No one really knew what happened the night of the fire - the whole story, anyway.
Some said the townsfolk set it after discovering Elsbeth and Genevieve in the middle of an arcane ritual. Others said it was a tragic accident; a lantern, carelessly overturned. In some stories, Veve was a willing participant in the ritual. In others, a sacrificial victim.
What is known is that Old Man Whateley was a right bastard.
A logging baron who lucked out on some old growth forest, Eustace Whateley was one of those men who started out as an asshole and just grew into the role as he aged. He kept a tight leash on his family and a tighter one on the family coffers. The men ran the money; women were expected to marry who they were told to and bear children. He ruled with an iron fist.
The night of the fire, the authorities came to deliver the terrible news. On top of his business losing money, a deranged fever taking his eldest son after his murderous scandal, and the death of his prize stallion - now they had to tell Eustace Whateley that his wife and precious granddaughter were dead. Along with a good bit of livestock. Neither man was eager about the task.
They arrived to the scene of a massacre.
Eustace’s body greeted them first, swaying from the logging chain hung from the open doorway of the front entrance. His eyes bulged sightlessly, death setting his face in a permanent rictus that made it appear as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. From the waist down, it looked like he was wearing an odd, red apron. The smell of rot and old shit quickly cleared up that mystery.
Inside wasn’t any better. The parlor was literally painted with blood, although no bodies were found to account for the amount of it. The library held three dead servants, all with their throats slit. The bodies were defaced with obscene writings, in various bodily fluids. Multiple references were made to “The Goat”.
The kitchen held the greatest horror.
Cassandra Whateley, Eustace’s daughter-in-law, sat bound to a chair at the table. She was nude, covered in cuts and bruises from obvious torture. Her eyes had been removed, the sightless sockets weeping blood that dripped sluggishly onto her thighs.
On the table in front of her was a roasting pan - containing what could only be described as a half eaten, deformed infant. The blood and viscera smeared on Mrs. Whateley’s face told a ghastly story. One of the young deputies lost his lunch just outside the kitchen door.
It’s said that, as the men approached her, Cassandra Whateley began to shriek:
“I see it! I see the enigmable truth! Oh gods, forgive me……” before trailing off into broken weeping.
She died shortly after, in a mental ward.
The general consensus is that Eustace’s mind broke under the weight of his grief, leading him to massacre his family before hanging/disemboweling himself. The unanswered questions remain:
How did Elsbeth and Veve escape the massacre at the house - only to die in a fire, five miles away?
Even though she died at a later date, why was Cassandra Whateley the only one left alive? By all accounts, Eustace doted on her - more so than his own children. So, what would drive him to torture her so horrendously?
Who was the child Cassandra was forced to consume? DNA wasn’t an option then, and no one remembered any of the Whatelely girls giving birth.
But perhaps the most troubling question of all:
Who -or what- is “The Goat”?