The Clearing in the Woods

(The following is my contribution to this month’s Blog Carnival, Spooky Spots!)

There’s a place few go. It’s avoided by even the most hardiest of individual. A place where dark things are welcome.

The clearing in the woods.

Just outside of town there’s a spot where the old game trail opens up and during the day the sun can be seen through the canopy of leaves but nothing seems to grow there. No underbrush, no moss, nothing. It’s as if Mother Nature herself has abandoned the area.

No one ventures there at night. Not since that group of teenagers came screaming into town, wide eyed and stammering about creatures, strange sounds, and smells. They claimed that they barely escaped with their lives. They claimed the mist reached out and touched them.

Many wrote it off as kids enjoy a bit too much from the miller’s still but others aren’t quite sure.

So what’s really going on here?

Idea #1: Old Graveyard

Many years ago the game trail was actually the route many took to get to and from town. When it became necessary to bury those passing the locals decided to do so along the trail as it had started to fall into disuse. It’s been at least two generations since that was done and no one remembers the fact that the graveyard is there.

That odd creepy feeling, it’s been passed on for years, everyone claims to feel it whether they do or not for fear that they’re different from everyone else.

The mist? That’s a natural occurrence. Just beyond the stand of trees is a low area that’s mostly marsh and when the weather and temperature is right a mist forms and flows over the whole area.

So yes, the kids either made it all up to try and spook their parents or they did dip into some lively drink.

The players could be brought in to survey the area and perform a “cleansing ritual,” of the area to set the townsfolk at ease.

(Be sure to check out Campaign Mastery’s post The Remembrance Of The Disquiet Dead: A Spooky Spot and Campaign Premise for a way to turn this into a lasting campaign element.)

Idea #2 Undead Inhabitant

The game trail runs right through the area where this particular inhabitant has set up shop. It could be the site of where they were killed, it could be the site of where they lost a loved one, or, it could be that they are tied to the area by some other magic.

The players are called upon to rid the area of the menace which could be as simple as wading into combat with it.

Of course it may not be that simple, twist it a bit and there’s a curse on the creature and they are being forced to haunt the area until a particular event occurs, or the return of their loved one (not easy if they’ve passed away as well).

Check out my posting Encounter Idea 13 – The Ghost for other ideas.

So, what is going on in that clearing by the pale moon light?

May your dice roll well.