By: Daiyu Tang ((With significant help via logs & photos from event owner Athena. NB most photos are IC, but there are a few e.g. angled impossibly where your RP discretion is advised. If person X being sliced by person Y wasn’t likely to be camera-phone snapped, please just enjoy it OOC – if in doubt ask Athena!))
Well readers, I hate to say it, but some of our resident Twitter trolls were actually right! Going to a ‘Haunted’ asylum event might not be the safest or wisest things people could do… It turns out that as well as the creepy stories there are umm, either crazy actors, actual ghosts (Surely not… even for Hathian?!) or just vagrant criminals who would take over an event just to dress up and beat on unsuspecting guests. I mean, it’s not quite Tori’s K-Pop Group, but it’s pretty inventive…
Anyway Corbin made it out and had the reaction on the left, while the FDH and Ryder provided ‘advice‘ before the event… But we’re skipping ahead here… let’s slow down…
Before we spoil too much (and I’m still waiting for casualty counts – although it seems fortunately only 2 or 3 injured and less fortunately 1 or 2 missing) let’s start with what we know…
So, Stillwater Asylum was last in the news in January this year when an explosion damaged parts of the building. Before that, stories circulated about the place with rumours of inhumane treatments and a conveyor belt of misery…
While I was unable to stay for most of the event, I was there to wish some of the early arrivals well, dressed as Daphne, because for ghosts, who you gonna call? The Scooby Gang!
About Stories And Places…
The Asylum was a maze and whether it had been decorated for this event to make it more macabre, or whether those who then caused trouble had chosen to make it so, was not clear, although as the talks from Athena unfolded it became clearer that she had not had time to clear it up yet – it wasn’t ready for ‘business’ it was more so in the state it had been abandoned in when she bought it. Even so, perhaps it is (and will always be) this spooky… but, to help you understand the layout and some of the backstories that we were made aware of, here are some notes obtained from research, Athena or exploration on the day.
The Medical Lab & Exam Room
This room of horrors is a testament to the types of experiments and tortures that happened to the patients within the asylum, to the odd collections of bloodstained tools to the agony that literally screams from it’s decaying walls. Books and literature show an inclination towards study, cures, diagnoses but it is more likely the room was home to a lot of sinister practices and trials of medicine that would never be allowed in the modern field.
The Bathrooms
The asylum bathrooms, while boasting running water and mostly clean toilets, continue to keep their share of secrets. From the cracked and shattered mirrors to the two large tubs, and blood-stained floors, it looks as macabre as the rest of the building. One tub lay open to the visitors… Congealing blood and chunks of something with a smell of decay throughout the room. There were trails of splattered blood cross the floor in erratic patterns with sprays occasionally decorating the walls
Nurse Salvion’s Cell
Nurse Salvion, 24, was diagnosed with psychotic episodes. Once an employee here she was rumoured to have decided to cure those ailing of mental illnesses with steadily more immoral treatments… Different medications, electro-therapy, and darker practices… Things which caused her to snap. She would shove nails up the nostrils and inner corners of the eyes and drive them into the patients to give them a type of lobotomy she invented, ultimately killing them.
She was murdered by 3 patients that had heard of her methods of ‘healing’ in one of the cells. Held down she had nails driven into her face and her head was nearly chopped off.
Did she actually die? People say they can still hear her screams and the screams of others that she murdered. Some even say they see her walk the halls of the asylum as if she is trapped there.
The Wailing Bride’s Cell
Rebecca, 25, was diagnosed with hysteria. Originally from Hathian, she was a typical young woman with big dreams of a house, a husband, and that white picket fence. The night before that wedding she snuck over to see the groom and discovered him in bed with his mistress. In a fit of absolute heartbreak she donned her wedding gown and returned, knife in hand, and murdered them both and left them in tiny pieces to be discovered by housekeeping.
It is rumoured she died of longing for the husband she never married though the woman hanging from the bedsheets left no doubts as to suicide. Her diary’s last entry? Blood forming the word – Betrayal.
Pierrot – The Arson Clown’s Cell
Pierrot, 29, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and pyromania. Originally a Ring of Fire performer for the Cirque de la Violette in the 1950s, the gasoline fumes got to him, and Pierrot had a psychotic break while the troupe was performing in Laveau.
He burnt the whole circus down, killing 53 people. Pierrot supposedly died during an experimental psycho-surgery procedure in the asylum during his stay but it is whispered that he still roams the halls seeking those who have images of him for which he held a particular hatred.
The Beast of Laveau’s Cell
Beau Boudroux’s, 37, was diagnosed with psychotic episodes and paranoid schizophrenia. It was said he returned from the war unstable. Whispers about the strange changes, satanic rituals, resulted in his family farm being raided. They discovered 13 bodies of missing locals that were mutilated using an axe.
Beau was discovered in his cell on Halloween night with a pentagram carved into his forehead and symbols drawn in blood under the body.
Some claimed he planned to open a portal to hell to escape and at midnight some say they can hear him scream…
The Guests Arrived – Would They Leave?
There were other stories of course, those about the Janitor that was seen pacing the halls and more… but perhaps the ghost stories told early on or researched in the Asylum’s tainted history were a distraction… at least at the start, for those who assembled in the lobby and recreation rooms. Firstly though as with all guests, they had to be greeted…
Host for the evening was Athena, although it was also the case that the Asylum’s janitor provided the first taste of the residents as he stood, morosely at the steps waving people inside.
Malum: “Welcome to the Asylum, do be careful as while the boss has done their best to make the asylum safe and clean for visitors their is still a long way to go. The boss inside can give the tour and share with you all the historical importance of the place.”
As guests trickled into the Lobby past this stoic doorguard Athena greeted them.
Athena: “Good evening. Welcome to Stillwaters. Thank you for coming. Please head to the left into the recreational room. There are refreshments available and once more people arrive we’ll give a little history of the asylum before exploring it.”
The group filled up, we saw people we knew like Corbin, and others, but there were a range of people we at the Observer have hardly (if ever) met before, so forgive us if we don’t get names right…
After some refreshments it was time to get a little more acquainted with the Asylum and this was courtesy of some loud noises, screams almost that penetrated through the dank walls and pipe strewn ceiling into where the guests were. Athena looked a little nervous it had to be said…
Selected Conversations
Before the shit really hit the fan, our reporter floated around (like a ghost) and overheard a few interesting titbits that could set gossiping tongues wagging…
“Well. I did a body shot off her at Pride…”
“Okay bitch, let’s do some spooky bitch shit. Or whatever…”
“I want to get scared so bad my tiddie almost burst from my top!”
“Jebus H Christy!”
“She has like these just.. -massive- melons, like you haven’t even considered it?”
It was the usual, flirting, complaining and overall it was the lifeblood of what kept Hathian going; people making relationships or in a few cases destroying them. Still, it was fairly clear that for now, despite the noise from upstairs in the asylum that most weren’t yet too put out…
Athena’s Speech
Athena: “Good evening to you all. Welcome to Stillwaters Asylum. My name is Athena Pallas, the new owner of this building. Most would say – Out with the old, in with new – and I fully intend to work towards renovating this place into a functioning facility in the near future but tonight is about the past.
As such a prominent part of Laveau’s history I wished to pay the facility homage for all the stories written on the walls, quite literally in many cases, and all the secrets still contained beneath the layers of dust and decay. They should never be forgotten as history often repeats itself.”
“The sacrifices in places such as these paved the way for more adequate and humane mental healthcare in the modern day. While many of us in the medical field would never condone such experiments openly, getting to where we are now was no easy feat and there was a lot of trial and error along the way.“
Athena
Athena: “This asylum has been passed from owner to owner through the ages and stories about it are varied and plenty. It is hard to pin down all the things that actually happened here. It has been deeply rooted and linked to occult practices, more particularly, voodoo. While there are certainly signs of Satanic rituals, pagan rites, and even demonic possession the building was more well known for it’s rather notorious and criminal patients over the years. As I’ve looked around and gotten familiar with the place, snippets of stories have emerged giving us a glimpse into the past patients and even staff that wandered these halls. After finding a few diaries and notebooks hidden in the rubble, one story of interest came to the forefront. Perhaps simply because I could get more information or make sense of it than the others. After speaking with some of the locals that harrowing tale took shape and I will share that with you tonight before sending you off to explore the asylum and find your own stories and secrets.”
Do you know the Doctor?
After introducing the asylum, Athena set the scene, telling the spooky story of one Dr. Victor Grimwald. We’ve captured the story and you can view it in the file below ((TXT file)).
After telling her ghost story Athena invited us to be ‘let loose’ in the asylum… There were the sound effects that many probably thought were faked to provide atmosphere to go along with the stories, but even though many had a brave face, some were a little more afraid…
As Athena let the group explore, she warned them away from the third floor and mentioned there were cots to sleep in on the second, if anyone was brave enough. One girl braver than the rest headed for the stairs quickly and went up… Once she found out she was first up (this reporter hanging the fuck back) she pointed her torch down the stairs to encourage others to join her!
But then it all went to shit…
Can We Get Off This Ride?
((She moved to the edge of her door, tapping her blood covered cleaver against it, dark eyes looking out from behind her veil. Her makeup was made to look like it was running down her face and it was hard to recognize her behind the veil. She spotted the woman in front of her door and grinned a wicked, sick grin. She slowly pushed her door open, letting out a sorrowful sob to fill the hallway. It was dark, but her eyes were adjusting. Her door pushed against the bed on the other side, making a loud squeak down the corridor.))
“The Bride”
Reader, it’s fair to say that pandemonium was now beginning to break lose. Firstly, as an immersive horror experience we had expected actors and actresses to be there and it must be said that in the first little while we assumed this was all pretend… scary, grown-up, but pretend… We were wrong. Some of us were chased and for others… worse…
We saw a bed being flipped by an ‘actor’ in a strange ‘goat’ outfit. They found a terrified woman beneath it… We saw a bride chasing people down a hallway… we heard the sound of an axe being scraped along walls causing us to flee in terror the other way… We heard and saw a lot more and anyone who had not emptied their bladder was in danger of an accident, it was that scary…
With goats, axemen and brides rushing around the whole place was descended into madness and it was very hard for anyone to keep track of anyone. Were they ok? Were they scared witless? Were they dead? It was impossible to say as people bumped into each other and bumped into those in costumes… or were they ghosts?
This reporter bailed out… thankfully down the stairs and out was just about possible, at least before it got even scarier…
Prank? Ghosts? Litigation?
We understand through the grapevine that some injuries were reported with guests showing up at the clinic or HGH and possibly even a guest or two has gone missing… although we’ve not got names and therefore this should be treated with a pinch of salt… (Like Ryder said to use on ghosts… Fool…) With Athena getting consent forms signed up front, it remains to be seen what, if any, recourse guests have for whatever happened here. Surely, we don’t believe in ghosts, but we do believe in underpaid actors going crazy, or just crazy people… the newspaper has reached out to Athena and will publish any statement she chooses to give in due course.
In the meantime if you were a ‘victim’ of the night, please reach out to a reporter to tell your side of the story!
((Many thanks to those who shared logs and photos, apologies this doesn’t cover the detail of all your struggles, but IC that would have been a bit meta and OOC there was so much, it would have been less an article and more a play script. If you are interested in reviewing, Hiroshi / Athena have cleaned logs across 5 notecards!))
