Notes

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Currently the second and third
floors of the hospital are
undergoing renovations. At this time
they are closed to patients and
visitors. Work continues in earnest
and the hospital management
thanks you for your continued
cooperation as we try to minimize
the disruption.

We estimate the construction will
be completed within six months.

The restructuring of the third floor
will almost double our capacity for
inpatients and introduce cleaner,
more modern facilities.

Here at Alchemilla, the quality of
care we provide to you, our valued
patient, is of the utmost
importance.

Dr. Philips
Chairman of Alchemilla Board

Preliminary Diagnosis:

Third degree burns, patient is
unconscious... Something has
prevented damage spreading to the
internal organs... Tissue damage is
limited to the epidermis and
extremities of limbs...

How is this possible?

(Parts of this note are obscured.)

Worry not. __________ ___ _______
___ __ ___ __________. I have used
the ________ to contain her power.
No one will come to her aid. _____
__ ___ ___ one of the five______.
Hide them. Protect them.

_______

This heart of mine troubles me
with its trembling! To still it I have
put it on ice and locked it away.

(Remember, the three beauties who
cause it to pump so are the key,
'age before beauty').

Having trouble with your anatomy
class? Find that getting them out is
much easier than putting them
back in? Just remember this easy
mnemonic:

Inside Stevie, little Henry lurks.

CONSTRUCTION!
As you know, the renovations to the
upper floors have run into
problems! The plumbing leak and
substandard materials used have
forced us to close off the third
floor until further notice. We are
reminded of the familiar adage:
'you get what you pay for!' We now
face six more months of work,
reducing our capacity for the
coming year. We will have to cut
spending on inpatient care and
consultancy fees by 50%.

Therefore we ask doctors to refrain
from committing patients and
encourage home stays instead.
Unless they're dying in your arms,
don't book 'em in!

STAFF PARTY!
Worry not! The staff party is still
on (our recreation budget is locked
away where no one can tamper!)
Everyone meet at Annie's Bar at
8pm on Friday. Alcohol (medicinal
of course!) and food will be free.
Arrive early to grab a trainee
nurse: they go quick!

To all staff,

It is forbidden to enter my office
unaccompanied until further notice.

Dr. Kaufmann.

(Someone has written on the
ticket.)

SHE'S ASLEEP NOW.

Dr. Harris,

Our 'magpies' have been at it
again. This time they SWALLOWED
the damn keys for Archives and the
Basement.

Don't worry... Gary has taken Mr.
Magpie to the TB Ward and I'm
taking Mrs. Magpie to
hydrotherapy. We'll make them spit
the keys out!

This job would be great if it
weren't for the patients!

Clem

Status Report, 3/12/1960
Patient: Mrs. _____ _____
Age: 34
Examining Doctor: Dr. Harris

Notes: Patient continues to harbor
strong fantasies and a violent
persecution complex. Her moods
can swing from calm to violent
aggression in a short time, which
has led to her being moved to the
seclusion wing. She becomes
particularly violent during the
occasional visits from her husband,
demanding that she be allowed to
see their child.

We have taken the precautionary
step of adding Epolineum to Mrs.
______ medication to prevent her
violent outburst. I don't like having
to sedate patients, but when she is
aggressive, _____ is as much of a
danger herself as to her visiting
husband and the staff.

OUT OF USE

In light of the recent accident I am
barring the use of the iron lung
equipment. This applies to all staff,
including senior nurses. Patient
deaths during therapy are not to be
treated lightly. I find it hard to
believe that someone could
'accidentally' overload every valve
on the equipment and so, until the
enquiry has concluded, I must
assume the equipment itself is at
fault. These precautions are
essential -- we owe a duty of care
to all of our patients, even the
difficult ones.

Dr. Harris

9:30am: Administered medication to
the seclusion patients. There were
no incidents.

11:46am: Accompanied Dr. Harris
on his morning rounds. No
incidents of note.

3pm: Visit for Mrs. _____ from her
husband. Took her into the empty
dorm room so she would feel more
comfortable.

3:46pm: Mrs. _____ has attacked
her husband. During the visit she
had a violent episode and attempted
to throttle Mr. _____. She was
heard screaming by myself and the
attending orderly and we managed
to restrain her--though it took
three of us, despite her being a
female of slight build.

After we sedated her and took her
back to her room, Dr. Harris
examined her and decided to
reinstate her dose of Epolineum.

5:12pm: After the incident with
Mrs. _____ the other patients have
become agitated and restless.
Harris has ordered a lock-down.

Status Report, 2/7/1961
Patient: Mrs. _____ _____
Age: 35
Examining Doctor: Dr. Harris

Notes: Mrs. ______ condition has
degraded dramatically in the last
few months. Her fantasies of a
"mirror world" have become more
acute, and she spends more and
more time in an apparent catatonic
state. She claims that during this
time she is in the "other world."

She now has full recollection of
her attack on her son, but shows
no remorse for the incident. Indeed
she seems proud, almost smug of
her attempted filicide! I am worried
that this behavior could be a side
effect of the increased doses of
Epolineum that the patient has been
prescribed. I have asked for her
dose to be halved and hope to see
positive results shortly.

Attending Officer's Report.
11/4/1959. INo: VA4545-10.

When I arrived at the _____
House, the ambulance was already
at the scene. The neighbor Mr.
Bryant (who first called in the
incident) had restrained Mrs.
____ and the paramedics were
tending to the child. The husband,
Mr. _____ had not yet arrived back
from his place of work.

Thanks to Bryant's intervention, the
gas had been turned off and the
house ventilated -- however, there
was still a strong smell and I
deemed it necessary to call the fire
department as a precaution.

It appeared that Mrs. _____ had
attempted to gas herself and her
child. When I spoke to the suspect,
Mrs. _____, she was uncooperative
and seemed enraged. She
demanded I release her so she
could "kill the devil child." She was
clearly not in control of her mind.

Mr. Bryant commented that several
times in the previous weeks, he
had heard loud arguments and
screams from the house. He said
"Helen has not been well for a
while."

medications (do not mess up!)

room 1: trizanthium
room 2: natium
room 3: oporium
room 4: salorium
room 5: natium.

(remember, pills only for patients!)

AMBER INCIDENT REPORT
Reporting Staff Member: Simons

Incident Description: A male child
entered into the sanitarium
unchallenged and got through into
female seclusion (doors were left
unlocked). He entered Female
Seclusion Room 5, at which point
Orderly Michaels observed him and
alerted me. The boy was the child
of a visitor and was taken away
by his father.

Failures: The doors to Female
Seclusion were left unlocked by the
orderly, and the staff in the lobby
failed to notice the boy when he
arrived in the mezzanine area.
Recommendation: All staff to be
reminded of the importance of
locking ward doors. Review of staff
to be conducted by duty managers.

The new patient, Helen Grady
arrive today. I was surprised to
see how calm and well behaved
she was.

After reading her notes, I was
worried that she might be
something of a handful.

The woman is in complete denial
and claims no recollection of the
incident which saw her committed.
Indeed, she has asked repeatedly to
be allowed to see her son! I have
agreed with her husband that it is
best that the boy be kept away from
his mother.

While there seems little hope for
any long term recovery, I look
forward to spending some time with
Mrs. Grady -- her condition is
most fascinating.

Daddy, Momma & Travis.

(Someone has written on the cap).

HELP ME

(Someone has written on the
newspaper.)

WHY ARE YOU HELPING HER,
TRAVIS? DID YOU SEE THAT
NURSE?

(Someone has written on the
napkin.)

SOMEONE MADE A HOLE.

GO HOME TRAVIS.

...folk legends. Take the costume
for Caliban. The designer Bill
Ortega has taken a native buffalo
spirit, fusing it with the stark,
iconic images seen in the ancient
local cult of Valtiel. His set design
for its dark, cavernous cave was
inspired by 'Owl Cave', a local
historical--

Peter,

Good luck getting ANYTHING to
work. This place was wired by
IDIOTS! The safety curtain is on
the same circuit as the spotlights.
If a light blows, the whole thing
fuses and you can't move the safety
curtain. IDIOTS. Safety inspectors
would blow a fuse (literally!) if they
saw this stuff. Wouldn't happen in
the city! See you when I get back.

Eric

Monday: Rehearsals -- fantastic.
New costumes -- fantastic. All in
all -- fantastic!

Tuesday: Strange day. Girl snuck
into theater today. Playing hooky no
doubt! Took pity, let her sit and
watch the run through. Very useful
feedback -- terrified by Caliban
(good job costume dept!)! Seemed to
dislike Prospero intensely.
Proceedings brought to premature
end by poor Tony getting a
shocking nosebleed during Act I,
Scene 2. Will continue tomorrow!

Jack says the town is located on
old "spiritual ground"... hopefully we
will be blessed!!!

Prospero = Shaman Feathers,
smoke, totemic magic.

Ariel = Air spirit. Flight?
Projection? Puppets?

Caliban = Buffalo spirit. Skins +
Berkoffian performance. On all
fours. Poor actor!

Peter,

As expected, the spotlights are as
SCREWY as the rest of this place.
Finally got them working. My trusty
voltmeter saved the day again!
Remember, you need ALL the lights
working, otherwise the circuit
blows. Throwing the circuit breaker
gets old FAST. Here are my notes:

B has to be half the wattage of D.
A + B must not exceed C.
Wattage of D must not exceed A.

Break a leg!!

Eric

Since what happened to Tony, I've
dreamt about HIM more and more!
THE BUTCHER!

He looks just like that monster, the
executioner!

Now I've seen him when I'm
awake. He's at my motel! It's HIM I
swear it!

Chapter 2: Repression & Coercion.

It is a fact well known to
intelligence services and military
agents: the more controlled a
mind, the more a mind censors
itself, the easier it is for outside
influences to take hold and
piggyback such mental
programming.

This is why these agencies choose
for their pawns those individuals
most compromised by their own
mental issues.

...amongst the tribes who have
developed the ability to control and
focus their projections, there exists
one that is feared throughout the
whole community.

Their shaman claims to have the
ability to kill with thought alone,
projecting his desire to kill into the
body of the victim...

Throughout these case studies, we
see the victims' brains struggling to
cope with the conflict caused by
abuse at the hands of a loved one.
In many of the cases, the abused
child's self appears to split in two.

One personality continues to love
the abuser and seeks their
approval. The other personality
contains all the rage and anger of
the abused and in many ways
becomes a mirror of the abuser,
seeking to inflict its pain on
others. Sadly, it is often this self
that becomes dominant.

CHAPTER 3:

MANIFESTATIONS OF DELUSIONS

...phenomena such as telekinesis
("poltergeists" to use a popular
term) often occur. These seem
frequent alongside negative
emotions (fear, worry, or stress)
suggesting it is these emotions
which are manifesting as external
energy with physical effects.

Nightmares are especially strong
triggers. In all cases, these
phenomena arise from children or
adolescents and the overwhelming
majority of subjects are female.

Looks like the fire started on the
first floor and spread to the rest of
the house. Circumstances are
suspicious.

(Someone has ruled through this
text and added a new paragraph.)

Seems there was an accident in
the basement. An old boiler caused
a fire that spread to the rest of the
building. The cause would appear
to be accidental.

(The report continues, unaltered.)

Despite fire fighter's best efforts, it
spread to the surrounding
houses. Alessa Gillespie was
declared dead at the scene by Dr.
Kauffman. Her body was identified
by her mother. Death Certificate
and coroner's report will be
forthcoming.

...because of the concerns
expressed by her teacher, it was
important to fully look into the
matter. The officer spoke with Mrs.
Gillespie and her daughter and saw
no evidence of any neglect or
abuse. He felt that Mrs. Gillespie
seemed a model parent, bringing
her daughter up in a strict,
religious household.

Further, in order to satisfy the
complainant's request, we had Dr.
Kaufmann from Alchemilla speak
with the girl alone. He said that
any talk of rituals or cults were
simple "childish fantasies." Mrs.
Gillespie's only crime, in his eyes,
was having read her daughter too
many fair tales. We have closed
the complaint.

Andy,

Everything is fine. Sold lots of
books! Have locked your keys in
the cast register (the combination
is your Greenfield apartment
number). Hope you enjoyed your
vacation!

Dharma

(Someone has written on the
receipt.)

HERE COMES A CANDLE TO LIGHT
YOU TO BED
HERE COMES THE BUTCHER TO
CHOP OFF YOUR HEAD.

(The pages are torn out, leaving
only one entry.)

Room 500
Name: Mr. R Grady
Other occupants: Son
Reason for visit? Business/Pleasure.
Check in Date: __ __ __.

To my beloved wife,

I miss you so intensely. Watching
them take you away was like a
dagger through my heart. It had to
be done, but now I am so alone.

At the doctor's advice, I told Travis
you were dead. Maybe it would be
better if you were... Helen, will you
ever come back to me?

Yours forever, Richard

...it is believed a being of
tremendous mental energy may
become a vessel capable of giving
birth to Samael, the God
worshipped by this cult.

Samael's arrival will bring forth
Paradise on Earth.

(Something has been added in the
margin.)

Given that this vessel is to be
molded with "suffering and pain,"
just what kind of God and what
kind of 'paradise' would result?

Juana,

One of the laundry machines is
busted again. The weird guy in
Cleopatra was shouting at me,
wanted me to go fix it but I
couldn't leave the reception.

Anyhow, after getting all red in the
face, the fella just ran off. Hasn't
been back since--up and drove off.

Could you take a look at the
machine when you get a minute?
Stick a token in it and do the
reset thing (Set it to low spin, 60
wash, drain then pre-rinse).

Put anything you find inside in the
lost and found.

Thanks, Ed

Cause of death SHOTGUN.

Christ alive. One of the cleaners
called me over, said there was
something wrong with room 500.

Door was open. Inside, sweet
Jesus! Stench made me puke. The
kid, man. The kid! Just stood
there. They said he'd been there
for ten hours! I ended up crying
my eyes out. Shit like this
shouldn't happen. The police have
got the room locked up for now, I'm
going home.

To my absent wife,

I know that whatever hell I am
enduring, yours is worse. But
dammit, this is so hard. It's like
you're dead but you're not. The
Helen I loved is gone, but your
body is still here! I have slept
alone for the last two years. I've
become so bitter, so sleazy! I'm no
father to Travis. I can't even look
at him some days. What is it going
to take to bring you back?

Yours forever, Richard

Guide to symbols:

# Pre-Rinse
# Soak
# 30 degree wash
# 60 degree wash
# 90 degree wash
# Low Spin
# Heavy Spin
# Drain

Cause of death SNAKEBITE.

Kaufmann,

We are almost ready, but must
hurry! I sense our hold on her
power weakening. I worry that she
draws strength from the core I
hold. I will leave it behind, hidden
in this darkness. It will be safe.
Grady is unlikely to return here,
he is still running around town
chasing after ghosts. He is
ignorant of the bigger picture
anyway.

I will wait for you here, finish your
business and join me soon!

The time approaches, the Flauros
is shattered, thrown to the wind,
and her will is still buried deep in
a sleeping mind. This time the
ritual WILL succeed!

Dahlia

Cause of death OVERDOSE.

Cause of death STABBING.

Cause of death BROKEN HEART.

To a ghost,

There's no pretending now is
there? We both know that thing at
Cedar Grove isn't you. You died
the day you tried to kill our son.

When I brought your gift today,
when you smashed it, I finally woke
up.

I've been dreaming all these years,
kidding myself that you'll be right
one day. The Helen I loved is
dead.

I try to remember how it was, all
those years ago today when we got
married. I can't remember
anymore. I'm tired. I know Travis
will be fine on his own. I'm going
to see you again, Helen.

Yours in forever, Richard

Flauros Device: Origin unknown.

The device is first mentioned in the
poetry of Chang Ch'ien, an advisor
to members of the early Han
dynasty. In one of his tracts, Chang
Ch'ien jokes he trapped a demon
inside his 'three sided box'.

When Chang Ch'ien died in a
terrible fire at the imperial palace
in 115 BC, the device appeared
lost.

It was later rumored to be in
possession of Lutheran monk M. G.
Lewis, who in 1796 spoke of its
ability to control and amplify
thought. It was Lewis who linked it
not to a demon, but to God
himself, claiming it was a weapon
left by angels as a force for good.

Even in the inferno
From out of the flames
I saw life born anew

Even the blind have need of eyes
If they wish to gaze at the future.

I am child torn by twin desires,
I stand before a door,
My right hand calls to the light,
My left hand ushers in darkness.