NEIGHBORHOOD: Nightfall Grove
What was that noise? Did you just feel something brush against your shoulder? Did that statue just move? Don’t worry, that’s normal for Eluria Cemetery, one of the most haunted sites in the state. It’s one of the oldest, too, and history buffs, ghosts, and ghost-chasers alike find themselves drawn to it. Eluria has been open for burials since it opened in 1784, and after several expansions, it’s still able to be a working cemetery even today. Among the many statues (some quite locally famous) are hidden and not-so-hidden entrances to the mines. All of that easy access combined with some luxuriously roomy mausoleums makes Eluria a hit with the undead population in town, including the hottest undead social club, Crypt of the Red Rose.
Known among slayers as one of the most sprawling vampire scenes in the city; if you don’t have super strength and a stake, coming here at night is essentially a death wish. That’s probably why the situation has gotten so out of hand. Sometimes even the vampires object to the amount of spawn within the cemetery gates.
The central mausoleum houses an undead establishment known as the Crypt of the Red Rose.
There are ghost tours during the day, which doesn’t make much sense. This has been pointed out. The tour guides don’t usually last long, either because they get eaten by the local residents, or because they have enough common sense to quit after their first day. Unfortunately, there have been times where entire tours have vanished, but the tour guide company says it only adds to the mystique.
Eluria is famous for its variety of interesting statues. Some are big, some are small, some are of important figures or animals, others of angels, some of… well, who knows what that is? In any case, they seem to move around sometimes when no one is looking. Or maybe you just forgot where you saw it before.
Despite the obvious danger of going for a stroll here at night, people still do. It can be a really busy place, which makes slaying without being seen difficult at times. But it sure makes vampiring much easier. The cemetery seems to encourage this by leaving the gate wide open 24/7.
Marvin, a scruffy-looking overseer, has worked here for as long as anyone can remember, though miraculously has no year of birth on file that anyone can check. Some of the vampires have wondered about him, but some have confirmed the sound of a heartbeat. They leave the guy alone because he takes care of the place. And who knows what the heck he is?
There’s also a new groundskeeper on staff that people are suspicious of. He’s mostly seen walking around with a shovel thrown over his shoulder, which is just strange, but sometimes he looks even sketchier as he hangs around the freshly dug graves. Most of the undead don’t find this weird but anyone else walking by might get a little too brave and end up missing the next day.
It’s not uncommon to see more adventurous teens here with a ouija board. Sometimes they even live to tell the tale.
