through a fence and hurtling down the near-vertical slope of a steep gorge to smash into the rocks at the bottom, where it burst into flames. Anyone on board unlucky enough to survive the horrendous descent was burned to death in the conflagration.

Twenty-two people have been killed, nearly all of them from the small town the bus was travelling to. The bodies have been taken to the nearest hospital mortuary pending identification. Local police have called in expert help from a nearby city to assist the accident investigation.

Possibilities
1     Mi-Go in the area want several healthy human brains for a diabolical project. Intercepting the bus on the remotest part of its route, they remove the tops of their victims' skulls and take the brains of everyone on board. The skulls are crudely repaired and the bus and its cargo of brainless dead are crashed into the ravine and set on fire to conceal evidence of the crime.

2     The crash is a genuine accident, a coincidence that draws any investigation to the site of a cave within the ravine, the entrance to which had been concealed by dense undergrowth now burnt to ashes by the fire.

Deep inside the cavern, hidden within a maze of cramped tunnels, is the grave of a sorcerer who once held the native peoples of this area in thrall until a band of warriors gave their lives to overthrow him. Shamans placed his corpse in this deep cave, surrounded by wards to guard against an evil magic that might awaken him once more to walk amongst them. But now their spells are losing their efficacy and the sorcerer's crazed spirit wanders the caverns, reacting venomously against anyone it comes across, seeking a way to return life to the shrivelled corpse that was once its home.

3     Around here lurks a small pack of werewolves. The crash occurred at the time of the full moon when one of the werewolves, mindless with blood-lust, flung itself on the bus in a savage attempt to get at the succulent flesh within. Not surprisingly this caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The werewolf was thrown clear before the bus made its final plunge into the ravine.

Although not killed, the werewolf was injured and, now in human form, is bed-ridden and weakened. Evidence of the werewolf's attack can be found in a careful inspection of the wreckage: raking claw-marks in the bodywork of the bus and bite marks on one of the corpses (the werewolf smashed through a window to attack the victim before being thrown clear).










Breaking New Grounds
by Tim Deer
(Denmark)

Shock and grief spreads like a wildfire through Boston, when the mutilated corpse of renowned construction entrepreneur Richard Walker is found sprawled on top of the thrashed scale model of his recent building project, covered in a rancid smelling fluid.

When questioning the family, friends, neighbors and employees of the deceased construction entrepreneur, they all seem to have noticed a man, who seemed to have stalked the victim. But when asked, no one seems to be able to describe the strange stalker.

Possibilities

1 The strange man, who stalked the victim, is not the murderer, but he is a spy for the true murderers – a group of ghouls. Ghouls, who felt, that the victim was about to threaten their existence.

The construction entrepreneur, Richard Walker, was about to turn an unoccupied spot of real estate into several apartment complexes. But the same real estate already housed the underground warrens of the ghouls.

Knowing that the imminent construction of the apartment complexes would inevitably reveal the existence of the ghouls, they quickly plotted to track down and stop the entrepreneur from putting his plans in motion.

The scale model that the victim was found sprawled upon, represented what was planned to be constructed on the abovementioned real estate. The rancid fluid is from the ghouls, who snuck in and murdered the entrepreneur.

2 The strange man, who stalked the victim, is the murderer – a hired killer, sent by a locale gangster, in order to shut up the victim for good, as he was about to alert the authorities.

The construction entrepreneur, Richard Walker, planning to construct several expensive luxury apartments, had bought the real estate from a local gangster. But when the entrepreneur learned that the gangster had used the real estate as a dumping ground for several barrels containing dangerous chemical waste, he chose to gather more evidence, and then alert the proper authorities of his findings.

When told about the entrepreneur’s suspicions, and his successful attempt to gather irrefutable evidence, the gangster hired a professional killer to seek out and silent the entrepreneur for good.

The scale model that the victim was found sprawled upon, represented what was planned to be constructed on the abovementioned real estate. The rancid fluid was the samples that the victim had collected to present to the authorities.

3 The strange man, who stalked the victim, is the murderer – sent from the remnant Esoteric Order of Dagon, hiding in the ruined remains of dreaded Innsmouth, in order to thwart the entrepreneur’s newest building project.

As a highly skilled and recognized construction entrepreneur, Richard Walker was hired by the US government to turn the dilapidated Innsmouth into a new and thriving coastal town, hoping it would bring new life and blood to the dread and forgotten town. A huge project worth billions of dollars, all funded by the government, and destined to take several years.

But when the remnants of the Esoteric Order of Dagon, who had be hiding within the ruined remains of bombed Innsmouth, learned about the plans to rebuild and renovate Innsmouth, they chose to act against the project immediately, and thus they sent one of their agents, who hasn’t yet made the change into a deep one, fully.

The scale model that the victim was found sprawled upon represented how the new and renovated Innsmouth would look like, when finished. The rancid fluid comes from the murderer - a human/deep one hybrid.














Drinks from Strangers
Brian Woodman

One of the characters is invited to a convention for occultists at a hotel. During the event, a character encounters a woman who invites him to have drinks with her and her husband. After some drinks, the couple invites the character to their three-story house in a nearby bedroom community.

Possibilities
1     The couple has been enslaved by an undead sorcerer who thrives on draining psychic energy from unsuspecting victims. Victims are reduced to dust by the creature. The couple chose the convention because what little free will they possess is bent on getting freed from their condition.

2     They are dangerous serial murderers seeking prey. The man, who is deranged, favors victims that have what he thinks are reservoirs of personal energy that he can harvest to prolong his life. The character is in for a bad evening unless help arrives.

3     They are harmless swingers. The husband wants to watch from the closet while the character has sexual intercourse his wife. Unfortunately, burglars in the employ of a rival occultist who wants a rare occult manual owned by the couple choose to raid the house during the “festivities.”










Fiends on Film
Brian Woodman

The characters visit a video store containing obscure films on VHS and DVD. The VHS films are of particular interest because they are bootlegs of unreleased films, director’s cuts, work prints and documentaries. One film, called “Document of the Damned,” stands out.

The film, which is the unreleased director’s cut of a film released in campus theaters and art houses during the 1970s’, contains footage shot in the mid 20s’ and late 60s’. It is a sensationalistic documentary about witchcraft and the occult containing lots of nudity and exaggeration.

One detailed scene depicts a ritual for summoning demons. It includes a bizarre and convincing monster.

Possibilities
1     The scene is an accurate simulation of the rituals required to summon and bind a dimensional shambler. Anyone studying the film carefully can learn the spells over time.

2     The scene is actual footage of the rituals required to summon and bind a dimensional shambler being performed, although the spells can’t be learned through viewing the film due to its editing.

3     The film contains no actual content related to the Cthulhu mythos. The film’s value to general occultists is also questionable.










The Freighter
Tim Deer

The citizens of a small coastal town in northern Florida quickly mobilize a rescue mission when a derelict freighter runs into trouble at some cliffs, and is in danger of tipping over and go under.

When the rescuers board the freighter, they're met with a horrible sight: the crew and passengers have been brutally slain.

The only person left alive is an insanely mumbling sailor, drenched in blood and armed with a bloody weapon. Being unable to question the mad sailor about the brutal murders, the local police charge him for the murders and incarcerates him in a mental hospital.

But before long, a series of strange and brutal murders starts to haunt the coastal town.

Possibilities
1     The mad sailor is not the killer. He's the only survivor of a desperate battle against a being of monstrous nature. The being was brought aboard the ship as part of the cargo - ancient artefacts recovered by an archaeological excavation in East Africa.

When a nosy sailor searched the cargo for some valuable trinkets to steal, he released the monstrous creature. Then the murders started.

Moments before the ship ran afoul of the cliffs, the surviving sailor successfully fought the being to a retreat. Unfortunately his mind was destroyed by the horrible ordeal. The monster fled when the resuers arrived and went into hiding, gathering strength.

Now, at full strength, the monster terrorizes the coastal town.

2     The mad sailor murdered the crew and passengers, but an outside source drove him to do it.

The freighter's cargo contained rare and expensive lumber - which was also the home of a species of arachnid unknown to science. The arachnids' bite contains a poison that kills small prey but has a hallucinating effect on humans. The hallucinations drives the bitten person to become highly paranoid, and later, permanently insane.

Once onboard the freighter, it was inevitable that someone would be bitten. That someone then went on to butcher everyone else on board, and is the only survivor.

As the rescuers salvage the cargo of rare lumbar and dangerous arachnids, they unknowingly endanger the coastal town.

3     The mad sailor is not the killer. The real killer is a serpent-man sorcerer who infiltrated the freighter, disguising himself as one of the crew. The sorcerer is after an ancient artefact that the passengers, a team of archeaologists, have brought along with them.

The archaeologists were returning home after an expedition in southern Egypt where they located and excavated an ancient temple of mysterious design. The temple, which was actually a remnant of the serpent-people's civilization, contained a lone, surviving sorcerer kept alive in hibernation.

As the archaeologists entered the temple, they woke the sorcerer. He watched from the shadows until they left, but when he discovered that they had stolen sacred artefacts, the sorcerer followed the archaeologists to the freighter. The sorcerer's plan was to kill theoffenders and the crew, and then sail the freighter back to Africa.

Things didn't go according to plan, and there was a fight. Moments before the ship ran aground, the surviving sailor successfully fought the serpent-man sorcerer to a retreat, despite going insane when he witnessed the sorcerer's real appearance.

As the rescuers arrives onboard the freighter, the weakened sorcerer fled and went into hiding.

Now, however, he is trying to locate the sacred artefacts that are stored somewhere in the town. Anyone who gets in his way is murdered.









The Heist
Paul Hebron

A violent robbery has occurred at the local bank. After killing 4 staff and 1 policeman, the robbers evaded the police and seemingly disappeared. They escaped with £950,000 in cash and also emptied several safe deposit boxes. Among the objects stolen was a small bluish crystal, said to have occult significance. It was owned by Harold Darlington, the wealthy head of a local Masonic order, who is offering a reward for its return.

An interesting fact is that the robbers were reported not to have faces! The police have not been able to trace the robbers' identities, but are organising a huge search to find the criminals. Due to the robbery’s violence, it is nationwide news, and is a popular point of gossip.

Possibilities
1     The robbery was carried out by a group of hardened gangsters. The robbery was the result of weeks of careful planning, but came apart when one of the staff attempted to wrestle a gun off one of the robbers. The bank clerk was shot in the head and killed instantly, and the robber freaked out and started killing people at random. The robbers fled, and have likely already left the country. However, the robber who started shooting has escaped and is hiding in the sewers, and has been left paranoid and violently insane after his group abandoned him.

The theft of the crystal is coincidental. It has no magic properties. The reports of the men having no faces are the results of the robbers wearing masks over their faces, to hide their identity.

2     The robbery was planned by a cabal of sorcerers, who heard about the crystal, and believed it to have magical powers. To carry out the robbery, they summoned a group of demons to act as muscle while they took the crystal. They also decided to take the money for the sheer hell of it. However, the policeman started firing at the demons and the demons began massacring the people in the bank. Realising what happened, the sorcerer’s teleported out of the bank and banished the demons.

The police are saying the victims were shot, to hide the fact they were all torn apart and bitten to pieces. The description of the men as faceless is the attempt of the only surviving clerk to mentally block out the image of the demons.

3     The robbery was carried out by the Faceless Men, the modern day cult of the Great Old One Yegg-Ha, the faceless one. In Roman times, Yegg-Ha threatened ancient Britain until he was destroyed by a band of Roman Legionaries. They broke him into pieces and scattered him across the countryside. The bluish crystal is a fragment of Yegg-Ha, and his cult hope to use it to revive their god.

Harold Darlington is a descendant of the Roman soldiers who fought Yegg-Ha, and is charged with protecting the crystal. The Faceless Ones specialise in violent crime to fund their activities, and took the money to invest in various criminal enterprises. They are violent by nature, and executed the people out of habit. The faceless appearance is the result of a spell called “Mask of Yegg-Ha” that makes the face featureless, and both obscures there identity, and acts as a form of worship to Yegg-Ha.







The Hole
Andrew Parfitt

This morning, you and a friend had begun to dig out that old, neglected and long unused well at the bottom of the garden. At first things had gone well, although proving harder work than you had thought, but hard work as they say.

After digging furiously for what seemed hours, but in reality was probably no more than one, the ground beneath you had given way. You had both fallen about seven feet, both covered in dirt but luckily nothing damaged. By the flickering flame of a cigarette lighter you can see a low, rough cut tunnel, extending into the darkness both before and behind you. Yet, somewhere in that darkness ahead of you there appears to be a small pinprick of light. A pinprick that seems to be getting bigger.

Possibilities
1     The tunnel provides a means of access to a small, nearby graveyard. For many years it has remained a hidden way of transporting recent remains to ghoul caverns. However thanks to you, the tunnel is no longer secret, and it would appear that someone knows they have been discovered.

2     The tunnel has been created to facilitate an escape from a nearby prison. The planned breakout had been going well, in total secrecy. However, your misadventure has put paid to that, unless the leak in security can be dealt with.

3     The tunnel has been created as part of the new gas pipeline. Coming towards you, at breakneck speed, is on of those new fangled welding machines. Now if only you can gain an exit before it gets here.

Copyright (c) 2008 Andrew Parfitt









Late Night Out
by Joel Karwatsky
(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

While relaxing at a local watering hole in the town of Arkham, the investigators are approached by a patrolman to whom they have some familiarity. After a few cautionary glances around the room, the officer furtively explains a strange situation he has been dealing with.

For at least six months, a peculiar number of post-revelers have been found staggering around in the early morning; often stumbling over themselves as they shelter their eyes from the fingers of dawn’s light. The officer soon clarifies that it is not so much the amount of over-indulgers he has been rounding up in the mornings, but their identities that concerns him. Unlike the expected round up of recovering college students and forlorn recent lay-offs; the officer has been collecting men and women from the city’s upper classes.

At first, there was nothing too unusual about finding the leftover attendees from late night society parties. However, the patrolman now finds himself dealing with four or five of these types each weekend morning, an unusual number for a small conservative New England town. Moreover, these wealthy drunkards have all demonstrated unusually potent symptoms of recovering inebriation; none have any memories of the evening before. This has caused a distressing situation for the officer since the duty of returning embarrassed society folk to their homes is immeasurably more delicate and time consuming than dealing with recovering students. Lastly, one characteristic peculiar to all of these late night partygoers both unifies them and disturbs the police officer. They all have dark stains around their mouths and have halitosis that reeks of purification and decay.

Possibilities

1 Over the past year, a most popular, and expensive, wine has been introduced to some of the finer restaurants in Arkham. One of the alluring traits of the vineyard that produces this drink is its unusual origin, the hills of central Maine. Although most people believed this region to be too cold, too rocky, and too mountainous to produce fine grapes, a local farmer has been successfully growing several varieties of unusual wine grapes and producing wine. However, this unexpected agricultural prosperity derives from an abyssal horror beneath the vineyard.

Several years previous, an earthquake opened up fissures in the ground near a farm in rural Maine. These fissures extended far below the earth to the dwelling place of the Great Old One, Ghatanothoa. Since then, this being’s tentacles have been slowly winding their way upwards, and in the process, they have contaminated and enchanted the soil. The tainted produce from the farm has slowly been driving the farmer and his family mad, and in the process allowed the Ghatanothoa to implant vile suggestions in their minds. Acting on these suggestions, the family began producing vile wine derived from the essence of the ancient evil being.

The imbibers of the beverage will soon too become enthralled by Ghatanothoa’s influence and carry out his plans to free himself from the depths.

2 It is strange that the police officer is so concerned with the multiplication of wandering drunken socialites when a more distressing phenomenon has been taking place. Coinciding with the appearance of wealthy hung-over partygoers has been a staggering rise in missing homeless persons.

A wealthy, though insane, dilettante who had acquired a copy of the forbidden German text, Unausprechlichen Kulten, was the initial assailant of these unfortunate street people. The blood of his victims was used in a strange recipe deciphered from the blasphemous tome. This recipe produces a magical and blissful cocktail that sends the imbiber’s mind to a dimension of wonders for several hours, leaving their body in a mindless state for the duration. He has now enthralled several other socialites by throwing lavish parties where he serves the intoxicating cocktail. After these parties, several of the attendees have stumbled into the streets drunk on the magical potion, only to be found by disgruntled police officers.

The upper classes have now developed a desire for more of the forbidden potion, a desire that drives them to kidnap lost souls for more blood to brew the magical draught.

3. A new resident to the country has recently moved to Arkham from somewhere in the ancient Zargos mountains of modern-day Iraq. With him, he has brought dark and powerful secrets that his family has carried though the centuries. These antediluvian secrets can be used to fulfill many modern-day desires, and the immigrant has made use of this by teaching them to local families in exchange for certain sacrifices. Many of these families made quick use of the powerful lore to increase their social status and wealth. The sacrifice demanded of them by the immigrant-wizard is the nightly servitude of a close family member. More specifically, the unfortunate family member must submit their soul in an unholy ritual; thereby becoming a mindless zombie controlled by the wizard.

No one yet knows what the magically bonded family members do, or where they go, each night. However, with such a large number of zombie-workers, the wizard’s schemes are likely to be considerable and terrifying, and may involve restoring his homeland to its former Mesopotamian splendor.









The Lion Kills Tonight
Philipp Mählmann

The zoo has a new attraction: a rare specimen of an african mountain lion. The lion was the pet of the deceased Mayor Templeton, who brought him back from Africa and, since he had no heirs, has been donated to the zoo.

The terror starts one morning when, after opening its gates, the zoo's visitors make a shocking discovery: the lion gnaws on a human forearm, covered in blood!

Possibilities
1     After the first shock it seems that someone has played a terrible joke: the forearm isn't real. Instead it belongs to a window dummy and it's covered in ketchup. It seems that the lion likes ketchup.

2     The lion is more than just an ordinary lion - trapped in its body is the spirit of an evil witch doctor. During his time in Africa, the Mayor saw how (and was horrified by) the witch doctor would take possession of younger men to lengthen his (the witch doctor's) life. The Mayor tried to kill the witch doctor by shooting his new body, but the witch doctor escaped death by possessing the body of the nearest living creature, a lion pup.

Realizing, that the witch doctor's spirit was trapped, but that it was impossible to kill by conventional methods, the mayor took the pup with him and searched for occult ways to end the foul magic. The mayor never succeeded, and when the lion was left to the zoo they did not realise quite how dangerous it was. Now a keeper has been killed. Worse, putting the lion down might set the witch doctor's spirit free again.

3     The animal keeper accidentally left the the door open, so the lion could go hunting for its favourite meal - human flesh. The mayor himself fed it to the lion from an early age, mostly remnants of the victims of his circle of the African Cult of the Bloody Tongue, an avatar of Nyarlahotep. An autopsy of the lion will reveal a silver signet ring in its stomach. The ring belonged to one of the mayor's rivals, a rival who vanished under mysterious circumstances.










New Guinea Football
by Jochen Koltermann
(Germany)

In the mountains of New Guinea a number of violent tribes have been fighting a ritualistic war that has lasted for hundreds of years. The war consists mostly of skirmishes leading to injuries rather than fatalities (which are rare).

When anthropologists encountered the tribes they taught them European football to minimize the bloodshed. The skirmishes now only take place on the pitch, and each year the tribes gather for their football tournament.

Possibilities

1 The victims of the skirmishes were all ceremoniously thrown into a nearby lake that was home to a Dark Young. With the skirmishes replaced by a football tournament, the Dark Young is now hungry...

2 The ritualistic approach that the tribes took to the war meant that the fatalities that did occur were enough to keep a Servitor of the Outer Gods bound and imprisoned. With no more fatalities, the Servitor will soon be freed...

3 One of the anthropologists is using the tribes’ emotions, captured as part of the football tournament to summon the Outer God Nyarlathothep.










The Organ Donor
James David Beard

A series of bizarre murders are occurring in Arkham. This is absolutely normal for the town, but this time each victim has received donations of organs from the body of a Catholic man – and every single murder victim has the relevant body parts extracted – eyes, heart, bone marrow, whatever they received from the dead man. It may be that this man is not as dead as he seems, and is seeking a complete body, in order to enter heaven.

Possibilities
1     The murders are committed by the dead man himself, who has returned as a zombie-like revenant who seeks to reconstruct his own body after his wife went against his wishes by donating his organs.

2     The donor was not as good a Catholic as was suggested. He was a sorcerer, and his knowledge is much desired by another sorcerer who can resurrect the dead, as in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". However, to avoid getting “the liveliest awfulness” of his victim, he requires all his body parts and has set out to regain every single one.

3     The murders are committed by the donor’s wife. A medium has contacted the victim in the spirit world, where his ghost is trapped because he lacks his complete body. To reassemble the corpse, his wife is stealing the organs from their recipients.

Inspired by the story "Donor", from the X-Files comics.








Pathogen
Bruce Priddy

A microbiologist, a friend of the investigators, is found dead. Officials rule the death a suicide, but those who knew the scientist are baffled. He was respected in his field and had no family or financial troubles. Adding to the mystery and his loved ones’ grief, federal authorities are subjecting the scientist’s friends and family to intense interrogations, giving them stern warnings to keep their suspicions to themselves. Investigators find that at least a dozen other microbiologists across the globe have died, committed suicide, or disappeared under suspicious circumstances in the past month.

Possibilities
1     The microbiologists were part of a project focused on finding a vaccine for black pox, a form of hemorrhagic smallpox, 100% fatal if contracted. An ecological-based cult stole a weaponized-strain developed by the Soviets during the Cold War. Believing the human population needs to be reduced from billions to just a few thousand to save the planet, the cult plans on releasing the virus. Anyone who may prove a threat to this plan, such as the microbiologists, is targeted for assassination. The federal authorities are trying to track down the cult before the virus is released, and covering-up the plot to stave off a panic.

2     An alien race known as the Colony, an intelligent virus, is invading the planet. While it can survive outside of a host-body for centuries, the Colony requires warm-blooded animals to reproduce, finding humanity to be an inviting host. While humans are capable of fighting off the disease, children, elderly, and the sick are highly susceptible to infection. Those infected develop flu-like symptoms for a week while their body tries to fight off the disease; those losing the fight are controlled mind, body, and soul by the Colony. Terrified of being discovered and losing its favorite new hosts, the Colony is assassinating microbiologists.

3     A group within the federal government is behind the assassinations. A cult known as the Elite, made up of leaders from the worlds of politics, business, religion, and the military, hired the microbiologists to develop a doomsday virus as well as the cure. The Elite plan on releasing the virus, reducing the human population to a controllable level, while they themselves are immune from infection. Knowing the Elite are above the law due to their positions of influence, the group within the federal government is waging a secret war against the cult in a desperate attempt to foil the plot. The investigators discover their friend planned on introducing them to the Elite and inoculating them against the doomsday virus; now the investigators may be targets of both the cult and the government group.










Problems with Transmission
Paul Hebron

The program was supposed to start at nine o'clock, but instead the message 'Problems with Transmission' appears, and blinks out after a second into a hastily chosen sitcom.

The show, "Evidence of the Supernatural" was meant to be on, but what's wrong? What's happened to cause the show, which promised startling new evidence of the paranormal, to be cancelled?

Possibilities
1     The shows evidence was a method an occultist, Randall Illings, had devised to allow a person to see the spirit world. It was a bluish grey powder he had found the recipe for in a book, and it promised to reveal the hidden worlds and dimensions all around us. Illings had cameras set up, and machines built to continuously spread the powder.

Illings had created a large amount of the Powder of Ibn Ghazi, a material that allows humans to see into other dimensions, and ravenous things to look back. When the police arrived to investigate a frantic phone call from the studio, they found nothing but piles of empty clothes scattered around the building. All of the people had been consumed by the other dimensional creatures, leaving nothing but empty clothing.

The tape of the event has not yet been examined, and is in storage at an FBI Forensics Lab.

2     Randall Illings had found a lot of interesting mentions of government research into the paranormal. He had found conclusive evidence of the CIA testing clairvoyance and fire-starting abilities in a document dating to 1970, and he was going to present this on the show.

However, the paranormal research group, which has since gone rogue, discovered this and secretly poisoned the food of the crew cafeteria. Illings however, a strict vegan, had prepared his own food and escaped poisoning. As people dropped dead around him, Illings fled the scene just as the rogue agents were arriving.

The agents burned down the building and stole the evidence linking them to the murders. As Illings is the only person not accounted for, he is being hunted by the police for the murder of around 60 people, with the rogue agents looking for him as well.

3     The show has been cancelled due to cold feet on the studio's part. Nobody at the network broadcasting the show really had any truck with the supernatural, and cancelled the show at the last minute.

Randall Illings' evidence was a 16th Century French manuscript on opening a portal to another plain of existence. Illings has promised his fans that he will show them the manuscript and perform the ritual on a podcast tomorrow night.










Trouble on the Tracks
Tony Hickie

It is sometime in the 1920s when, during one of the worst winters in memory, an overnight sleeper train meets with a terrible accident. In the midst of a fierce gale the express jumps the tracks and plunges into the icy waters beside the railroad. A dozen bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, but 20 people are still missing, including the engine-driver and stoker. Survivors and bodies have been taken by road to the nearest town. The police and railroad company engineers are looking into the causes of the accident.

Possibilities
1     Degenerate serpent people from a decaying colony in caves near the railway have struck a blow against the hated humans who, with their noisy, polluting machines, have usurped the rightful position of the reptilians as masters of the Earth. The serpent people have tunnelled beneath the rail-tracks to cause the accident. They are only interested in killing humans: the missing people are dead.

2     Deep ones from an undersea colony off the coast are experiencing breeding problems. Fertility rates are dropping and almost every child born to the colony for the last hundred years has been male so that the male/female ratio has become grossly unbalanced.

Desperate to find females to breed with, but aware that raiding another deep one settlement or attacking a local community would cause more problems than they could deal with, the deep ones have launched an assault on the overnight sleeper to steal human brides.

Of the people missing from the train, 16 are female. Of the bodies recovered, ten are male. Most of the missing females have been taken to the hybrid settlement.

3 One of the passengers on the train has interfered once too often in the affairs of a particular cult. Enraged by the investigator's troublemaking, the cultists have summoned a hunting horror to wreak vengeance on the meddler. The hunting horror attacks while the investigator is travelling on the train, terrorising the engine crew and causing the driver to take a bend at an unsafe speed.









Where are you, Sister?
Tim Deer

A millionaire shipping magnate invites some old university buddies to a reunion get-together at his manor in Liverpool, England.

While they're halfway through the reunion dinner, a couple of local policemen arrives and informs their host that they have apprehended a suspect in the disappearance of his sister. When asking what has happened, the friend informs his old buddies, that his sister have mysteriously disappeared a few days ago, and that they suspect foul play.

Possibilities
1     The sister has been snatched by a gang of ghouls, who dragged her back to their underground warrens and killed her. The ghouls have been battling a local coven of witches and sorcerers, led by their host, the millionaire shipping magnate.

The coven knows who took the sister, and what has happened to her, but they maintain a veil of normality, while they gather strength to deal a final blow to the ghouls.

The apprehended man is just an innocent crook.

2     The sister's husband, a renowned solicitor, killed the sister in a fit of jealous rage because he discovered the sister to be fooling around with another man. When he realized what he had done, he chopped the sister up and incinerated her remains in his furnace.

The apprehended man is the sister's lover.

3     The sister was seduced by a visitor from Scotland, whom she met at a society ball. He convinced her to go with him back to his home in nothern Scotland. She gladly followed him.

Unfortunately, the man was a member of an old cult, who worships an avatar of foul Shub-Niggurath. When the sister arrived, the cult claimed her and performed a fertility ritual. Now, as her brother searches, the sister is trapped in nothern Scotland with a foul entity growing inside of her. Her sanity is unlikely to hold out for long.

The apprehended man had been courting for the sister's love - but without any luck. The police now suspects that he's behind her disappearance.









Who you gonna call?
Megan McKnight

Recently, apparently supernatural entities have been terrorizing the area. Fortunately, almost immediately after that started, a group called The Hadja showed up to deal with said supernatural problems. Their success rate is phenomenal, as are their rates. They like to be flashy when they take out gibbering monstrosities, and everyone knows about them now. They even have TV commercials.

There is also the distinct possibility that they aren?t what they say they are; at least three people investigating them have vanished. No one can get close to The Hadja, but then, they seem to be doing a very good job.

Possibilities
1      The Hadja are exactly what they say they are. They're a group of hunters of the supernatural. They're very good at what they do. The people who vanished were killed by the monsters they didn't believe in before The Hadja could prevent it. The group might prove to be great allies of the investigators, if only for their experience in dealing with the supernatural. They have no Mythos experience, though.

2     The Hadja are merely an experienced group of con artists. All of the "supernatural enemies" were just created by sleight-of-hand, smoke and mirrors, and a lot of very expensive equipment. They just make up their own monsters to con the gullible out of their money. The people who vanished were either bribed or threatened into leaving The Hadja alone. If left alone, The Hadja will eventually bleed all they can out of the area and move on, taking their "monsters" with them.

3     Con men The Hadja may be, but they're also a cult devoted to Nyarlothotep. They summon Mythos entities as part of their ceremonies, then let them run amok and "destroy" them. The activities of The Hadja are two-fold: hide their own occult activities and make an ungodly amount of money. The people who vanished were caught snooping around their headquarters and were promptly sacrificed to Nyarlothotep.

(Inspired by Phantom Quest Corp.: Lover Come Back to Me)










Wild in the Country
Paul Hebron

People start disappearing when they take a walk in the moors near a certain lake. The disappearances are gradual, taking place over years, but eventually someone is able to put together the pieces and an investigation by the police is launched. They exhaustively comb the hills for clues and go to great lengths to have the lake dredged, but find nothing of the five missing people who seem to have simply vanished.

The moors aren’t normally dangerous and it’s true that sometimes walkers become stranded and die, but even then there’re traces. In this case there is nothing. No obvious factors link the victims: they’re men and women, white, a range of ages from 23 upwards, from different parts of the country and from numerous backgrounds.

Possibilities
1     The lake is home of the Great Old One Glaaki or one of its spawn, an entity that ensnares new worshippers by injecting them with one of its spines, turning them into undead servants.

With a bit more research, it turns out all those who disappeared suffered from mental illnesses and spent time in institutions, making them easier prey for Glaaki’s psychic attacks. They all had violent outbursts before setting out for the lake, but told no one where they were going.

Currently they are fully transformed into Glaaki’s servants, resting at the bottom of the lake waiting for a chance to increase the fold. The Great Old One and his followers evaded the police using Glaaki’s unusual dimensional properties, and the disappearances will continue as long as the Glaaki remains.

2     The lake and surrounding moor was regarded in the past as a magical place: a sacred site dedicated to the gods. When the gods were angry they made the animals and the crops wither, so the people would choose a sacrifice to walk out into the moors and offer themselves to the gods to appease their wrath.

Eventually people drifted off or died, until there was only one family left who still remembered the old ways. Then they died in a bad winter, a few years ago.With nobody to worship them, the gods of the moor became angry and malnourished they started abducting those walking on the moors.

Nobody knows much of the lore that surrounds these beings, but certain experts suggest they dwell in an underground kingdom, only reachable when stairs are revealed at the bottom of the lake by a shaft of moonlight.

3     Few people live on the moor today, but one who does is a loner named Isaac Lighton, known in the local village of Upstanton for his furtive and sometimes peculiar behaviour. Secretive Lighton, who often acts violently around the time of the full moon and once broke a man’s neck in a brawl at the local pub, is a werewolf and the root cause of the disappearances.

The bones of Lighton's victims inevitably end up dumped in the lake; the bones were so tiny and fragmented that the police dismissed them as animal bones during the dredging.

Lighton lives for the thrill of hunting his prey and dispatching them in secret, taking great pride in never being caught. So far he has only taken campers or others foolish enough to stay out alone at night, but before long he’ll become desperate and attack in the village. It won’t be the first time: Lighton is at least over 100 years old.










Headcutter Jack
Eli Arndt

In the bayou country there is a tale about a spirit of vengeance known as Headcutter Jack. They say that if you really want it bad enough and you are willing to let yourself be ridden, that Jack will come calling and grant you the vengeance you desire. However, those who take on Jack can never hope to return to their lives unchanged. Most go mad and still others find themselves drawn to the twisted deeds they carried out under Jack’s influence only to become the very thing they sought vengeance against.

But that’s if you believe in Headcutter Jack.

Most folks these days dismiss him like they do the Voodoo ways or the Old Religions – wives’ tales and hoodoo stories to keep little kids in line. That was until recently. That was until Sally Mercury...

Sally Mercury was found in her home in a near-catatonic state, her hands rubbed raw, supposedly trying to remove the blood that covered her otherwise. The home, a modest Victorian-style affair was a veritable charnel house strewn with the parts of what most figure were her family who had been reported missing for several days now - mother, father, two sisters, all gone with only bloody gobbets and unidentifiable tissues to mark their passing.

Possibilities
1     Sally has always been a bit of a troubled child. Discussions with her school councilors and a delving into the local juvenile police records will show a long history of petty crime and acting out. Several calls to Child Protective Services have all been found to be the machinations of a vindictive pre-teen who cares little for her family. However, nobody predicted that Sally would be pushed over the edge and murder her family, all in the name of Headcutter Jack.

2     Sally claims that her house was attacked by a strange woman in a patchwork outfit. The woman was hooded and cackled the whole time she mutilated Sally's family, but Sally never saw her face. When the woman came after Sally, she hid in an old coal shoot until she was gone. The woman, Sally claims, called herself "Jack".

3     The remains are not those of Sally's family. Forensics will show that most of the tissue is not human though it defies classification as anything else in particular. Sally claims that she "they" took her parents and that Jack saved her from "them". The girl insists that her family is still at her home if not in it. She claims that they, whoever, they are, took her family to where they live. Of course Sally cannot say much more, not knowing who they are or exactly where they took her family.










Mr Sebastien
Andrew Parfitt

Mr Sebastien was a strange man. He was noted for holding conversations with himself, even going as far as answering. He professed to be a stage magician, a conjurer and a master of prestidigitation, but he wasn't terribly good. Even small children went unimpressed.

However, his latest trick proved to be his finest, if last. He was found dead in a dingy hotel room. The trick of it, however, was that the door was securely locked from the inside. Sebastien had the only key and the windows, previously painted shut, were sealed tight. All that the room contained, other than its cheap furniture, were the corpse and a pack of ordinary playing cards scttered around the room in a haphazard manner.

Possibilities
1     Mr Sebastien believed himself capable of great things, so tried his hand at a little demonic conjuration. Taking a room in a hotel, he carefully locked the door. Then making sure the windows were sealed and using his only aid, a pack of ordinary playing cards, set about conjuring a demon.

Of course, Mr Sebastien was not very good at magic and forgot to take basic protective measures. The cojuration was a success, he managed to manifest a rather nasty demon. However, having no protection its first victim was Mr Sebastien. It now lurks within the deck of cards.

2     Mr Sebastien, tired of all the jibes over his lack of talent, conceived a brilliant trick. A small hotel room was hired, he locked himself in, he took a rare slow acting poison and while dying cast his cards around the room. His final trick then was to leave a mystery.

3     An autopsy is conducted only to discover that the corpse is nothing more than an empty husk. Mr Sebastien, whoever or whatever he was, entered that hotel room that evening, and did not emerge alive. At least not 'alive' in any sense that we might know it.











Mrs Whathernam
Philipp Mählmann

Mrs Wathernam is a nice old lady living down the street in a small, but cozy home with a little garden. Mrs Whathernam adores children; many parents, who can't afford a place in the kindergarden, send their children to her. There, they can play in her garden, Mrs Whaternam knows lots of games to play, never gets angry and bakes wonderful cakes.

Possibilities
1     Mrs Whathernam is really just a nice lady - with a tragic past: her husband returned from the war, but body and spirit broken. One night, he couldn't stand it any longer, took a gun and turned on his family before killing himself.Mrs Whathernam survived, but her husband murdered their child.

By day, some of the children claim to have played with an unknown young boy; by night, people tell of a dark figure in a uniform staring out of the windows.

2    Mrs Whathernam has a dark secret: she is a murderer. Years ago, she and her husband were members of a dark cult and sacrificed people in their occult rituals. The cult was infiltrated by the authorities, and the cultists were arrested. Some were hanged, some committed suicide. Mrs Whathernam (not her real name) escaped...

3     Mrs Whathernam really, REALLY likes children - especially served with honey orange marinade and added spice...










Pussy's in the Well
Jon Freeman

Sasha Oldman is an attractive young woman, although she looks older and sadder than 15, her actual age. She has wild, dark hair and her left forearm, where it rests on the bed covers, bears many parallel scars.

"She did that with a drinking glass last time she got out of her room," explains the nurse on seeing your eyes linger. "The doctor lost his eye. But don't worry, she's heavily sedated now."

Sasha's eyes are deep hazel in colour, but are dead, staring at the wall. Her face is immobile. You know she killed her family a year ago. She was found in the street with a kitchen knife in each hand, spattered with blood. There was more in the house, a lot more. Mother, father, and brother. All stabbed and slashed repeatedly.

You talk to her, she makes no response. If you discuss her family she hums Bohemian Rhapsody and avoids your eyes. The more insistent you are, the louder she hums, and jerks against her waist restraint. If you show a picture of her family she goes wild, screaming lots of gibberish, "They made me do it, bad fucking fuckers! Ding Dong Dell! Fuck fuck! Bad lights in the dark down below! Can't run! Not me now. Jack and Jill all fall DOWN!"

By the last sentence her voice is inhuman. Spittle flies from her lips and her face becomes a mask of hatred.

Possibilities
1     Sasha and her family were cultists, who practiced foul rites and disposed of human remains in their basement well. Sasha was driven over the edge by what she witnessed and in a subconcious attempt to escape the cult and her memories, slaughtered her own family. She knows that the rest of the cult still exitst and that someone will try to silence her. The investigators, in attempting to help Sasha or uncover the cult's activities, themselves become the target of supernatural and mundane attacks.

2     Sasha's home lies on top of an ancient well used by an old cult. Spirits infest the place and Sasha's brother accidentally released their malevolence when he discovered the well. Sasha was possessed (and still is) when her brother showed her the "cool stuff" he found in the basement. Exorcism is Sasha's only hope, but to perform it the investigators must battle the institution authorities, cultists and the possessed Sasha herself.

3     Below Sasha's home, below their basement well, lies some kind of subterranean cavern or extra-dimensional realm. Sasha's brother inadvertantly destroyed the elder sign sealing the entrance and whatever was trapped entered the house and quickly tore everything and everyone apart. Sasha defended herself and family as best she could, losing her mind in the process. So what happened to whatever Sasha's brother released? And where is it now?








The Mythos Collector
Daniel Dunn

It is a stormy night. In an attempt to find shelter, the investigators enter an antique shop by the name of Bradshaw's Curios. Bradshaw's Curios is owned by Marshal Bradshaw, a withered old man. (In reality, Bradshaw is only 36 but he has experienced things that have agee him.) Bradshaw is obviously kind but if asked about the weather, he says, "Nice, is it not?" His mind is obviously shattered, and this only a hint of it.

The interior of Bradshaw's Curios is filled with objects, artefacts and curios of the past and present. There is a flight of stairs at the far end of the shop leading up to a door.

Upon one wall there are five clay bas-reliefs. One is of a pulpy octopus head surmounting a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings (Great Cthulhu). Another shows a monstrous ever-shifting mass of protoplasm (a shoggoth).A third  is of a bloated, grotesque and headless human-like body, completely naked with orifices upon the palm of its hands (Y'Golanac).

One bas-relief is clearly different to the others, as it is more detailed and appears to be more recent. It shows a worm-like entity with tentacles upon its head that has been pierced by an odd crystal. The sides of the crystal are covered various symbols (among them the the Elder sign, the yellow sign, Y'Golonac’s symbols and others).

This bas-relief was carved by Bradshaw himself and shows a trapped and bound Cthonian - a scene Bradshaw saw in life. Due to the realistic like of said bas-relief the sanity loss is much more severe then any of the other statues.

One wall is covered with book shelves that are crammed with books and pamphlets. The collection includes a number of forbidden books: Necronomicon in Latin, Al-Azif in Arabic, the Book of Eibon in English, The Cthäat Aquadingen in German and more.
Possibilities
1     Using sorcery contained within one of the forbidden books, Bradshaw is able to create an illusion that brings the bas-reliefs to life.  Bradshaw does this to entertain himself - he doesn't have a television or radio.

2     If Bradshaw perceives the investigators as a threat, he will excuse himself and retire upstairs. There he tries to summon a byhakee - but unfortunately the summoning goes wrong. The byahkee arrives, but is merely angered. It lashes out and kills Bradshaw before turning on the investigators.

3     The stairs are a powerful magical illusion. If anyone tries to climb them they fall through the seemingly solid “wall” and into caverns below the shop. The caverns are deep and almost endless - and somewhere down there is a Cthonian, trapped by a giant symol-covered crystal...













Blood on the Tracks
Tony Hickie

Each for his or her own reasons, the investigators find themselves sharing a compartment on the express train from Boston to Portland, stopping at, amongst other places, Arkham. Just as the train leaves North Station, an apparently drunk man staggers into the compartment, slams the door shut with an effort and collapses in the corner seat next to it. Soon it becomes apparent that the man isn't drunk, but suffering from a fatal stab-wound to the lungs. As the investigators tend to him, he gasps out his last words:

Looks like they've done for me, don't it? ... They're after it, see ... They want it more than anything ... only ... I took it from them ... Had to, see ... Someone had to ... Else Christ knows what they'd've done ... Can't tell you what it is, though ... Too dangerous ... Can't even tell you where it is ... 'cause then you might tell them ... But I fooled them ... They might've stuck me through the lungs with a damn butcher knife ... but I shot the bastard dead who done for me and got away for long enough ... Long enough from them and those damn things of theirs ... Only maybe it's the things that're runnin' the show ... Who knows ... Who kn- ...

Possibilities
1     The man, Adam Tubbs, has stolen an important and powerful cult artefact. He has escaped from the cultists chasing him long enough to hide the artefact somewhere on the train. One of the cultists caught up with him and stabbed him with a ritual dagger before Tubbs managed to shoot him dead and stuff the body into a toilet. There are several bad guys and two semi-human 'things' on the train searching for Tubbs and the artefact.

2     Tubbs is a minor hoodlum who has crossed the gang he runs with by stealing a package of heroin from the latest consignment from South-east Asia. He was trailed to the station by several members of the gang, where one of them ambushed and stabbed him before he was able to shoot the attacker and hide the body. Tubbs staggered onto the nearest train, stashed the kilo of heroin on board and then stumbled into the investigators' compartment. The 'things' he refers to are Vietnamese drug-traffickers that the gang is allied with. Three gangsters spotted Tubbs getting on the train and are now on board looking for Tubbs and the heroin.

3     Tubbs is a member of one of a pair of feuding cults that have an overwhelming hatred for each other. In a struggle for an artefact belonging to one of them, he has been stabbed and has slain one of his enemies. He has managed to hide the artefact on the train before staggering into the investigators' compartment. Several cultists from each faction are also on board the train, searching for the artefact, for Tubbs and for each other.










The Butcher
Chris Kerr

Even investigators have to eat. An investigator makes a routine shopping trip, and returns home, only to discover the package he picked up at the local butchery contains, along with the usual sausages and sliced ham, a human hand carefully folded between two pieces of waxed paper.

A closer look at the package reveals that it was intended for someone with the same first and last names, but a different middle initial. The shop assistant has confused the two orders.

Possibilities
1     Some of the anthropology lecturers at a nearby university went native and developed a taste for the local cuisine while studying inhabitants of the Plain of Leng. They formed a small cult to practice the cannibalism and ritual sorcery they learned. The butcher is an affable, conscientious lunatic and multiple murderer that they employ to supply their unique dietary needs.

2     The severed hand is from a body dead several days of natural causes.

No murder is involved. A small group of scholars are attempting to learn more about the mythos by making a deal with the local community of ghouls. As part of the arrangement, some ghouls have temporarily moved into the scholars' homes to assist them. The academics have made arrangements with the mortician and butchery to supply them with suitable food.

In time, they conclude their study and end their relationship with the ghouls amicably.

3     The butcher's assistant has been experimenting with drugs. He cut off his own hand in the bacon slicer and packaged it up without even realising it. He's bleeding to death in the butchery's walk-in cold store, and thinks it's the funniest thing on Earth.

If he is not helped quickly he dies of shock and blood loss.















The Cardiss Tapes
Chris Kerr

Shortly after the invention of film reels, land developer Donald Cardiss shot a series of home-made pornographic reels featuring his friends and his own wife. The films were made in Cardiss' home for distribution among a close-knit circle of 'cinema enthusiasts', in semi-open defiance of the authorities while he was awaiting trial on an obscenity charge.

The contents wouldn't be considered particularly racy by today's standards, being spliced together from scenes of unattractive naked people staring at the camera in drink- or opium-befuddled complacency, or having unenthusiastic sex in twos and threes. The most interesting moment is when one woman who's sampled too much of Cardiss' inducements over-balances and slides right off her partner, knocking herself unconscious on a coffee table.

However, anyone who watches the reels and doesn't get distracted by the bumping and grinding in the foreground will notice that set up behind the participants and carefully framed in every shot are a series of canvas dropcloths crudely painted with erotic symbols and other, less recognisable (and faintly disturbing) marks.

The making of the tapes contributed to Cardiss' conviction on the obscenity charge, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. During his time behind bars, there were a series of unexplained deaths among his friends who watched the tapes. Cardiss himself seems to have had a change of heart during his time in prison -- upon his release he made a frantic effort to re-acquire and destroy all copies of the reels. However, he died of a heart attack before completing the job, and the Cardiss tapes are still out there.

Possibilities
1     The Cardiss home was situated in an area where another reality is close to intersecting with our own. The frequent use of drink, opium, and other perception-altering chemicals made the household's members receptive to outside influences. The weird symbols on the backdrops in the reels are concepts and ideas from outside our universe.

The senders are so alien to our way of life that there's no knowing what their intentions were, but in our world their message, when completely assembled by watching all the tapes, takes on actual physical shape -- it hatches in the form of a worm in the viewer's brain, which slowly eats the surrounding flesh, driving the victim mad and eventually killing them.

Cardiss felt the worm hatch in his own brain, and spent his time in prison in the horrified knowledge that a parasite was slowly destroying his faculties. The re-acquisition of the tapes was an attempt to find a cure for himself, and stop the malady from spreading, but in the end there wasn't enough time left to him. Anyone who watches the complete series of tapes is in danger of suffering the same fate.

2     The symbols in the backdrops are just a distraction. Anyone who studies the tapes carefully will notice that there are occasional frames spliced into the reels which have nothing to do with pornography -- they're texts copied from a magical tome venerating Y'Golonac and laying out the materials and method of casting spells peculiar to Y'Golonac's cult.

However, one of the viewers who was a quicker study than the others transcribed the tome and began using its spells to murder his fellow cultists and potential rivals. Cardiss was unable to do anything about this while behind bars, but when released, he tracked down and confronted the killer. Three years without practicing had made his skills rusty enough to lose the fight, though. The other cultist and the remaining tomes-on-tape are still at large.

3     There is nothing unusual about the tapes, the weird symbols are just Cardiss' idea of good cinema.

When his corrosive influence was removed, his wife Dorothea (who fell pregnant during the shoot) set about reinventing herself. She moved away with her infant son, concocted a fictitious background to protect her reputation, and married well. The destruction of the tapes was a peace offering made by Cardiss in an attempt at reconciliation, and the deaths were just Cardiss’ friends falling victim to their other vices.

However, Dorothea’s family can still be hurt if her past comes out. Their money is in a complicated series of legal trusts set up by a conservative religious ancestor, and the bulk of it will revert to another branch of the family if the line is revealed to include an illegitimate birth. If evidence of the her activities on film is made public, the trust’s executors will strip them of their rights as beneficiaries.










The Elderly Man
Tim Deer

Outraged and astounded witnesses have no idea why he didn't report it to the local police, when an elderly man gets verbally humiliated by a band of local teenage punks.

But when some of the offending punks are found brutally murdered, the suspicion quickly falls upon the elderly man. That is, until it is verified, that the elderly man has watertight alibi.

Besides, how could a man of his age ever manage to assault and murder several young and strong teenage boys?

Possibilities
1     The elderly man dabbles in the occultic powers of the Mythos. After the humiliating incident, the elderly man swore a gruesome vengeance. He summoned a Byakhee and ordered it to track down and kill the offending punks. When the byakhee takes off, hunting for the punks, the elderly man went to eat his supper at a restaurant nearby, comforted by the fact that the humiliation will be avenged

2     The elderly man is the head of a criminal syndicate. But he is hiding from the authorities, which have forced him to resume a fake identity. After the humiliation, the elderly man contacted some of his goons and ordered them to track down and teach the offending punks not to be so disrespectful. Knowing all too well about the power of a strong alibi, the elderly man chose to eat his supper at a local restaurant, comforted by the fact that the humiliation will be avenged.

3     The elderly man is just a normal elderly man, that dare not face the offending punks, knowing that he can't stand up against them. The real killer is a local vigilante-wannabe, who witnessed the humiliating incident. Deciding that enough is enough, the vigilante armed himself, tracked down, fought and murdered the punks. All that happened while the elderly man ate his supper at a local restaurant.










Flightscare
Tim Deer

The passengers on the Red-Eye from New York to Los Angeles are slowly waking up. The stewards are busy making coffee and breakfast, while the dawn light shines through.

Suddenly, the passenger on seat 21A starts to scream and flail violently with their arms and legs. The startled stewards and fellow passengers are having a hard time calming the screaming passenger.

Possibilities
1     The screaming passenger, a Mr. James Carlson, is a businessman bound for a business dinner in Los Angeles. He took a glance out the window to check the horizon, and, in a brief moment, spotted a small swarm of Mi-Go passing. A sight no human normally witnesses, but the dawn light - and the fact that James witnessed it from a planewindow several thousand feet up in the air - made it possible.

Mr. Carlson's mind shattered when he saw the alien Mi-Go, and although stewards and fellow passengers managed to calm down the screaming Mr. Carlson, he's still as mad as a hatter and must spend some time in a mental hospital.

2     Mr. James Carlson, who's visiting family in Los Angeles, is a first time flyer. He's been afraid of flying since he was born. Up until his first flight, he has always gone by train. But this time a good friend suggested that he could seek help to get rid of his flightscare. He did, and it seemed to help. But it didn't last.

3     Mr. James Carlson had a nightmarish dream, that resulted in his involuntary screams and flailing. A calmed, and extremely embarrased, James Carlson apologizes and keeps a low profile on the rest of the flight.











In the Watches of the Night
Megan McKnight

The local museum was recently preparing to open a new display about a prominent local family. Edward Eastman, the only son of a wealthy father, had donated many interesting family heirlooms to the museum.

The Eastman family has been in the community for generations, and Thomas Eastman, Edward’s great-great-great-grandfather, was one of the founders of the town. The heirlooms donated included several paintings, some furniture, some letters, and assorted antiques. The most interesting piece was a large, old-fashioned silver pocket watch, with a stylized dragon engraved on the lid, which had belonged to Thomas Eastman.

Unfortunately, two days before the museum was scheduled to open, the museum was broken into, and many of the Eastman heirlooms were taken, including the pocket watch. The assistant curator, who had been working late that night, was brutally killed. And to make the case even more complicated, Edward Eastman has vanished.

Possibilities
1    Edward Eastman had a tendency to gamble, and his debts quickly outgrew his abilities to pay them. He didn’t donate his family heirlooms to the museum; he sold them and used the cash to pay off some of his debt. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the people he owed got impatient and threatened him.

Edward quietly left town before the break-in, hoping to put some distance between himself and the loan sharks. The break-in at the museum was a straight robbery; other valuable pieces were also taken. The assistant curator happened to walk in at the wrong moment.

2    Thomas Eastman was a sorcerer of no small skill. He was also a thoroughly unpleasant person, and was forced to disappear for a good long time, leaving many of his possessions behind. Chief among these was his pocket watch, which he had designed himself. It was something like a magical battery, supplying him with any needed magical energy. Thomas had put himself into a type of stasis, concealed in the basement of his mansion.

Five generations later, Edward Eastman was doing some remodeling, and accidentally woke Thomas up. Thomas killed Edward and started setting about locating his missing belongings. He broke into the museum to recover them, killing the assistant curator when she got in his way. In a few days, the badly mauled body of Edward Eastman will turn up near his house.

3    Edward Eastman had an interest in the occult, which was bolstered by some of the things he read in Thomas’s papers. However, some of his experiments in sorcery attracted the notice of one of the Hounds of Tindalos. Edward managed to seal the Hound into a non-dimensional space, using Thomas’s watch as a focus. Unfortunately, Edward was an amateur sorcerer at best, and the Hound quickly broke through the seal, destroying the watch and several other items. It happened upon the assistant curator, and tore her apart. Then it hunted Edward down and exacted a horrific revenge.











The Big Lie
Donswald Badfood

You receive a letter from an old high school friend, Tor Hukli. He is now a rich owner of a large line of banks and has heard about your investigation activities and was wondering if you would like to be a special guest speaker at one of his business parties. Naturally, you accept.

When you get to his house you realize how big it is - a huge 6 story mansion. You get there at 7:00, and he tells you he would like you to speak right after he gives his speech.

Possibilities
1     Tor introduces you to some of the more notable guests at his party. They are all high-class businessmen, and as you speak to the different people you realize that they don't know why this party is being held. Most of the people at the party are tired, and in deep thought. Only by getting one of the guests drunk do you learn that everyone at the party is a member of some ‘religious church group’ and that they are meeting in the woods later that night for some sort of ceremony...

2     You explore the house to kill time. The upper four floors are entirely deserted. Most of the rooms are empty or used for storage. At the end of one of the halls is a locked door with intricate designs depicting numerous mythological scenes carved into it. Only by picking the lock or breaking the door can you access the room - and doing so reveals a small alter with a book on it. A mythos book...

3     When Tor gets up to give his speech, the room goes silent. He proceeds to give a long speech about his banking line, pledges, and about how it started and has evolved. Everything seems normal until about half way through the speech when the audience seems to get restless and intimidated. He notices this, and ends his speech and introduces you. As you start to give your speech, the crowd slowly becomes a raving mob and rush forward to sacrifice you to their god Hastur.










The Party
Adie Stewart

A character receives, quite unexpectedly, an invitation to a soirée at the home of one of their old school-friends. The individual, one Humphrey Anderson-Boyd, is known as an international traveller and has something of a reputation as a dilettante and playboy. He is wealthy, handsome, elegant, and an eminently eligible bachelor. The society journals are quick to match him with any woman in whose company he is seen. His parties are said to be wild and debauched.

Humphrey lives in a large and airy house designed by a radical modern architect and located on the fringes of the fashionable city suburbs. The interior is exquisitely furnished and the grand windows overlook the extensive wooded and landscaped grounds. By day the dramatic skies and excellent views make it an idyllic spot, but at night it can feel very lonely and isolated. The house has been designed to be self-sufficient and has its own generator located in the cellars.

Jones, the cadaverous butler, is the only westerner in the domestic staff. The others are all dark skinned, slightly built Orientals who actively shun contact with the guests. They seem under the sway of the cook, an ancient and grossly fat woman who seems to do little except sit in a rocking chair and give orders. All of the Orientals carry slender knives and have a dragon tattoo on their necks. Jones is able to communicate in their tongue and appears to inspire either respect or fear.

Humphrey retains a number of gamekeepers and groundsmen, local men who maintain the gardens, keep down the wildlife, and patrol the grounds against poachers and trespassers. They consider Humphrey and his staff to be 'queer folk', but their wages are rather good, they receive a rather generous holiday allowance and Christmas bonus, and as such they are loyal and tight-lipped. The gamekeepers have well trained dogs and carry shotguns, and will see off anyone who tries anything funny. They and their dogs shun the woods, however.

Humphrey's little bash, which includes among its guest-list writers, musicians, judges, a gangster, and at least one starlet of the silver screen, begins rather more formally than one might expect. The gramophone music is dull and repetitive and the conversation is terrible: this is hardly going to make the best shindig list of 'Gentleman' magazine. That is, until Jones fetches the "special" drink. The liquid is contained in a large bronze bowl worked with Chinese characters and intricate skull-and-claw designs, and appears to be luminous green in the dim light. The other guests have no qualms about drinking.

Possibilities
1     The characters have received an invite to the wrong party - the one they were supposed to attend isn't until next week. The "special" drink is a powerful aphrodisiac made by the cook: it causes the drinker to lose all of their inhibitions - the affair becomes an orgiastic sex romp. If the characters have drunk the potion they will, in all probability, become willing participants in the carnal activities, though they probably won't remember much of what went on. A number of prostitutes (both male and female) have been hired to 'start things going'. Anyone with professional employment or a position of trust would be very badly affected if their participation in such activities became public knowledge.

2     The "special" drink is a potion that causes the drinker to fall into a waking trance. Humphrey is a newly created undead, Jones is his sire and mentor, and the Orientals are trusted henchmen. When everyone has succumbed to the effects of the potion Humphrey and Jones move among the guests and tap just a little blood from each, drinking enough during the course of the evening to satisfy their unholy needs. Both are immune to most forms of damage (although fire, electricity, and enchanted weapons work) and are exceedingly violent if they are interrupted: they are lethally fast and highly skilled creatures. Those who have drunk the potion remember little of the evening, but uniformly recall having had an excellent time.

3     Humphrey and Jones, both permanently insane, are the leaders of a small cult that worships Shub Niggurath. The "special" drink is a potion, made by the cook, with two main effects. First, it allows the cultists access to the guests' psychic energy. Second, it induces a dream-like state that cushions their minds against the horrors they witness (they recall a wild party but can't remember any details). Humphrey and Jones begin a ceremony that involves everyone performing complex chanting and dancing. At the penultimate moment a sacrifice is brought forth (a suitable victim has been secured and is being held in the cellars until required), and ultimately one or more Dark Young of Shub Niggurath are summoned. The horrifying entities consume the sacrifice (and anyone who hasn't drunk the potion) then vanish into the wooded grounds.











Sentence Served
Luke Manning

A Correctional Officer (CO) at a county jail is worried that an inmate who is currently incarcerated on a drunk driving conviction is set to be released in a few days. He wants the investigators to help.

The inmate had been isolated from general housing because he caused too much of a disturbance with the other inmates. He'd never done anything directly; in fact, he'd been nothing short of well-behaved the entire time he'd been there, but he seemed to have a natural ability to make everyone around him agitated. He stank to high heaven, like rotting meat no matter how often he showered and, whatever housing unit he went to would start having problems--fights, unruliness, and a general sense of malaise--as soon as he'd arrive.

Once in isolation, the CO heard strange noises coming from the inmate's cell at night--sounds like baying dogs, lions roaring, and hyenas lauging. Yet when he went in to investitage, the inmate would be curled up in his bunk, apparently asleep.

One night, while doing his security rounds, he checked inside the man's cell through the window in the cell door. The inmate was lying down with his eyes closed; as he turned to walk away, he felt something staring at him. When he turned, the inmate was peering out the cell window at him, his eyes pitch black, his lips drawn back to reveal a smile of pure malevolence.

The officer doesn't have anything concrete to base this on, but he worries that the area will not be safe once this inmate is released from custody. He's looking for the investigators to keep an eye on him.

Possibilities
1     The inmate is a powerful cult leader and a practioner of black magic. He only allowed himself to be caught and arrested so that he could make contacts within the jail. The Correctional Officer is right to be worried - this man is dangerous and has nefarious plans once he is freed.

2     It isn't the poor inmate's fault; he's been tormented ever since he inadvertantly summoned a powerful demon during what he thought was some harmless fun with a ouija board. This demon haunts and sometimes possesses this man. He finds some respite in booze, which is how he ended up in jail.

3     The CO is making the whole thing up. He is the real evil one. He knows who the investigators are and wishes to dispose of them, and concocted this story as a mere red herring; something to distract them so he can catch them off guard.











Sister Rosetta
Megan McKnight

Dr. Matthew Devereaux is a well-known psychologist. He also works with a local paranormal research institute, providing specialist knowledge when called for. He believes that paranormal phenomena have rational explanations that can be discovered through scientific means. This does not mean, however, that he believes that the rational explanation is necessarily something that science is already familiar with.

Recently, Dr. Devereaux was investigating supernatural occurrences at a local cemetery. He was the only survivor of his team, and was found clinging to a large vine-covered stone gravestone in the shape of a cross.  He was half hysterical, muttering incoherently and behaving in an alarming manner. He has been sent to his own sanitarium for observation, and his coworkers are unsure if he’ll ever recover. He only says one thing that anyone can make sense of: “Sister Rosetta.”

Possibilities
1     Sister Rosetta is a nun at the church the graveyard is located at. She also isn’t particularly pious or chaste; she’s been using the graveyard to have secret meetings with her multiple lovers, some of whom are quite influential figures.

Dr. Devereaux’s team caught her and one of them (a particularly violent underworld figure) in a compromising position. Being the only one with the presence of mind to hide before he was noticed, Dr. Devereaux watched helplessly as the sister and her lover calmly and systematically murdered all the witnesses.  The doctor is suffering from shock, and will recover in time.

2     The cross that he was found clinging to marks the grave of Rosetta de Mar, who was a nun in the late eighteen hundreds. She was found murdered in the graveyard where she was later buried, and the murderer was never caught.

Research will show that since that time, the graveyard was thought to be haunted by her angry spirit. It was clear that something was attacking people foolish enough to be in the graveyard at night, particularly young men. Unknown to anyone on Dr. Devereaux’s team, a young man, Charles l’Orosi (an employee of the institute), is a direct descendant of Sister Rosetta’s murderer. The enraged spirit attacked what she perceived to be her enemy, killing him. Then she turned on the others who tried to help him. Dr. Devereaux used her gravestone as cover, and thus survived her wrath; but he did not escape unscathed.

3     Sister Rosetta is a gifted psychic employed by the institute, and was part of Devereaux’s team. The graveyard was being raided on a regular basis by a pack of ghouls in search of their next meal. The team interrupted them, and the ghouls were only too happy to take something a tad fresher. Sister Rosetta became hysterical shortly before the massacre (the result of a premonition), and fled before the ghouls arrived. Currently, she is wandering around the countryside with stress-induced amnesia.










Suffer the Child
Megan McKnight
Poor little Tania Langley. At the age of nine, she’s an orphan, her parents brutally murdered by her older brother, who subsequently committed suicide. Understandably, she is suffering from psychiatric problems, most notably being completely unable to sleep without medication due to horrific nightmares. Her legal guardian, a distant uncle, has had her committed and the devoted staff at the sanitarium is not hopeful that Tania will ever be cured. Tania herself is very withdrawn and shy and speaks very little. The few people that she does talk to say that she insists that a monster killed her parents.

Possibilities
1     Tania’s uncle is a greedy, sadistic villain. He murdered Tania’s parents and framed her brother in order to inherit. Tania managed to run away, and by the time her uncle found her, he had realized that he could still enjoy the money if he was her guardian. Unwilling to admit the reality of what she saw, she imagined that a monster had done it. Her uncle secretly encourages this belief.

2     The house that the Langleys lived in was haunted by a malevolent entity. This entity had been steadily gaining strength throughout the time that they had owned the house. Unfortunately, Tania’s parents refused to admit it and tried to ignore the unnatural happenings in their house. Tania’s brother realized what was going on, and tried to put a stop to it. His knowledge proved pitifully inadequate, and he only succeeded in allowing the entity a physical presence. The entity killed their parents. Tania’s brother made a last-ditch effort to stop the entity; he was successful, but it cost him his life.

3   Tania’s brother was a dabbler in the occult, and had many books of forbidden knowledge, which eventually drove him to the brink of insanity.  He finally went over the edge after reading an old play, The King in Yellow.  His mind snapped, and he killed his parents before ending his own life.  He did in fact go through some physiological changes, caused by his proximity to the essence of Hastur the Unspeakable. (Hence Tania’s belief that it was a monster.) Unfortunately, Tania had a habit of sneaking peeks at her brother’s books, and he had left the play in plain sight on his desk.

So far, Tania’s age has worked in her favor; the mind of a child has some natural defenses that adult minds do not, and Tania neither understood everything she read nor finished the play. However, only time will tell what lasting effects this will have on her…













A Well Respected Man
Paul Hebron

Newton Palmer is a pleasant and charming man who finds it easy to make friends no matter where he goes. Newton has gone from a sad and pitiable condition in his youth to a successful and well regarded businessman. Through shrewd investing he has made a comfortable life for himself and his family, and lives a life of luxury few could dream of.

Everybody likes Newton, and he personally knows many celebrities, and makes donations to many small charities. Newton is not famous himself, and has built a built a wall of privacy around himself and his wife and young children. The only people who don't really like Newton are the people who remember him as a sad and bitter wage worker, who Newton has snubbed off every time they have tried to contact him.

Possibilities
1     The real Newton Palmer is now dead. Palmer was once a down on his luck manic depressive. He had a thankless job at the offices of Rand, Webb and Sturgeon, a highly successful publishing firm run by the wealthy Patrick S Sturgeon. Sturgeon inherited the business but it was insufficiently challenging for him. Sturgeon is a talented businessman, and a fantasist with a major ego problem and a determination to build a business on his own and away from the shadow of his father.

To this end, he decided to take on a new identity - that of a social misfit nobody would miss; Newton Palmer. After a faked helicopter accident, costly plastic surgery and a detailed study of Palmer's life, Sturgeon killed Palmer and took over, quitting his job and using his skills to quickly rise in status, severing ties with Palmer's family to avoid speculation.

2     Palmer worked for Rand, Webb and Sturgeon, a shell of a publishing company that had once been successful in the 50s, but has been steadily declining ever since. Eventually Palmer's job was cut and the company went into liquidation, and Palmer drifted from one job to another. When he hit his lowest, he decided to take out his problems on the closed building of his old company. He broke in, using his position as a former security manager there, and started rooting around for things to steal but instead found a secret collection of books in the basement. Thinking them valuable, he took them home with him and started to read through them to assess theirvalue.

Palmer had found a complete set of the Revelations of Glaaki, and he read of mysterious knowledge and dangerous rituals. However, upon reading Volume 12, he has contacted by the god Y'Golonac. The corpse god offered Palmer a choice; allow him to take over Palmer at certain times and he would have great fortune, or be consumed alive. Palmer accepted, and found his fortunes increasing rapidly. However, Palmer is occasionally taken over by Y'Golonac without his knowledge, and the corpse god inflicts unspeakable things on his family. If he weren't addicted to the thrill of power and control, he would have stopped himself long ago.

3     Palmer is a great success story but has relied on the all-too-human lure of crime to carry him to the top. He owes large amounts of money to various criminal organisations and is now struggling to pay off his debts. Out of frustration, a criminal named Robert Kime, who Palmer owes large amounts of money, has kidnapped Palmer's wife and children. Palmer would do anything to get his family back, except of course, call the police.













Woman in a Robe
by Tim Deer
(Denmark)

When locale police officers enter an abandoned office building, they stumble upon the gruesome mutilated corpses of three men and a woman.

Also found at the crime scene is a smashed camcorder, and when checking what it may have recorded, the following can be seen: An unidentified woman, not the same woman found dead, is seated on a chair, clad in a monk’s robe. It’s dark outside, indicating that it happened in the evening, or at night. Then one of the men found murdered, steps into view as he walks behind the sitting woman. He asks the woman about her name, but before she’s able to answer the question, all goes black, followed by horrifying screams. Then the recording ends, as the camcorder is smashed.

The question is now; why was the robed woman not found at the crime scene? Where is she now? And who, and why, murdered the others?

Possibilities

1 The murderer is a heavily armed and mentally unstable bible-thumper. He goes around striking against anything that he finds morally depraved and sinful. When he learns, that someone was making low budget porn movies in his town; he chose to deliver God’s punishment on those impure filth-peddling bastards.

As soon as he found the location of the porn-movie set, he donned a night vision goggle, cut off the power and then went on a killing spree, targeting everyone involved in the filthy porn movie.

The reason why the roped woman isn’t found at the crime scene is that she was severely wounded, and was thus able to flee the bloody carnage. But the crazed bible-thumper sees her escaping, and he chases after her. Her corpse is never found.

2 The robed woman, now missing, is the oldest daughter to the murdered woman and one of the men. But she had been lured by an esoteric and very religious cult, much to her parent’s dismay.

After several futile attempts to make the locale law intervene, the parents chose to hire a renowned private investigator that’s specialized in deprogramming brainwashed members of religious cults.

He, and his assistant, snatched the daughter and brought her to the abandoned office building, rented by the investigator, as a place to initiate the deprogramming, monitored by the girl’s parents, and recorded on camcorder.

But when the cult leader, a deeply religious Vietnam veteran, realizes that one of his favorite cult members have been taken away, he immediately summons a byakhee, which he, in his sick mind, actually believes is one of God’s glorious angels, and orders it to track down, punish those who took his favorite cult member, the daughter, and then bring her back to his waiting arms.

The deprogramming was just beginning, when the byakhee found them. But as the byakhee flies off with the daughter, she sees it, and her mind bends out of shape.

3 The missing robed woman is the murderer, or one of them. She is in fact a vampire, who has been terrorizing humans for several decades, along with a group of fellow vampires.

While stalking a prey, she failed to realize that it was a trap, orchestrated by a team of skilled vampire hunters. They quickly managed to subdue and bring her into the abandoned office building, where they were planning to interrogate, and then destroy, her. All recorded on cam recorder that has been custom made to allow vampires to be filmed.

But the interrogation had barely begun, when the fellow vampires located their imprisoned friend and moved in to save her. They all then attacked and killed the entire team of vampire hunters.









The Cairbh Gorge
Paul Hebron

The Cairbh Gorge, Ireland, is a deep, steep-sided valley that is impossible to climb out of. It is in a heavily wooded area and is far from civilisation. It is impossible to see the bottom of the valley. Sometimes, travellers hear horrific moans coming from the valley. Many claim the valley is haunted by a ‘bogey’ or evil spirit.

Possibilities
1     Several hundred years ago, a group of druids sought the area for its isolation. They were casting a spell that would give them immortality. At the climax of the ritual a group of bandits attacked the druids and murdered them. After taking anything of valley, they dumped the corpses in the valley. Because the ritual was not finished, the druid’s spirits are still bound to there bodys in a horrible sort of half-life, screaming out in agony.

2     The IRA is active in the area, and has found a novel way of disposing of prisoners. The prisoners are tied up, and then dropped into the valley which they can’t escape.

Anyone passing through will be terrified by the screams from the valley and attribute them to an ‘evil ghost.’ The valley floor contains three decayed corpses and one still living man, screaming into the night.

3     During the Victorian Era, the Irish explorer, Eamon Fitzgibbon, was deeply disturbed by an expedition to Africa. He also had a horrible mouth like gash along his arm. Returning home, he raved about ‘deathless savages’ and ‘the accursed pits’ before dying. The horror happened at his funeral, when Fitzgibbon rose from his coffin and began trying to feast upon the villagers. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to damn his soul, they flung him into the valley, from which he could not escape. He is still there today, horribly decayed, but still hungry.










Ghostwatch
Steve Hatherley

St Crispin's church in Church Stenton, in the Vale of York, is one of the most haunted churchyards in England. Dozens of sightings of a lone spectral figure stalking the starlit graveyard have been reported over the decades. Superstition has it that the last person buried is responsible for watching over and protecting St Crispin's churchyard, and it is this figure that can is seen stalking the lonely churchyard by night.

The superstition originates from the trial and excution in 1644 of Maggie Greeneyes. Maggie Greeneyes was accused, tried and executed by legendary Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins and at her trial she cursed the community, the church and specifically the priest who turned her in to Hopkins.

Maggie Greeneyes was then buried face-down in an unmarked grave outside the churchyard. It's exact location is no longer known.

Once Hopkins had left the villagers, called upon noted alchemist Hector Speight to protect them from the curse. Speight used powerful magics to ensure that the last person buried would watch over the churchyard and keep Church Stenton safe from Maggie Greeneyes's curse.

Possibilities
1     The southern corner of St Crispin's churchyard is set aside for the Whistable family plot. The Whistables are minor aristocrats and can trace their history in Church Stenton back to the fifteenth century.

In 1650, six years after Maggie Greeneyes was executed, Sir Horace Whistable's daughter died. Sightings of the spectral watcher had already been reported, and Sir Horace quickly reached the conclusion that while it was acceptable for a commoner to watch over St Crispin's churchyard, it was quite unacceptable behaviour for a member of the aristocracy. So he contracted the family solicitor, Silas Nettle, to ensure that whenever a Whistable was buried in St Crispin's churchyard, the service and burial would take place in the morning. And in the afternoon, a second burial would take place - that of someone lower born.

The contract has been in place ever since.

Whenever there is a Whistable burial in their family plot, their solictors (now Creep and Nettle Solicitors, based in York) arrange for a second burial that same day. Usually their contacts in the hospitals and funeral parlours of Yorkshire ensures that no laws are broken. Sometimes, however, their contacts fail them - and then they resort to murder.

2     In 1706, as he lay on his deathbed, John Chobham made the Church Stenton community leaders an offer that they found it hard to refuse. In return for an annual fee (to be paid to his family and amounting to 10% of each year's burial costs), he offered to be the ghost-watch. Forever. The agreement was made and papers drawn up.

Following each funeral, Chobham's body is exhumed and then re-buried in a new plot - thus ensuring that he continues the ghost-watch and relieves the parishoners of Church Stenton from that particular burden. This continues to this day - and Chobham's descendents are amongst the wealthiest in Church Stenton.

3     Church Stenton has started experiencing a series of troubles. The village pond has suddenly turned stagnant, killing the fish. A dog has gone missing. A barn has burned down. There have been a spate of mechanical and electrical failures. The church roof has developed a leak. So far, while these incidents are annoying, none of them have caused injury. So far.

The incidents are the result of Maggie Greeneyes's slow return to power. A few weeks before the incidents started, the body of the last person buried in the churchyard was exhumed by the authorities following the re-opening of a murder investigation. The body will be kept until the case is closed.

However, removing the body also meant removing the spectral watcher and without her ghostly jailer, Maggie's power has slowly built unchecked. Her strength is now growing rapidly, and it will not be long before she is able to dig herself out of her unmarked grave. Until then, Maggie is vulnerable and another burial at the church (or the return of the exhumed body) will create another spectral watcher and check her recent growth.











House of Fun
James David Beard

Once a lunatic asylum, it stands high on empty moorland, desolate and long since abandoned, the huge mansion of an eccentric billionaire. The perfect haunted house, and Sir David Luxely has decided it should become one. He bought and then reconstructed much of the house to make it into an terrifying haunted house. He charged admission to the house, with the promise of a huge cash prize if anyone could make it to the topmost floor.

As yet, no one has. A great many have tried, and most have given up. Some have come out screaming, or trembling... or, so Sir David claims, not come out at all.

Possibilities
1     Nothing supernatural is happening in the house - it is simply a clever maze of very scary special effects. It is not possible, however, to win the prize - all the ways to the top floor have been blocked by brick walls. Sir David is sure to win his bet.

2     Sir David is far older than he seems. The original owner of the house, he is an undead entity kept alive by feeding on the energies in the emotions of living humans - and fear is best of all. He actually resides on the top floor of the house (entering and exiting by a well-concealed hidden shaft) and is able to absorb the fear of those attempting to navigate the house to sustain himself. His power does not harm those he feeds from, but gradually fatigues them, making the challenge to reach the top floor very difficult.

3     Sir David is quite insane. He has constructed the house to further his and others delight for death and murder. The whole structure is fitted with hidden cameras that allow him to watch the suffering of those who get past the scary (but harmless) lower floors. He was once a mythos sorcerer and has used his knowledge to turn the higher floors into an inescapable non-Euclidean labyrinth, populated by unspeakable shambling monsters that he has summoned.

Copyright (c) 2004 James David Beard

(The 'haunted house that pays you if you can survive it' is an enduring urban myth. Three or four such houses are claimed to exist in the US.)









The House on the Hill
Tony Hickie

During a thunderstorm, the hill-top house of elderly eccentric Ignatius Potter is hit by lightning. There appears to be no damage to the house, but in the days and weeks after the storm strange things start happening in or around the house:

it is only early summer, but already plants in the garden of Potter's house are starting to wither, brown and die as if winter was fast approaching
dogs will not voluntarily go near the place, growling, yelping and pulling away desperately on their leashes if they are forced past the house
at night peculiar flickering blue and violet lights can be seen through the windows of the upper floors
Potter has not been seen at all - not that he was seen much before - but now there is neither sight nor sound of him. Various people swear that they have felt someone unseen peering round the half-drawn curtains whenever they pass the house during the day.
Possibilities
1     Potter is a latter-day Dr Frankenstein, experimenting with electricity as a means of reanimating the dead. This he did during the thunderstorm, but although his experiment succeeded he was himself killed accidentally and the side-effects have affected plant-growth in a 15-metre radius. Now his semi-intelligent creation wanders the house alone, dully afraid of it knows not what, feeding on whatever it can find (including Potter). Ultimately hunger will drive it from the house. The flickering lights are caused by Potter's equipment, which is still running.

2     Potter is a sorcerer who has been experimenting with magicks described in an ancient tome. At least one of his spells succeeded on the night in question, but its long-term effect has been to drive the partly-paranoid Potter now completely so.

Potter's spell-casting has affected plant-growth around the house; the flickering lights are associated with the after-effects of Potter's magicks. Anyone who approaches the house will be regarded as an enemy; anyone who enters it will be stalked and attacked.

3     Just before the storm Potter decided that the proximity of living plants was inimical to his health. In the middle of the night he took it into his head to spray everything in his garden with weed-killer. The lightning strike has convinced him that aliens are about to attack the Earth, and himself in particular. He has armed himself with a revolver, automatic shotgun and knife and is prepared to sell his life dearly. He knows that aliens are sneaky and quite capable of adopting human guise to take him unawares, even pretending to be people he knows quite well. The lightning strike has affected the electrics of his house, causing the flickering of the lights.









The Museum of Mannequins
by Sakuni Egodawatte
(Chicago, IL, USA)

The Museum of Mannequins an old place, located somewhere in the barren plains of Illinois. The Museum is deserted, and there are DANGER signs in everywhich direction.

Possibilities:

1 The Museum of Mannequins held old store mannequins rescued from garbage cans. One day a little girl's body was mysteriously found in the back room. The owner of the place was arrested, and nobody came within even a mile's radius of the place.

2 The museum was burgled a few years back. The people that lived closest to the museum moved away, fearful of being burgled themselves. With no customers, the owner went broke and closed the museum.

3 The museum existed in ancient times - although its theme changed from time to time. In its early days, a lady who had mastered voodoo, was a frequent customer. Once, she was charged with an outrageous member's bill but the Museum's owner would not listen. In anger the lady cursed the museum. When the towns folk heard about the curse they moved away. Nobody knows what became of the Museum's owner.











The Terrifying House
by Nicolas Dao Phan

An old friend calls them for help. He had heard about their interest for paranormal activity but dismissed their interest for a new age fad. Until now. The friend has recently cquired a mansion, but since he has moved in he has had terrifying experiences.

Researching the mansion's history reveals a lack of ghosts, strange figures, monsters or poltergeist activity that would explain their friend's fear. However, it seems that he isn't the only one: many of the previous owners sold or abandoned the mansion after only staying a short period.

Possibilities

1 The mansion is not haunted - it is the building itself that causes the terror. The mansion's inner design, room layout and architecture somehow causes subconscious fear in the minds of those who dwell in it. Whether this is by accident or design is not clear.

2 The mansion is not haunted. There is an underground pocket of gas beneath the mansion which sometimes leaks into the basement and permeates throughout the mansion. The gas has no smell but stimulates the part of the brain controlling emotions and amplifies them. Given the mansion is a bit spooky, that spookiness combined with the gas becomes terror.

3 The mansion is not haunted, but the neighboring house is. In that house dwells an evil entity, trapped by ancient magic. The creature still has some limited power and











That Old Fashioned Charm
Adam Gauntlett

The characters regularly visit a diner or restaurant with a classic feel that harkens back to the simple pleasures of yesteryear. One day while enjoying their meal, they see the owner being harassed by two men in black suits. Voices are raised, and the men leave, but threaten to return. "And we won't be so polite the next time around."

Possibilities
1     Extortion. The men in black are gangsters, members of a local syndicate who are trying to muscle in on the business. Other rival gangs also have their eye on the restaurant, and soon the gangsters will clash.

2     Vampires. The restaurant owner is a 'beard' for the real backer, an undead. The vampire enjoys the atmosphere and uses the restaurant as a sanctum. The two men are vampire hunters, trying to track down the creature of the night.

3     Cannibals. The restaurant specializes in a certain kind of meat dish, only served to 'very special' customers, and only after closing time. They get their supply from a crooked mortuary, but the undertakers are beginning to demand more money, "since we're taking all the risks." This will make the 'very special' customers upset . . .












The Whitaker House
Brian Woodman

The Bradley Whitaker House has earned a reputation for being haunted. The last owner, Harvey Osbourne, purchased the house from the Whitaker family. Osbourne was killed by Frank Whitaker, who escaped from a mental institution to return to his ancestral home. Police never apprehended Whitaker who, according to rumor, still lurks in the general area.

The last person to enter the house was a college student named Jack Wadson who was preparing a Halloween feature story for a local newspaper. He entered the house during an October evening and was found the next morning at the bottom of a nearby cliff after fleeing.

Any investigation into Wadson’s past reveals he was investigating the deaths of fellow college students Claudia Jenning and Russ Mayer, who were both found dead in a forest near the house. Jenning died from heart failure and Mayer from a blunt trauma to the head. The students, who were dating, had planned on an illicit party in the abandoned house.

Anyone searching the house will find white sheets suspended from wires, hidden projectors that create “apparitions” on the wall and hidden speakers. Once these discoveries are made, investigators will find themselves locked in the house, away from each other if they are in separate rooms. They will also discover hidden passages throughout the house.

Possibilities
1     During any investigation, a fellow college student named Artemus Dane reluctantly provides some of the information on Wadson’s activities. Dane, who is a theater major, was smitten by Jenning and decided to punish her for spurning him. He used his knowledge of theatrical props to create a “haunted house,” not realizing that Jenning had a heart condition. Mayer attacked Artemus and was struck by a blunt instrument. Artemus hid the bodies in the woods, and later went after Wadson to discourage his investigation.

2     Frank Whitaker never left. He has secretly made a home in the house, which is riddled with secret passages. He will not let the investigators leave alive. A secret chamber in the home contains the bodies of a few wanderers that made the mistake of staying in the house for too long.

3     A gang of local criminals have established a hideout in the house. They use the "haunting" as a cover for their activities.










Wrong side of the tracks
by Philipp Mählmann
(Greifswald, Germany)

In the northwestern part of the city lies the old freight yard. Box waggons, wrecked buildings and huge amounts of rubble create an image of total abandonment. And then there are stories of strange noises, creepy shadows and disappearing citizens related to the site... - so people are advised not to trespass.

Possibilities

1 It is just a 'normal' abandoned freight yard - but it attracts all kind of strangers: vagabounds and wild animals, criminals and youth gangs. Plus, plus the site isn't really the safest place with all the rust, debris and what's left of cargo in the waggons - it is believed that some still contain coal and/or gunpowder.

2 At least three ghostly beings are associated with haunting the freight yard: Daniel o'Toole, train robber and three times murder, who unfortunately hid and finally died in a cargo train, that was sealed and placed to rest on the freight yard, Manni Olsen, a track worker, who went crazy when 'his' freight yard was closed down and repeatedly returned, killing two wardens before being shot by the police, and Rachel Hunnigan, 'the hungarian witch', whose cottage was leveled for the freight yard and died shortly afterwards in an asylum.

In fact, the three ghosts are fighting over control of the site - for whatever purpose.

3 The freight yard is still used - as a gateway to other planets. During certain nights people might see ghostly waggons arriving and unspeakable phantoms carrying undefinable goods to the waggons - and sometimes human bodies as well...










Isolated Town
Nicolas Dao Phan

The investigators come to a small town somewhere in southern USA. They might go there because they're reporters writing an article about some local attraction, might be doing historical research or directly investigating the Mythos. For whatever reason, they need to go to the town library.

When they arrive at the village, the investigators notice the locals are kind of shunning the newcomers. Nothing surprising, the town has the reputation of being very religious and conservative. The investigators shouldn't get any trouble besides getting weird looks. After a bit of research in the library they find something really surprising: a copy of the Necronomicon.

Possibilities
1     The town is controlled by cultists which try to isolate the town for their nefarious purposes. They're the ones turning the locals xenophobic and suspicious of outsiders, thus bringing the town's reputation for conservatism. The copy of the Necronomicon has hidden in the library but not well enough. Let's hope the librarian doesn't notice.

2     The locals though deeply religious and conservative are actually actively defending humanity against horrors from the Mythos. They are led by the local reverend. Though their social values clash with those of the investigators, they might become useful allies. They keep a number of Mythos books hidden in the town should forbidden knowledge be really needed.

3     The town is just an ordinary town despite being really religious and conservative. The locals don't know the existence of the terrible book hidden in their library. Now how to get that book out of there without getting attention?













The Tower
Björn Hanson

The investigators read a newspaper report about a mysterious stone tower that has recently been investigated by the authorities. The tower is of unknown origin and is located on a desolate island owned by wealthy fisherman Marcus Moore outside of Nova Scotia.

The tower stands 30 feet tall and has been constructed using stones from and around the island. It is hollow and has a doorway at its base. Markings of unknown origin cover several of the stones, and can clearly been be seen on the photograph of the tower that accompanies the newspaper report.

Possibilities
1     According to local rumour, the tower has only been raised recently and the small fishing community on the island stays away from it. The islands' owner, Marcus Moore, wants to tear the tower down - but the authorities have prevented him as they want to make sure the tower is not older than the local community claims.

The tower was actually constructed six months ago under the direction of two sorcerers - it is part of their plan to summon Yog-Sothoth. They have already arranged for a platform to be constructed and it just needs to be place it at the top of the tower and wait for the right moment to perform the ritual.

2     The tower is the meeting point for a local cult practicing animal and human sacrifices. The cult worships Dagon and was started 50 years ago when a fisherman named Jacob Moore arrived and told them about a powerful entity called D’go that lived in the ocean. D’go is a distorted version of Dagon, and Jacob discovered this “entity” when he read a very old and fragmented version of a scripture containing chants and rituals. Jacob quickly rose in power as he convinced the other villagers that D’go was the one true god. Those who were not convinced either left the area themselves, or were chased away.

The stone tower was built to honor D’go. As the non-believers disappeared the cult became more and more paranoid and blood thirsty. They usually stay away from the outside world and neighboring communities stay away from them. The cult is currently lead by Jacob Moore’s grandson, Marcus Moore. However, the cult is slowly dying since few children are allowed to live and the cult has failed to attract new members.

The report in the newspaper concerns an investigation by the police of several skeletons found near the tower by a fisherman.

3     The tower is a magical beacon that, when used correctly, attracts monsters and creatures from the deep. The tower is the last remnant of a human civilisation that worshipped Dagon. The civilisation is new to science, and archaeologists from several universities have been sent to examine the tower - and it is this that forms the report in the newspaper.











The Forgotten Army
Rob Illing

The recent discovery of a mass grave has sparked a furore in the archaeological community. Builders digging foundations have unearthed hundreds of skeletons, apparently battle-dead. When archaeologists came to examine the site, they had quite a shock!

Possibilities
1    Some of the remains aren't human. Roughly half the skeletons found are clearly deep one skeletons, and the excited archaeologists are preparing to make their discovery public. Deep one hybrids living locally have got wind of this. They plan to murder the archaeologists and destroy the evidence of their existence.

2    One of the bodies discovered was perfectly preserved, as if the man had died only yesterday. The body was moved to the mortuary in preparation for an autopsy, but when the freezer was opened to retrieve the body, it was gone.

The man was a sorcerer who had been unable to avoid being drafted into the army. To escape the battle, he used magic to feign death and was buried with all the other dead. Now revived, he is roaming abroad with unknown intent.

3    At the centre of the grave, the archaeologists found a stone box. The box is being stored at the university, and hasn't been opened yet. This is fortunate, as it contains something extremely nasty: something that killed hundreds of soldiers the last time it was imprisoned.












The Thing in Parcel 314
Eli Arndt

Three grizzly accidents along the same stretch of service road have ground forestry workers to a veritable stand-still in the North Woods. A stretch of logging road nearly 30 miles long and isolated from any but the most basic civilization has claimed fifteen lives since Parcel 314, an Old Growth parcel, has been allotted by the Department of The Interior.

The first incident was a logging truck, full of newly cut timber, that overturned and rolled down an embankment killing the driver and the two loggers that rode with him.

The next was a truck which mysteriously caught on fire while transporting replacement crew to the new parcel.

Then there was incident number three. A forest ranger, using the old logging road to get up country to check rumors of poachers, disappeared without a trace. All that was found was his SUV parked on the side of the road. About 100 yard away from that, his hat and shotgun, unfired.

A series of worksite accidents have claimed several lives closer to the parcel itself. Men found tangled in chains or crushed by fallen logs. One man was found, braced inside a portable toilet a look of abject terror across his deadened features.

With enough of a mystery looming over the newly accessible piece of forest the site has been temporarily shut down -- but not without protests from the local forestry concerns. A tense energy hangs over the local town while authorities try to sort things out.

Possibilities
1     Something long undisturbed has been awakened with the incursion into Parcel 314. Whatever it is does not appreciate the intrusion and has set upon the local workers and authorities as well as any others who might make their way through that stretch of woods. What’s worse is that the incidents seem to be spreading away from the site, down the service road and toward town.

2     The parcel was opened for a dark purpose. The very same corporate types who are salivating to get back into the woods to continue harvesting are looking for something there. Little do they realize that that something is also looking for them, bent on vengeance for the desecration of its resting place.

3     There is something in Parcel 314, something that wishes to be released from the prison of the woods. As more of the area is cut clear, its evil grows, sowing madness and fear as well as its own evil lusts further and further until it is free to roam the darkness of the North Woods.










What Lurks Below
Brian Woodman

During a visit to a local bookstore, the characters find an independently published manuscript in the basement that was written by a prominent “beat” author. It describes a set of tunnels beneath Hartford, Connecticut where the store is located. The author found the tunnels during his wanderings across the country, during which he was periodically homeless, and briefly describes how hoboes were afraid of them due to rumors that these were haunted.

The basement has been renovated to contain shelf space. Alert characters might see eyes peering through a breach in a boarded wall in the basement, which separates an unused portion of it from the rest of the floor.

Further research indicates there are unused portions of the sewer system that are separated from the current sewer system and are not up to code. There are also disused canals beneath certain city streets that are adjunct to the tunnels. Characters exploring them discover that the canals and tunnels do connect, but represent only a portion of the underground site described by the author.

Possibilities
1     Certain tunnels were dug upwards into the other tunnels by ghouls. One of the canal tunnels connects to a breach in a basement at the store.

2     The author did not accurately describe the tunnels. A vampire living there used psychic powers to read his mind and discovered he was a prominent author. It meddled with his mind and sent him away. This creature preys on small groups of isolated curiosity seekers, vagrants and others who will not be missed. It uses its powers to simulate a haunting, has found an outlet in the tunnels near the store and can read minds with some effort.

3     The tunnels were covertly expanded and used for illegal activities such as bootlegging. There are a few dead bodies and evidence of other dark secrets there that at least a few prominent people in the state with ties to organized crime would prefer were never discovered. A community of vagrants resides there. The “thing” in the basement is merely a homeless person residing in the tunnels who could provide clues if the characters meet him.
« 上次编辑: 2018-07-08, 周日 13:59:01 由 daydayday »
永远太长、一生太短


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BY 《好预兆:女巫阿格妮思‧纳特良准预言集(Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990))》



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