TOY CHEST
An old wooden toy chest sits against the wall. You notice the initials “E.M.” have been etched onto the side towards the bottom. It doesn’t appear to be locked, so you carefully open it up to investigate its contents. Inside you find a few items of interest: A stuffed bunny, an oracle board, and a peculiar photo.
You pick up the worn and weathered stuffed animal. It’s seen better days, or perhaps just a lot of attention. Out of place is a rusted, yet well-made-looking pocket watch hanging from a tarnished silver chain around the toy doll’s neck.
The pocket watch has a solid weight to it, and was probably quite the masterpiece in its time. Now, it appears to have mostly rusted over. You manage to finesse it open, revealing a distressed photo of a girl you recognize as Elsie on the left, and a stopped clock on the right. If you’d like, you can set the time on the clock here:
You pick up the worn and weathered stuffed animal. It’s seen better days, or perhaps just a lot of attention. Out of place is a rusted, yet well-made-looking pocket watch hanging from a tarnished silver chain around the toy doll’s neck.
The pocket watch has a solid weight to it, and was probably quite the masterpiece in its time. Now, it appears to have mostly rusted over. You manage to finesse it open, revealing a distressed photo of a girl you recognize as Elsie on the left, and a stopped clock on the right. If you’d like, you can set the time on the clock here:
What’s this thing doing in the toy box? Oh that’s right, they are often found in the board game section at the supermarket. Kind of scary for children though, aren’t they? The edges on the board are pretty worn, but everything is still legible. If you want to try using it, you’ll need to find someone to use the planchette. Once you find a partner, have them scan the QR code below:
What’s this thing doing in the toy box? Oh that’s right, they are often found in the board game section at the supermarket. Kind of scary for children though, aren’t they? The edges on the board are pretty worn, but everything is still legible. If you want to try using it, you’ll need to find someone to use the planchette. Once you find a partner, have them scan the QR code below:
You pick up the peculiar photo for examination. It appears to be of some sort of dial knob:
As you peruse the contents of the toy chest, you suddenly feel a chill run up your spine as the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge. The taste of metal enters your mouth, yet at the same time you somehow detect the presence of what can only be described as a young girl.
You concentrate on the presence of the young girl. Bewildered, you slowly begin to see the visage of none other than Elsie McDermott appear before you!
“Who are you?”
“I’m a detective.”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but…”
“Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”
“I’ve been asking for help for so long! My poor papa… he was here for so long, trying to help, and then he went away… Please help me! Please help us all!”
“I… I can only remember a little. I was sick, so I was made to lie down early in bed while mother, Virgil, Aunt Jane, and Mr. Emmett went to town for something. Someone… someone woke me. I needed to take my medicine. I can’t remember who it was but… the medicine tasted awful. I felt so sleepy. I can’t remember who it was. Then, I was looking at myself in my bed. It felt very strange. Papa came. He was very sad, and I tried to talk to him but I couldn’t. I can’t remember how long it was, but Papa found a way. He found a way to hear me! I didn’t know I had died until he told me… I didn’t know I had been poisoned until the others came.”
“Everyone else who died here that night. There’s the salesman, my aunt, my brother, my neighbor, the lodger, and my stepmother.”
“Mr. Otto! Oh he had such wonderful dolls! He was here just the day before it all happened. I begged my stepmother to buy one for me, but she told me I’d have to wait until Papa was home. I knew Papa was away on a work trip though, and wouldn’t be back in time. When I saw Mr. Otto again, after he died, I was so excited at first because I thought I could play with his dolls as much as I’d like, but… they didn’t come with him. He said he was sorry. Do you have any dolls?”
“I’m so happy Aunt Jane is here with me! When she first came to live with us, she was always crying. We both missed her daughter very much. She was always asking my brother and I what had happened, but all I could remember was seeing the strange man in the hat just before Rose disappeared. The longer she lived with us though, the happier she became. Her crying stopped, and she even started to smile again.”
“Virgil doesn’t really talk to me a lot. But he never did, I guess. Sometimes we would play together, and it would be so fun, but then he’d suddenly change. He’d get angry with me, or he’d just be quiet and lock himself away in his room. I never knew what I was doing wrong to make him upset. He did always write wonderful stories though, and still does! Sometimes I can get him to read me a story, but they never have happy endings.”
“Miss Birdie used to live here before my papa bought the house, and now she lives here again! She never liked me or my brother though, and I think she blames all of this on me. I remember when I was lying in bed, I heard her downstairs. She must have come over to complain, I think I had been playing near her house earlier in the day and might have stepped on some of her flowers.”
“Mr. Emmett is one of my friends. He was always very quiet around the others, but with me he was so fun! We played word games and shared riddles all the time. He was very good at riddles, and at doing tricks like switching letters with numbers and then I had to figure out what secret message he was telling me and… I don’t think he really liked it here. He was going to leave the night everything happened, and I feel sorry for him being stuck here now.”
“Oh, you mean Vera? She’s okay, I guess. She’s the one who made me go to bed early that night. At first, I was happy to see her still here after I woke up that last time, but she didn’t seem happy to see me at all. Now, I’m glad the others are here with me to keep me company. Vera only likes to spend time with Virgil, but back when Papa was still around she would always ask me what we talked about.”
“I wish I could tell you, I really do! I tried my best to be good! Papa asked me to remember who it was, but I couldn’t… I’m sure it was someone I knew, someone who was here in the house, but I can’t remember their face! He told me that if I could only remember what time it was that I died, it might all come back to me. I tried real hard to remember, but I just couldn’t. I only know that… whoever it was, they’re still here. It’s hard to describe, but I can feel it.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m a detective.”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but…”
“Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”
“I’ve been asking for help for so long! My poor papa… he was here for so long, trying to help, and then he went away… Please help me! Please help us all!”
“I… I can only remember a little. I was sick, so I was made to lie down early in bed while mother, Virgil, Aunt Jane, and Mr. Emmett went to town for something. Someone… someone woke me. I needed to take my medicine. I can’t remember who it was but… the medicine tasted awful. I felt so sleepy. I can’t remember who it was. Then, I was looking at myself in my bed. It felt very strange. Papa came. He was very sad, and I tried to talk to him but I couldn’t. I can’t remember how long it was, but Papa found a way. He found a way to hear me! I didn’t know I had died until he told me… I didn’t know I had been poisoned until the others came.”
“Everyone else who died here that night. There’s the salesman, my aunt, my brother, my neighbor, the lodger, and my stepmother.”
“Mr. Otto! Oh he had such wonderful dolls! He was here just the day before it all happened. I begged my stepmother to buy one for me, but she told me I’d have to wait until Papa was home. I knew Papa was away on a work trip though, and wouldn’t be back in time. When I saw Mr. Otto again, after he died, I was so excited at first because I thought I could play with his dolls as much as I’d like, but… they didn’t come with him. He said he was sorry. Do you have any dolls?”
“I’m so happy Aunt Jane is here with me! When she first came to live with us, she was always crying. We both missed her daughter very much. She was always asking my brother and I what had happened, but all I could remember was seeing the strange man in the hat just before Rose disappeared. The longer she lived with us though, the happier she became. Her crying stopped, and she even started to smile again.”
“Virgil doesn’t really talk to me a lot. But he never did, I guess. Sometimes we would play together, and it would be so fun, but then he’d suddenly change. He’d get angry with me, or he’d just be quiet and lock himself away in his room. I never knew what I was doing wrong to make him upset. He did always write wonderful stories though, and still does! Sometimes I can get him to read me a story, but they never have happy endings.”
“Miss Birdie used to live here before my papa bought the house, and now she lives here again! She never liked me or my brother though, and I think she blames all of this on me. I remember when I was lying in bed, I heard her downstairs. She must have come over to complain, I think I had been playing near her house earlier in the day and might have stepped on some of her flowers.”
“Mr. Emmett is one of my friends. He was always very quiet around the others, but with me he was so fun! We played word games and shared riddles all the time. He was very good at riddles, and at doing tricks like switching letters with numbers and then I had to figure out what secret message he was telling me and… I don’t think he really liked it here. He was going to leave the night everything happened, and I feel sorry for him being stuck here now.”
“Oh, you mean Vera? She’s okay, I guess. She’s the one who made me go to bed early that night. At first, I was happy to see her still here after I woke up that last time, but she didn’t seem happy to see me at all. Now, I’m glad the others are here with me to keep me company. Vera only likes to spend time with Virgil, but back when Papa was still around she would always ask me what we talked about.”
“I wish I could tell you, I really do! I tried my best to be good! Papa asked me to remember who it was, but I couldn’t… I’m sure it was someone I knew, someone who was here in the house, but I can’t remember their face! He told me that if I could only remember what time it was that I died, it might all come back to me. I tried real hard to remember, but I just couldn’t. I only know that… whoever it was, they’re still here. It’s hard to describe, but I can feel it.”