PineFalls StorytellerNotes

The attacks were:

• August 26 -- Anna Farley (Little Red Riding Hood)

Found on the edge of Pritchett's property, mauled my a large animal which was never found. She wore a distinctive red coat. There was a trail of dead grass in the area. Estimated time of death: 11:40pm

• September 13 -- Marcy Davenport (Rapunzel)

Found in her home on Herman Street, her neck crushed under the weight of a window. Her head was dangling on the outside of the house and her long hair was tangled in the hedge below. Estimated time of death: 2:15pm

• October 9 -- Sophia Marshall (Snow White)

Found by Mala near the arboretum on Spencery University's campus, dead of poisoning. The seedless, cyanide-laced apple that had been lying half-eaten beside her body was taken by Mala before police found it, so the murder weapon is still officially a mystery to them. Sophia's father is Dr. Roland Marshall who works in the pediatrics wing of Pine Falls City Hospital. Sophia herself was a third-year medical student.

• October 10 -- Patricia Harris (Sleeping Beauty)

Found beaten and unconscious in a ditch

Known connections:

• Each attack could be considered based on a particular fairy tale
• Anna Farley, Marcy Davenport, and Sophia Marshall each had Facebook accounts and were all friends with someone known as Grimmace Burton
• Every victim was a full-time student at Spencer University

Possible hooks:

• Annabelle Franklin is the true heir to the Franklin family. Her husband simply married in and took her name. She is content to let him run the household as she is present less and less as time goes on. She had one brother, Robert. Anna and Bob are both palindromes.
• Mala's original name is Carmella Tandy. Tandy is one of the founding families of Pine Falls, but they are among the dead houses now. Mala, if she can prove her identity, is the sole heir of the entire Tandy estate.
• The phone numbers of all the founding family descendants all begin with 888, signifying the pledge made in 1888.
• A party for the founding families is held ever Halloween to signify the pledge made on that day in 1888

Random shit I threw out there:

• A boy threw a doll's head at Drake's car. The head was smudged all over conte.

The mystery: Pine falls was settled in 1858 by thirteen families that had gone north after the California gold rush. Over three decades, they had managed to survive but faced numerous dangers including isolation from most towns and traders as well as occasional attacks by aggressive natives. Desperate for a better solution, the deeply religious folk prayed for divine intervention. What they received was a visit from a fae who offered them good fortune in exchange for sacrifices every generation. The townsfolk agreed and the fae impregnated the youngest women of each of the families. The resulting offspring, it said, would bear his mark and would always bring fortune to their families. Not every child born would bear the mark, however, and those who did not were to be brought behind the falls and surrendered to him. The pledge was made in October 31, 1888 -- thirty years after the town had been established and one year before Washington was officially recognized as a state.

Over the years that followed, the thirteen families prospered. In time, however, the guilt of sacrificing their children weighed too heavily and a few families refused to offer their unmarked children to the fae god. A few years passed and it appeared that their transgression would go unpunished, but at some point, their luck turned very, very bad and their whole families were killed. One by one, each member of the guilty families died in some horrific accident. With three of the families gone, the remaining ten learned well the punishment for going back on the pledge their fathers had made and diligently made their offers as promised. It was then they also learned that the protection of Pine Falls also meant that no one could leave the town for any significant lengths of time without coming back for a while. Few could stand to be away for more than a couple months before the foul luck would become too much to bear. The families, then, were essentially trapped in their bargain forever.

Nine families exist now, but while they are all well aware of the pledge to the town's god, few realize the reason behind the recent happenings.