The Seance Hood

Recently unclassified documents reveal that in the closing days of World War One, the United States MIS (Military Intelligence Section) experimented with contacting the dead for the purpose of intelligence gathering. MIS command - whose ranks did not want for the company of ardent spiritualists, Freemasons or amateur occultists - believed that valuable information could be gleamed from the spirits of recently deceased enemy officers. One result of these endeavors was the MK-IV Necrotransmission (NT) Helmet, better known amongst the 'volunteers' who field tested it as the 'Seance Hood'. Designed to amplify latent psychic abilities within those who wore it, the Seance Hood operated off the then emerging field of Vril technology to allow rudimentary communication with the dead. However it soon became apparent that even briefly donning the helmet led to extreme mental duress. Symptoms of paranoia, uncontrollable weeping, 'possession' and visions of what was described as 'The Great Old Ones' were reported amongst the volunteers after each use. When it became apparent that those few enemy spirits successfully contacted were in a state best described as shell shocked and as such were in no position to offer any pertinent information, the project was quickly abandoned.

Though each of these helmets were believed to have been destroyed by MIS, one did resurface some twenty years later in 1938. The Chicago based vigilante, Johnny Nocturnal, appeared and was evidently in possession of the last Seance Hood. It was believed that he wore this device in order to communicate with the restless spirits of the wrongfully slain. These spirits were purported to have identified their murderers in order that Johnny Nocturnal could avenge them which allowed them to pass from their confinement to our world. However Johnny Nocturnal disappeared in the Summer of '47 and the helmet along with it. It has been rumored that one of the ghosts had lied to the vigilante, manipulating him into the killing of an innocent man. I must stress however that this is no more than an urban myth and currently the final fate of Johnny Nocturnal and the last Seance Hood remain a mystery.

Terminus: White blooms and pink petals for this last day of winter

It's becoming something of a tradition I suppose. Once a year I roam around on my bike, chasing the light and trying to capture the pale blooms that briefly grace our streets at the dawn of Spring. This year it seems the season has arrived a bit early to the party (shortly after a surprise snow storm no less) but has done so in magnificent style. The following go out to all of you who don't live here or can't get out much if you do. Hope you dig 'em.







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