Historical Society

[pumpkinhollow]

Point of Contact: Dahlia Leeds
Meeting Spaces: Leeds Manor, Greymare Public Library

About.

Run by wealthy socialite and scholar Dahlia Leeds, the Pumpkin Hollow Historical society seeks to ensure the town's future by understanding its past. With frequent meetings to discuss useful and intriguing historical findings and exclusive access to Dahlia's archive, this is the place to be for inquisitive minds. A secular group, the Historical Society also maintains a respectful and neutral relationship with the church.

You can find fliers related to meetings on the bulletin boards located around the Greymare Public Library, a surprisingly austere stone building not far from town hall. A stroll past the bubbling decorative fountain and carefully-shaped topiaries will reveal said board hanging from the wall just beside the door. Look for the stamp of a death's head hawkmoth and you'll be sure to find a helpful advertisement indicating their robust meeting schedule.

Use this post to RP threads that take place at or in relation to the Pumpkin Hollow Historical Society! More details on the organization and its workings can be found under the drop-downs.

Membership.

Joining. You'll have to work very hard to convince the other members of the group you are trustworthy and not just here to mooch off of Dahlia or steal secrets for someone else's gain, and missing gatherings or questioning Dahlia's decisions are strictly prohibited.

Benefits. Dahlia's wealth and influence can be used to increase your financial stability, resources, and occasionally call in a favor to get out of a sticky situation. Dahlia's got your back! Additionally, you'll have access to more information.

Drawbacks. Members of this group die much more frequently under mysterious circumstances. They may also feel some impact from Dahlia's ongoing feud with Ocularum leader Neil West.

Philosophy.

The mistakes of the past are doomed to be repeated if they are forgotten. The Historical Society prides itself on researching, analyzing, and sharing the history of the town and surrounding island for the benefit of its modern residents. This includes and even prioritizes trying to understand the start of the island's curse. It is the hope of the Historical Society that discovering the origin of the curse will lead to uncovering the method by which it can become undone. In the meantime, their useful research on monsters and spirits is used to help locals combat the frequent paranormal problems they experience.

The Historical Society is decidedly secular, welcoming members regardless of religious beliefs. They do not require any sacrifices, offerings, or devotional acts--- only a dedication to learning and research. The one stipulation is that Dahlia maintains a fairly rigorous meeting schedule.

CODE BY MARWOOD

Comments

[woocas]

"Woah, woah, you can't just name drop those things and not give me some of the details." Lucas chuckles. Both of them sound like names from cryptids from back home; like Mothman and the Jersey Devil.

"I know I can look them up, but give me a quick skinny on them at least?" He asks with an eager grin.

[thethirteenthchild]

"Oh, sure!" Dahlia agreed merrilly. "Here, let me get some pictures."

Plucking a pair of books off the shelves, she almost reflexively knew which pages to flip to for artistic renderings of both creatures. The first was a large black creature with wirey hair and antlers that almost formed a crown upon its head. Huge, bat-like wings protruded from its back. The second creature is almost spider-like in its body shape, with a skeletal black ribcage wrapped around a protruding gray belly and eight legs that ended in rough, bony points that look like stakes hewn from old wood. On the end of its long spiney neck was a deformed human face.

"The first is the Pine Devil," Dahlia explained. "On the surface, pretty cut and dried. He eats people. The weird part is trying to find his habitat. No one's ever found a den or been able to find him when they're looking for him. He only seems to show up when he wants to be seen. Then there's this one, the River Walker. We don't know a ton about this one, but it hides under bridges and drags people under. People who died and came back from those encounters say they were trapped in a tight maze of caves and stalked by the creature. It's unclear to what end."

[woocas]

Taking a look over the drawings Lucas can't help but to grimace. Both looks like things you don't want to run into, names aside. he's scribbling some furious notes in his book, trying to keep up.

"What, a maze? I haven't heard of a maze around here. Is there a particular place people have run into the River Walker?"

The Pine Devil seems pretty straight-forward for the time being. He can circle back to the people-eater in a few minutes.

[thethirteenthchild]

"The Paring River. It's that narrow, winding thing that cuts through Lockwood Forest and drops off in a waterfall on the west side of the island," she said, shockingly casual, as Pumpkin Hollow natives tended to be. "There's a bridge along the main path that it frequents."

[woocas]

"Oh, right...right." Lucas scratches his cheek. He's barely batting an eye, too, but it's more because this is not outside the realm of a normal day for him either.

"I mean, if you're going to pick a hunting spot that's a pretty good one. Which means we can probably track it down easier than the other one." The Pine Devil. He can't help but to think of a certain cryptid from back home when looking at the sketch.

"How often do they show up? Did they start showing up when you couldn't leave the island or before then?"

[thethirteenthchild]

"Before. For both of them. The Pine Devil's been active for... hmm, maybe 15 to 20 years? Whereas the River Walker has been around for roughly 7, and the death cutoff was about 5 years ago," Dahlia replied. "Well, actually, it'll be 6 years as of next month. Time really flies."

[woocas]

"That long, huh..." For the Pine Devil at least. Lucas scribbles his notes, pencil tapping against the paper.

"Almost six? Geez, I really can't imagine what it's been like for you all here this whole time." But how long could it continue before everyone slowly started to lose their marbles entirely?

"So, there was a specific day this happened? I got the impression it was a slow-moving event for some reason." Especially since villagers tended to shy away from hard facts about that day in his interviews.

[thethirteenthchild]

"Mmm, it's hard to say," Dahlia mused. "I don't know to pinpoint the exact time when it started, we just started... noticing people coming back after dying. It was in September or October, I know that much."

[woocas]

"September or October..." Lucas repeats softly. Would figure that October might be involved, but maybe they don't have something like Halloween in Pumpkin Hollow. He'll have to keep an open mind about it either way.

"Well, thanks for letting me pick your brain for a bit. It might be easier to look into the River Walker for now, but there's no rhyme or reason at all for the Pine Devil showing up?" He mulls over his own question. "I mean, there has to be a pattern somewhere. There's usually something."

Usually. Then again, they are in Pumpkin Hollow.

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia shrugged lightly. "When it's hungry, I guess. But it's proven very hard to predict."

[woocas]

"Fair point." Lucas sighs. Maybe the truth is simpler than he wants it to be sometimes.

"Well, I can come up with some theories on my own. I don't want to take up too much of your time! Thanks again."