| And When She Was Bad | |||||
| The Ghost of Austin House | |||||
| A Witchcraft RPG Scenario | |||||
| Introduction | Story Hook | Research | Exploration | Fear | |
| History Notes | Designer Notes | ||||
| Summary | |||||
| The investigators discover a house with a history of tragedy and a reputation for haunting. Can they learn the truth, and will they live to tell it? | |||||
| Chronicler's Introduction | |||||
| The Austin House Ghost is more of a setting piece than a true scenario; it may be used as a one-shot scenario or as a multi-session arc, and be as central or as peripheral as you like. | |||||
| As this an investigative scenario, characters with Research/Investigation, Notice, and Occult Knowledge (Ghosts) would be quite useful. A Seer with Mindtime would be most valuable in piecing together what really happened to the three Austin girls. The game as structured requires involvement of the Order of Twilight, although this can be changed to fit the chronicle. Two members of the Order of Twilight are included in this writeup for use as necessary (in playtesting they were useful both as information-gatherers and ghost-fodder). Alternately, the Chronicler may wish to run Mundanes through the house. Survival is far from assured for any of them, but it may make for a fine fright. | |||||
| Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Chronicler History, below. It should set much of the tone for handling the ghost. | |||||
| The Story Hook | |||||
| Anna Davis is a Mundane scholar who runs Restless Spirits Paranormal Services, a front company for the Order of Twilight. She talks to prospective clients, susses out if they might really have a supernatural problem, and assists the Gifted associate who is subsequently called in on the case. | |||||
| Today’s case: the Austin House, the site of several murders and disappearances over the last 100 years, is reputed by the locals to be haunted. A young couple from another town, Chris and Marsha Oakes, are looking to buy it. They like the house and the location, but as they explore the property, unsettling occurrences are making them have second thoughts. Small things have disappeared, to reappear in another room; faint laughter or footsteps are heard upstairs; worst of all is the feeling of being watched. Marsha feels it more strongly, and their terrier won’t set foot on the grounds and has to be left in the car when they visit. They were creeped out enough to contact Restless Spirits Paranormal Services. They need to close on the house soon, but want to be assured it is safe. | |||||
| The Research | |||||
| Davis does some of the legwork, putting together a file for the investigators. It contains: | |||||
| 1. A basic chronology of the house. | |||||
| 2. Old floor plan of the house. | |||||
| 3. A student paper, giving an account of the house’s history to 1981. | |||||
| Essay | |||||
| The student essay includes a number of footnotes. If the characters pursue these leads, the Chronicler use these sources to give additional clues. | |||||
| Several people named in the reports may still be alive. If the investigators want to follow up and interview these people, the Chronicler can flesh them out. Some might have been terribly affected by the experience with the house, while others have just pushed it to the back of their minds. One or two may have rationalized the events, discounting the supernatural angle altogether. They probably won’t be able to add substantial clues to what the investigators already know, but their remembrances may strengthen the character’s suppositions. | |||||
| Chronology | |||||
| A look at the player’s chronology may leave several impressions. It is important to remember that the Chronicler’s chronology has more information (including spoiler clues) than the player’s version. Keep a copy of both but don’t get them mixed up! | |||||
| The player chronology does not have moon phases; if they are clever enough to ask, the Chronicler may relate the information. Based on the chronology alone, researchers won’t deduce a solid pattern on moon phases; some events took place on or near days of power, but not enough for a firm pattern. If they seem stumped, have an NPC reiterate some key points: | |||||
| – Edward suffered tragedies until he was alone in the house; he lived quietly for over a decade after that. | |||||
| – John Austin was okay until he found someone else in his life; the jealous house crippled her. | |||||
| – John put the house up for sale, and died soon after. | |||||
| – Viola Simmons doted on the house and garden, and lived to a ripe old age. | |||||
| – There seems to be more trouble when there are multiple family members than where there is only one tenant. | |||||
| – The Deckers left suddenly and unexpectedly, perhaps avoiding John’s fate. | |||||
| A clever player (or an NPC with a very good roll) may find the patterns and deduce that the house (or the spirit in the house) likes attention from the owner, and jealously guards that attention from those who would share it. | |||||
| Exploration | |||||
| Sooner or later, the characters will want to explore the house itself. Refer to the map and the section Austin House. | |||||
|
|||||
| Chronicler History Notes | |||||
| Emma Austin demanded to be the center of attention, and was clever and manipulative enough to get it. She could play the grownups, particularly her father; if she couldn’t completely sway the adults, she resorted to making her star brighter in their eyes by dimming that of her young rivals. But her stepmother had her own children, and her father tried to be their father as well. Emma’s unusually sharp intelligence combined with an anemic sense of morality made for an utterly dangerous, psychopathic young woman. So she hatched a plan to take the other girls out of the picture, adapting the story of a grisly murder in Raleigh that was all the gossip. | |||||
| Never was a girl sweeter to her sisters than in the weeks before her plan came together. Her parents and brother went down the road to visit neighbors, leaving the eldest girl, Bess in charge. Emma convinced Bess to let her tie the older sibling up as part of a game. Then, pulling out a kitchen knife, she slashed and stabbed the younger siblings. Little Mary died in moments as her blood sprayed across the walls of the hall; she staggered to one of the bedrooms before falling just inside the room. Julia, stabbed in the chest and the arm, broke loose and ran to her room, where she hid in a chest. Emma followed her and dropped the lock, trapping the wounded child. Emma taunted the screaming Bess before slashing her throat. Then, very carefully and with great determination, she slashed her shoulder and bruised her face and legs. She even pushed the knife handle between the a bureau and the wall and backed her shoulder into it. Retrieving the blade, she drove it into her dying sister’s chest. After waiting for the all sounds in the next room to cease, the evil young girl then staggered into the attic, hid the knife under a plank, and lay behind a trunk, where she waited until her father returned. She played it up well; it never even occurred to anyone the envious minx could be responsible for the murders. The fact that no tracks were found outside was attributed to the rain. Since no valuables were taken, it was assumed the crime was committed by a disgruntled client, but again there wasn’t enough evidence to indict anyone. | |||||
| Emma’s father doted on her all the more, especially after his wife killed herself. He couldn’t tell her no. At her request he had built an exact replica of the house and grounds for his little princess. Much of her time was spent making small adjustments to reflect real-life changes, such as changing leaves or the remodeling of the house (done, again, and the daughter’s insistence). But she made the mistake, some years later, of letting her crime slip while taunting her stepbrother. He was a strong lad, and in a blind rage he beat her to death, then bolted and was never seen again. She was laid to rest in a small plot behind the house, and the dollhouse moved to the attic. | |||||
| That would have been the end of it, but Emma’s will was too strong to let a thing like death get in the way of her desires. Edward mourned his daughter deeply, but was nonetheless taken aback at her spiritual return. He grew accustomed to her presence, and soon came to need it. She rewarded him with visitations for a while, then grew more demanding. Edward eventually cut himself off from social contacts, spending his meager funds on little improvements to the house. She strained her spiritual powers to the limit in scaring off two burglars, but learned more about herself and became even more closely tied to the house. Edward died of natural causes, and John, the nephew who inherited the house, became the target of Emma’s “affections”, manifesting in usually subtle ways, so that he grew accustomed to sharing the house. Though not so doting as Edward, he did learn to pay attention to the house. Emma showed herself to John and occasionally to visitors, but most of her visitations were more subtle – objects moved, doors opening, and so on. He was quick to join up when war broke out, and it was as much the desire to be away from the house that made him leave as patriotism. | |||||
| By the time John returned from Europe, Emma was essentially one with the house, and began exerting control over the place. She had also grown stronger through the fears of an intruder (a vagrant looking for shelter) that she captured in the basement and tortured for several days. She was pleasant enough, if a little tricksy, to John when he returned, giving him coy little reminders when she thought she was straying from his mind. In truth, he had always been troubled by the spiritual shenanigans, but thought it was better to appease than ignore. Then he began courting, and Emma saw less and less of him. When he got engaged, the ghost’s jealousy flared hot. She cursed Nancy when the woman visited the house, and soon afterward her car was totaled. Nancy was sent to Richmond to be with family while she recovered, and John, convinced the house was bad luck, made arrangements to sell it and move away. The house felt betrayed. The coroner said John died from a heart attack as a result of moving boxes in a hot attic, but in reality Emma killed him, tormenting him and feeding off his fear. | |||||
| No one lived in the house for eight years, though two intrepid snoopers (one was a burglar, the other a teen from Morganton) died there. The widow Violet Simmons was much better suited than John to keep Emma happy. The ghost was wise enough to keep manifestations to a minimum, but still coaxed the widow to dote on the house and gardens for 15 years, until she died (peacefully, in her sleep) in 1975. | |||||
|
Next to the original murders, nothing was as gossip-worthy as the death of Cathy Avery. The empty house became a “dare” spot for teens, with dares ranging from touching the gates after dark to spending the night on the porch. Some kids scared themselves, but Emma was not above goading their fear on occasion. On Halloween of 1979, Kimberly Hart, 12, Lisa Ester, 13, Melissa Mays, 12, and Cathy Avery, 11, broke into the house to spend the night. For hours they sat in the parlor, huddled around a small fire, eating candy and smoking their first cigarettes. In front of the crackling fire, the air grew warm and cozy. In spite of themselves, they drifted off to sleep around 1:00. Cathy woke to sound of a girl’s voice calling her. She padded out of the room. The next few hours were excruciating as the remorseless spirit literally scared the life out of her. Emma possessed the sleeping Lisa, who carried the body back to the parlor. When the girls awoke in the morning, they found Cathy sitting in the easy chair, dead eyes staring at them. The survivor’s fear was icing on the cake, and strengthened Emma considerably. |
|||||
| Visitation fell to a trickle for the next few years; between the tales of the death and the police patrols on Halloween, few dared to pass the gate. Then, in 1984, the Deckers moved in. Emma watched and waited for a full year before she started with the little tricks. Seeing a weak link, she began concentrating on the 14 year old daughter, Jeannie, until the girl had a nervous breakdown at the beginning of February 1989. Now full believers, the family tried to appease the spirit by beginning a remodeling project. This seemed to mollify the ghost, but also bought time. They moved most of their possessions into storage “while they remodeled”. One afternoon, the family left with the rest of their things, and moved out of the state. | |||||
| A few years later, several teenagers spent Halloween on the grounds of the house. Claire Colvin, 17, Jeremy Lowe, 17, Gayle Bennett, 16, Roy Teer, 15, and Jack Mundy, 16, spent the whole night watching the stars in sleeping bags, drinking beer, and trying to scare each other. When everyone woke in the morning, Lowe and Bennett were missing. No signs of foul play were found. Their sleeping bags were where the others remembered, but their flashlights were missing. Because the two were very much an item, it was eventually assumed that they had eloped. Not everyone believed that, but no trace of the two was ever found. | |||||
| Chronicler Chronology | |||||
| Includes moon phases and high-Essence days where appropriate. | |||||
| 1892 – Edward Austin has the house built. | |||||
| 1894 – Emma born( Sept 10); Elsie Austin dies a few months later (Dec 12). | |||||
| 1900 – Edward remarried to Nellie Stevens, a widow with three daughters and a son. | |||||
| 1902 – Emma murdered stepsisters; faked her own injuries (Oct 28). | |||||
| 1903 – Nellie commits suicide (April 14-waning gibbous). | |||||
| 1908 – At Emma’s insistence, Edward remodels house. | |||||
| 1909 – Stepson David discovers Emma’s crime and kills the girl. David runs away and is never seen again. (Nov 9-waning crescent). | |||||
| 1911 – Ghost of Emma returns to Edward. | |||||
| 1930 – Remodel; Edward puts in a cellar. | |||||
| 1932 – Two vagrants enter house; Edward claims he startled one, who falls down stairs and dies (June 22-23-waning gibbous, solstice) Another escapes. Before dawn the next morning, the perpetrator is struck by a train and dies (identified by clothing). | |||||
| 1933 – Edward dies (Feb 23 -new). House inherited by nephew, John Austin. | |||||
| 1942 – John joins the army. | |||||
| 1943 – Two hoboes enter the house; end up dead in the cellar (Dec 22 – waning gibbous, solstice) | |||||
| 1947 – John wires the house for electricity. | |||||
| 1951 – John engaged to Nancy Coulter (May); Coulter crippled in car wreck (Aug 5 –waxing crescent) | |||||
| 1952 – John puts house on the market, but dies before it sells (May 26- waxing crescent). | |||||
| 1960 – Violet Simmons buys the house. | |||||
| 1975 – Simmons dies (July 5 – waning crescent). Burglar enters the house, dies (July 10 –waxing crescent). | |||||
| 1979 – Four children spend the night in the house; one dies mysteriously (Oct 31-Nov 1 –waxing gibbous, Samhain) | |||||
| 1984 – Paul and Carol Decker buy the house. | |||||
| 1989 – Daughter, Jeannie, has a nervous breakdown (February). | |||||
| 1990 – Remodelling project begun, but then owners quit the residence mysteriously (Aug 3 Waxing Gibbous, just after Lammas). | |||||
| 1992 – Several teenagers spend Halloween near the house; two disappear. Assumed elopement. (waxing crescent, Samhain). | |||||
| 1993 – Prospective buyers Chris and Marsha Oakes report strange happenings. Game begins Oct 27 (Full on 30th). | |||||
| Designer Notes | |||||
| The game was designed to have the feel of a haunted house movie like Rose Red and others; even a competent character should feel that getting out is an accomplishment. | |||||
| The session as played involved a PC medium of middling necromantic powers, and 2 NPCs: a psychic with powerful psychometric power but little else, and a Mundane with skills in photographic and electronic equipment. Because of setting considerations, the game was set in 1993, so the character had no cell phone and information gathering was more time-consuming without the internet. There is nothing in the scenario that strictly limits the time frame; a Chronicler familiar with the MO of the ghost can add disappearances and owners to fill in any intervening years. | |||||
| For their inspirations, thanks to Eric Barringer for the Dollhouse, Stephen J. Barringer for the mystery death of the girl, Michael for the child’s room and chest, and Craig Oxbrow for the mirror. | |||||
| I would appreciate your comments and feedback. | |||||
Visitations since November 6, 2005