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

Lost at Sea

The disappearence of Andrew Grayson, the wealthy young Canadian businessman, devastated his friends and family. Grayson was enjoying a Pacific cruise with his family on board the S.S. Arcadia. One evening, he told his wife he was going to take a stroll on deck, but he never returned. The alarm was raised, but Grayson was never found, and was eventually presumed dead, lost overboard.

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Possibilities

1 Grayson did fall overboard, and he was washed up on an island. He spent several days surviving off the land before falling foul of the Dzygan. The Dzygan is a flesh-eating monstrosity that was imprisoned on the island centuries ago. It obtains the memories of anything it devours, and can imitate them almost perfectly. With a human form and memories, it can now escape the island.

2 This is not the first disappearance aboard the Arcadia, but the cruise line have managed to cover them up until now. The ship’s captain and a number of the crew are worshippers of Dagon. They sacrifice passengers in return for wealth and fair sailing. Unfortunately for them, this high-profile death has roused suspicions.

3 Grayson, bored of his wealth and his family, turned to ever more exotic experiences to sate his remarkable brain. Eventually he fell in with Angelo Botticelli, an ageing sorcerer who offered him unlimited power in return for sacrificing all his worldly ties. Grayson faked his own death and has become Botticelli’s apprentice. However, a prominent and wealthy businessman like Andrew Grayson can’t easily go unnoticed, and reported sightings of him in Fiji are proving hard to ignore.

© Rob Illing

Kindergarten Kult

All is not well at the Arkham Day-Care Center. The children who attend seem to have fun at the Centre, but recently they complained of nightmares. The nightmares vary, but they all seem to be about Mrs Mollse, the Center’s nurse.

Possibilities

1 Mrs Mollse is a member of the Arkham Witch-Cult. She has recently been given a mind-control spell by the Outer God Yitllicn, the Alterer of Thoughts. She is using it on the children under her care. Whilst under the spell’s influence, they think all is normal, not knowing that they are carrying out unspeakable tasks in the name of Yitllicn. However, when they sleep, the memories of what really happened seep through.

2     About a month ago, Cthulhu visited Mrs Mollse in her dreams, "requesting" that she become one of her priests. Foolishly, Mrs Mollse refused. The Dreamer in R’lyeh is now trying to incriminate Mrs Mollse in a child-abuse case (deep ones are really carrying out the abuse).

3     The nightmares are of Mrs Mollse being torn up by awful dog-like beasts (experienced investigators will realize that these are the Hounds of Tindalos). Before she came to the Center, Mrs Mollse was a New Age Traveller. Experimenting with a certain drug, she encountered the Hounds. She fled the New Age camp and became a kindergarten nurse, which she thought would be enough to give the Hounds the slip. The Hounds have not caught up with her yet, as she went quite far in time. The dreams are warnings sent by arrival species of angular time.

© Arthur Boff

Hyde's New Face

A month ago Mr Hyde developed a growth on his thigh. Doctors assured him it was benign and scheduled an operation to remove the tumour. However, a week ago the pallid sac had grown a tiny grotesque face. Mr Hyde was even more disturbed by what the face said. It spoke of “hideous truths unknown to humanity.” Whenever Mr Hyde tried to show the growth to someone the face vanished; all anyone could see was a fleshy lump.

The “secrets of hell” that the face has told Mr Hyde have driven him near mad. The face has also convinced him that should it be removed then Mr Hyde will die. Can the investigators help before the operation?

Possibilities

1 Mr Hyde is carrying an evil parasitic life-form which, left untreated, will drive the host insane before taking over the whole body. Surgically removing the parasite will kill Mr Hyde. The only remedy is exorcism.

2 Mr Hyde has a rare disease that causes tumours and insanity. There is neither face nor danger of death. However, merely removing the lump is no cure. Another tumour will appear along with increasingly violent mental instability. The disease may be contagious.

3 The face belongs to a previously dormant underdeveloped conjoined twin that Mr Hyde’s body had absorbed whilst in the womb. The twin somehow survived and now jealously wants to have a body of its own. The twin can force Mr Hyde’s body to reabsorb its face when observed. Over time the twin will filter more and more nutrients to itself, eventually growing limbs while its brother becomes weaker. At the right time, the twin will extricate itself from its brother’s body. Surgery can save Mr Hyde, but only by murdering the conjoined twin.

© Chris Moreby

Isolated Town

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.

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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 who 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 been 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?

© Nicolas Dao Phan

Guman Thong

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 than human remains, each statue contains 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.

© Paul Shuster

Graven Images

Edward Appleton is a thriller movie director of some note. Despite being an anarchic independent type he has completed three very successful films in the last two years, making him a hot property in the US movie industry.

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Now he is in town to shoot his latest masterpiece, a ghost/love story called Love Conquers All. The plot revolves around recluse Daniel Graves, a handsome young man who is haunted by the malevolent ghost of his deceased fiancee Celeste Severin; women he meets turn up dead and the police pursue him to a final confrontation where he is burned to death in his mansion.

Appleton has a big budget and has two-star actors, namely Nancy Page, a classic beauty ideal for tragic heroine roles, and Robert Hunter, a debonair romantic action-man. Their arrival in town is greeted with much publicity as Appleton has chosen the (infamous) sprawling Schottky Mansion as the set for the haunted house which features in the film.

The Schottky Mansion quickly lives up to its reputation as a genuine haunted house. Two days after setting up their equipment the movie crew are in turmoil. One of the make-up assistants, Mary White, is found horribly murdered in the dining hall.

Possibilities

1 Appleton is a classically disturbed sociopath who wants as much recognition as possible.

He debates with an inner voice which he perceives as his Devil’s Advocate. On previous occasions, he has listened to this voice, followed its suggestions and as a result made some very clever and disturbing films a la Alfred Hitchcock (whom Appleton worships as a movie genius but would probably dislike intensely if he actually met him).

Researching Appleton thoroughly will reveal details of his Svengali-like personality and obsession with detail (not necessarily unusual in a movie director). Researching his recent history will uncover unconnected murders near the locations of his previous movies. All such murders could be seen as dummy runs for scenes from the movies. Some victims are stalked and terrified, others killed outright; methods of despatch include auto accident, stabbing, shooting, strangulation, falling from a great height, drowning, bitten by spiders, etc.

Appleton is a master of cinematic tension, playing on common phobias as inspiration. Anyone who attracts his unwelcome attention had better be psychologically stable.

2     Robert Hunter recently rejected the amorous advances of Nancy Page. As Nancy Page considers herself a screen goddess, she did not like her rejection by the up and coming Hunter. Then Nancy saw Hunter laughing with Mary White and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Nancy had a red rose and a letter delivered to Mary, the letter asking her to meet Hunter on the set. Nancy then confronted Mary and stabbed her to death in an identical fashion to that laid out in the script. She hopes to throw the police off the track and more importantly to be around to console Hunter through his grief. 

Hunter is a closet homosexual and does not want his promising career ruined by a public scandal; Mary knew his secret but died before she could tell Nancy the real reason for her rejection.

3     The Schottky Mansion is owned by Pennywell Properties who purchased it for a song some 15 years ago. It has had a history of odd occurrences and has never been let for more than three months at a time. The local kids refer to it as a haunted house, nobody seems able to stay in it overnight, weird music comes from it at inauspicious times and it has been researched by a number of psychics and mediums.

Pennywell Properties has let the mansion to the studio who plan to burn it to the ground for the climax of the movie. Official permission has already been granted.

The mansion is indeed haunted, by the wraith of Abraham Schottky, its original owner. He was a talented Jewish-Polish physicist far ahead of his time, working in the field of acoustics. His researches accidentally opened a gate through which a Servitor of the Outer Gods passed, killing him and devouring his body before returning to Azathoth. The gate is only fully open at times such as Walpurgis Night.

To end the hauntings the gate must be fully closed, a dangerous process as at least one Servitor will come to interfere.

Schottky’s deranged wraith is taking its own illogical steps to ensure that the mansion is left alone. It can possess psychically sensitive humans and cause parapsychic phenomena to occur. It possessed the sensitive Robert Hunter during an innocent assignation with Mary White and he is deeply troubled because of the blackout he experienced and the resultant memory gap. He has no occult or specialist knowledge beyond a talent for empathising with people.

© Peter Devlin