Agnes Montague, Hill Top Road and that creepy tree...
Ok, so I just spent the good part of a few hours trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Agnes Montague, Hill Top Road, Raymond Fielding and that damn creepy tree, and now you are going to have to suffer through it too.
So Agnes Montague is born, probably sometimes in the 50′s during a ritual of the Cult of the Lightless Flame. She is to be their Messiah and complete their final ritual. However, being the embodiment of pain and destruction, she is not easy to control.
So in the 1960′s when she is around 11 years old, Agnes is sent to live at Hill Top Road, a known stronghold of the Web. At this time it is inhabited by Raymond Fielding, a servant of the Web, who uses it as a halfway house for troubled teens, who he promptly sacrifices to his God.
At some point Agnes rescues at least one of the young men from Raymond’s basement trap (MAG 59.) We aren’t told how Raymond reacts to this, but around this time Raymond begins to stop taking in youths, perhaps to avoid any more escapes/because he recognises Agnes’ ties to another entity?
Raymond Fielding vanishes, likely in the early 1970′s. By this point Agnes is old enough to inherit Hill Top Road and it is discovered that the house is now in her name. It seems likely that Agnes was involved in Raymond’s death, although it is possible that the Web turned on him to allow it’s greater plans to proceed.
Agnes keeps Raymond’s severed R hand which upsets the rest of the Cult - it seems that this is likely because by this point the Web has some sort of hold over Agnes. The Cult never expected this could happen because of Agnes’ power and connection to the Desolation, but it seems that they were wrong. Raymond’s hand seems to act as some kind of binding between Agnes, Raymond and (to a lesser extent the house.)
It seems likely that the Web wants to have control of Agnes as part of it’s machinations to prevent the Desolation’s ritual. We are told a number of times the Web (like the End) has never attempted a ritual and does not seem keen on the idea. This later turns out somewhat incorrect but it’s unclear when the Web realised this and it seems likely it may have known that if another entity attempted and even partly completed a ritual, it would not play well into the Web’s plans to spread itself and the other fears.
Anyway, back to Agnes. Agnes is said to have remained in the house for a few years, perhaps because of her being bound to it or maybe just because she didn’t want to go back to the Cult.
However, in 1974 a child vanishes from the street and the locals suspect Agnes. I wonder whether perhaps the Web took him, or maybe he fell through the crack between realities. Soon after this Agnes burns down the house; was this a reaction to the child’s disappearance? A way to try and stop the Web? Simply a wish to leave, especially as she had caught other’s attention by this point and this was a way she could sneak away? Or maybe she could only leave the House if it was destroyed?
Raymond Fielding’s charred body is found in the ashes of the house, missing his right hand.
However, Agnes seems to remain bound to Hill Top Road somehow and it seems to me that the tree/box buried beneath it is definitely important here. Firstly, the tree is not badly damaged/destroyed in the fire, it is only mildly scorched, as if Agnes had tried to burn it but had not been able to. In my opinion it seems likely that the Web somehow bound Agnes to the tree/box. Perhaps it forced Raymond to do this before his death. Anyway, from what I can work out (and this is purely my own theory) Agnes and the tree are somehow tied together - Agnes (and maybe this extends to her followers) cannot destroy the tree (probably because it will have some negative effect on her), and she cannot be killed while the tree stands. Does that make sense?
Sometime after the fire, a young Gertrude Robinson turns up at HTR to explore as she is trying to find a way to stop the Cult of the Lightless Flame. She finds a box of Agnes hair - another feat of the Web - and uses the hair to perform what she believes is a banishing ritual. However, the ritual is actually a binding ritual and somehow binds Agnes and Gertrude together. From this point Agnes refers to Gertrude as her anchor - a tether to humanity and something that prevents her from completing her destiny. Gertrude meanwhile ends up being protected by the Cult as they fear any harm to Gertrude may harm Agnes. This ritual seems to have two purposes. One, it is another way in which the Web has some control over Agnes and therefore the actions of the Cult, plus it’s a back-up in case something happens at HTR. Also, it allows Gertrude to continue on her quest of stopping rituals while being afforded some protection, and as we discussed before, the Web is not keen on a ritual happening, at least at this point in time.
It’s possible by tying her to humanity, (although I believe Agnes was already likely more human than was probably good for her whole-Messiah-thing - I just think her actions for Ron Sinclair may have been more than a fuck you to the Web), Gertrude’s ritual also accelerated Agnes descent into doubt and ultimately uselessness as the Cult’s Messiah and apocalypse lynch-pin.
So Agnes and Gertrude live their respective lives for thirty or so years. During this time, Agnes realises that she cannot perform the Cult’s ritual as it will fail and this will mean they will have to wait centuries before they can try again. However, at this point she also can’t kill herself because of her connection to HTR.
But in 2006, Evo Lensik is compelled (again by the web perhaps?) to uproot the tree and destroys the box beneath. This frees Agnes and allows her to complete her sacrifice for the Cult. It also seems to sever Raymond Fielding’s connection with the house as he is not seen again by anyone who lived at HTR after this time, perhaps because the connection only existed through Agnes and with her gone, so was his link. This might partly explain why the hand was in such good condition, because Raymond was still somewhat alive up to the point where Agnes died.
Those living at HTR do not report any further paranormal events, at least until the start of the show’s storyline.
Sorry, that was long, but I hope it made some sense. Would be interested if anyone has their own theories/ideas/comments. I’m always happy to discuss TMA with other fans.
Thanks.
