4 | Demaris

A church is consecrated, a stranger seems to bring ill tidings.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
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Speaker 2 (00:05):
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Speaker 3 (00:09):
Havoctown is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Grimm and
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Speaker 4 (00:22):
The rumors, which had largely been unsubstantiated but had seemed
to spread of their own accord, took on flights of
incredible fancy. Mister Matthews was heard to have been speaking
in tongues. The Johnston Boy went feral and was seen
wallowing with the hogs. It was whispered around the mill
that the devil himself had come to Abbystown and was

(00:46):
slowly seeping into the cracks of our everyday lives. These
were all things that could be dismissed as superstition children's tales,
but today's events caused even the huh artist skeptic in
Avestown to turn violently to it a horrible sort of
belief that we were, at long last coming to the

(01:09):
very end of days.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Sylvia and I set out just after dawn on Saturday,
deciding to keep to the back roads. I was in
no rush to get to our destination. I found the
whole thing rather silly, to be honest, rousing an academic
from his dusty slumber to ask him to make sense
of the dying man's words and a macabre little box

(02:10):
of vampire hunting tools. Then I found everything a little
silly in that moment. Nothing I could do would feel otherwise,
And so, a foot and lighthearted, we took to the
open road, swearing to kill time scenic overlooks and roadside
apple stands on the way to bone up on a

(02:32):
little family lore. Now, explain to me why you were
at a lecture about the terror of Lake? What the
terror of Lake?

Speaker 5 (02:44):
Me from a mega? Uh huh something like that?

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, m hm.

Speaker 5 (02:48):
It was when I was dating Patrick. He was in
Ato all that weird shit. Yeah right, He watched every
unsolved mystery show out there.

Speaker 6 (02:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
I didn't see the appeal.

Speaker 5 (02:57):
Of unsolved mysteries of Patrick. Yeah, well, he was away
to pass the time. I wouldn't have gone to that
thing myself, but Professor Bradshaw was very.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Cool and very attractive, holy shit, yeah, and polite.

Speaker 5 (03:13):
He ended up talking to us for an hour after
the lecture. Patrick wouldn't stop asking him questions. He's such
a nerd.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
So what was the terror of like memphor.

Speaker 5 (03:23):
Of godm mama, frog of frog frog. I don't know,
I don't know. It was so it was like an
alligator with a cowhead. I don't I have no idea.
It's not real anyway. But doctor Bradshaw is an expert
in things that aren't.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
Real, like vampires. Like vampires, and this is a serious scholar.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, just wait until you meet him.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Whoa, Yeah, I haven't stepped into a college building since
I dropped out.

Speaker 5 (03:55):
Oh what do I feel like I'm gonna get in trouble?

Speaker 1 (04:00):
I don't know, like should I have a whole pass
or something?

Speaker 6 (04:03):
God damn adults.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Here, let's go. Come on, kingsh don't be weird. You're
being weird.

Speaker 5 (04:09):
You're being weird.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
She just walk normally. It's okay for us to be here.

Speaker 5 (04:14):
We are bringing an interesting artifact to an expert in
the field.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Okay, here it is well knock Oh.

Speaker 5 (04:23):
Yeah right, sorry, oh god.

Speaker 7 (04:26):
I'll do it.

Speaker 8 (04:26):
Okay, yeah, come in.

Speaker 5 (04:31):
Professor Bradshaw.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
That's me.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
Hi, Yeah, I'm Sylvie Marcus. We spoke on the phone.

Speaker 7 (04:37):
Oh yes, yeah, come in, come in. You can just
call me Jeremy Jeremy.

Speaker 5 (04:43):
Oh uh, this is current Abbs. She is the one
I was telling you about.

Speaker 7 (04:47):
Yes, and I assume that this is.

Speaker 5 (04:50):
The yeah, the vampire kid.

Speaker 8 (04:55):
Wow?

Speaker 1 (04:56):
May I oh, yeah, of course?

Speaker 8 (05:00):
Oh wow, wow.

Speaker 7 (05:03):
You do not see a lot of these in the wild.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
Have you seen others?

Speaker 7 (05:07):
I actually did. They're more common in New England than
you'd think due to the vampire panic.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
I'm sorry, Oh is this the letter? Uh? Yes, it's
from Wow.

Speaker 7 (05:20):
Yes, this is from Josiah Abvis. Wait a minute, so
that makes you his great great great Oh is it
great granddaughter?

Speaker 8 (05:29):
Is that right?

Speaker 1 (05:31):
You've heard of Josiah.

Speaker 7 (05:32):
The mad Preacher, the most prolific vampire hunter of them all.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, I'm sorry, there's a lot to unpack in that statement.

Speaker 4 (05:41):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 7 (05:42):
This is just this is very exciting for me.

Speaker 8 (05:46):
Okay.

Speaker 7 (05:46):
I'm assuming that, based on the gobsmacked look on your
face right now, that you are unfamiliar with the New
England vampire panic.

Speaker 5 (05:53):
Yeah, let's pretend we're not familiar.

Speaker 8 (05:56):
Okay.

Speaker 7 (05:56):
Well, there were a number of tuberculosis outbreaks in the
region and throughout the nineteenth century, and it was common
for the disease, of course, to spread through families due
to the close quarters. So someone would die and then
be buried, and then shortly thereafter another member of the
family would get ill. And because many people at that
time were very let's say, superstitious, it was believed that

(06:22):
these subsequent illnesses were because the dead were coming back
and stealing the life force of their still living family members.
And so it led to no small amount of mayhem
and paranoia and bodies being you know, as you do,
exhumed and relieved their hearts.

Speaker 5 (06:44):
Jesus.

Speaker 7 (06:45):
Yeah, that was one thing. But then Abbystown was a
whole another animal, how so, well, a couple of things.
For one, the symptoms reported in that epidemic were just,
you know, totally different from tuberculosis. Tuberculosis takes a long
time to kill, right, It's victims slowly waste away. That's

(07:07):
why they gave it the nickname consumption. But the illnesses
in Abstown, whatever that was, it was something else. Like
victims experienced disorientation and fever, and then they flew into
these sudden, violent rages and finally they would bleed from
the eyes and the nose and even the pores. It

(07:29):
was like a terrifying, terrible way to go. I think
it more closely resembled I don't know, like pose red
death or something more so than TB Oh, God, is
everything all right, Sylvie?

Speaker 5 (07:46):
Yeah, we've seen something like that recently this week.

Speaker 7 (07:51):
Well, let's hope it's something else.

Speaker 8 (07:55):
I guess.

Speaker 7 (07:57):
On the upside, there have been advances in medicine since
the early nineteenth century.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
You said there were a couple of differences. What was
the other?

Speaker 7 (08:06):
Turns out that there was a very interesting account written
of the Abbystown Panic in Morgan Perkins A Terrible thirst,
which is it's about the panic. Hold on, It's a
diary written by none other than Ah.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
Look here, the diary of Demris Abbess.

Speaker 7 (08:31):
Shit, that's what I said when I first read it.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
I didn't know there'd been a diary.

Speaker 7 (08:38):
Well, it was probably confiscated when they arrested Josiah. It
was found decades ago when the old Coop's County Courthouse
in Lancaster was retired, and it made its way into
this publisher's hands. There are plenty of written accounts of
the larger Vampire panic, but besides a mention of it

(08:58):
here and there in Larger tech next, the Abbistown Panic
has very little in the way of any first hand accounts.
And this one, boy, let me tell you. It's all
the more chilling because of how it abruptly.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Ends, because the good Reverend murdered her.

Speaker 7 (09:16):
Yeah, along with a woman by the name of Sophia Havoc,
the wife of a wealthy merchant.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Jury. Yes, we live in Havoc, formerly Abbistown. My family
is quite famous there for its misdeeds. Small town and all.

Speaker 7 (09:34):
You don't have to tell me.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
Hey, do you mind if I borrow this book?

Speaker 7 (09:39):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (09:41):
I promise to bring it back and I'll buy you
a drink.

Speaker 7 (09:47):
That's not strictly necessary. I h okay, sure, yeah, take
the book and I would love to talk to you
further about your family laws time.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Absolutely, yeah, although I'm afraid I can't really give you
much more than legend and myth.

Speaker 7 (10:08):
Well, from personal experience, I found that sometimes that's where
the truth lies.

Speaker 5 (10:17):
So so, so what did you think?

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Oh, I mean, it's a lot to absorb.

Speaker 5 (10:26):
Well, I mean, at least now you've got the diary.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah yeah, well, well what.

Speaker 5 (10:32):
Well freaking Reid to Carinne.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
We have a long drive home. Oh yeah, okay, out loud,
no shit, fine, okay, first entry, there we go. Sixth
of September eighteen seventeen. Wow, Noah and Father Josiah have
laid the final stone at the front step of the

(10:55):
new church, and Father Josiah invited Noah to consecrate the
church with the Lord prayer.

Speaker 5 (11:02):
I can tell this is going to be exciting.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Hush. Eighth of September eighteen seventeen, an exciting day, all right.
The congregation gathered in the new church building for the
very first time, with Father Josiah to side.

Speaker 4 (11:15):
Speaking after reading from first Tinnity, Father spoke about the
importance of continuing the tradition of reading scripture aloud, and
the congregation nodded quietly, content in the knowledge that they
were in the hands of the wisest of shepherds.

Speaker 6 (11:32):
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
As people moved eastward, they found a plane in Shinar
and settled there, and they said to each other, come,
let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They used brick
instead of stone, and tar for mortar. And then they said, come,

(11:54):
let us build ourselves a city with a tower that
reaches to the heavens.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
A tall, wiry figure opened the door to the church then,
and the cold rain and wind of September entered behind him,
as if he had brought with him the first chill
of the coming season, vanquishing the long summer. At last,
he wore the black of mourning, and his bright eyes
shone as he took in the house of worship the congregation,

(12:24):
the pastor, to whom he gave a nod and a
gesture of his hand that the man should continue. I
would come to find out later that this was the
merchant jury Havoc, who was building his home up the
hill from the village.

Speaker 6 (12:41):
Yes, please come in. You know the rest of the story.
The people of Chennard built their great tower, and the
Lord Almighty saw their hubris and saw fit to punish
them with his mighty hand. It is hubris that we
speak of to day, a poison that fasters.

Speaker 7 (13:02):
In the s.

Speaker 4 (13:05):
It was in the reception line after Father Josiah's sermon
that we met him officially for the first time. He
stood at the very back of the line and kept
his eyes on the ground until he reached the great door.
When finally he looked up and met my eyes. They
were set deep and were dark and sharp. They nearly

(13:26):
stopped my heart for a moment. They so thoroughly seemed
to find the center of me. But before I could
find another breath, he was upon us.

Speaker 9 (13:37):
Reverend Others, I apologize for interrupting your sermon, sir.

Speaker 6 (13:41):
Now do not be the Lord brought you in his
own time. Where do I have the pleasure of addressing.

Speaker 9 (13:48):
My name is Jury Havoc. I came to the country
from London by way of Boston Harbor and recently begun construction.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
Just north of here.

Speaker 6 (13:56):
And what is your business, sir?

Speaker 2 (13:58):
I'm in the shipping business. Sir. My farmers a fleet
harbored throughout the world.

Speaker 6 (14:05):
You're a long way from the ocean, young man. You
have court me out.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
I have come here to take good country.

Speaker 9 (14:13):
My bride has been suffering from an illness, and I
believe that this part of the world would do her good.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
I'm not a man to ignore the call.

Speaker 9 (14:20):
Of opportunity, especially when it also involves the health of
those I love.

Speaker 6 (14:26):
Well. We welcome you into our town and into our congregation,
and your wife as well. Please wish missus Havoc well
for us. We will pray for her full recovery.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
I thank you. And this is your family.

Speaker 6 (14:42):
Yes, this is my son Noah.

Speaker 8 (14:45):
A pleasure mister Havoc, and this is.

Speaker 6 (14:47):
His wife, missus Abbess madam.

Speaker 4 (14:51):
A pleasure, A pleasure is mine, sir, well, i'm.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
As bidiodieu abssis.

Speaker 9 (14:58):
Construction on my house is well underway and requires my eye.

Speaker 6 (15:02):
Yes, we are baggerly watched from afar. It looks to
be quite large. Have you a family to match it?

Speaker 2 (15:11):
I'm afraid that it is just so fair, and I.

Speaker 6 (15:14):
I see well. I am sure the town will appreciate
the business you bring.

Speaker 9 (15:20):
I pry myself on creating honest work for on his men.

Speaker 6 (15:23):
Good. We look forward to welcoming you into the fold.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yes, thank you. A good day to you will.

Speaker 6 (15:30):
And to you services begin at seven a m sharp, sir, I.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
Shall try to remember.

Speaker 4 (15:39):
I watched him walk north toward the wood, toward the
timbers of the great house, rising above it on the hillside,
builders swarming upon it as ants on spilt sugar. And
then I witnessed Father Josiah's face move through a series
of desperate emotions, confusion, curiosity, a quiet anger, all before

(16:03):
going blank, as if a great hand swept across the
table of his mind. I do wonder what he was thinking.
I do know that he immediately distrusted jury havoc because
Father Abbess trusted No.

Speaker 1 (16:17):
One.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
Twelfth of September eighteen seventeen ill Omens. Noah and Father
Abbess have been busy with the new Church. As the
Lord's business is never done. Noah insisted that the boys
be tutored in maths and scripture so that church business
may be passed on to them in the future. Though

(16:43):
I miss the boys during the day, I know that
this is best. It allows me more time focused on
the house. In the course of cleaning ash from the
hearth this morning, I knocked the kettle and bent the
kettle hook so that it could no longer do its duty,
and so it was off to the blacksmith to repair it.

(17:07):
Good day, mister.

Speaker 8 (17:07):
Smith, Ah, missus Abbess, Good day.

Speaker 4 (17:12):
Ah. I seem to have bent this kettle hook while
cleaning the heart this morning. I wonder if you have
the time to set it straight.

Speaker 8 (17:19):
Well, just let me give it a look.

Speaker 6 (17:21):
Ah.

Speaker 8 (17:22):
Yes, I can take care of this straight away.

Speaker 4 (17:24):
Ah, thank you, sir.

Speaker 8 (17:27):
Fine sermon that the reverend gave the other day.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
It was one of his finest.

Speaker 8 (17:32):
The new church is a beauty, yes.

Speaker 4 (17:35):
And may I say the iron work on the doors
is perhaps one of its finest features.

Speaker 8 (17:41):
Oh well, well, thank you.

Speaker 10 (17:46):
It was then that it happened a scream across the street.
The devil, the young man, my own Williams h perhaps ten,
had set up on Missus Harris, fists flying, knocking over
chicken crates on the market's edge.

Speaker 4 (18:01):
Two men pulled him off, and my blood ran cold.
The boy was wild eyed, and blood poured from his
mouth as he raved.

Speaker 7 (18:10):
He crossed me ries.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
He cut me with the heart, the old witch.

Speaker 9 (18:15):
Don't light them from your stolle.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Two wounds and get the boy to jail.

Speaker 4 (18:25):
Tell me, good God. I had seen the boy about.
His father owned a farm nearby and regularly brought the
boy to market. He seemed a good child, dautiful quiet.
He had come quite mad and did not stop shouting
until he was cuffed across the temple, putting him out.
I ran into the church as quickly as I could.

(18:46):
Noah and Father Josiah were deep in conversation when I arrived.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Good Heavens to marry school.

Speaker 4 (18:53):
What is this Missus Harris attacked at market by the
chandler boy?

Speaker 6 (18:57):
Is all right?

Speaker 1 (18:59):
You bit her face?

Speaker 4 (19:01):
There was quite a lot of.

Speaker 6 (19:02):
Blood Noah go and fetch the boy's father. I'm going
to go to Missus Harris's side. Are you well, daughter, Yes, sir,
we will return.

Speaker 4 (19:18):
They have not returned this evening, thirteenth of September eighteen seventeen.
Father Abbess and Noah returned early this morning, and both

(19:39):
men were rattled by their experiences. Father Abbess in particular
seemed troubled, though would not speak of it, and retired
to his room. Noah spoke at greater length, explaining the situation.
First a visit to Missus Harris's to pray with the
family and speak to our town's physician, Doctor Bright, who

(20:00):
attended the white mark on the cheek, was angry, but
Noah promised me not as terrible as I'd imagine. After
seeing the attack, the good doctor was able to easily
staunch the blood and applied a healing poultice. Afterward, Father
Abbess had joined Noah to see into the matter of
the boy who had attacked, and met with his father,

(20:23):
mister Satterwhite, who owned a small farm on the west
of the village. The boy, Nathaniel, was still in the
jail and had calmed himself somewhat In the words of
the jailer, Constable John Fellows, who had himself suffered a
small bite in getting the boy situated in the cell
under lock and key. Nathaniel himself had a high fever

(20:46):
and had begun to bleed from the eyes and nose.
He even, Noah said, with a shudder, seemed to swept
blood from his purse. His father was in a terrible state.
He said that a son who was normally of a
sweet disposition, had begun to act strangely in the previous days,

(21:06):
until finally in a fit of rage, turning over the
family's table and running out of the house. The next
he was seen was in the market in the attack
on Missus Harris, which I have described. Noah described the
boy's demeanor when they first entered calm, but watching his

(21:27):
visitors through the bars with a wary eye. He remained
that way, quiet and watchful as they spoke to him
about what had caused his behavior. Father ABIs told him
that it was only Christian to make full apology, and
advised him that he may be able to avoid trial
if he showed himself to be penitent. He began to

(21:50):
pray over the boy. It was then that had happened.
Nathaniel bolted upright and began screaming curses, said Father Abbess,
flecks of blood in his foamy spittle flying from his lips.
He set upon the bars with the sort of madness
that Noah described as inhuman, even infernal. They spent the

(22:12):
night in a back and forth, father praying in the boy,
cursing him his ancestors and progeny. It took weary hours
and all of Father's strength to match the boy's fury
with God's love, but in the end it was fruitless.
The boy dropped in the early hours, dead in the

(22:34):
middle of the floor. They had lost him. Noah believes
that the devil is at work in Abbstown, and it
is up to us, the family who gave the town
its name, to fight it.

Speaker 5 (22:54):
That feels eerily familiar. Yeah, do you think that and
Jimbo and the axe guy are related?

Speaker 1 (23:04):
I mean, it seems.

Speaker 5 (23:07):
Absurd, does it? Keep reading?

Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah? Okay. Fifteenth of September eighteen seventeen, the news has
not been good. Both Missus Harris and Constable Fellows have
fallen ill. Both have suffered from fevers and strange bleeding.
Both have exhibited signs of the type of volatility that
plagued poor Nathaniel, though neither so far have become violent.

(23:38):
Doctor Bright has given both a tincture of medicinal herbs
and cod liver oil, And to mister Fellows, who has
a stronger constitution, he has applied leeches for the purposes
of bleeding. We pray throughout the day for their full recovery.
There are whispers in the town of great evil settling

(24:01):
in with us. It is for this reason that Father Abas.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
Addressed the congregation on the matter in today's service.

Speaker 6 (24:10):
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will
say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress, my
God in whom I trust, for he will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his

(24:33):
wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield
and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence
that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

(24:53):
I have had many in this congregation who have come
to me with their worries in the matter of Nathaniel
Satterwhite and his illness. It is true that his end
was violent and terrible. It is true that there is
evil on the land and here in Abistown. But it
is also true that the Lord is our shepherd. We

(25:17):
must remain vigilant, yes, but we must also retain our
faith as our strongest defense. Redouble your prayers. The Lord
will strengthen the walls of your home against evil. Do
not walk in fear, my friends. Put your faith in him,

(25:38):
and his light will banish the darkness. Let us pray,
Oh God, may your spirit speak in me, that I
may speak to you.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
But in private. His faith is taking a more practical form.
Under cover of night, Father ABIs and Noah have traveled
to be afflicted for three nights. They have gone quickly
in the darkness so as not to arouse alarm in
the village. They go not to pray, but to fight

(26:11):
for alverst. They shout and taunt whatever demon has entered
the poor victims, and the demon fights back, hurling epithets
most obscene and cursing the Lord. No one comes more
exhausted shaken. I fear he is losing faith. Seventeenth of September,

(26:36):
after days of affliction, Constable Fellows passed eighteenth of September.
Missus Harris has passed. Twenty second of September. Another case
of the blood fever and resulting possession, this time in
a young girl, Annabel Leary, who had no known contact

(26:58):
with any of the three previous victims. Walking into town
yesterday morning to purchase flower, I heard the whispers. They
say that the devil walks in Aristow. You could sense
the simmer and services this morning.

Speaker 6 (27:17):
Visit, Oh Lord, we beseech thee this habitation and creature
of thine, and remove far away from him all the
snares and assaults of the devil. Led by angels Michael,
Raphael and Gabriel. Dwell therein to preserve it in peace
and from all unclean spirits. And let thy blessing be

(27:39):
always upon.

Speaker 4 (27:39):
Us, Master Rabbits, what is being done?

Speaker 6 (27:43):
My friend? We are communing with our father, ask of him.

Speaker 4 (27:49):
Three and died, and my Annabel is biting and scratching
like an animal.

Speaker 9 (27:55):
Calm, calm, She raids all night, saying more of things
about her mother.

Speaker 4 (28:02):
Even you have been unable to save her.

Speaker 6 (28:05):
With your prayer, mister Leary, you will listen. I have
called on other men of God throughout the region, have
sent missives near and far, so far as writing to
England for consul on the matter. Doctor Bright, Noah and
I are working in tandem to discover the true root
of his sickness and cut it out entirely. We will

(28:28):
continue the fight. I have been told that many believe
that the devil is in Abbistown.

Speaker 5 (28:34):
It's Jerry Havoc.

Speaker 6 (28:36):
Now, mister Havoc is not here to defend himself. We
will not cast dispersions, but the devil is here. While
doctor Bright works to cure the symptoms of this sickness,
my boy Noah joins me each night and pushing back
against him. We will cut him out of Abbistown. We

(28:56):
will send him back to Hell. But I need your help.
I call for curfew self imposed. Of course, we are
free men, but we must be on our guard. We
must be responsible for our own families. So at sundown,
go indoors, lock yourself away, sit at your tables or

(29:18):
around the hearth, and fathers, read aloud from your family Bible.
It matters not where you're start, though the beginning is
as good as any place. Put all of your heart
into these recitations, and wives, make sure that the children
pay heed to them. Do not open your door to

(29:39):
the devil. He will be all too happy to come in.

Speaker 4 (29:47):
The mood was greatly changed after the service. The congregants
treated Father Josiah with a certain awe that surpassed even
the normal respect shown him for his station. It seemed
roundly agreed upon. A curfew was in order, and families
rushed home to do the day's business ahead of sunset,
leaving Father Abbess and Noah to close the church. The

(30:09):
boys and I waited for them, as we did each Sunday,
in the churchyard, where they could play amongst the tombstones
and I could sit with my thoughts. My parents are
buried in the Abbastown churchyard, as well as my brother,
who died in childbirth. I frequently visit with them, But

(30:31):
to day I was drawn to a fresh new grave,
that of poor Nathaniel Satterwhite, taken so soon and so
violently from his father. As I walked up, I noticed
something strange the dirt. It had been disturbed, No, no,

(30:53):
not disturbed. It looked as though much of it had
been scattered, and there was a deep diffit in the
center of the grave, as if someone had been digging.
I called out to Noah, who was just exiting the
back door of the church with Father Abbis right behind,
to lock up.

Speaker 5 (31:12):
Noah, what is it, dear, Come and look both of you.

Speaker 4 (31:18):
Here Nathaniel's grave. It looks to have been desecrated.

Speaker 6 (31:23):
Noah, fetch two shovels from the caretaker shed. Do not
allow he or anyone else to know why you're taking them.

Speaker 4 (31:31):
Yes, Father, shall I take the boys home?

Speaker 6 (31:35):
No? No, stay here and tucked away out of sight
behind the church. But I need for you to keep
watch and to let us know if anyone approaches. I
do not want a single soul within our congregation to
witness their pastor digging up a former member. Don't allow

(31:57):
the boys to get too close.

Speaker 4 (32:01):
Noah returned, and they began to dig. Both men were
hale and hearty, and they struck the wooden lid shortly well.

Speaker 6 (32:12):
In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose.

Speaker 8 (32:16):
Hum Eh, God have mercy.

Speaker 4 (32:19):
The boy lay in his coffin in just the position
that he had been laid to rest arms crossed over
his chest. But his features he had been wasted by
his illness. I had been told. His eyes sunken, and
his skin wan He was nearly skeletal, but the body

(32:40):
that lay in the grave retained that flush of youth
in the cheeks, and his lips were ruby red. He
could have been sleeping. He looked so horribly alive. Not
a one of us moved for a long moment until

(33:00):
Father Abbess, still standing in the grave, inclined his head
toward Noah.

Speaker 6 (33:07):
Noah, hand me your knife, Yes, sir, thank you, look away, demurse.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
But I could not. I watched as he bent low
until he was right above Nathaniel's prone form. I watched
as he whispered a quiet prayer over the boy, and
I watched as he slowly brought the knife up, clasped

(33:42):
the handle between both hands, looked up to the blank
white autumn sky in search of God's grace. Take a
deep breath. Enter ha oh shit, sh shut up, shut.

Speaker 7 (33:58):
Up, shut up?

Speaker 5 (34:00):
What who is it?

Speaker 1 (34:02):
It's dree what yeah, answer it dummy, right, okay.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
Yeah, hello, Hello, it's his career.

Speaker 1 (34:15):
Mister Havoc. To what do I owe the pleasure?

Speaker 11 (34:20):
Well? I show no if I'm remembering this correctly or
if I imagined it, But I do believe that we
agreed to meet up.

Speaker 1 (34:30):
I think I recall something of that nature.

Speaker 11 (34:33):
Wonderful. Yeah, how'd you like to come by the house,
say tomorrow night, and having some updates made to the
place where I could actually use a second opinion.

Speaker 1 (34:42):
Oh sure, that's not too forward.

Speaker 9 (34:48):
I promise something not going to emerge you in the bathtub.
I'd like to put that chapter of our family shared
history behind us.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
Yes, Oh that sounds great. I'll bring up a bottle
of wine.

Speaker 11 (35:00):
Oh, no need, no need, and I'm well stocked up
on wine. And yeah, tomorrow night, unless that's too short.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Notice, that's perfect.

Speaker 11 (35:11):
Wonderful, great, And you know where it is.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
Big house on the hill, the famous one as the place.
I think I'll be able to find it.

Speaker 6 (35:22):
See that.

Speaker 5 (35:24):
Hot Damn I've always wondered what the inside of that
place looks like.

Speaker 1 (35:27):
Well, I guess i'll report back to you.

Speaker 5 (35:31):
You better get pictures.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
You are so weird.

Speaker 5 (35:35):
Now where were we?

Speaker 6 (35:36):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (35:37):
I think my great grandfather was about to stab a corpse.

Speaker 5 (35:41):
Oh, Like I said, I love story time.

Speaker 3 (35:48):
Havoctown was created by me. Aaron Manky. The show was
written and directed by Nicholas Takowski. This episode was edited
and sound designed by Nomes Griffin, starring Jewels st Eight
as Corene Abbas, James Callus as Jerry Havoc, Felicia Day
as Sylvie, Harris Ray Wise as Josiah Abbas, Crystal Lee

(36:09):
as Demeris, Daniel Ernesto A known as Noah Abbas, and
Misha Collins as Professor Jeremy Bradshaw, with additional voice acting
from Gina Rikeike Dick Terhun, Jack Lafferty, Stephen Manley, Darren Heemes,
Daniel Avi Sarkis, and Aaron Mankey. This season is directed

(36:30):
by Nicholas Takowski, with assistant directors Sarah Klein and Jake Diamond,
casting by Sunday Bowling CSA and Meg Mormon CSA. Production
coordinator Wayna Calderon. Our theme song was created by Chris
Childs Executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick,
with supervising producer Rima Lkali and producers Nomes Griffin and

(36:53):
Jesse Funk. Havoctown is set in the Bridgewater Audio Universe,
which includes the hit fiction podcasts Ridgewater and Consumed. Learn
more about both shows, as well as Havoctown at grimandmild
dot com, and find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by visiting
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows