The End and the Beginning

Boston Occult Society: Personal Journal

(Winter, 1930 - Early 1932)

Recorded by Jennifer Ashley-Jones

Saturday, December 20th, 1930

As the solstice approached, I began to feel nervous about the upcoming events. Of course the operation at the North Pole was completely out of our control now, and we'd have to rely on Carrie Walker and her team to keep Ithaqua imprisoned. Nevertheless, I decided that I'd rather spend the fateful day at Ontario House with Charlie and Betty rather than sit around at home and twiddle my thumbs.

    After dark, aware that in woods in front of house, a fire burning + some chanting. Investigation met w/shots - pinned in house by gunmen all around. telephone and so on out. Even contacting Danning doesn't work (no surprise).
    Charlie gets v. busy - not clear what he's doing - moving stuff around, + spending time in basement.

    at ~11pm, all hell breaks loose - literally.
    Hell hounds appear out of nowhere + everywhere + begin ravaging the place - don't attack anyone but corner + terrify, + tear the place up. Guns etc. don't work.
    In the ensuing chaos, Charlie tells me something very important - I am to tell Carrie (when I see her) that her papers are on his desk. Sounds strange under circumstances, but I'll remember it.
    At midnight, snow + wind picks up, so bad over next hour that after 1am, house disintegrates.

Sun Dec 21st 1930

    That's all I remember until I wake up next morning.
    Wake ot thick snow on ground, but a warm clear day like the one before. Wind gone, house gone, + bodies of both Charlie and Betty in wreckage. No evidence of dogs, but where fire was are lots of dead bodies - huge webbed footprints in snow.

    I remember about the old hermit who lives in a shack on the back of the property. BOS once helped him, + just lives out there now. Go find him.

    General plan: get debris cleared up, make sure vault has survived. Cleaned up carefully - public library, painting? All gone. Vault empty. Everything has gone.
    Won't call authorities - the smashed bodies would raise questions. Will hire someone to "clean" the site.
    I remember some names of people I could draw in, but there was never any real network as such.
    Eventually plan to rebuild.
    Will eventually find some special books, but not Tupsimati or painting, nor the one working MiGo stick.

    Long term:
    - rebuild Ontario House, to Danning + McNish's plan.
    - Return the BOS to full capability
    - Recruit permanent staff.

    Back @ hermit. Know he has some Mythos knowledge, don't know how much. Once a normal professional + had an experience, + normal no more.
    Ask him if he knows anything about what happened last night. Aside from weather, he's unaware.
    Tell him what happened to house, + Charlie.
    J: There were some things going on at a larger level. Some - entity - probably got loose + responsible for wind + cold. I was - overseeing - part of the operation to ensure it didn't. So I'd say the operation failed.
    - who was it?
    J: Do you know the name Ithaqua? no? Enlil? Silla? An ancient wind god, quite unsavory. nothing compared with bodies trampled. Worshippers. There was a ritual last night. Worshippers of Ithaqua did something + he turned up + made a big mess. We has some stuff his worshippers wanted to give him, secure (we thought) in a vault. Have you heard of the Tupsimati? Tablets of Destiny?
    - yes
    J: They were in the vault.
    - and not now?
    J: don't know, the house fell on it. but not sure that they are still there until dig out house. So we have a problem. Ithaqua wants to end the world as we know it. So how to we put hte genie back in the bottle? So - you're someone who maybe could help, + this is a good time to call in a favor.
    - what want ot do? Recover tablets - stories say even gods have to be afraid of them.

    We introduce ourselves. His name is Dr. John Moss. He used to be a medical doctor. Get him to check Charlie + Betty. They are indeed dead.

    Vault is torn apart - windstorm couldn't have done this damage.

    We discuss building a new house to withstand this sort of assault. Moss suggests a pyramid would be windproof. Good idea. We'll see what Charlie thinks of it.
    - Charlie's dead.
    J: Yes.

    I offer him somewhere to live while we deal with this. He accepts. Brings a couple of things.

    So take up residence @ my place while we figure out what to do.

Mon Dec 22nd

    Next day, arrange cleanup, + call Dr. Zack Smith in Florida. I wire tickets,. Leave after 3pm on express train (first class, of course).
    Z packs his stuff and leaves.

Wed Dec 24th

    Z arrives in the morning. update him.
    Talk over ideas.

    Dr. John casts "Chant of Thoth" to help us think. Doesn't work.
    Ask Dr.Z if he has any spells. he doesn't.

    Check newspapers... including tabloids.

    The "Camden" failed to report in on 20th + haven't been heard from since. Are bad storms @ pole, + may have gone down.

    Z says some knowledgeable occult poeple in Philly area. They were brought up to speed. Z will check it out.
    Z reports they don't want to see him -- won't talk to him on phone.

    Who'd good at library work? Looks like I'm the best. I'll check out the stacks in Miskatonic U.

    Z will go down to Philly to talk to them anyway. In the meantime he studies all the newspapers he can find.

    Z will take Dr.J to Philly. these people know about Ithaqua and are afraid to get anywhere near it. Point out that they're stuck w/rest of world now, so might as well help.

    Meanwhile Z get lots of papers + look for odd weather patterns etc. + marks them on world map. Don't see any.

    Trip to Philly mixed. In general don't want ot talk but will have a short conversation. Tell them that not contacted by expedition - suspect they failed. DJ tells them the tablets of destiny have been taken form the vault.
    Ithaqua was not released, they say - it would be worse if he had. he still has power. Don't know who has the tablets, but reasonably sure Ithaqua has not been released. they say the cult would have been after them obviously, but they have no leads. - haven't heard anything from R. Blair, + definitely not in the last few months.
    - if released, would be end of life as we know it.
    DJ - more specific?
    - if ithaqua had been released, would be earth-shattering + non-stoppable.
    DJ - would be working to release him. Suggestions?
    - No
    DJ - could be taking his time?
    - maybe, but if you'd been imprisoned for thousands of years would you wait?
    Z - What do tou know of the tablets of destiny?>\
    - nothing.

    I keep doing library work, papers, etc.

    No odd weather. None. No pattern.