Der Großmann-more sightings.

Besides moving to a new place, I've been stuck in the archives for two weeks.  Almost literally, there was a very confusing intradimensional rift that kept turning me around in circles.  Fortunately, I'm always prepared for such an event...I carry a crowbar.

But, while I was back there, I found a couple more note books filled with the mad hand of others who had searched beyond the veil and found only terror, or at least found something that turned their hand writing to chicken scratch.

Most of the writing I found looks like it was done in the wrong hand and in the dark.  Then smudged and buried in soft peat.  But I did find some photos.

Not creepy at all...

 This one is easier to spot than others.  I think it was done on purpose, but since the journal looks like it was in the mud and rain for a few days, no way of telling where or why the photo was snapped.  The photo was in better condition, disturbingly so given the quality of its accompanying notes. 

Outlined terror for your benefit.

I would take a guess that this one was of the stairway, and the Slenderman was just in the background, lurking.  There were several other photos of similar woods, but no sign of Slendie.

Another one that's hard to spot.  This time, this was tucked in a history book from 1965.  No names in the book, and two (maybe three) 'USED' stickers on it.  My guess is that this was being carried by who owned the book exactly because it was OF Slenderman.  Dr. Jones will have no part of Slenderman and refuses to even say his name.  Obviously, this is something I need to dig into more.

Now with more contrast!

...And outlined.

I sure hope it leads to a glimpse of the unspeakable madness beyond the veil of the stars.

Sketch book: More ESS members.

Look, more members!

Rather, new sketches of ESS members.

This is Krystal, "Zaku" and Ali W.

This is Rushstone the gargoyle.  Dr. Jones brought him back on a trip to Scotland a year or so ago.

He's nice, in a curmudgeon kind of way and likes to talk about how things were "back in his day."

Scotland.

Wow, that took a while.
We had an outbreak of pixies in the library and were a bit tied up with that.
Here're the Scotland photos I promised:

Fleshmarket Close

This was our first stop. Mr. Tep insisted that we walk through Fleshmarket Close upon our arrival. I checked with Dr. Jones on that one, he said it was probably a good idea. Edinburgh worries me a little.

World's End Close

We check out World's End Close too, it was were the city's boundary used to be when it was walled and medieval. It was neat, and have a good pub, but no leads as far as Vladimir and Kraus.

Foundation of a workshop.

We had a Scottish ESS member meet us at the World's End Tavern and exchanged info. he told us a good place to look right near Flesh Market Close. It was were the Scottish ESS records placed a Vladimir and Kraus workshop. Apparently, it was destroyed when some machine of theirs backfired...

Sir Walter Scott Memorial

Ahh, the giant Gothic Sir Walter Scott memorial. We climbed this the first day in Scotland. It was great for getting a look around. It was also one of the things E had to do for Mr. Tep. Yeah, None of us got it either.

Tombs, also sandwiches.

I just thought it was cool they turned a sepulcher into a cafe.

Nerd.

Irik HAD to. HAD. TO. Stop to get this photo. See, there's a show called Doctor Who, BBC sci-fi. Main character flies around time and space in a big blue police phone box. So, yeah. He had to.

Also a nerd.

And the E had to get in on the action. Part of his assignment fro Mr.Tep was trying to find doors to Edinburgh Below. There was so much disappointment when the door to the blue box was locked.

On the Old Man of Storr.

Let me break it down for you: It rains in Scotland. All the time.
Irik and E decided we should try and truck up to the Old Man of Storr through this creepy forest. It started pouring buckets the second we passed through the first bit of forest. We got soaked. I punched Irik.

Arthur's Seat.

And the last day in Edinburgh. We trucked up Arthur's Seat, a mountain by the Queen's Scottish palace. Dr. Jones and Mr. Tep insisted there was something worthwhile on the top. I found a cool rock, that was about it.

Jolly old England.

Back in November, Dr. Jones left E, Irik and myself a not to go to London and find out what we could about two figures of the ESS's history (Vladimir and Kraus of Her Majesty's Royal Eliminators of the Loathsome Undead). They were, at the very least, pioneers in steam-technology and superfluous machines. Such as the automated back-worn tea, toast and hair-cutting apparatus. Most of their devices have been lost or destroyed (or self-destructed) but the originals are in the London ESS archives. I'll shoot some e-mails off and see if I can get copies. Dr. Jones, because he's Dr. Jones, left us about $40 and a single bent pound.
Because E is an indentured servant and Mr. Tep felt generous, and had an ulterior motive, as he always does, he funded the trip for the three of us.SO TO ENGLAND WE WENT!

We bummed it in hostels and B&Bs as we investigated. There's a British ESS branch, they helped us on our way. Our first place to look was in London itself. A pub called The Strutton Arms. V&K lived near Westminster on Greycoat Place.

The Strutton Arms Tavern

This pub was right in their neighborhood, and down the block from Westminster Abby, which is only a short ways from Buckingham Palace.

The first of many pints.
When all that The Strutton Arms yielded was a few pints of delicious cider, we moved on.
Our next spot of interest was Greycoat Hospital.
Greycoat Hospital.
We were allowed to search through some of the records, but not take photos (bastards). We got as far back as 1870, which gave us limited information on V&K. We got an address, 2739 Greycoat Place, which we could not find, at least not in current London.
When all else fails: go to pub.
So, we found nothing in London. Although, I got a picture of a faerie door.
Next up: SCOTLAND.

Some news.

Irik, get down from there!

Sorry for the lack of updating, internets. But there's good news on the horizon.

E's sent word that the extensive ESS business trip is almost over, and that it went well.

I've been working my butt of on about a million research projects here in the city and have a few photos to show. Dr. Jones sent a postcard from Taipai and some interesting notes regarding a spirit there. Well, the post card is months old, but whatever...

I ran out of words, have a flat squirrel.

Sketch book: ESS Staff.

The last two of my ESS staff inspired doodles.

Anita and Evey.

Anita is a field agent, she has a little bad luck dæmon that hangs out with her like a ferret.  I don't think she sleeps much, she takes coffee breaks like some people take smoke breaks.

Like Evey.  Evey is a research agent, but claims to have been dead for a few decades.  Given her demeanor, pallor and ability to drink tequila, I don't doubt it too much.

Sketch book: ESS Staff.

Here's the next in my ESS staff doodles...Featuring the adorkable pair required, by law, to be in any organization.  They're field agents, meaning they deal with all the nasties that Dr. Jones tells them they need to deal with.

Irik and Jane.

Irik is well versed in runes and circuitry.  Jane is a cryptographer and translator (not that she's ever around when I need either of those things).  They've been dating for a year or so and actually met at one of the ESS spring gallery events (read: movies, drinks, and an old book or two on display).
They often crash-out on the couch in the ESS waiting area/break room/filing room after a job.

Sketch book: ESS Staff.

I spend a not insignificant amount of time in the main branch of the New York public library doing work on ESS side projects.  Just like both my internship and night job it involves a lot of filing and data entry.  So I was doodling in the N. Tep offices and Mr. Tep thought my cartoons were quaint and demanded I put them up.  Demanded at sword point, which was new...

Krystal.

Krystal's one of the ESS R&D people.  On her off time she basically lives in a chunk of the ESS stacks she claimed when Dr. Jones hired her.  She does a LOT of research into Fay and the Children of Oberon.  She also has an obsession with a figure she calls "the color thief."

Since world travels are drawing me away from the offices for a few days, I should be able to keep up a buffer...

If posts stop for more than a week, leave a note on the left paw of 'Patience'.  It needs to be inscribed with the Angel's sigil of the day the last post went up.  It needs to be addressed to "N. Tep Esq." and must have the numerals 3-19-27-57 on it somewhere...

Just in case, you see.

Also: in my stead, should it be required, Ali W. of the ESS will be assisting in posts.

You guys will like her, she's unusual.

The Slit-Mouth Woman.

Japan is infamous for its urban legends, ghost myths, horror movies and its intriguing pre-westernization-animism.  To this day, Japan is constantly a source of ghost siting videos (differing from those in the "western world" by occasionally being during broad daylight) and stories of the macabre and weird.

Also, stuff like this...

As I've mentioned, Dr. Jones has been around the world and was in Japan for a little while doing some research.  One of the urban myths he did some work with was that of the "kuchisake onna:"  The slit-mouth woman.

 

From the film "Slit-Mouth Woman," also known as "Carved."

As the story goes, there was a vain woman married to (or the concubine of) a samurai.  She was most likely cheating on on him, the stories differ, and in his jealousy, he slit her face from ear-to-ear and screamed to her: "Who will think you're beautiful now?"

The contemporary story goes that her sliced up face was the result of botched plastic surgery.  But it sticks to the same vanity and mutilation.  but where it becomes fun, is the urban myth part.  She, supposedly, appears to young adults and children, wearing a hospital mask (not uncommon in Japan, they wear them to prevent the passage of colds and disease) asking do they think she's beautiful.  Upon a response, she rips the mask off and asks: "What do you think of me now?"  If the victim says no, or doesn't answer she butchers them with a scythe (or pair of large scissors, myths differ).  Supposedly, she wears a red rain coat to camouflage the blood splatters.

TOO MUCH MOUTH! AAHH!

But she can be confounded, by saying she's "so-so", "normal" or another moderate answer.  There's the triple repetition of "pomade" as well, but this gets a little fuzzy in at least my research into it (some of my sources state it's due to the plastic surgeon's wearing of the stuff).  She also loves sugary snacks, so tossing her some can get you off the hook.

There's also one source I found that gives her a 3 fixation.

Dr. Jones did give this one some merit.  And followed a few of his leads (of which there are many), and it led him to Fujikawaguchiko, which is not terribly far (about two hours drive) from Aokigahara, the forest of suicides.  What he found out, from a select group of interviews all correlated that the woman did appear in their area and with some regularity.  More research into the myth itself (a combination of working with a Tokyo based ESS and working with these locals) shows that some tales ended with the woman being spurned by her cuckold lover and fleeing into the forest.

Delightful happenstance!

Dr. Jones sent me this regarding the subject:

"I armed myself, as it were, with several sweet mochi from the local shops and a few cans of coffee.  After finding a willing guide and making sure my flashlight and GPS had a full charge, we went into Aokigahara.  Since some of the recent myths (only relatively, ones from the late Meiji era) state she has a fixation with triads as well as her family name possibly being [censored by N. Tep Ent. policy].  After repeating the name thrice in several different locations about three kilometers (to further push the numerological possibility) something appeared in the distance.  Slowly walking towards us was a woman in a red coat with a hospital mask on.  My guide, in hushed tones, told me we should give her the mochi and one of the coffee drinks and just leave.  Being the determined old fool I am, I told him to stand behind me if he was so frightened.  True to legend she asked us if we thought she was pretty.  I said she seemed so, my companion was silent.  She took off the mask, asked again, and I said she was still pretty, and she was wronged by whomever desecrated her flesh so.  She stared at me, and then screeched like a dying rabbit.  From her sleeve, she drew a large pair of scissors.  I threw the mochi at her and we both ran."

Dr. Jones has had me working on a digital painting of this encounter, but insists that there's no rush.  That should go up in a few days.

A noted absence...

My time is consumed by my internship and job.  As such, I have only the weekends to make things.  So, I'm going to try and keep atop posting some comics I have been doing.  There's no real title yet, but it's about some of the ESS field agents.

These go in chronological order based on their stories, not the order cataloged and drawn.

Apologies for the half-coloring.  I hadn't finished it before other tasks loomed-black and ominous-on the horizon.

A cast sheet for your reference.

More to come...

Sunday? Already?

I really enjoy my lazy Sunday art posts...

As I may have mentioned.  I worked with Dr. Paul Redgrave on a project or two in my college years.  He also knew someone who was an anthropologist by the name of Doctor Dorian Petran.  Who wandered into the wilds of China with the ideals of finding a lost civilization.


I got a letter from Dr. Petran (by way of Dr. Redgrave) describing a "man with a large fanged mouth, snout-like nose, spines along the brow and head, with large horns.  They call them selves, Ingalat."  He spent a number of months with them.  I just got a few descriptions and one illustration(which I packed amongst hundreds of notebooks in various places and cannot be located as of yet). 

The first rough sculpt.

Being an idiot (or jsut absent minded) I have only my photos of the sculpts and not the illustrations that I neglected to scan.  Thus, sculpture and a lazy Sunday post.

 The more refined sculpt.

Contribution from the late Martin V. Shiloh.

One of these days, I'm going to post up some short biographies of the ESS members, founders and helpers.  Although, I did give a pretty extensive background on the whole organization.

One of the founding New York members (from around 1927) was a fellow called Martin V. Shiloh.

He was a specialist in archeology and loved to gallivant around Europe.  He had that typical Lovecraftian fascination with Hyperboria and Mu, the lost civilizations of the "Golden Age of Men."  Most his searching was in the Mediterranean with a Polish gentleman named Christoph Zebrowskiwho was a treasure hunter of sorts.  An Indiana Jones sort of fellow.  Professor Shiloh went missing in the fall of 1939 while researching in southern China.

Well, Professor Shiloh donated something like 85% of the ESS library and was a enormous archeology nerd.  His cataloged work and findings are so extensive (and unorganized) that I've only begun going through them (because I'm the young, stupid, clerical member of the society and Dr. Jones has way more going on).  But I found something cool and thought it deserved some attention.

From the papers with the photo:

"5/6/29.  Found in a burned longboat.  Remarkable craftsmanship.  Appears ceramic, very solid.  Depicts Thor struggling in coils of world serpent."

Professor Shiloh was a man of few words.

Der Großmann serach continues.

Last week, I had an extensive post regarding the German faerie story about Der Großmann-the Tall Man.

Apprentice's wood cut of Der Großmann.

I still haven't gotten permission from the library to photocopy the sodding woodcut (damn antiquated books rules) but I did send out some e-mails to my colleagues at the ESS and got back a few interesting results.

This one, from (I think) the late 1880s.  The Tall Man is on the left.

One of the Bostonian ESS gentlemen sent me this with a message:

"Yo, got your email, found this on a SIM card I found in the park.  Loks [sic] like that thing you were talking abot[sic].  Day I found it, I scanned the police reports.  Surprize surprize [sic], missing person report filed that morning."

And lastly, I was looking through some of my personal accumulated photos.  Ever since Dr. Jones had told me about his numerous ghost sightings in New York, I've paid more attention and looked a lot closer.  I dropped a contrast filter on a batch form around my neighborhood to see if there was anything unusual I had missed.  

If you can spot it you get a cookie.

Here, let me just point it out:

Sweet Mary, Jesus and Joseph in a birch-bark canoe smoking Cuban cigars.

I took this in August, 2008 From my window during this sudden rainstorm.  And that would appear to be a ten foot tall blank-faced man in a suit by the tree.

The really scary part about that one, the thing at really worries me, is that it looks like it's looking at my building.  We have families in the building, some with young kids.  A few of them on my floor.  After I noticed this I did some searching, but there were no missing persons reports...still frightening.

Also; a word on the hands: I managed to get some translations done, Dr. Redgrave sent me some ciphers when he read the post.  Should be able to post a translation in a few days...

Der Großmann.

Anyone who is remotely familiar with the internets is familiar with two things.  4chan and Something Awful.  Considered by some to be the offal-pits of the interblag.  What I find as the redeeming feature of 4chan is its anonymity and the paranormal chat board, /x/.  It should come as no surprise that your humble author is a visitor of such a thing.

A recent "mascot" of the /x/ boards has been a figure called "slenderman."

One of the more "famous" images.

Slenderman is a tall suited humanoid with a blank face and (in most cases) long tentacle arms.  Most of the legends I've come across concern his stealing of children and the occasional adult.

Of course I was curious, so I dug.  Turns out most of the contemporary stories about the slenderman come from the Something Awful forums in a "let's make a new myth!" thread.  Despite my obvious grammatical objections with the use of the word "myth"...it struck me as odd how many of the posters seemed disturbed by the slenderman.  And since I regularly have to deal with things beyond the veil, as it were, I was only made more curious.

So I kept digging.

Living in New York has a few benefits, one of these being access to the New York public library, and since I do some of my work there (the ESS offices are in the basement), I find plenty of times to crawl the stacks and find the unusual stuff, which does contain some very obscure stuff...

As I dug, I focused on demonology and the realms of the faerie (as these things generally go in that direction) and found that the tall-man, der großmann, is actually mentioned a few times in some mid-16th and late-17th century (predating the brothers Grimm by about fifty years) tales collections of faerie stories.  They spin tales of der großmann sneaking about and snatching children like the krampus, but without any sort of focus.

I did find an interesting woodcut though.
I had to capture it with my phone's camera, I'll have to get Dr. Jones' help on getting a photocopy.

The woodcut was one of an example of apprentice prints.  With this print was written: "Steigen sie nie in seinen wald ein."

"Never enter into its forest."

The more I looked, the more vague things were.  I've determined the more useful thing to do would be to find original German texts and translate them to the best of my ability.

Curiously, as I've been researching this one (which is on the side-burner with the hands' parchment), I've started to notice things going less than smooth.  I've begun to ward my door at night ever since I saw someone tall and skinny staring up at my window.
It just goes to prove my adage: "Anyplace that has a Gutenberg Bible is not to be trusted."

From the ESS files.

As it says right over there in my profile, I put in time over at the Eldritch Studies Society as one of their field researchers and catalogers.  I went through some of the archives and found some of the illustrations Dr. H.P. Jones (founder of the NY branch) had me do when I started interning with them two years ago.

Most of the information about the organization places the initial idea for it in about 1835 by none-other than the genius, poet and author: Edgar Allen Poe.  Poe was interested in collecting the macabre from around the world, as clearly demonstrated by his writing.

The ESS officially got started in 1912 by the godfather of modern horror Howard Philip Lovecraft.  He ran the society until his death in 1938 (reports of his death in 1937 are horribly misconstrued and lack a sense of the…metaphysical).  The society's records and finds stayed in a locked steamer trunk (with a false-bottom) in Lovecraft's flat in Providence, Rhode Island.  Coincidentally the same place the Dr. H.P. Jones grew up.  It works out very nicely, really.  Dr. Jones came across the trunk in an antique shop and was a changed man.

her Majesty's Royal Eliminators of the Loathsome Undead.

We actually have records from a pair of self-titled "chronambulists" (time travelers) called Vladimir and Kraus who were enlisted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in 1886 to steam the tide of zombies in England.  Dr. Jones like to speak about the pair as if they started the ESS in 1912 with HP Lovecraft, and helped him in 1975 when he found Lovecraft's trunk.  I suppose time-travel has its perks.

Cross-man

On one of his many trips to Boston, Dr. Jones spent a long while in an abandoned hospital in Taunton.  It's a reasonably well known ghost hot-spot and he went there to do his usual poking about.  He spotted the specter he called "The Cross-Man."  I've never asked if the cross part was specifically about the literal crosses or the fact that it was very angry to see Dr. Jones.  As of this post, the thing was not dealt with and is still inhabiting the hospital.

 

Needle-back

Yet another hostile specter Dr. Jones found.  This one in Cleveland, Ohio.  Specifically, the Flats.  Needle-back wanders around the waterfront and by the river.  Its arms and back are swollen and infected looking, its bony fingers are so destroyed from its constant scratching.  Dr. Jones very specifically warned me to never come in contact with this one should it appear in New York.  I can only assume it rides the boarder between ghost and demon.

The scarred man.

Dr. Jones spotted this one in January, in Tokyo, Japan.  When he sent me the description, he specified that it was very moist and warned me to avoid the subways for a while.  This one scares the crap out of me.

On a side note: Bioshock 2 comes out today...I look forward to wasting some time with that...