Monsters of Grenhaven Part 2: Noah's Raven

Here's another entry from James A.S. Lee's "Monsters of Grenhaven" manual, posted with the author's permission. Lee told me he used to pass these out at cryptid and paranormal festivals to promote his books. Seems Thom and Dr. Barnes were fans.

"NOAH'S RAVEN

Bezu and Anna Brasselay were returning home on a cold autumn’s eve after a long day selling cloisonné at the October Market in Mystic. As they started to cross the Hetman bridge, Bezu drew the horses to a halt. In the center of the bridge crouched something large and black. Anna thought it might be an injured bear or a man in a heavy coat. Then the thing rose to a height two heads taller than a man and turned to look at them. Both merchants cried out in fright as the red-glowing eyes- round and large as the full moon- fixed on them. The apparition remained motionless, skewering them to the spot with its gaze. Then it opened a set of wings so massive that the tips touched the railings of the bridge. It then rose straight up into the air, according to Bezu’s later report to the Grenhaven Gazette. “It did not crouch and leap as a bird would,” he said. “Nor did it flap its wings. No sir, it rose straight up with legs and wings held stiff as if it was a marionette lifted on strings.”

Such was the first known sighting of the strange flying being that would terrorize Grenhaven and surrounding farms for six months in the autumn and winter of 1887.

The beast was given many names in the beginning- Devil Bird, Devil Moth, Snollygost, Grey Scratch. But the moniker that ultimately stuck was Noah’s Raven. This unusual name has its origins in the famous dinosaur tracks that are abundant in the central valley of Connecticut. In 1802 Pliny Moody was plowing his fields in Hadley Massachusetts when he uncovered large, three-toed fossil footprints. Impressed by his find, Pliny installed the tracks as a step on his front porch and allowed the curious to come see them. Religious leaders declared that the tracks had come from the mythical raven that had been dispatched from Noah’s Ark to find land after the Flood.

Later, famed geologist Edward Hitchcock would identify the footprints as belonging to a giant prehistoric bird. Later researchers would correctly identify the prints as belonging to a bipedal carnivorous dinosaur called Eubrontes.

It’s not clear how the Eubrontes tracks came to be associated with Grenhaven’s “Devil Bird”, particularly since the city lies in the gneiss highlands far from the sedimentary sandstones of the Central Valley where the tracks are found. It’s thought that the comparison may have been made in jest when a set of tracks were installed in the Grenhaven Natural History Museum.

Regardless of the name’s origin, it’s doubtful that anyone seriously thought the Devil Moth was genuinely the bird from Noah’s Ark or that it had made the tracks. But the name still stuck.

After Bezu and Anna’s original sighting, the Raven made several appearances throughout town. Shopkeeper Hiram Levy repeatedly saw the creature crawling head-first down the Moonlight Tower that illuminated the center of town.

Farmer Jean Barré saw it gliding over his fields “stiff as a board without even a flap of its damned wings!”

Many witnesses reported being filled with dread upon seeing its red eyes. One man even claimed that it also had a glowing horn or carbuncle on its forehead.

Sightings of Noah’s Raven abruptly ended on March 7th. That night, a terrible fire swept through the city, destroying many homes and historical buildings. Several people have remarked on the fact that the Raven was no longer seen after the fire. Some believe it actually caused the conflagration. Others swore they saw it consumed in the flames. Still others have postulated that the being may have been a harbinger, it’s sudden disappearance prophesying the disaster.

There is an eerie addendum to this story. A few weeks after the fire, several people including Bezu and Anna were visited by an odd man who claimed to be a “census taker” and would ask mundane, seemingly random questions such as what someone had had for breakfast or how much paper they had in the house. He would typically end his interrogations by asking people if they had seen or heard of Noah’s Raven. If the interviewee responded yes, he would insist that what they had seen was a misidentified owl or crane, or even a case of hysteria-induced hallucination. If the person objected, Frost was said to repeat his assertions in an automatic way, as if reading from a script. Eventually he would simply end the conversation and abruptly leave.

Those who encountered this stranger remarked on his constant, unnerving smile which never wavered throughout the encounter and which led to people referring to him as the Grinning Man. Many also noted the unusual paleness of his skin and the way it seemed too thick and almost detached from the underlying muscle and bone. His clothes were said to be two sizes too small and thirty years out of fashion.

What connection, if any, the Grinning Man had to Noah’s Raven is unknown."  

Monsters of Grenhaven Part 1: Sandbar Devils

Hey everyone. I opened a new packet of letters from Thom and found this pretty neat little manual about local legends and monsters. Grenhaven has a long, long history of supernatural goings-on. Heck, we're one of the most "monster-heavy" places in New England.

James A.S. Lee is a folklorist and monster-hunter who has become quite the celebrity around here. Every giftshop stocks his books. He even opened a "Museum of the Paranormal" a few years ago down by the harbor.

"Monsters of Grenhaven" was a small pamphlet that summarized a few of the entries from his book "The Raven and the Devil", which is a pretty engrossing read if you can find a copy. With his permission, I'm posting a few pics of the interior, plus a complete transcript of the text.

I'm going to break the entries into several posts to keep things at a reasonible length.

Here's the first entry:

THE SANDBAR DEVILS

“What is it? the Devil! The Devil, you say? The very one. Seems he’s tired of leaving his footprints in hopyards and has decided to take a dip in the sound.”

Such was the opening line of the article in the Grenhaven Evening Gazette that first introduced folks in Connecticut to the strange aquatic critters known alternately as Sandbar Devils, Devil-Squids, Ol’ Sandy or, in more recent years, Stego-Squids.

The first Sandbar Devil was sighted in 1896 by local fisherman Burton Hall, who saw it basking at low tide on one of the sandbars that choke the mouth of the Connecticut River. He said it resembled a giant “anomalous shrimp” with a row of spines along its back. Hall also described the beast as being “black as jet, with a pearly sheen like opal.”

Sandbar Devils didn’t really get big until 1901, when multiple students from Grenhaven University on a boating tour of Long Island Sound reported seeing a small school of the creatures frolicking “like otters” amongst the bars. Witnesses described the creatures as having distinctly segmented bodies like lobsters, but with large wings or fins along their flanks. The Devils’ heads were adorned with two thick arms or tentacles, “great appendages,” said witness Archibald Browning, “lined with barbs on the undersides that I don’t doubt could have ripped a man to ribbons.” Perhaps the most unusual features of the creatures, though, were their tails, which bore double rows of spikes not unlike the prehistoric stegosaurus. Thus the more colorful, comic-book name “Stego-Squids.”

The most famous sighting of these beasties came in 1911. On a misty morning in early spring, amateur marine biologist Martin Leeds was out in his boat collecting specimens for his private cold-water aquarium.

“I’d just pulled up a big stone covered with Ciona (intestinalis. A kind of tunicate or sea squirt- ed). As I was pulling it up in the boat, I saw a huge black shape- nearly as wide from wing-tip to wing-tip as I was tall- glide under my keel. I thought it must be a ray of some sort, but then it came back and flipped on its back and extended these long, jointed arms out of the water and grabbed the rock with wicked-looking hooks all along the undersides. I remember them real distinctly. They were white at the roots, staining to amber near the tips, like barnacles on the shore rocks. The thing’s mouth was weird. Like a pineapple ring, or a lamprey’s mouth, you know? I fought it for a bit. It kept tugging and hissing and spitting jets of water from that pineapple-ring mouth. Finally I let go and it took the rock back down, I guess to eat those tunicates. Or maybe, I don’t know- maybe it had laid some eggs on the rock that I’d overlooked, and it was just protecting its young. Anyway, last thing I saw was that sharp, spiny tail slapping the side of my boat. You can still see the scratches it left.”

Stego-squids have been sighted off and on over the decades, usually among the sandbars at the river’s mouth. Though one witness reported seeing one all the way up by Rocky Hill near the historic ferry.

Skeptics have dismissed the sightings as misidentified rays or skates. Perhaps even an errant mantra ray that came in from the Atlantic and got lost. Those who believe the Sandbar Devils are real, unknown animals have suggested that they could be a new species of squid, or perhaps even large swimming lobsters. Famed folklorist and cryptozoologist Paul Brighton believes they may be a type of mantra ray whose “horns” have evolved into long, flexible grasping appendages."

Entry 10: Some Strange Photos and A Drawing

Hey again everyone. I was digging through the files again and I found some weird photos that I think are supposed to depict these "living machines" Thom keeps mentioning. They look like random piles of mechanical junk to me, but there's also a drawing of an intact living machine that makes everything a bit more sensible.

See what you think.

Weird, eh? Here's the drawing that makes things a bit more coherent.

In case you can't read Thom's notes, they say (clockwise from top):

"A living machine.
I saw a number of these around the portal. Were they attracted tot he energy? Are they pests? Are they maintainers? Who builds the living machines (?)"

"I didn't get as good a look at these" (referring to the protozoan-like critter on the right)

"What are the tubes for?"

"I saw this creature only briefly as we were passing over the tide pools" (referring to the clockwork starfish on the bottom of the page).

Entry 9: An eerie letter

Hey everyone,
It's pretty late here. Been a long day. It's been a while since I've posted, though, and I don't what you guys to get bored. So here's a creepy letter from Thomas during his stay at Boston Corner.

And a transcript:

"Barnes,

God, they’re here! The phantoms have followed me! I woke up in the middle of the night and knew they were at the window. I didn’t even have to open my eyes. I could sense them. Three? Maybe more. I didn’t want to look. Didn’t want them to know I was aware of them. I tried to go back to sleep, but I could feel their eyes (do they truly even have eyes as we would understand them?) upon me. I got up, staring at the floor, and closed the curtains without daring to look up even once. I doubt that really did much good, though. I could still feel them watching me. At some point, though, I must have fallen asleep. It was morning when I next opened my eyes.

I still feel their presences everywhere. It’s so hot out today, but I feel cold. The Astarapomp has told me they are attracted by the energy of the portals. He implied that they were just animals feeding off the energies of the doorways.  But I know that is not true. They are sentient. They seek out the portals- they seek out me!- for a reason that has the clear feel of intelligence behind it. I do not like that the Astarapomp is keeping something secret from me.

I need to clear my head. I’m going to walk to the drug store to get that film, then I’ll head back to the hemlocks and take some pictures of those bog plants. Write more later.

. . . . . . . . . . . .    .

It’s evening now.

The bog plants were gone. Not a trace remains. It’s as if someone pulled up every single one. Did the black phantoms take them? Why? So much for photographing them.

I found something better, though. I finally located that roof gable from the other world. And more! I found workers from the machine race. The ones I saw in the intergalactic hub. Their biological parts had rotted away, but the mechanical portions were still intact. At least I was able to get some pictures of them. I’m collecting their remains this time. Don’t want them vanishing like the bog plants. You can look them over when I return and tell me what you think.

The gable is in a weird location. There aren’t any trees nearby that I can climb to get a good picture 

of it. But I’ll see what I can manage.

I’ll be staying a few more nights, I think. Not sure what I’m going to do here. But something tells me I should remain in the area. I have had this feeling before. Perhaps the Astarapomp will contact me again. Perhaps the portal will open. I do not know.

At the very least, I can use the down time to catch up on my reading and edit this brochure I’m writing about the Townsend Lighthouse Library for the display going up. You know I was finally able to get access to the Katherine Whig Collections? God, they keep that thing locked up so tight. Luckily I knew the Collections clerk from that piece I did on the Voynich Manuscript exhibit a few years ago. I was able to chat him up enough to let me take a look.

I just looked out the window. Night is coming. Will the phantoms return? God, I won’t be able to sleep at all tonight.

                                               

                                                            Tom"

Entry 8: Two letters and some strange drawings

Happy New Year everyone! I've got a little downtime between scanning sets of slides, so I figured I'd post some more letter's from Dr. Barnes' file. I'm starting to wonder more and more about what's really going on here. Maybe there's more to this than just an elaborate science fiction story?

Here's the transcript:

"Dear Barnes,

It was so nice to see you at the conference last week. I’ve missed our little get-togethers. I think the pub afterwards might have been the best time I’ve had in months. This job really gets to me sometimes, you know? People think artists have it easy, but it’s like any other job. I hope Ellen returns that stuffed blue jay she swiped, though.

I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask.  Has the committee approved your grant yet? I hope they do.  Sillman can be a real lazy bastard, though.

I’m heading back up to Boston Corner for a few days next week to investigate the connection that place has with my dreams. And to investigate that weird floating roof gable in the forest. The connection is stronger there. The dreams more vivid. I see the Astarapomp so much clearer there.

God, I hope I don’t see the phantoms again. I get such an aura of cold malice from them. They do not like that my dreams take me to those places out beyond the pull of Earth and the familiar planets.  I do not know why it angers them so much. They stayed far far away last time, but I’m afraid to contemplate what might happen. I would like to see another Bubble-Comet, though. My sketches really don’t do them justice. They’re like ghosts flickering with St. Elmo’s fire. I need to do at least a watercolor of them.

I’ll send you more letters once I get there. I found a nice little bed and breakfast. Really, the only hotel in the place. I don’t think the town is more than a dozen buildings, plus the railway. I hear the views from the Taconic Mountains are spectacular, though.

I took your advise with regard to the soldiers at the Schenectady Stockade. I’ll show you the changes I made when I get back.

Thomas

P.S. Sorry- that book on the microbialites is still checked out. I’m beginning to wonder if the borrower stole it. I’ll keep checking."

And here's one of his letters from Boston Corner

"Dear Barnes,

I arrived at Boston Corner this morning. Still getting settled in. Like I said before, it’s a small town. Not even a town, really. A hamlet would be more accurate.

The place I’m staying at is lovely. As the name says, it’s a preserved colonial saltbox house. I was surprised at first at how young the owners were, but the manager told me she’d inherited the place from her great aunt and had turned it into a rental to keep it from falling to pieces. The places is full of artifacts, and little plaques everywhere like a museum. I’ve always wanted to sleep in a museum.

Went for a walk up into the foothills, looking for that piece of gable roof up in the sky. Couldn’t remember where it was. Most of the area around the town is hemlock forest, which makes the woods dark and brooding. There is a feeling of presence. As of something waiting. Watching. Holding its breath expectantly. I tried not to think about the phantoms.

I was going to take some pictures on my walk, but the film in my camera is all used up. I’ll have to check at the drug store tomorrow to see if they have any on hand.

I came across a little peat bog nestled in some boulders and I swear I have never seen some of these plants anywhere else. There were the usual cranberry bushes, cat-tails and sundews, but these others I could not place. I admit I am no botanist, but I feel I have a pretty good grasp of New England flora, and these were unlike anything I’ve run across before. Yet I could not help feeling a strange sense of familiarity. As if I have, in fact, seen them somewhere. As drawings, perhaps? But where? I do not for the life of me know.

I took a couple samples so I can look them up at the library when I get home. I also did some drawings of them and made some ecological notes.  One that I’m calling the Fig Flower gave off an audible buzz and a distinct pungent smell of rotting meat. When I cut open a pod, I found it was absolutely filled with flies. But I don’t think they were food. They were dusted with pollen. I’m assuming the rotting smell must attract them. An amazing find. I’ll have to locate some more later in the season and see if I can get some seeds to plant.

Had an odd incident while coming back to the bed and breakfast. I saw a black bird soaring overhead. A turkey vulture, maybe? Didn’t really pay much attention at first, but gradually I noticed something didn’t seem right about it. The way it flew was. . . off. I can’t describe it very well. I don’t know why, but I had this odd impression that the thing was not comfortable flying. As if moving through air was a strange new sensation for it. At times it almost seemed like a paper cutout moving against a screen. The weirdest part was when it flew into a cloud bank. At least, I’m assuming that’s what happened, because it just sort of faded into the gray sky. But I swear, it didn’t so much fade as come apart, as if it were a stuffed toy and someone pulled its stitchings out. Just before it vanished, it appeared to fall apart into several pieces. I don’t want to start jumping to supernatural conclusions. But considering all the strange things that have been happening to me lately, I just don not know what to think.

Anyway, it’s getting late here and I’m tired. I’ll write again tomorrow evening.

                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                 Thomas"

I think these two pictures are the strange plants he was referring to. Anybody have any ideas what these are?

Here's the front of one.

In case you can't read Thom's handwriting, these are the notes from top to bottom:

"Devil's Cupola

 Asteroidean name: "single wave of three longest tube feet on arm 4. Double wave of three longest tube feet on 5th arm."

"Flower is red. Perhaps to attract a hummingbird analog?"

"red cupola" 

"devil horn leaves"

"minute hairs on stalk"

"I have seen no bees, nor bee flies, nor beetles enter the flower"

"Dead leaves around base. Ground under leaves remains moist even when surrounding soil is dry. Perhaps to retain water?"

I'm guessing "Asteroidean" is his term for the starfish-creatures he's been seeing?

Here's the back of this sheet.

The writing says:

"Modular rhizome"

"Could not grow plants from tubers" 

"Devil's cupola leaf"

"Perhaps related to the Aristolochiaceae?"

Based on his comment about not being able to grow from a tuber, I'm guessing he found some more at some point maybe?

Here's the other mystery plant.

"Fig Flower

Asteroidean name: Three waves of three longest tube feet on arm 1. Simultaneous triple wave of one long tube foot on 3rd arm"

"Large, wrinkled, purple pods."

"Small white flowers around lip"

"each pod has several holes eaten in it, perhaps by wasps?"

"young leaves are stiff and spiney (sic)"

"Plants are surrounded by an audible buzzing from all the flies trapped inside."

"mature leaves have numerous feather-like lobes."

"base is bulbous. The base of every fig flower pant had mushrooms growing around it. Possible in the family Strophariaceae. Perhaps a symbiote?"

And here's the back

"Interior of Pod"

"Possibly related to the Araceae?"

"Many pods have holes eaten in them, possibly by wasps. Are they eating the flies?

"The pods are pollen traps similar to an Arum or Ceropagia rhyncantha. Flies enter the narrow opening, which is surrounded by white flowers that smell of rotting meat. Inside, the walls are covered with hairs that push the flies deeper. The center of the pod is filled with a gigantic pollen-covered stamen, which thoroughly coats the flies. After two days, the pod wilts and cracks, releasing the pollen-covered flies. I have not seen any female pods yet."

"What will be the effect of this pollen getting into our world?"

I'll have more updates coming soon, so keep watching!

Entry 7: A letter and some strange photos

Wow, finally got some free time again. Sorry about the wait. We found a whole bunch of microscopic photos in this old supply closet buried behind a bunch of prep lab equipment. I still smell like dust and formaldehyde.

So I dug out some pretty amazing photos from Professor Barnes' filing cabinet. I don't know how old this stuff is, but the cut-and-paste is pretty amazing.

I think I must have missed a letter somewhere because Thom talks about some "notes" that he hasn't mentioned before. He also drops all these names- Asakili, Thorn Moon, T'talatch- as if Barnes already knows what they mean.  I'll hunt through the cabinet again and see if I can find something else that talks about these notes. In the meantime, enjoy.

First, the letter:

And a transcript:

"Barnes,

Here are those pictures we talked about.  The notes I found were a huge help in identifying the scenes through the Window. 

I took these on June 15th and 16th in Boston Corner.  I wish I'd taken a few more, though.  When I came back to the swamp on the 17th, the Window had closed up.  Although the notes say that Windows cycle to a different arm on the Hub every 34 days.  If I have correctly identified the path that connects to our solar system, then the Window should cycle back to Earth in about 5-6 months.  I will see what headway I can get with these notes before it's return. I’m still trying to decide whether I want to share my discoveries with the Astarapomp. The notes seem curiously hostile towards him, though I do not yet know why.

Here are my interpretations of the photos:

1.) A view of one of the Watchers in the solar system on Arm 3.  Two large moons or planets in the foreground.  I think the larger one may be Asakili.  I believe the two brighter dots in the upper left are also planets at a greater distance.

2.) A view under the arm of the Watcher, looking at a Long World. Possibly T'talatch?  Along with two moons in the lower left

3.) A view of the Thorn Moon from above the surface of the Watcher.  I believe the rounded, white objects may be the Sleeping Mountains the notes referred to.

4.) A view from the upper atmosphere of the Long World, T'talatch, looking at the Thorn Moon.  Taken three hours after the other pictures near dusk on the 16th.  I am unclear why this is the only time where the Window has actually entered the atmosphere of a moon.

5.) Several Phantoms in what I believe to be the Valley of Il-tho. I didn’t see them when I first took the picture. God, those eyes haunt me.

6.) A view of the Window in a swamp near  Booston Corners.  Have I told you the theory about why Massachusetts really gave up Boston Corners to New York? I’m still gathering information, but we can talk about it in more detail when I see you again.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                Thomas"

And here are the photos:

Note that Thom calls these dark figures "Phantoms" in this letter and others, but on the back of this photo he calls them "Revenants".

I'll have some more letters to post soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

Entry 6: A letter

Hey everyone,
It's pretty late and I've had a long day at the lab. But I wanted to post this last letter from the first batch. It gives a little more insight into that starfish-man Thom has been talking about.

And here's the text (with Thom's corrections edited out):

"Dear Barnes,

The old typewriter is back today. Lowercase g is still off, but I guess I can deal with that.

I got a better look at the Asterapomp in last night’s journey. Before he was smoky, phantasmal. But now I can see him with good clarity.  When I asked him about this, he said something about synchronizing his pattern more in line with my time and space dimensions.

He’s a starfish-man, Barnes. That’s as close as I can come to it. The mosaic scales covering his body look like starfish ossicles. Those four fat tentacles on the bottom are clearly starfish arms now. As are the wizard-hats on top. The wriggling things I saw inside it are tube-feet. I don’t know if this makes him less or more bizarre.

I’ll admit right now I know almost nothing about my host who has been leading me through this nocturnal phantasmagoria. The Asterapomp’s appearance raises some intriguing questions. He is echinoderm, but there are obvious human elements to his anatomy. The five faces set around his center, for one. The overall features are quite human-- particularly the noses. But, I don’t know, they seem more like someone’s impression of what a human face looks like rather than actual human features. And those strange gecko eyes. The mouths clearly do not have even remotely hominid mandibles holding them up. The way they move, they seem more like teeth-shaped plates embedded in the body wall- specially modified dermal ossicles, perhaps?

His five hands have thumbs on both sides like Clarke’s Overlords. The fingers are jointed, but they do not seem like human hands. I have the distinct impression they are starfish that have been modified into hands. Perhaps for my comfort?

I have not been able to get much of his history out of him. He is quite evasive on the matter. It is clear from his name-- like psychopomp- that he is meant to be a bridge.  He did say that there are other beings that I will meet soon. Beings like him, but not like me. More like his echinoderm half, perhaps? Am I going to met gigantic starfish?

On occasion I have seen him bearing a staff that resembles a Khakkhara or sistrum. He would jangle it lightly as he walked, the sound of which apparently caused other beings at the hub-station to move out of his way. Is it a staff of office? Or is it’s resemblance to the Buddhist monk’s instrument more than coincidental. I thought perhaps it was a control key to open the world-gates, but I have witnessed him opening them when he did not have this instrument.

 I’ve noticed that it bears decorations that resemble the Bubble-Comets. I have also seen representations of these creatures in frescoes around the hub stations. They are clearly important to the Asteroideans in some way. As incubation vessels, perhaps? I recall seeing a few embryonic starfish inside the “ghosts” at Boston Corner. But the Comet’s seem to be more important than just brood chambers.

Also, I finally got around to drawing some of those ships I saw in my dream where I went to the gate-hub. I’ve included them on the back of this sketch of the Asterapomp. My meager sketches don’t do the real ships justice at all, but at least they’ll hopefully give you some idea of the bizarre diversity of interplanetary vehicles and visitors that came to the hub.

I anticipate more dream journeys tonight. I’ll send you another letter with my findings.

 Thomas

P.S. I’ve finished the Schenectady Stockade piece. Though, I’d like your opinion on the accuracy of the British soldiers. Do you know where I can find a good portrait of Colonel John Bradstreet?

P.P.S. I tracked down that book on the Pavilion Lake microbialites. It’s checked out now, but I’ll grab it as soon as it’s back in."

Also, I noticed this interesting little doodle on the back of the last page:

Make of that what you will.

There are still several more packets of letters to go through. I'll upload some more stuff soon once I get a free moment.