Darke County

Modern day penny dreadful set in small town Ohio. News posted daily, New stories posted every Friday. 

[middleland]

Haven House by Eridony on Flickr.

[nevver]

Darkness on the edge of town, Patrick Joust

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Looks like a dream

[middleland]

Darke County, Ohio USA by Gaylen “Becky” Blosser on Flickr.

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Perchta - 

A witch from German folklore, Perchta was once the goddess in Germanic paganism who oversaw spinning during the twelve days of Christmas. Perchta has two forms. She can either appear as a beautiful young woman dressed in white with skin as white as snow, or as an ugly witch-like hag. In both of her forms Perchta has one large foot that resembles the foot of either a goose or a swan. 

Perchta is an easily angered spirit. If her feast day is forgotten and someone doesn’t eat the traditional dish of fish and gruel on that day she will slit open the person’s belly, remove their organs and stuff them with straw. It is said that she roams the countryside in midwinter and enters houses between the twelve days of Christmas and the Epiphany. She instinctively knows if a child or servant has behaved well and worked hard throughout the year. If the child or servant has behaved badly or been lazy during the year she will rip them open, remove their intestines and replace them with straw and pebbles before sewing them back up again. 

Perchta is not all bad though. If a child or servant has been good and productive all year she will reward them by leaving a silver coin in one of their shoes.

[opium-and-arsenic]

Granny, please, let us come in….

[ankolie]

Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during theChristmas season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair.

Krampus is represented as a beast-like creature, generally demonic in appearance. The creature has roots in Germanic folklore; however, its influence has spread far beyond German borders. Traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus in Austria, Romania, southern Bavaria, South Tyrol, northern Friuli, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia during the first week of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December (the eve of Saint Nicholas Day on many church calendars), and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten. There are many names for Krampus, as well as many regional variations in portrayal and celebration.

[mudwerks]

St Nicolaas en knecht Krampus in Wenen 1919 (by janwillemsen)

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  by Oliver Liria

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[middleland]

Darke County, Ohio USA by Gaylen “Becky” Blosser on Flickr.

[middleland]

Darke County - Dawn, OH by ohioghosttowns.org on Flickr.

Via Flickr: Another abandoned house south of the railroad tracks.

[ruledbyvillains]

« Crowley & Juliet » 

[middleland]

Darke County - Bears Mill, OH by ohioghosttowns.org on Flickr.

[graceandgirlhood]

Juliana Bennett

[generationexorcist]

10/31/2014 - Monsters from Urban Legend. Although the term “urban legend” implies folklore from an urban area like a heavily populated city, it is actually used to differentiate modern stories and folklore from traditional folktales developed before the advent of modern technology. Traditional folklore has often dealt with magic and monsters, and contemporary legends have built upon such stories, at times adding facets of technology to reflect the evolution of such folklore. Sociologists, folklorists, and psychologists have notes that despite their modern trappings, urban legends for the most part are inexorably linked to traditional folklore. The reason for this is quite simple: fear as an emotion has changed little, despite humanity’s evolution of technology. For example, traditional folklore tells the story of vampires who drink on the blood of the living to sustain their living death. A modern variation of such folklore involves people who are ambushed, anesthetized, and are drained of blood or other fluids for nefarious reasons. Although the latter story is given modern trappings, the instigators of such crimes could be looked at as modern vampires. The following list compiles monsters taken from modern urban legends. These monsters reflect much of the technology available today. Cell phones (many with cameras), tablets, and of course the proliferation of the Internet have all contributed to an explosion of modern monsters that originate as tall tales, monster design contents, or pranks, only to go viral and develop a “creepy life” of their own. Source: Examiner

[darkecountylimits]

A Spiritual Connection

Even on Halloween, Megan is quiet.

Maybe that’s ok.

  My fingers are cold from being outside for so long. Hours after the rest of my group went home I walked with her.

  Maybe it’s ok to not forget, but to move forward.

She was my closest friend. We shared a room until we moved into our apprenticeships and got the privileges that go with that. I remember how lonely my room felt when I first moved into my own.

  I remember getting ready to go to the Westchester house with her.

We were excited. It was famous. An urban legend in its own right.

It’s easy for us to forget that we are the things or urban legends too.

Powerful girls speaking with spirits and communing with nature.

We were just kids when we came here.

  I remember standing in the yard, watching the house burn. Letting myself feel for Megan’s spirit. I couldn’t feel it anywhere. I felt something though. At the time it made me sick to my stomach. Megan was dead. I watched her die. Her blood was on me and I was sneaking side glances at the Knight.

  But she stood there, watching the fire like it was waking something up inside of her and I wanted to know what. The Knights are chosen as children too. Trained and taught and mostly orphans with a vendetta against whatever nightmare thing hurt them.

  And Megan never did love me back.

  And now she’s silent when she knows that in a life where we give others closure the most valuable thing in the world is a goodbye.

  And the Knight talked. Not a lot. But we talked about Halloween memories. Professional at first. Best monsters, most amusing ghosts. We compared notes.

Then about holidays in general, and about what we enjoyed doing when we aren’t working.

  She loves ballet and it makes me smile to think of her with her cat grace and black hair, a perfectly trained killing machine, dancing.  Most likely alone in her room.

She liked that I read. Too much, Megan had said once.

  She walked me home, stopping before getting too close to the house. Spiritualists don’t tend to approve of the Knight’s methods. All muscles and blades, Karen said once and all of the elders nodded.

  “Beatrice?” Hannah asks, knocking at my door. “Everything ok? We were worried that the Witches caught back up with you.”

  “I’m actually really great.” I tell her. “Happy Halloween.”

“It’s All Saints now.” She smiles and goes back to her room.

  I know that I’ll make pumpkin pie and candy apples for All Saints. I know that the space I leave next to me at the table will be piled with as much junk food as possible. Megan had a horrible sweet tooth. I know that I need to start letting her go.

  I know that I need to talk to Tatiana again.

[darkecountylimits]