Journal Entry #45 - The Church

June 1st, 2013,  3:40 Pm

Today, as I had planned, I visited the church. St. John's Lutheran Church.

It was quite a beautiful church, a wonderful choir loft, magnificent organ... oh, speaking of the organ...

Yeah, found something etched into the organ's music stand. it said 21:1:9

Day, month, year? Days, hours, minutes?

I sat there for a moment, trying to think of all the possibilities. Then I realized something super obvious: I'm in a church.

I ran down the stairs, into one of the pews, and grabbed a bible. I flipped to the 21st book, chapter 1, verse 9. It was Ecclesiastes.

"What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!"

Oh my lands, when I read that... it terrified me. If this had anything to do with Slenderman...

I think... and I hate saying this... I want to go back to the woods.


I guess we'll see what happens...

Inspector Kornelson

Journal Entry #21 - The Game...

March 15th, 2013 - 5:45 Pm

Here's today's really long corresponding post from Something Sinister:

This week has been weird to the point where I’m wondering how Cat hasn’t noticed.  I’m hope this summery will suffice for now.

Monday: On Monday I stayed in my room all day except for when I needed to leave (chores, lunch, bathroom) and just before dusk something reminded me about the post from thealias and I turned and looked out the window, and looking back, I wish I hadn’t. On the periphery of the woods there stood that same tall man that was in the organ loft. I picked up a pair of binoculars because I couldn’t believe that I would never see this guy facing me. I peered through the binoculars and saw the breast of his suit and a tie. I was confused at this as he had been turned around just a few moments before, so I looked up at his head. What I saw simultaneously horrified me and intrigued me. The man’s skin had not a drop of melanin (if melanin comes in drops) in it. His head was cocked on one side as if he were confused or perplexed by something. But most curious of all, he had no face, or well not no face but no features on it.

I turned and tore through my hopelessly cluttered desk and found a piece of scrap paper on which I wrote a tally mark. When I glanced up again he was gone. I began to wonder if he would come back. Until he did I decided to go back to the library and research.

Tuesday: I followed my plan from the day before and went to library to do research into whatever that person I saw my back yard was. I typed in “faceless creature” in to Google.

 I picked out a snippet that looked interesting. “Scottish folklore” I opened the page and at the top of the page there was a heading. “Fear Dubh,” I read on “A malevolent being that was said to haunt the woods. It was created to scare children in to staying inside after dark.” And that was it the writer hadn’t said anything more. Why I wonder? Perhaps it was not very in portent. So I went over to the help desk and asked if they had any books on Scottish folklore, the lady was very helpful and told me exactly where it was.

The article that I found read, “Fear Dubh—the black man,

Fear Dubh is a spirit that was generally thought to be malevolent. It was said to haunt the Highland forests at night. People who crossed paths with it were haunted by and eventually killed by it. If someone managed to elude the spirit without dying, it would exact its revenge on his (or her) descendants.

Fear Dubh has often been described by people who claimed to have seen it as a gentle man or a nobleman dressed in black, exceedingly tall, and pail. It was also said to lack facial features but, by far its most interesting trait were the many snake-like arms that grew out of its back.”

And then it went to talk about something else. I felt disturbed, the guy at the table next to me was blaring music on his iPod and it was loud enough to be heard.  But I also felt disturbed because except for the one ancestor I have who was German, my family is very Scottish, I felt a chill go up my spine and decided to leave.

On the way home I decided to go and practice the organ. So I went up in to the organ loft and Mr. Snoew was standing there. Something felt wrong. It wasn’t that Mr. Snoew was in the organ loft—he practically lives up there; there was something about the way he was standing. It just wasn’t right, and on top of that he was holding his hands in a position that I didn’t think he would have been able to at his age. He started talking in a way that was creepily monotone. “Hello, Edward Strauβen (German accent), we are waiting for your score.” I asked him what he was talking about, but he went on saying, “If you do not follow the rules of the game, we will have to punish you.” Who is we? But again no answer, “why do you question us?”

“If you tell me who you or “us” is then I’ll be more than happy to comply.” I said more disrespectfully than intended. He began to look past me. I waved my hand in front of his face but he didn’t flinch even once. I turned to leave because I was feeling severally creped out and that thing was standing there, and this time I was close enough to see the snake-like arms waving and writhing around.  The sight of it was more than I could handle.

 I very nearly passed out, to the point that I fell over. But when I hit the ground, there was snow on it I looked around and saw that I was in the woods. The woods that happen to be behind my house. I don’t know how I got there, but I didn’t want to be there, so I very quickly went back to the house.

Wednesday: There were several things that I did not want to do that day, for instance feeding the chickens or anything outside really. The woods felt dangerous and I didn’t want to be the brunt of some slighted fairy’s wrath. So I did everything that had to do with outside very quickly.

Thursday: 5:35. My phone buzzed the text message sound and I looked at it. It was from thealias.

thealias: “What is your final count?”

Me: “Who the heck are you?”

thealias: “We are those without eyes that see. What is your final count?”

Me: “fine then; 7. Are you Mr. Snoew?”

thealias: “No, we are not. Congratulations. You have answered correctly. Come and claim your reward in the woods.”

Me: “which woods?” I sent that text twice but both times it came back as unsendable. I am pretty sure that he meant the woods behind my house.

Friday: I don’t remember exactly why I went, because I’d resolved not to but for some reason I wandered out into the woods behind my house I walked for quite a while. Usually a walk through the woods Is very relaxing to me, but this was altogether different my muscles were so tight that if anything had touched me I think they would have snapped. I came to a place in the woods that I had never been to before, and I suddenly became aware that the sun was setting. I began to panic. And just when I was about to totally lose it, I saw a note.

 On one of the trees there was a note. I looked around, and in the ever dimming twilight I saw lost of notes on the trees. I picked up three or four of them and tried to read them but it was now too dark to see.

My heart began to race again and I realized just how dead silent it was. I turned to walk home. Every footfall deafening me, and I heard a sound. It was a very little sound and it was behind me. It was the man, Fear dubh. One second he was there and the next he was gone. But so was I.  I woke up this morning on my bed. And I have never felt this kind of fear before.

POSTED BY EDWARD STRAUSEN

Well, this has just gotten a lot more interesting. The Slenderman reveals himself! It's quite obvious that it is indeed a Slenderman. The tentacles, the height, the faceless... uh, face, it all points to him.

What's strange to me is the suddenness of going from one place to the next. One second he was in the church, being stared at by the Slenderman himself, (which is a whole other story. Is Mr. Sneow somehow involved in this mystery?) and then all of a sudden he finds himself in the woods. And then from there to his bed, the next morning.

Upon thinking further, I realize that Thealias and the Slenderman are probably not the same person. But who the heck is Thealias? Is he trying to help, or is he trying to cause more trouble? Or could it be... Kayle?

...

No. It couldn't be. One, she's only 7. Two, how could she get a hold of a computer to post stuff like that? Three, being young, she would have wanted to go home right away. Four, it just doesn't add up. Young children like that aren't as... educated as Thealias sounds.

Edward is now able to see the Slenderman outside his window... sound familiar?

I think I'll be visiting those woods next week...

See you there...
Inspector Kornelson

Journal Entry #16 - New Culprit

February 23rd, 2013 - 5:15 Pm

Here's today's corresponding post from Something Sinister:

Someone volunteered me to play as part of a music service. That made me kind of upset and I think Cat had something to do with it. But she wouldn’t say anything when I asked her about it, and my parents want me to “… get some practice playing in public…”

I decided that if I had to play in front of a lot of people, I would play whatever on the recorder (which I can actually play in front of people. My selection was “II. Allegro from Handel’s Recorder Sonata in A minor” I hope I don’t humiliate myself too badly, as this is my first public performance. my friends all seem supportive. I don’t know. It might be fun.

POSTED BY EDWARD STRAUSEN

Sorry folks, not much here. EXCEPT for one tiny detail, which would be doing music at the church. The church seems to be a possible magnet for the kidnapper.

On another note, I think I might have figured who this kidnapper could possibly be:

The Slenderman.

The Slenderman is one of the most mysterious beings ever to possibly exist. Not much is known about him, which is what makes the Slenderman the Slenderman. There are theories though. Some say he came into existence through our dreams. We dreamed about him so much that he became real. The other theory is that we made an exact replica of the Slenderman, and when we took a picture of it, the real Slenderman was forced to enter our dimension. Now whether any of that is true or not... well, for now I'll leave that up to you.

The Slenderman, I've noticed, is mostly referenced within the parameters of the woods, especially the fake sightings. Why this is, I'm not sure. Perhaps he likes dark places. The Good Book says that evil runs from the light. Maybe there's something to that.

I still need to run by the woods. I think I'll wait a little bit before I search around there...

Until then...
Inspector Kornelson

Journal Entry #14 - The funeral

February 13th, 2013 - 9:45 Pm

Here's today's corresponding post from Something Sinister:

I didn’t want to go to the funeral, but I did. I didn’t want to talk to the people that would be there, but I did. And I don’t want to write the things which I am about to, but for some reason I feel compelled to out of incredulity and alarm.

This morning I got up feeling as depressed as one can without losing the ability to feel hunger. I went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and proceeded to enter the dining room. I did so and nearly dropped my bowl in surprise; my parents were still sitting there eating their own breakfast. I glanced at the clock. It was 7:10. I always sleep late, usually stayed in bed until at least 8:00.

I sat down and ate as quietly as I could, my dad across the table was scowling at the table, or was it his bowl; I couldn’t tell. So suddenly that it gave me whiplash, he looked up at me and asked, “So, are you as unready for this as I am?”

“I'm not ready at all.” I just hate myself for not writing sooner. Why didn’t I? It wasn’t like I had a great deal to do, honestly, I just didn’t do it. I wouldn’t take the time to write to my little cousin until she was about to be kidnapped? How am I supposed to feel?  I didn’t say this, but I wanted to.

I finished eating and put my dishes to be washed. I went over to my chair and stared out the window. I really wasn’t looking at anything, just thinking about what I might do at a funeral. In truth, I had never been to a funeral. I wasn’t sure how to act or if there was some protocol other than wearing black or what.

The clock chimed 9:00; this would be my only chance to try to talk my way out of going. However, my efforts were fruitless. “Your aunt has been hit hard by this, she needs to know that we care enough to come.” Was my dad’s reply. Sometimes I hate having a conscious to make me feel guilty.

I dressed up into my black and red suit and by the time I was done with that, it was time to go. The ride there was boring and uneventful so I’ll spare you that part of the day. The Church service started with a bang. And by bang, I mean Johan Sebastian Bach’s fantasia and fugue in g minor. It was great, and spidery, and rich for a bit. Then it toned down into a sweet, melancholy fugue. (Sorry music geek.)

The service was shorter than I expected it to be, but the sermon was surprisingly more hopeful than the prelude. The last hymn was “Abide with me,” and during it I caught a glimpse of my aunt. Not that I have ever seen her really sad before but, it looked to me like she was less sad than angry.

As the postlude played the whole congregation made its way into the fellow ship hall, which at this point was to act as potluck buffet sort of place. It was, in my opinion, a bit too large for my extended family, as it’s pretty small (my family; not the room).

We all sat down to eat after the pastor said a brief prayer, and my cousin Mathis sat down next to me. Mathis is, or was, Kayle’s older brother. He was really… er… not himself. He looked like either he’d been crying a great deal, or not sleeping well or both.  For the sake of trying not to put any problems into his mind, I asked him what happened before she disappeared. As he began to answer I felt guilty for asking. This is what he said.

[Mathis]: “for a while, she hadn’t been sleeping well, she said that was having bad dreams. My parents kept telling her that they were just dreams and they subsided after a while. *sigh* but at the end of January, she started complaining that someone was outside her *chuckle* window. My dad started sitting with her until she fell asleep at nights, and until she did she would keep pointing and complaining about a man outside. None of us ever saw anything out there. And then one morning, she wasn’t there.”

[Me]: “So, what did the police find?”

[Mathis]: “nothing that they thought they would find, from the forensics, they claim that she opened her window, removed the screen, closed the window from the outside, and reinserted the screen. After which she played on the swing set in the back yard, and then; not even their dogs could find a trail. *sniffle*

After that he started crying. I felt kind of disturbed and I wondered if perhaps there was more to the story, but I didn’t ask. After lunch was finished, we (my nuclear family) took our dishes and went out to the car, and we would have left then if mom hadn’t accidentally forgotten her purse in our pew. I went back into the church and grabbed it. On the way back out I saw in the organ loft, an extremely tall man. I wondered who it was because Mr. Snoew usually plays for everything. I didn’t see who it was as his back was turned to me, and my parents were in a hurry and so I didn’t go check.

The whole rest of the day has been pretty quiet. But I wonder if, and if there is than what, the rest of the story is. 

POSTED BY EDWARD STRAUSEN 

I was there at the funeral. It was sad really. Such a young age for a girl to die at. She sounded like such a sweet heart.

I almost cried actually. If it were my little girl... well, I'd like to not think about that.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking, concerning the man in the loft? Yup. First suspect. Of course, I didn't see anyone there. Yes, I was sitting in the very back of the church when Edward walked in to grab his mother's purse. I watched as he stared at the organ loft, an extremely confused look on his face. Then he walked off.

I'm going to be doing a bit of research.

Until then...

Inspector Kornelson

Journal Entry #7 - We might be getting somewhere...

January 28, 2013 - 2:13 Pm

Well, things might be getting somewhere.

Here's today's post on Something Sinister:

On Monday I follow closely my usual schedule until about lunch time. At lunch time instead of cooking something similar to what I make the rest of the week, I make sandwiches. The reason behind that, Kayle, is that on lunch break my mom drives back from her job at St. John’s church and school; in order to pick me up and take me to organ lessons. Fortunately, the lessons are given at the church.

My lessons to day were going much better than expected. I was able to play through first verse of “The night will soon be ending” with only two notes misplayed. I proceeded to play the next verse since Mr. Snoew hadn’t asked me to stop yet. To be completely honest, this particular hymn was a bit above my skill level, but enjoyed the challenge.

Midway through the third verse Mr. Snoew asked if I would like to play on Sunday. With that my confidence melted, my hands turned to noodles and couldn’t even finish the verse. “I don’t think I could do that Mr. Snoew,” I said. I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but if even mention of playing in front of people comes up my hands become absolutely worthless. I suppose it was a good thing that he’d waited till the lesson was almost over to bring that up.

For the rest of the lesson I did basic exercises to try to my hands back into a state where I could almost play music again. Unfortunately my time was up and had choice about what to do while I waited for mom to get done with work. I could either walk home, or walk to the library. The library is only a mile from the church, where as home is like five, and to get to my house, you have to cross U.S. 31; which is a thing I'm terribly comfortable with. The last time I all most got hit by a semi. Anyway, I decided to go to the library.

I always enjoy the walk to the library. The neighbor hood that I have to walk through is one of the most beautiful in all of Grand Haven, but in the spring, it’s even better. The expansive gardens erupt into full bloom and the colors of the flowers give a less serious look to the many, large, and domineering Victorians.  The Victorians themselves are not all dull; there are two that I can think of off the top of my head that are very brightly colored. 

The library is one of my favorite places to spend time during the winter. There is a magnificent fire place ever burning brightly and surrounded with deep comfy chairs. That, with any Sherlock Holmes, Peanuts comic or Dickensian book, is worth any amount of time in my opinion. Today I decided to read “The Study in Scarlet”.

The description of Holmes’s abilities, quirks, and general life style fascinated me. I wished a great deal that I could wield such infallible observational and deductive powers. The thought then occurred to me that to some extent we all exercise deductive reasoning, through observation; even last Thursday I made the deduction (albeit incorrectly) that Cat would try to creep up on me and scare me. It was a reasonable thought especially because she had a history of doing so. The flaw came at the beginning of that train of thought, as Cat tends to walk very quietly when she’s trying to scare me. The fact of the matter was that I had failed to observe properly.

I continued to read as I came closer to the solution the pressure ever mounting, It rose to the extent that I jumped at the sound my phone makes when it receives a text. Mom wanted to know if I could walk back to the church. I wrote back saying that I would, put the book back, and started for the checkout. As I was leaving I ran into a couple of my friends, Leroy and Bard. I greeted them and we had a short discussion. I told them that mom was waiting for me at the church and that I should probably get going. As I turned to leave Leroy asked “Do you want to go sledding at Duncan woods on Wednesday?”

I told him I would have to check my schedule but most likely yes. While walking back to the church I passed Duncan woods and I thought to myself that it was a funny coincidence.

POSTED BY EDWARD STRAUSEN

So not only does this kid play piano, but he plays the organ as well.

Organs are epic. Period.

Anyway, back to the investigation.

Again, I find more about what Edward likes to read. Sherlock Holmes for instance. (In a way, I look up to him as an inspiration, Holmes being one of the best detectives in history. I don't care if it's fiction, he's one of my heroes.) He obviously likes spending time at the library.

We now see the introduction of two more players. Leroy and Bard. Leroy seems to be the most mature of the two. I can tell he's adventurous, perhaps a bit imaginative, but keeps his reality in check. Trust me, you can tell a lot about a person just from one sentence.

I am very curious about the woods that are mentioned in today's post. I believe Duncan Woods could be a big part of this investigation.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Until then...
Inspector Kornelson