VAPS DARKWOOD MISSION STATEMENT

In November of 2013 I was placed in the position of team leader of the newly reformed Virginia Association of Paranormal Science – VAPS. I came to this position through my long tenure as a professor of advanced paranormal sciences at Miskatonic University.

The previous VAPS team, operating under a grant from the university, was lost both figuratively and literally in 2007. At that time, the team was lead my a Dr. Randolph Carter. The incident occurred while Dr. Carter and the entire VAPS team were investigating the highly controversial property known as D350 in the Miskatonic Paranormal Catalog. Its given name is DarkWood Manor. The details of Dr. Carter's investigation are sealed at the university. Even as a professor of high standing I was unable to get a look at those files. So, my understanding of what occurred at site D350 in 2007 is very sketchy. Based on what I have read of Dr. Carter's previous work, I do know that he was investigating one of the many legends that surrounds DarkWood Manor. His investigation was obviously centered around what is commonly referred to as the legend of the iron coffins. Apart from that simple fact, all I know of Dr. Carter's investigation are rumors and whispered incrimination. I will not speculate or lend any credence to the rumors of what became of Carter. My interest in D350, DarkWood Manor, is of a larger scope.

As I mentioned, the file on D350, is replete with legends and mysteries. Some are based on fact, and some I'm sure are just based on wild imagination. My theory on DarkWood Manor, if proven, could explain all the mysteries.

I will not bore you with the bulk of my research for this is not an academic paper. This is to merely explain the actions I'm about to take in regards to D350.

Leroy and Raven DarkWood, built DarkWood Manor in 1880. No one looking at the historical records can deny the fact that this loathsome couple were heavily into occult practices. Their exploits before and after the construction of the manor fill volumes in Miskatonic University's occult case record vault.

After years of painstakingly sifting through those dusty tomes I have pieced together the couple's real objectives, links to their strange disappearance in 1910, and reasons for many of the other paranormal activities reported in and around the D350 site.

I believe that the DarkWoods established a cult around the same time they built their residence, DarkWood Manor. The cult they set up worshiped the blasphemous Elder Gods of eons past, and they built DarkWood Manor to serve as a temple to these horrid elder things. The cult focused on just one of the many avatars of the mysterious and malign Nyarlathotep. This avatar was known as Rúin. The Cult of Rúin, led by the DarkWoods built the manor to serve as a beacon or portal to call forth the Elder Gods, and Rúin was the key to bringing this about.

I also believe that the physical structure of DarkWood Manor was designed specifically to harness a special form of energy found in a peculiar type thunderstorm that occurs periodically at the D350 site. This would explain a great number of unexplained disappearances, deaths and bizarre happenings that have occurred not only at the site in the past hundred years, but the ones that have occurred in a 50 mile radius surrounding the site.

I know many of my colleagues would say there is no direct evidence to my claims, and that I have read too much into the stories that I read on rotting pages of lore. Perhaps this is true, but I intend to prove my theory at the risk of my career and perhaps my sanity.

After some research into meteorological sciences and weather history, I believe I have predicted the time when the next thunderstorm that will occur at the D350 site that bares the properties which cause dark forces to rise up around DarkWood Manor. I plan to take the VAPS team to the D350 site at that time for a full investigation of the house.

Now, I must confess...I was ordered by the paranormal department at Miskatonic not to investigate the D350 site no matter what the reason. After the Dr. Carter investigation the site was deemed too dangerous. My primary directive when given the leadership of the VAPS team was to test some new paranormal defense equipment. Our investigators are faced with extreme dangers during investigations, so it is imperative that we be able to defend ourselves. Over the past several months the new equipment has checked out on numerous investigations. So, even though it is against the universities wishes, I feel I'm ready to carry out the investigation to prove my theory.

I know that storm is coming, and me and my team are ready to go in there to face whatever nightmares we may find, and perhaps uncover what became of Leroy and Raven DarkWood and their Cult of Rúin.

-Dr Martin Chambers

VAPS Team Leader

August 1, 2014

Miskatonic Paranormal Catalog Entry:

Cult of Rúin- The origins of this cult are unknown, and as far as we know is no longer in existence. The cult worshiped an Elder God known as Rúin. Rúin is believed to be an incarnation of Nyarlathotep (see entry on Nyarlathotep). Little is know of this cult. It is rumored, but not confirmed, that the practitioners of the cult adopted ghoulish practices of eating the dead. This transformed not only their physical appearance, but extended their lives beyond those of the average human.