TOY CHEST
By the wall you find a stunningly well-preserved example of Arts & Crafts craftsmanship, an antique toy chest. You delicately, with care not to force the aged hinges, ease the chest open. Inside are a few intriguing items: a stuffed bunny doll, an oracle board, and a peculiar photo.
You examine the worn rabbit doll, struck by how well preserved it is, despite how obviously heavily used it was before it came to rest in the toy chest. What really catches your eye, though, is the incongruent pocket watch hanging from a tarnished silver chain around the bunny’s neck.
The pocket watch is heavy and, despite the rust that has accumulated over the years, a quality timepiece. You carefully buff the hinge and along the seam, allowing you to easily open the pocket watch. Inside, you discover the faded photo of Elsie McDermott herself inside the cover on the left, and opposite of that, a stopped clock. If you’d like, you can set the time on the clock here:
You examine the worn rabbit doll, struck by how well preserved it is, despite how obviously heavily used it was before it came to rest in the toy chest. What really catches your eye, though, is the incongruent pocket watch hanging from a tarnished silver chain around the bunny’s neck.
The pocket watch is heavy and, despite the rust that has accumulated over the years, a quality timepiece. You carefully buff the hinge and along the seam, allowing you to easily open the pocket watch. Inside, you discover the faded photo of Elsie McDermott herself inside the cover on the left, and opposite of that, a stopped clock. If you’d like, you can set the time on the clock here:
An antique oracle board! Though truly occult “talking boards” have a longer history, the infamous toy “Ouija Board” was developed by a large gaming company in the late 19th century. This one, however, seems to predate that mass-market production. Not something you’d expect to see in a child’s toy chest. It’s worn around the edges, but in surprisingly good condition otherwise. It even has a planchette with it. If you want to try using the oracle board, you’ll need to find someone to use the planchette. Once you find a partner, have them scan the QR code below:
An antique oracle board! Though truly occult “talking boards” have a longer history, the infamous toy “Ouija Board” was developed by a large gaming company in the late 19th century. This one, however, seems to predate that mass-market production. Not something you’d expect to see in a child’s toy chest. It’s worn around the edges, but in surprisingly good condition otherwise. It even has a planchette with it. If you want to try using the oracle board, you’ll need to find someone to use the planchette. Once you find a partner, have them scan the QR code below:
Somehow this is both the most and least interesting thing in the toy chest. It seems to be nothing more than an old photo of a dial knob?
As you consider 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 bitter taste of metal enters your mouth, causing a coughing fit. When you recover, you glance around. For just a moment, you were certain someone was there, just in the corner of your eye, watching you.
You take a deep breath, shaking off the strange sensations. Instead you try focusing on that figure in the corner of your eye, like one of those optical illusions. Whatever it is seems to coalesce, and you turn. Stunned, you realize you’re beginning to see the figure of Elsie herself appear before you!
“Who are you?”
“I’m a professor.”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but…”
“I’m here to help discover the truth.”
“So you’re here to help? I’ve been asking for help for so long! My poor papa… he was here for such a long time, 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 cause 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 that night. There’s the salesman, my aunt, my brother, my neighbor, the lodger, and my stepmother.”
“Yes, Mr. Otto! He had such wonderful dolls! He said they came all the way from Paris, which is even farther away than New York! He brought them over 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?”
“That’s right! I’m so happy I can be here to keep Aunt Jane company! When she first came to live with us, she was always crying. We both missed Rose 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.”
“That’s him. 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.”
“That’s right! 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.”
“Yes. 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 know 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 professor.”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but…”
“I’m here to help discover the truth.”
“So you’re here to help? I’ve been asking for help for so long! My poor papa… he was here for such a long time, 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 cause 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 that night. There’s the salesman, my aunt, my brother, my neighbor, the lodger, and my stepmother.”
“Yes, Mr. Otto! He had such wonderful dolls! He said they came all the way from Paris, which is even farther away than New York! He brought them over 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?”
“That’s right! I’m so happy I can be here to keep Aunt Jane company! When she first came to live with us, she was always crying. We both missed Rose 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.”
“That’s him. 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.”
“That’s right! 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.”
“Yes. 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 know 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.”