A Whitby Vampire - June 1929A Call for HelpFor several days before the arrival of the letter from Frederick Davis, several of the investigators had spotted curious stories in the Press about a "vampire" in the town of Whitby. Davis's letter, more than hinting at strange events, potentially connected to the Shelborough Incident, caused them to make arrangements to travel to Whitby the next day. It took most of the day to arrive in the picturesque town and was early evening by the time they had arranged lodging at The Royal Hotel. They then ascended the 199 Abbey Steps and made their way round the ruin to Davis's abode at East Cliff House. Davis was delighted to see them and had laid on a splendid High Tea for them - courtesy of "cook"! Over the meal he explained this his friend Elliot Elder was a member of a group, somewhat similar to their own, that was interested in investigating the unusual. He believed they had stumbled upon something and the members of the group were now in danger, hence the call for help. He informed them that Elder was out of town for a few day but was expected to return shortly. Davis was unaware of exactly what Davis's group had found, and the only other member of the group he was aware of was Steven Mason. Davis had never met him but her believed he lived somewhere in the town.  Next morning after a pleasant night in the Royal Hotel the Investigators set out to discover what they could find out in Whitby. In time-honoured fashion they all spilt up.Billy and Basil took a walk up to prospect Hill and confirmed that Elder's house was all quiet, no one was at home. Carl went to the police station and spoke to the constable there who informed him that the investigation was being run out of York and the lead investigator was Inspector Paul Needham, for whom she obtained contact details. Jimmy and Paul went first to the local library and then to the offices of the Whitby Gazette where they quickly discovered that Steven Mason had been the latest victim of the "Whitby Vampire". They also made contact with Tom Jenkins, a local reporter who, although happy to exploit the "vampire" angle to sell papers, was convinced that the murders were simply burglaries gone wrong. Meeting back at the Royal, they compared notes and Basil speculated that the other victims may have been members of Elder's group. While Paul settled in the lounge with a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula for research, Basil and Billy decided to see if they could get a look at one of the crime scenes, and decided to head for Michael Green's house in Wellington Terrace. They found the place locked up with one of the upper rear windows boarded up. Basil secured entrance by breaking in through the back door, and they quickly searched the house. There were clear signs of a struggle, including blood-spatter in the rear bedroom, but the only other things they found were a small collection of occult tomes, to which Billy helped himself to a couple, and a letter linking Michael Green to Steven Mason referring to a recent abortive trip to Durham. Confirming that at least two of the victims had indeed been members of Elder's group. That evening after checking a couple of time that Elder had not returned home they retired to their rooms after a rather nice fish supper in the hotel restaurant. Early next morning they set out fro Elder's house once more. There was no answer at the door, but when they went round the back noticed, that the upper rear window was smashed. Fearing the worst, Basil once more provided a hefty shoulder to the back door and they rushed upstairs. The bedroom was a mess, the window—not just the glass, but the frame as well—had been smashed from the outside, the bedside table next to it, was in pieces. They found what they feared in the living room. A body, presumably Elder lay there, a shotgun next to it. The body was covered in bruises. When Billy examined it, he noted to his horror that in the centre of each bruise was a clear puncture mark! They quickly searched the area finding on Elliot's desk a handwritten note containing some curious annotation and a somewhat bizarre recipe. They also found a folder containing random photographs of people, buildings , a set of close-ups of strange inhuman footprints on a beach. The final set was obviously photographs of each of the previous crime scenes. One of these was taken at night with flash. It showed the broken window and something impossible to identify that at first sight looked blurred, underexposed, or out of focus. The final discovery was Elders Journal where they found a list of the previous victims all of whom were confirmed to be friends of Elder. One name however was not crossed off - that of Seth Gray. Another, Gabriel Ward, was crossed off but also had numerous question marks against it. Although there were numerous cryptic references to the others in the journal. There was little about Ward other than his address and curious reference to seals and keeping away from the sea! Another short list of names contained the names of Sam Miller, Professor Benjamin Graham and Seth Gray again - this time with an address for him in Ugthorpe. Two other curiosities they discovered before they left was some strange goo plastered against a wall, in which Billy spotted a shotgun pellet, and that fact that someone had spilled floor over the floor in the hallway. Leaving the crime scene, they debated whether to report it or not but decided that if the mysterious Seth Gray had not been crossed off the list he might still be alive and they should seek him out urgently. A few enquiries revealed that Ugthorpe was a tiny village on the moors and was served by a bus service that departed the Quay at 11.30. They dashed back to the hotel to pick up some gear, and then met at the bus stop on they Quay. As they were waiting for the bus, they ran into Tom Jenkins who informed them he was on his way to the scene of the latest murder - someone had obviously reported something. The motor-bus to Ugthorpe did not actually go to Ugthorpe but dropped them off at a stop on the moors - of course it was raining!. Walking down what was little more than a muddy track the Investigations arrived in the tiny village. At the local shop cum Post Office they gained directions to Hob Lea House. They met Seth Gray, an elderly man, who walked with the support of a cane. Despite the elderly and obviously infirm occupant and the seeming lack of servants, the house was neat and tidy. Gray was saddened but not surprised to hear of the death of Elder and advised them that he had worked with the group as a researcher as he maintained an extensive library. He invited the Investigators to stay the night as he had put in place certain "protections" round the house and he suspected that their poking around may have drawn the attention of those who had eliminated the other members of his group. Accepting the offer, Basil asked if they could see the library. Seth obliges and leads them down a corridor to the back of the house. The library was the largest room in the house but, in contrast to the other rooms, was completely disorganised. There were books and papers packed onto shelves from floor to ceiling and piled on the carpet, the desk, the tables and chairs. Seth apologised for the mess saying, “it isn’t usually quite this bad.” Ugthorpe and BeyondSeth invited the Investigators to go upstairs and settle into one of the bedrooms upstairs. They found the bedrooms to be as in immaculate a condition as the rest of the house, library excluded. Later when summoned by the sound of a bell, found that Seth, despite his infinity, had somehow managed to provide a full roast dinner for them in the intervening period. After dinner over cigars and brandy, Seth continued to fill them in on his researches much of which surrounded a cult dedicated to a god called Azathoth which dated back to pre-Celtic times. They also discussed the papers they had found in Elders house including some discussion around the "Voorish Sign" and the "Baneful Dust of Hermes Trismegestius", as well as the mysterious assassin. Seth also informed them he had in place several "protections" around the house and that they were welcome to stay a few days.  Next
morning after breakfast the Investigators discovered to their amazement
that the Library was now as pristine as the rest of the house. Also on
the desk was a piece of paper and several packets. Billy gasped as he
realised that the papers continued instructions for the use of the
Voorish Sign. They guessed that the packets contained what was needed
to create the Baneful Dust.Billy, Basil and Carl headed for the kitchen to prepare the Baneful Dust, while Paul continued browsing the library and Jimmy decided to potter about in the garden. Max announced that he was heading back to Whitby to sort out with the hotel that they would be away for a few days. A short while after Max left, Paul suddenly realised that Max was leaving whatever "protections" Seth had in place here and chased after him to war him. Unfortunately he was unable to catch up with Seth before he boarded the bus! The Investigators spent the rest of the day, and that evening researching in the Library, or in Billy's case, getting Seth to teach him how to cast the Voorish Sign. Jimmy discovered a badly mutilated copy of a book called "Unaussprechlichen Kulten", while Max was able to piece together another recipe for something called the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi which was also referenced in Elder's journal. After dinner Seth informed them that he a had discovered a link of the cult of Azathoth and a site near Scarborough called Lilla Howe, so the Investigators decided to head off there after Max's return. Next morning, after a few hours in the library, where Billy found another spell waiting for them, Healing, the Investigators, took leave of Seth, headed up to the bus stop, where Max duly arrived advising his trip to Whitby had been uneventful, though he had run into the reporter from the Whitby Gazette who informed him that another victim, Gabriel Ward's body had been found. The caught the Scarborough bus, alighting at the Flask Inn, the nearest stop to Lilla Howe. They took rooms there and then set up to hike across the moors. Lilla How was an an ancient burial mound, topped with an ancient Celtic cross. They found little of interest there and decided to head back to the Inn for dinner. As they descended and passed through a grove of hawthorn trees, Carl noticed what appeared to be a moss-covered standing stone. He called Paul over to have a look, clearing some of the moss they found strange inscription and a carving of a strange-looking insectoid creature. Looking round they noticed other overgrown stones, making what was clearly a circle. As they did two of the hawthorn tree suddenly moved, revealing themselves to be xiclotan! Rituals of Casting-OutOnce they had got over their initial shock, the Investigator's reacted quickly to the threat of the Xiclotlan. Jimmy, Basil and Carl began taking pot-shots with their revolvers, while Max rapidly loaded his shotgun. Paul, being completely unarmed took off - heading downhill across the moors for the Inn. Basil managed to get too close to one of the Xiclotlan and was badly wounded, the Xiclotlan was just about to swallow the downed sleuth whole when both barrels of Max's shotgun let loose on it, causing him to drop Basil to the ground. Jimmy immediately leaped out of the bushes and calling on the name of Bast, used his recently learned Healing spell to save his uncle. As Max's shotgun proved particularly effective the Xiclotlan were mostly blown apart. and the Investigators, bloody and bruised made their was back to the inn. After a restorative snifter or two in the bar, the Investigators
headed up to their rooms for a bath and to dress for dinner, which
turned out to be a rather pleasant mutton stew. After dinner they
repaired to the bar where several locals and even a few holidaymakers
were enjoying the local ales. They spent a pleasant evening swapping
tales with the local, finding out that although Lilla Howe historically
had a bad reputation, in more recent years that appears to have been
superseded by strange occurrences at nearby Bloody Beck. The
pleasantries were interrupted a one point by an arrogant young man named
Ashton Brown, who derided the conversation loudly it was all
superstitious nonsense. he pronounced that abandoning such outdated
ideas and using science is the only way to understand the world, and That night, Jimmy and Carl were awoken by the sounds of movement in
the hall outside their room. They investigated and followed a shadowy
figure down the stairs till he went out of the inn and headed across the
moors. They were unable to Next morning they decided to investigate Bloody Beck. A hour or so trek across the moors led them to the are which they noted was full of disturbed earth and muddy footprints. Even more disconcerting, a huge bird-like creature watched them, somewhat improbably perched atop one of the trees that did not look like it would support it's weight. Slightly unnerved by the unnatural observer,they searched the area, but found little other than the mound of disturbed earth. Basil did confirm there was significant amounts of blood mixed in with the earth. As they turned to leave Jimmy decided to make a rude gesture at the silent observer which retaliated by flying down and snapping at him with a most un-birdlike fanged maw as it flew by. Wisely the Investigators decided to retreat, though Basil did take a pot-shot at the thing as it flew off. Not really sure what to do now the Investigators decided to return to Ugthorpe to consult with Seth once more. Catching the but they returned to Hob Lea to a surprise, Seth, in sharp contrast to the previous day seemed to have become sceptical about the whole affair, feeling that as they had found nothing, there must be nothing to find. He even dismissed their reports of the huge bird-like creature, saying it must have been an eagle which were occasionally found on the moors. Feeling something with distinctly off, the Investigators agreed they would stay the night and return to Whitby in the morning. Paul swung by the library, which looked pristine, but noted on the desk a single sheet of paper and a couple of bundles of dried flowers. Reading the paper, it seemed to be detailing a spell called Cast out Shan, some kind ritual of exorcism. The Investigators retired upstairs, notably not invited to dinner, and convened in Paul's room! They discussed Paul's find and Seth's strange behaviour. They wondered how Seth had apparently not been targeted by whatever was hunting them before when Max suddenly recalled that he had mentioned Seth's name to the reporter. Perhaps something had leaked from the Whitby Gazette. Jimmy also recalled mentioning Davis's name to the reporter. That night they resolved to free Seth from whatever was possessing him. Paul taking the lead they began following the obscure steps detailed on the page. They first cleared a space in the cellar, then with the aid of an astronomy book and a compass, constructed a pentagram in the cellar. They burned the plants in a colander retrieved from the kitchen, which created a pungent, sweet smelling smoke. The smoke was wafted into Seth's bedroom and Jimmy and Basil then grabbed the old man from his bed. They dragged him down to the cellar as he protested as vigorously as his old frame would permit. Dumping him the the middle of the pentagram, Paul began the ritual, Basil and Jimmy supporting him with the Voorish sigh. Immediately Seth's body froze in position, then collapsed to the ground convulsing. As Paul repeated the invocation of Ia Gla'aki a shimmering insectoid figure appeared above Seth's head and his body was still. Suddenly, something leaped out of the darkness and grabbed the insect, before retreating into the darkness once more. There was a crunching sound! |
identify the figure but they also felt they
were vaguely familiar. The rain had stopped by now, and the full moon
had emerged from the clouds, but they decided to return to their rooms
and their warm beds.