House of Fun

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 a 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.

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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.

© James David Beard

Petrification

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.

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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.

© Stefan Jonsson

Lost City Found!

An archaeological research team has found what appear to be the remains of an ancient city - in a relatively recently developed town just off a major highway. Upon examination, it appears that the ruins are just below the surface, such that it is highly unlikely that they would have not been noticed when the towns’ foundations were laid, or, for that matter, when the highway was built. The building records and surveyors’ reports are all completely silent on the matter.

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Possibilities

1 Developers don’t like pesky inconveniences like sacred sites, endangered animals or archaeological digs showing up in their surveyor’s reports or impact assessment statements. Consultants know this, and some are quite willing to tailor their reports accordingly. The ruins are a marvellous find, but have always been there.

2 The ruins are the remnants of a city which - thousands of years ago - was cursed, and sealed in a remote part of the Dreamlands. Isolated, the civilisation turned in upon itself, and became corrupt and wicked. The stars are now right for its sorcerers to try and return the city to the waking world. As the spells gather power, more of the city will manifest, and the apparent ruins will become more substantial, displacing the town’s buildings. Before long, the degenerate inhabitants of the city will be able to cross over into the town at will, seeking human sacrifices to complete their magics.

3 The ruins are of an immense, city-sized temple dedicated to Yog-Sothoth. A cataclysm destroyed the temple and scattered the remnants throughout space and time, and fragments of the foundations have appeared here and now. The pieces are still metaphysically bound, and the connection might allow a strong (or fractured) mind to travel the universe. It would certainly allow the sorcerer-priests of Yog-Sothoth to travel here.

© Barbara Robson and Stuart Barrow