Ghosts of our Past by eyefull6970

TEAM: Reavers

SECTOR: UPTOWN

KIT CLASS: Overlord

February of 1692 was in the middle of an exceptionally harsh winter that came much too early. The stores they provided for the winter were dwindling fast and soon would be exhausted. In the Parris household, the Indian slave Tituba was preparing the morning meal by baking bread. Mr. Parris, Samuel, came down the stairs and took his morning coffee, a boiled egg, and left for work. Later that morning his daughter, Betty, sat down for eggs, bacon, and warm fresh bread.

With a hot breakfast in her belly, she was off to the local store to pick-up supplies. She was welcomed at the door by the proprietor Ms. Bridget Bishop, a peculiar woman who lost her husband a few years before. Now at sixty, she had settled as a widow.

As Betty patrolled the aisles of the store, her vision started to blur, she began to perspire with fever, and she began to see images and hallucinate. Never experiencing this before she screamed in fear at the sights before her. Weakness overtook her and she fell to the floor in tears. Bridget Bishop ran from behind the counter and took Betty in her arms.

"Send for this child's nanny!" Bridget yelled to a patron who took off at a run. "Don't fear child," She tried to comfort the girl, "we'll have thy to bed in a few moments."

Tituba came running and carried Betty back to the Parris home and sent for the local physician. In bed, Betty vomited repeatedly and had more and more elaborate hallucinations until she was once again screaming in between fits of vomiting.

Hours later, the physician still hadn't found the cause of her illness. He recommended bed rest, regular rose-water baths, and a cleansing of the house from the clergy. Samuel who feared for his daughter's life did all and also called upon William Stoughton, a famous witch hunter. William happened to be traveling through New England and would arrive as soon as possible.

Within a few days, Betty had returned to normal and seemed little worse for the experience. Samuel felt a fool for summoning Stoughton so soon. He would thank the man handsomely and receive him with a hearty meal.

A few days later, Betty was as good as new and feeling healthy again. Samuel had returned to work and finished the preparations for Stoughton's arrival. Betty woke and ate a breakfast of fruit, bread , milk, and eggs. Afterwards she sat in front of the fire reading and writing letters of thanks to all who had called upon her to recover quickly.

Tituba came running into the room when he heard Betty scream. He arrived to find the girl in a pool of vomit, her eyes wide and filled with otherworldly visions of terror. He sent for Samuel at once and then for the physician.

Samuel met William Stoughton at the edge of town. It was the witch hunter's first visit to Salem, Massachusetts and Parris wanted his assistance as soon as possible. Samuel thanked God for his, once thought hasty, now fortunate, foresight. After settling into his room, William visited the Parris home and started his investigation. He retraced Betty's movements through the past few days and began to piece together the "witch's" influence over her.

The first person he interviewed was Samuel Parris. The time line of events didn't support his involvement at all, however.

Tituba was next on his "suspect" list. The slave had arrived from a local Native American Tribe and had been viewed with suspicion at his tribal religion, though a converted Christian. William interviewed him for hours and discovered that the Indian had seen what he called "the Devil", on a few occasions in both male and female form. William Stoughton didn't fully believe Tituba, but he did decide to interview other residents.

Bridget Bishop was next on his list. Because the store was the location of Betty's first episode, he decided to conduct the interview at the location "of the crime". In the end, with the testimony of Betty and three other girls, William accused Bridget of witchcraft, a crime by English law and punishable by death.

Found guilty, Bridget was imprisoned and was hung by the neck on June 10th 1692. Almost Three hundred years later, in the mid 1980's, it was determined that a bacterial poisoning of the bread and flour they used to make the bread, was the cause for the symptoms that plagued the girls. That did nothing for the nineteen men and women who were hung between June and September that year.

What William Stoughton didn't realize was that Bridget Bishop was in fact a true witch. Moving to America to escape the religious persecution of her people, she settled in the quiet town of Salem. While incarcerated and awaiting execution, Bridget prepared a spell that would allow her soul and powers to enter her brooch at the moment of her death. With this knowledge, she quietly accepted her physical death. Her vitality would survive.

Personality: Penelope Bishop was touring the antique shop on her usual Saturday morning outing. Amongst the dust-covered jewelry, a glimmer of a Red Ruby caught her attention. Without a second thought, she was out the door and guarding the brooch for dear life.

She walked into her house and proceeded straight up the stairs to her room. The only thought in her mind was to protect this piece of fine craftsmanship from any prying eyes. This was hers alone.

When she woke the next morning, Penelope couldn't open her fingers. She had slept with the brooch clutched to her breast.

All she thought about was the pin, the entire work day was filled with the wondering of who could have given away such a prize. She would find out, but until then, she was content to wear it around proudly.

Bridget

Mental Defense

Earth Worship

Frost Touch