September 15-16…well, the 16th at about 2am, 1921 (Skullhouse Date December 8, 2015)

 Hall of Records and associated library research on the Gray brothers

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SPOILERS BELOW - SPOILERS BELOW 

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ll noonish…

A lot of information is turned up. Here it is, expressed in a timeline.

1882 – February? Gray Brothers arrive in San Francisco… From where? Maybe from “back east”, somewhere. There are very few mentions of them in society columns but Harry Gray has been known to turn up at society functions to meet and be seen with politicians over the decades. He has the reputation of being by far the less intelligent and astute of the two but he seems to be… likable…

1882-11 Bulk of Drood’s land (Red Rock Hill) sold to Gray Bros.

1883 - Old brick works built by Gray brothers. This included a quarry on the upper east face of Red Rock Hill.

1899-10-01 - Gray Brothers New Brick Works opens – A very large structure with an extensive quarry on the south side of Red Rock Hill. (Old works closed and partially dismantled.)

 By this time the Gray Brothers businesses consisted of two quarries (Red Rock Hill, and Billy Goat Hill at 30^th and Castro), the brick factory, and Gray Brothers Construction & Excavation (at the Perry St location south of Market). They already seem to have had a bad reputation with occasional lawsuits for landslides caused by quarrying at both quarry locations.

1901-11-01 - Charles Aaron Drood dies. – Interred the next day at the Chapel Mausoleum.

  A series of deaths, disappearances and serious accidents occurred to opponents of the Gray Brothers from 1902-1907, culminating in a publicized investigation by the District Attorney… The investigation seems to have gone nowhere, and the Gray Brothers businesses, although widely reviled for unethical and predatory practices, continued to thrive.

  A change of the local political situation, a less corrupt mayor and board of supervisors, brought on by a backlash against the previous administration in the years following the 1906 quake seems to have made things tough for the Grays in 1909. It was in this year that their dynamiting of Telegraph Hill threatened a lot of houses and caused a major public outcry. But, once again, deaths and accidents to opponents, which could not be seen as anything but sheer coincidence, worked in their favor. The Telegraph Hill quarry shut down by the end of 1909, but at no great financial loss to the Gray brothers.

1914-02-03- Tragedy in Noe Valley - Fire at the Chapel – The RCV raid.

1915 - April George Gray killed by disgruntled former employee. He was shot in the back of the head without warning. There seems no question that the man killed was George and not Harry.

  After this event there have been more lawsuits: A half dozen in 1916 relating to major landslides below the brick factory and one by the city of San Francisco against the construction company over the poor quality of many bricks used in cable car track restoration after the quake. These suits were mostly successful and resulted in the brick factory closing in 1917. Overall, the remaining business (the Billy Goat Hill quarry was sold in 1916), Gray Brothers Construction & Excavation, seems much reduced.

Nothing ties the Gray brothers to the Chapel of contemplation.

The Gray Brothers have very rarely done anything charitable. 1) Construction of Old St. Joseph’s Hospital on Buena Vista Heights in 1897. 2) Construction of The City Nursery for Homeless Children on Collingwood, just south of Market st. in 1898. 3) Repair work – Laundry room and north end of foundation for the City Nursery for Homeless Children in 1919.

Recently they seem to have done work at a number of separate sites all round the city. Small construction and excavation work at parks and something at the German Hospital east of Buena Vista hill.

The City Nursery For Homeless Children – A City Orphanage

One till three-thirty in the afternoon.

This old fashioned edifice is just over the new (three years old) Twin Peaks Tunnel, which begins by Market at Castro, just a block away. A slight rumbling is audible as the trains pass below.

  The investigators almost immediately note a children’s drawing in crayon lying in the gutter. It depicts a black figure with red eyes and the words “Mr. Fire Eyes”.

  Using the lure of philanthropy the investigators speak with the director and head matron as well as a few orphans, and a disturbing picture emerges.

·         There have been “bad dreams” which feature “Mr. Fire Eyes” among the orphans, notably on the lower floors of the north wing, since the facility was built in 1899.

·         The bad dreams may have gone away between 1917 and 1919 – This corresponds to the time when the Twin Peaks Tunnel was built, which seems to have caused some  minor foundation damage, and the repair of that damage by Gray Brothers.

·         The orphans who have the bad dreams have occasionally, “a couple every year”, become completely catatonic and been sent off to the City Hospital and thence to the State Asylum.

·         The orphans tell of one brave little boy named Timmy who stayed awake to watch over the others in a first floor dorm room and proved that “Mr. Fire Eyes” is not a physical presence… Nothing actually appeared in the room while nightmares were occurring.

·         The orphans believe that “Mr. Fire Eyes” is taking something from them.

A check in the basement laundry room, directly under the first floor north wing shows that the strange tingling, caused by proximity of an intact triskelion symbol appears to emanate from beneath the tile floor.

San Francisco General Hospital – Psychiatric Clinic

Four till four-thirty.

  Dr Seymore Ainsley, head of psychiatry at SF General turns out to be aware of the unusual dreams of children at the orphanage. Like the director of the orphanage, Dr.Ainsley believes the dreams to be a result of a shared story which has spread like an infectious disease. He really has no explanation and notes that there are also adult patients who report the same dreams – The black figure with burning red eyes, the voice saying “What’s yours is mine” or “Beware Saint Toad’s Cracked Chimes”. The adult patients all seem to have come from the psychiatric clinic at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

St. Joseph’s Hospital

Five till five-fourty-five… Getting dark. Getting a bit foggy.

St Josephs Hospital is on Buena Vista Drive, overlooking Red Rock Hill at no great distance.

  The new building stands alongside the foundation which is all that remains of the demolished older structure.

The investigators first have a quick look around the old, site and discover, in the partially flooded basement, a very large triskelion showing through broken tiles in what was the laundry room.

At the new St Josephs the investigators find more tingly emanations from beneath the laundry room floor, which happens to be just below the psychiatric wing.

The German Hospital

Six-ten till around six forty.

Not far from Buena Vista Heights…

  Here the investigators catch up with workers from Gray Brothers Construction Excavators. A fellow named Homer Mills is lounging by a truck outside a service entrance. Mr.Mills is quite forthcoming and tells the investigators that he and his crew have been tiling the laundry room here… But, the brick underlayment is not the same as the previous few jobs. Those involved “special” bricks that came from a cellar he didn’t even know existed at the south-of-Market business site. He’s proud to be one of the guys chosen for the special work. Apparently a lot of men got headaches or something, working with the “special” bricks, but he and a couple of others didn’t have a problem so they got extra work at better pay. The “special” bricks (with a mark on the underside – guess what mark?) went into areas at the center of the laundry room floors at the St. Josephs and the orphanage… There aren’t any more of those bricks now…

The Black Cat

Sevenish…

The Black Cat is across the alley (Merchant st.) from the Hall of Justice. It is a speakeasy and the street door is unmarked. Almost directly across from it is the door of the morgue…

  The investigators arrive, noticing that they are being followed by Jake Luzinsky.

  The Black Cat is a cop bar. It’s operated by a grizzled old ex-cop and his son, who has a rugged, military demeanor. The investigators are directed to a private room where Jessie Cook and Pat O’Hara wait. Jessie seems even more inclined to be helpful. While he is very unhappy to hear more news of the apparently supernatural aspects of the case, he asserts that one way or another, even if it requires cooperation from the Department of Public Health, the symbols under the floors at orphanage and hospital will be destroyed.

  A message arrives. Something has happened to Father Kolvenbach…

  The RCV men offer to drive the investigators out to Campion House, but first uniformed officers are detailed to detain Jake Luzinsky.

Campion House - 2209 Fulton St

Eight o-clock till about nine.

  With lights and sirens the investigators arrive across the street from the Jesuit College. There are already police and an ambulance on the scene and considerable commotion in the street.

  Outside the apartment of Father Kolvenbach an officer comforts the young boy who did errands for the old priest. Apparently the boy discovered the…body.

  The apartment looks much as it had before except the rug has been rolled up and the middle of the floor cleared. There is a small table with notes and a book open…  In the cleared area are chalked symbols and a few other items. There is a chalk triangle in a circle with guttering candle stubs beside it, by the points of the triangle. There is a smaller chalk circle (Maybe 2 feet across) with a branched symbol drawn large within it (The elder sign mark found elsewhere) and, also within, a small flattish stone with the triskelion symbol etched into it. There are also a couple of small chalices, which seem to contain. Respectively, clear water and ash or sand, beside the circles.

  In the bathroom, brightly lit, in a pool of blood, lies the corpse of Father Kolvenbach, a straight razor in his hand… It seems that he has cut his own throat. This appears to have happened around two hours ago.

The last note he wrote reads:

“I intend to contact this being through its sigil and to use the spell of dismissal, from the Eibon.”

  The investigators are allowed to take the book and notes. The book has a relatively new black leather binding, within which is a handwritten manuscript on relatively rugged sheets of what must be vellum. (Livre D’Ivon French, translated by Gaspard du Nord, c. 13th century)

The notes are in the neat handwriting of Father Kolvenbach and, along with the text, contain hand drawn magic circles and similar symbols with side notes and page references….

The St. Francis Hotel – Seventh Floor…

  The investigators are told that Jake Luzinsky was taken without any problem but cannot be arrested… No excuse… he wasn’t even armed.

  The investigators decide to stay at the St. Francis Hotel (Good to have a well-to-do guy like Dr. Marsh in the group) and wind up in rooms on the seventh floor.

  About 2 in the morning, while the ladies are still engaged in attempting to make something of the book and notes – while Dr. Marsh and Tom sleep in the adjacent room…

-       Heavy footfalls in the hall precede the breaking of the door to the room of the two male party members… Dr. Marsh begins to blaze away with a handgun at the huge humanoid form which ducks and squeezes in through the doorframe while Tom precedes him through the connecting door into the adjacent room. The creature is a wrinkled mass of what looks like dirty burlap… but obviously alive. It has a face of sorts with vacant-looking black eyes over a gaping maw… Its hands and feet are furnished with enormous claws.

  Everyone makes it out into the corridor from the second room while the thing tears through the first room and bursts the connecting door. In the corridor one of the investigators sets off a fire alarm and the most obvious escape route seems to be the fire door just yard away…

  Dr. Marsh fires at the thing again – several shots.

  Someone (Sarah?) spots an older man down the corridor (Gonzalez?) gesturing strangely and pointing at the group… In the confusion of the next moments, Sarah shoots Gonzalez and he drops a stone disc… which Tom manages recover and toss out the fire door, which leads to an exterior fire escape and a seven story drop.

 As the corridor fills with frightened, bewildered guests, the stone disc shatters and the monstrous apparition vanishes…

  Gonzalez is not dead but he is handed over to the police and Pat O’Hara…

Memory fails --- Was there a car the investigators recognized found on the street below?