The Revival Meeting Mystery
Campaign: Scooby Cthulhu
Jump to navigation Jump to searchThe Miskatonic gang investigates mysterious deaths that seem to be following an evangelist's "revival" meetings.
Recording of game session (YouTube)
Summary
While travelling through southern Texas in their motorhome, the Miskatonic gang sees a number of flyers tacked to telephone poles advertising "Reverend Bishop Alamo's Evangelical Revival Meeting". In the first town they see the flyers, the date on them is a month ago. In the second town, the date is three weeks ago, and so on.
In the town of Lufkin, they are stopped by the police and shown a photo. They are told that a terrible murder happened there two weeks ago, and is still unsolved. A sixteen year old boy, Joshua Galloway, was stabbed to death in his own bedroom. Police believe it was the work of Satanist bikers that were recently seen in the area. Coincidentally, the murder took place the same weekend that "Reverend Bishop Alamo's Evangelical Revival Meeting" was in town.
In the next town, Alto, Texas, a seventeen year old girl, Sarah Canright, has been missing for a week. A witness, local artist Linda Rivera, described a demonic figure who picked Sarah up, tore her in half, and threw her in the water. Her belongings and clothing were found on the riverside, but her body was not found. There was no blood found at the scene, although Rivera said that blood poured out of the girl's body when she was torn in half. Police are discounting Ms. Rivera's account as "hysteria".
The Reverend Bishop Alamo is currently in Palestine, Texas. Most of Palestine is closed down due to the revival meeting, so the Miskatonic gang decides to attend that night's revival meeting. The Reverend is a hellfire-and-brimstone, fundamentalist, spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child evangelist. He performs "miracles", healing the sick and telling people that God is watching and protecting them. The Reverend's son Norville is in charge of decorations and the passion play that is presented before each meeting. Norville and a group of young volunteers take care of that.
The next morning, the Miskatonic gang learns that a fifteen year old boy, David Job Roy, has been abducted. They decide that this bears investigation. Dusty disguises himself as a wayward youth to infiltrate the Revival's youth ministry, while D.J. prowls the town looking for clues from the police and the local newspaper, the Palestine Progress.
Retracing Their Steps
Meanwhile, Connie and Hideyori drive back to Alto to investigate the death of Sarah Canright. They first talk to Linda Rivera, the artist. They learn that Ms. Rivera walked along the river every day at that time looking for pieces of broken glass to make into wind chimes, and she often saw young people swimming from the opposite bank. On that morning, she was startled by a scream, and she saw a demonic figure with a long skull face lift the naked girl overhead, tear her in half, and throw her in the river. Then the demonic figure ran into the woods and vanished. All the while, the girl was screaming and screaming. Ms. Rivera ran back to her trailer and called the police, but they did not believe her. They did, however, find the girl's folded clothing on the opposite bank of the river. Hideyori and Connie drive around to the far side of the river to investigate. The only interesting thing they find is a wad of tissue, painted beige, stuck on a low-hanging branch not far from where the girl's clothing was found.
They then go to visit the parents of Sarah Canright. Sarah's mother answers the door. Her mother is dressed very plainly, and the house is full of bibles, paintings of Jesus, and other Christian paraphernalia. She shows them Sarah's room, which is Spartan and cell-like, where Connie surreptitiously finds glamour magazines under the mattress and a pair of handcuffs hanging from the large metal radiator. Sarah's mother laments her daughter's disappearance, but says she is relieved that Sarah has been "taken home" before she could be led astray by "worldly influences". Apparently, Sarah had been a rebellious teenager, and her parents feared for her soul. They had tried to "pray the wickedness out of her", but were afraid that their faith might not be strong enough. Sarah's mother is happy that her daughter has gone to a better place, away from the temptations of the world.
Before they leave, Sarah's mother shows them the most recent photo of Sarah: a family photo taken when the girl was twelve. At the time the photo was taken, Sarah was a red-headed girl with buck teeth, whose cheerful smile is a stark contrast to the dour expressions worn by her parents in the photo.
Connie and Hideyori then drive to Lufkin to investigate the death of Joshua Galloway. They speak to some neighborhood children, who tell them that Jacob's parents are strict Pentecostal Christians. They do not believe in women wearing pants or wearing makeup, and they did not allow their son Joshua to listen to music of any kind. They had recently beaten Joshua after finding an 8-track tape of Neil Diamond in his room -- he so was badly injured that he missed several days of school.
Investigative Journalism
Back at the Palestine Progress, D.J. is given a teletype of the police report from Lufkin. Joshua's shirt was found in his room, stabbed thirteen times, and blood was everywhere. Upside-down crosses and five-pointed stars were drawn on the walls in blood, in addition to a Bible verse: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." The boy's body was not found.
After a county-wide manhunt, David Job Roy's remains are found in an abandoned salt mine south of Palestine. D.J. is given a ride to the salt mine by a local deputy. Teeth and blood are found at the scene, along with the boy's bloody clothing. The police assume that his remains were thrown into one of the many bottomless crevices that are found throughout the salt mines. However, D.J. finds a trail of small blood spots leading into the salt mine, and he shares this observation with the Texas Ranger on the scene.
The boy's teeth are not able to be identified, because his parents are members of the Followers Of Christ church, and do not believe in medicine: he has never been to a dentist. D.J. learns that several weeks earlier, David had passed out in school, and the school nurse determined that he was probably diabetic. His parents refused all treatment, preferring to depend on prayer. It was for this reason that they and he had attended the Reverend Alamo's revival meeting on the evening before his disappearance.
Undercover Work
While Connie, Hideyori, and D.J. are following up their respective leads, Dusty joins the youth ministry group at the revival camp. He soon ingratiates himself by the most reliable of all means: he's useful and pleasant. He spends most of the day working alongside a cheerful red-headed girl named Veronica, who is also new to the revival crew. She introduces him to Norville Alamo, the youth minister for the revival, who is the son of the Reverend. Norville seems a bit creepy and introverted considering his role with the revival. Nonetheless, Norville appears to be a fair taskmaster to the teens under his care, and he makes a point of making sure that none of the teens take advantage of each other or get into any trouble with the adults.
Later, after the revival crew has all gone to bed, Dusty investigates the trailers used by the youth ministry to store sets, props, and costumes. Drawing on his own theatre experience at boarding school, he concludes that he could use these supplies to create a papier-mâché "body" that would "bleed" when torn in half. He also finds a strange horse-skull mask that does not seem to fit into any Bible story Dusty has ever heard.
Putting It All Together
Connie and Hideyori drive back to Palestine and compare notes with D.J. They come to the conclusion that these abductions and murders are all shams: that the kids have run away, possibly with the help of someone at the revival meeting. They contemplate taking off the next day and leaving the revival behind, but decide to check in with Dusty to see what he thinks before taking any action.
They attend the revival meeting that night, and compare notes with Dusty. From Connie's description, Dusty thinks that the new volunteer, Veronica, might actually be Sarah Canright. Dusty also confirms that a mask and costume matching the description of the "demonic figure" is in the youth ministry supply trailer. The Miskatonic gang ask a few questions of the revival meeting volunteers to see how many new volunteers have joined the staff in the past few weeks. They also look for teens matching the descriptions of Joshua and David, but they do not see them.
That night, the Miskatonic gang are awakened by a bright light from the parking lot. Looking out the windows of their motel rooms, they see their motor home is in flames! Rushing outside, they are confronted by a demonic figure hovering a few feet off the ground: Demonicus Rex!
"I am Demonicus Rex, the embodiment of pure evil! Flee! Flee for your very souls!
Hideyori, being an expert chemist as well as an occultist, notices the distinctive color and smell of burning alcohol -- a fire so cool-burning that it probably won't even harm the paint on the GMC motorhome. "You're a charlatan!" Hideyori says. "This is a fake!"
Demonicus Rex is undaunted. "Behold my power," he says, "and flee for your lives!"
Demonicus Rex "creates" a ball of fire between his hands and throws it at Hideyori. Hideyori blocks/deflects it, and it strikes the motel behind him, setting the wall on fire. Hideyori, Connie, and D.J. scramble to get fire extinguishers and put out the fires, but once they are done, they realize that Demonicus Rex has vanished. They decide to go to the revival meeting camp and see what they can find.
Earlier That Evening
Earlier that evening, Dusty waits until the revival meeting volunteers have bunked down, and then he sneaks out and waits to see if anyone goes to the supply trailer. He sees Norville Alamo sneak out of his trailer to the supply trailer, then leave the trailer a few minutes later dressed in a dark robe. Dusty follows Norville, who walks all the way down the road to the motel. Dusty watches Norville prepare a kerosene-soaked papier-mâché ball, set the motorhome on fire with a bottle of alcohol, and then perform as "Demonicus Rex". While the rest of the Miskatonic gang are putting out the fires, Dusty sees Norville run back to the revival meeting camp.
Wrapping It Up
When Connie, Hideyori, and D.J. decide to go to the revival meeting camp and get to the bottom of this mystery, Dusty steps out of the shadows and says that he thinks that's a capital idea. He then tells them that he saw Norville Alamo dress up as the demon, and he witnessed the whole show.
The Miskatonic gang goes to the revival camp, and they confront Norville about the abductions. He confesses that he is responsible, but insists that he hasn't abducted or hurt anyone: he has just helped kids with terrible home lives to escape and try to find a better life. He says that any of the kids can leave any time they like, but until then he makes sure they are fed and have a safe place to sleep. After a few more questions and making sure that David Job Roy, who is probably diabetic, will be taken to a doctor in the next town, the Miskatonic gang decides to allow Norville to continue his activities without interference. Dusty peels off a wad of bills and gives it to Norville to help him "keep up the good work, old chap".
The Miskatonic gang leaves the revival camp... and a very confused Norville... and decides that their work in Palestine is done.
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