Abigail Darkwood
Abigail was born in 1882 in the town of Luray, Virginia. She was
the only child of Leroy and Raven
Darkwood. Most of her early life is clouded in mystery.
Like her parents, most of what we know of Abigail comes from speculation
and rumor. Local legends and hearsay give us sketchy details of a
child born of, and raised by two sinister characters. Evil that begat
evil.
At birth, Abigail was a toe headed child. Her hair was
so blonde that it was almost white. Those in the employee of the
Darkwood family noted early on that the child had a strange aura about
her. No one was able to define it in exact words, but it was best
described by one employee of the family as, “That child produces
a chill in ya that you can feel all the way to the bone. A chill
of long dead places.”
The Darkwoods opted not to send Abigail to the local public school.
They employed a private tutor named Fanny Buracker to school the young
girl in things they could not. It is said that Leroy feared his daughter
might be the object of revenge for one of his past crimes, if he allowed
her to get too far from his sight.
The environment of Darkwood Manor was a grim one for a young child
to spend all her time. Most houses are warm inviting places.
Places that offered shelter and security from the elements of nature.
However, from the very beginning, descriptions of the Darkwood home contain
no such images of security. In fact they tell us the complete opposite.
“That house is more menacing than the wilderness around
it!” wrote a local tax accessor in his journal in 1887.
The house also seemed plagued by spirits; ghosts from Leroy Darkwood’s
murderous past. Local legends casts Raven Darkwood as a key figure
in the haunting of Leroy and the manor. Some say that it was her
practice of black magic that kept the vengeful spirits from dragging Leroy’s
soul to the hell it deserved, but others claim that she was the source
of the angry ghosts. They say she had called them forth from the
ether to keep Leroy trapped at Darkwood Manor.
So, it was in this strange environment that Abigail grew up.
Some of the more concrete reports of Abigail’s childhood come from the
diaries of her tutor, Fannie Buracker. In Miss Buracker’s first diary
entry concerning her young pupil, dated 1889, she wrote:
“ After my first month of working with Abby Darkwood, I’m
resigned to say the child shows a remarkable intelligence. So much
so that I fear my abilities as a teacher will not do her justice.
Today, I suggested to Mr. Darkwood, that she might benefit more if she
was admitted to public school in addition to me teaching her in private.
He strongly refused my suggestion. He is such a hard and quick-tempered
man. I would greatly worry for Abby’s safety if she was to ever provoke
that temper, but observing them together sets my mind at ease. I
have never seen a father’s love for his daughter any greater. And
she seems to adore that ill-tempered bull.
What does trouble me about Abby is her strong imagination.
I know all children play-believe, and have imaginary friends. I see
it often in the other children I teach, but with other children I’m able
to dissuade them from their childish daydreams. However, Abby seems
locked into hers.
Yesterday, I sat her to the completion of a writing assignment,
while I graded some of her pervious work. When I went to check on
her progress, I found her talking to thin air as if she was not alone.
When I asked her to whom she was talking, she informed me it was to a friend
of her daddy’s; the man with the hole. I told her I would not tolerate
such nonsense while I was teaching her. She gave me a chilling look,
but returned to her writing. Scarcely a half hour later she was at
it again. This was not the first time I had witnessed such behavior
from her. In my short month with her I have seen her have several
conversations with imaginary beings. I attribute these uncontrolled
flights of fancy to her isolation from other children, and to the morose
atmosphere of the Darkwood home. When I addressed her mother about
the problem she only smiled and replied that her child was gifted as she
was. I do not begin to understand what that woman meant, and how
it applies to her daughter’s lack of focus.
I pray that I’m able to teach Abby under the restraints
her parents have put on me.”
Miss Buracker went on to teach Abigail for almost another ten
years. Over the years her diaries periodically contained other entries
concerning the young Miss Darkwood. Some of them are very disturbing.
In addition to her tutor, her mother also taught Abigail.
Raven schooled her daughter in the things her mother had taught her, the
dark magic of the wilderness. She taught her how to worship and call
upon the OLD ONES. Many neighbors reported seeing the mother-daughter
pair roaming the woods near the manor at night. Leroy Darkwood was
once asked whether he was concerned for the safety of his wife and daughter
when they went for walks in woods alone. His response was, “ I’d
be more concerned for anything that got in their way when those two went
out in the woods.”
As Abigail entered into her teenage years conflict arose between
her and her mother. Neighbors reported numerous arguments between
the two. They told of screaming matches between the mother and daughter,
which on more than one occasion, ended with sounds too unearthly to be
told of. No one was too sure over what they fought, but some say
the fights were over control of Leroy Darkwood.
By this point, Leroy Darkwood had completely withdrawn from the
outside world. Rarely was he seen off the grounds of the manor.
It was reported that he had gone completely insane. Years of torment
had pushed him to the point of no return.
In 1898 a tragic incident occurred at Darkwood Manor.
A group called The Proteus Circus Players came to Luray for a 3-night performance.
They were a traveling variety show. After seeing their first performance
Raven Darkwood invited them to stay at Darkwood Manor. Leroy became
enraged by this invitation. His continued fear of retribution for
his past made him distrusting of all outsiders. He insisted that
the actors sleep in the barn.
The players performed two more shows in Luray. Raven and
Abigail attended both performances. On their last night at Darkwood
Manor the players lost their lives. It was on October 5, 1898 at
3am when a fire broke out in the Darkwood’s barn. By the time the
local voluntary fire department had arrived on the scene, the barn had
burnt to the ground. No one from The Proteus Circus Players survived
the blaze.
Leroy came under suspicion during the investigation of the fire,
but nothing could be proven. The only evidence of his involvement
was not very good. It was the testimony of the neighbor who first
reported the fire, that told of hearing someone scream the name “Deadwood”
minutes before seeing the flames from the barn. This incident made
local people avoid Darkwood Manor in fear of their lives.
In 1900 Abigail was admitted to Miskatonic University in Arkham,
Massachusetts. The genius she exhibited as a young child had not
diminished. During the five years she attended the university, Abigail
managed to earn three degrees. Along with a degree in mathematics
and physics, she also achieved a degree in ancient cultures. To this
day several of the papers she wrote can still be found on file at the university’s
library, including one concerning the mathematical aspects of the dread
Necronomicon.
Abigail returned to Darkwood Manor in 1906. Upon her return
she set about conducting experiments with the Necronomicon. She believed
that she could crack the secrets within that ancient sinister tome.
Through correspondences, Abigail remained in contact with some
of her former professors at Miskatonic University. It is through
these letters that we get some picture of what Miss Darkwood hoped to achieve
from her experimentation. The following is an example of one of her
earlier letters, dated October 5, 1908, to a Professor J. Malone at the
university:
“Dear Professor Malone, I hope this letter finds you well.
I continue the research I started at the university, but without easy access
to the resources I had there, my progress is slower than I would like it
to be. Unfortunately I could not stay in Arkham. The health
and well being of my parents is very important to me, and they need me
here. It is my father in which I find my source of inspiration to
carry on my journeys into the secrets of the ancient ones. The secrets
of the elder gods are hidden within those pages, and I know I can bring
them to light. Returning life to death is just the beginning of what
I’ve found to be so cleverly hidden in that mad Arab’s book. All
I have to do is finish my equations, match mathematics to mysticism, and
I will be able to unleash those secrets for the benefit of us all.
I know I’m getting close, because I’ve been told so in my dreams by my
old childhood friends.
I must close now. Please write me back with your
thoughts. I have included with this letter a copy of my notes and
equations. I would be very grateful if you could look over them,
and offer your opinion. Sincerely Abby”
By the spring of 1910, neither Leroy, nor his wife Raven, were
ever seen again. When locals inquired of them, Abigail told them
that her parents were not well enough to leave the house, or have visitors.
During the following winter, Abigail reported that both her parents
had died from pneumonia. Due to the harsh weather conditions, she
said she could not call a doctor from the near by town. She had some
servants burry her parents in a small graveyard at Darkwood Manor.
No one can confirm, or deny, if this is what became of the infamous
Leroy and Raven Darkwood.
In the years following her parents’ death, Abigail took several trips
to Europe, Africa, and parts unknown. Her letters to friends at Miskatonic
told of her search for artifacts belonging to what she describes as “the
lost ones”. The obsession for her research seemed to deepen
with each passing year. The letters, which contained the notes of
her experimentations, that she wrote to former professors slowly dried
up.
By 1914 no one from the town was allowed within the walls of Darkwood
Manor. She had dismissed all her hired help. However, it did
seem that Abigail had visitors to the manor. Neighbors, and
the curious from near by Luray, told of many strange comings, and goings
at the Darkwood residence.
As the years pasted, and the outside of Darkwood Manor fell more
and more into a state of disrepair, bizarre tales began to circulate about
the house, and it’s occupant. It’s eerie atmosphere and shabby appearance
was a catalyses for more than one local legend. Of all the strange
stories told about the manor, one stands out as being the most unexplained.
In the summer of 1929 a traveling salesman happed upon Darkwood
Manor. After not receiving a response to his repeated knocks on the
door, the salesman started to walk away from the house assuming no one
was home, or the house was abandoned. As he left the yard, he said
that something made him look back again. He claims that in several
of the widows of the house he could see the faces of children peering out.
Just when he started to return to the door to knock again, the faces disappeared.
He decided against returning to the house. Later that day, the salesman
related the story to the town sheriff. The sheriff assumed that Abigail
was on another trip, and some children had broken into the manor.
He went out to the Darkwood residence to investigate. To his surprise,
Abigail answered her front door. She told the sheriff that the children
were her niece and nephew visiting from Europe. Having no reason
to doubt her, the sheriff accepted her explanation. However, research
tells us that Abigail Darkwood had no brothers or sisters, which
negates the possibility of the children being her niece or nephew.
To this day, historians of the Darkwood legend debate over the identity
of the alleged children.
Of the other stories that circulated about Darkwood Manor, and
it’s seemingly sole occupant, most were claims of dark magic and evil spirits,
but nothing that can be verified with any historical accuracy. Just
a bunch of random stories of someone seeing lights that were “unnatural”
coming from the home, or tales of encountering odd strangers on the roads
near by. They are interesting stories, but there is little proof
to back them up.
Over 10 years after the mysterious child incident, Darkwood Manor
had fallen very silent. Locals had assumed nothing out of the ordinary
had occurred. People believed that Abigail was just away on her travels,
and did not return often. However, in April 1940 local officials
received a surprising letter from a lawyer representing Miskatonic University.
It stated that Abigail Darkwood had died while on a trip to South America,
and that her body had been cremated there. It also stated that Abigail
had willed her house, and all her belongs to the university. The
letter contained all the appropriate documentation, including a copy of
the will and the death certificate.
The college hired a local resident of Luray to look after the
grounds, and they maintained the taxes on the property. The house
went unoccupied for 16 years following the death of Abigail. Then,
in the summer of 1956, a professor
from Miskatonic University moved in.
