PHANTASMAGORIC

PREFACE

The following chapters contain various flashback and other stories pertaining to a few of my original characters. They were originally created for fan-made seasons of an American Horror Story roleplay, and I have very much enjoyed expanding upon their lore. These writings are a bit disconnected from direct American Horror Story lore, and are mainly just filler content that I wanted to write, but knew would not come up within the actual roleplays.

As these characters exist within an anthological series, I am including writings for multiple characters within this one collective setting. For the purpose of distinction, each chapter title is preceded by the character's name and, on this page, I have also provided brief detail about each character so as to give anyone who does read this an idea of each character.

MONTAUK || Dr. Molly Ann Montague: A brilliant and sociopathic scientist who has become a lead engineer on board the Montauk Research Team, which aims to explore a supposed 'alternate reality' through the distortion of the human consciousness. Molly's astute grasp of electrical and radio engineering, as well as her complete lack of empathy in regards to the atrocities committed to produce results, have made her an invaluable member of the team. Her motivations for continuing her work, however, are far more personal than she will ever let on- she firmly believes that her deceased brother Maxwell has been claimed by the 'other side of Montauk', and is hellbent on reaching him by any means necessary.

SALEM || Patience Whitlock: An incredibly skilled and educated witch that has been gifted with the power of premonition, Patience aims to fill the temporary void left behind by former Supreme Prudence Mather of the Salem Coven, who passed mysteriously during a rite intended to highlight the next candidate for Supremacy. Given that the ritual was interrupted and no successor was determined, Patience tries to ensure the safety of her Coven whilst working towards the discovery of the Coven's next leader. Her visions become more dire, however, as her sister Penelope returns to the Salem settlement, and the town Constable's witch-hunting efforts prove to be more dangerous than any of the Salem witches initially thought possible.

MOTEL || Juno Jennings: An unambitious junkie who managed to break free of her deeply-fundamentalist past, Juno is now one of the many spirits who haunts the 'world-famous' Clown Motel. Driven by little other than a desire to escape her former life, Juno arrived at the motel by chance and obtained a job as a receptionist alongside her mysterious coworker, whom she would know only as 'J'. Three years in, she was murdered on the grounds. Now, however, as figures from her past arrive at the motel in quick succession, she begins to realize that she never got as far away as she thought.

CHAPEL || Hannah Hayes: A melancholic artist and mother; the human counterpart of Halcyon. Following the death of her young daughter, Samantha, Hannah spiraled into an insurmountable depression which led to her eventual death. Distraught and overrun with grief, her wife Victoria–a brilliant engineer specializing in the development of artificial intelligence–used her employer's technology to experimentally preserve her late wife's memories within a false consciousness and body. Failing to realize that Hannah's self-destructiveness would not change, however, Victoria began to seal away the memories that kept Hannah within the throes of grief. In doing so, a slight mistake caused Hannah to gain self-awareness, wherein the supervising program, Halcyon, eventually took over to prevent further decay of their vessel.

CHAPEL || Halcyon: In a post-apocalyptic New Orleans, an artificial life form known as 'Halcyon' serves among a convent of nuns offering shelter to those daring enough to brave the deadly world outside the chapel walls. Halcyon has no recollection of anything prior to their own journey to the chapel, and this, combined with their strange and standoffish manner have distanced her from many of the other nuns. Regardless, they use the chapel and its devotees as a way of obtaining information about how the world used to be, given that they cannot free themself from their current course of existence. As they do so, however, memories from her other life begin to return, causing them to grapple with all that she once was.

WEST || Daphne May Lange: Once a sought-after socialite in the American West, Daphne's life was plunged into ruin following the murders of her callous fiancé Boone Jackson, and would-be sister-in-law Ada Jackson. Unbeknownst to her settlement, it was Daphne's affair with Ada which prompted Boone to take such violent actions against his own sister, and then Daphne herself. In a stroke of self-defense, Daphne managed to kill Boone after he chased her through the alleyways of town. Her action was not without witness, however, as the madam of a nearby bordello caught her, eventually blackmailing her into joining the bordello's staff after her estate was withdrawn. For the past ten years, Daphne has remained a loyal consort.

HARVEST || Eden Forsythe: The charismatic librarian of a rural town at the base of Mt. Rainier, Washington. As a teenager, Eden and her twin sister Imogen were abducted by extraterrestrials, and were declared missing for roughly a week before Eden was eventually found. She was almost killed by her alien captors, but managed to convince them that she could be of aid to them, and help them to better assimilate into her hometown of Echo Creek. In the 15 years since her abduction, Eden has become a faithful devotee to her extraterrestrial overseers, with her sociopathic nature lending to her borderline-religious fanaticism. She does not regret the atrocities she commits in attempting to assist them, and wholeheartedly believes in all that they are trying to accomplish. Most recently, her sights have been set on the incoming Baxter family, who her supervisors believe to be the key to their current mission.