On the insistence of my daughter I have written a detailed account of a basic run through of the game as seen (ala Bram Stoker's Dracula)by Inspector Cooke through his diary. It is rather long but I hope you enjoy. Be warned this is rather long.


The Strange Case of the Shadowbrook Scarecrow

Diary of David Cooke, Inspector, State of New York

5 September, 1799

Left New York at 8:35 am, on 1st September arriving at Sleepy Hollow at midday on the 3rd by coach. Like many of these upstate villages it is a Dutch farming Community. I found the villagers a rather reserved people. Still the Hotel at Sleepy Hollow provided good fair and I dined well on chicken cooked in some delightful sauce and excellent vegetables.
While waiting for the next day’s coach I began to do my research. It seems that most of the area is dominated by a few powerful landlords. In the case of the Sleepy Hollow area this was two families, the Van Garrett’s and the Van Tasel’s. Further north around Shadowbrook I learned that the Hanbrook family owns most of the land. I further learnt, from discreet enquires, that the Hanbrook’s were still styling themselves as nobility. The current Lord and Lady Hanbrook had mobilised and paid for a regiment of Continental soldiers during the War and in acknowledgment of their service the President had allowed them to keep their title once the war was won. So much for “Freedom for all, and equality of all men!”
Shadowbrook had suffered two deaths in the past two weeks, both killed by a long blade and hence the reason I had been sent. Both were farmers who had been doing extremely well with growing crops over the past years. The only peculiarity was that both were widowers with no other living families. This was in its self strange as a family was an important part of the Dutch Community. I must find out how both farmers’ families had died and when. Hopefully the Town Elders will be of assistance. Besides Lord and Lady Hanbrook there is the Magistrate, one Johann Kroft, Reverend Harding, a Doctor Edward Manning, and the Midwife, Sophie Veldt.
One additional piece of information I did learn, although whether it is of any relevance to the case I know not, was that many of the wealth landlord’s around had been held up by, of all things, a highway woman! She was known here abouts as the “Wicked Lady” standing over six feet high, riding a coal black horse with glowing red eyes and flaming red hair.
The Coach was 30 minutes late due to the old Coachman having slept in. I arrived in Shadowbrook some 5 hours later, at 15 minutes past 2 PM that afternoon.
Shadowbrook is a typical village of upper New York State. It has a central town hall, a church, general store and a blacksmith. Both the Doctor and the Magistrate had their own buildings. A small Hostel and seven other family home’s.
I first visited Magistrate Kroft. He proved to be a man of superior airs who seemed to resent my appearance in his bailiwick. However my natural cunning won him over. I learnt that the two farmers had died by some great cutting tool. Farmer Hoden had been decapitated in the north field while Farmer Meers had been cut clean in two at the waist. When I asked about their families the magistrate displayed some unease and, when pressed, explained that it was only on the word of the two deceased farmers that their wives and their children had died by natural causes. I pressed him and learned that there had been a “natural” death each year for the past five years in both families. In that time, strangely, the two farms had prospered like no others. Within four years they had paid off their debts to the Hanbrooks and had prospered. It would seem they had planned to sell their farms after one more harvest, this current one, when they both died. Both Framers field were next to each other to the north of the village.
One other thing of note was that, while in conversation with the Magistrate, I chanced to look out the window. Striding out of the Blacksmith’s was a young woman, wearing man’s clothes – a dark blue coat and a red vest, a tricorn trimmed with gold fringe. If she had been a foot taller and not had dark hair I might have thought her the so-called “Wicked Lady”. The young Lady walked right by the Magistrate’s Office and back down the road towards the covered bridge.
After my discussion with the Magistrate, who recommended I might travel up the road past the Church to the Hanbrook Manor a strange cold Fog rolled in. It was surprisingly thick and I had to pick my way carefully through the growing darkness. Fortunately I always carried a small lantern and made my way up to the stately Manor. The Hanbrook’s had done well out of life, as the Manor was quite enormous. The Lord and Lady welcomed me. Lord Hanbrook was most eager to see the murder’s resolved and warned me that the village was “Touched by Evil”. I found this rather melodramatic but was even more surprised when Lord Hanbrook pressed a sabre into my hand. I accepted the weapon – it occurred to me some form of defence might be in order if I was dealing with some scythe-wielding mad man. When I left it was night, and while the fog was still making travel difficult I noticed that a full moon had risen.
I got lost in the fog and ended up in the north fields. A break in the fog bathed the fields in moonlight revealing row after row of tall, healthy corn. And then something dark rose up out of the corn. Straining my eyes I realised it was a swarm of locusts. I ran out of the field with the locusts in pursuit. I saw a stack of bags and caught the wife of ammonia. As I felt the locusts strike me, bite me, felt their mandibles tear at my flesh I pulled out the sabre and slashed at the bags, releasing manure. I remember screaming as I felt the seemingly hundreds of insects attack me. With my last strength I brought down my lantern shattering it and causing the Ammonia to ignite, exploding into a pillar of flame. I was knocked off my feet but I was alive and to my relief the explosion had driven off the locusts. I was bleeding badly and realised I needed medical assistance. I staggered out of the cornfield, hoping to make it back to the manor. I heard a scream and quickened my pace. A building loomed tall ahead of me out of the fog. It materialised into a windmill. I had gone the wrong way. I walked toward the windmill, the scream still ringing in my ear. Finding a pitchfork a picked it up to use as both a crutch and a weapon. In the door way of the windmill I found a man, seemingly nailed to the windmill door. What was even stranger was the fact he held pieces of straw in his fist as well as some scraps of cloth. Suddenly I heard something. A shuffling sound. Then, out of the windmill came a man, dressed like a scarecrow. Holding onto the pitchfork I drew my sabre. “Stand fast!” I ordered but it simply raised its –his hands and attacked me. I hit it with the sabre and then stabbed it with the pitchfork. Or at least I thought I did. Its ---his arm caught me on the side of the head and I lost consciousness.

7th September
I awoke in a bed with a rather attractive eh features leaning over me. She gave me an impish smile. “Hello handsome, finally awake are we?”
I recognised her as the woman I had seen when I first arrived. I realised that she had dark auburn hair, not black as I had first thought. Another thought came to me. “You don’t have a black horse do you?”
“That’s a strange thing to say to the woman who saved your life?” she said straightening up and placing her hands on her hips.
“I..uh I apologise. I am Cooke, Inspector Cooke, from New York. And I thankyou young lady for saving my life.”
“My pleasure, I’m sure,” she said giving a bow more fit to be given by a man than a pretty young woman. “I am Katarina, at your service.”
“How do you do. What happened?” I asked.
“I found you near the old Mill, as well as the Miller, nailed to his own Mill’s door. I saw, or thought I saw someone standing over you. I shouted and ran forward and it disappeared into the fog. I loaded you into the Miller’s cart and brought you back to town where the Doctor patched you up. You had some nasty insect bites as well as that bump on the head.”
“So the Miller was the dead body I found?”
“Yes, and the Miller’s son was found dead yesterday while you slept.”
“Two more murders? We are indeed dealing with a madman! I declared. “I cannot lay here any longer. I must stop this.”
“And I will assist you.” Katarina smiled. “I am handy with both sword and pistol. I have been doing a little investigation on my own these past days.”
“Uh, well maybe we can join forces.” I said. “Could I get dressed?”
Katarina pouted then flounced out, stopping at the door. ”Oh and to answer your question. No, I don’t own a horse. That’s why I came here.” She left the room.

With the Fog still blanketing the village I went to the store and bought a couple of torches. Katarina walked down to the covered bridge saying she needed to check something out. At the store I heard shout and ran straight into Lord Hanbrook. He seemed to be suffering from Paranoid delusions.
“Get back. You’re in league with that devil! You can’t fool me – I can SMELL the evil!!!” He screamed. He saw me and fired. The bullet grazed my right arm. The blacksmith and his son grabbed Lord Hanbrook, disarming him.
“Are you alright sir?” The burly blacksmith asked.
“I’ve had worse.” I said gingerly holding my arm. “Just a scratch. Take his Lordship to the Doctor’s. He needs a calmative.”
After seeing Lord Hanbrook to the Doctors I headed back, through this filthy fog back to the windmill. I was again attacked by a swarm of Locusts and again I suffered a number of very nasty bites before I drove them off. Entering the Windmill I began my search. I found a diary of the Miller’s which he had written during the War. It concerned the Lord Hanbrook”

Although Lord Hanbrook has gone through life with a boastful roar and an arrogant bravado. He has claimed to be the great war hero. But I know differently. In reality, when confronted with the most trivial of the threats, he is reduced to a whimpering, quivering lump. He is just as likely to soil his britches as run screaming into the night.
So, this explained Lord Hanbrook’s paranoid delusion earlier today. The man was terrified. A Coward hiding under the guise of the brave and powerful Lord of the Manor, War hero frightened of his own shadow. As I searched I heard marching feet. Leaving the Mill I was surprised, and pleased to see a squad of Militia marching up the road.
The Lieutenant saluted as he led his troop of soldiers up to the Mill. “Inspector Cooke, Lieutenant Martin at your service. A Miss Katarina met us at the crossroads and informed me that you requested our assistance in this nasty matter. As Colonel Lord Hanbrook is, er, indisposed, I have been instructed to place myself under your orders.”
“Excellent. Well Lieutenant I want you and your men to guard the WindMill. And oh watch out for grasshoppers. They bite.”
I then set off towards the Fields. While I was struggling through the fog I learnt that Katarina, after sending the Militia to the Wind Mill, went into the woods to the south of the town. Here she found the Woodcutter’s bloodhound, who led her to the Woodcutter’s hut and the bodies of the woodcutter, strung up like a scarecrow on a nearby tree.
As I continued my journey toward the fields and the manor I heard a cry for help. It was the Doctor, fleeing toward me, chased by what looked like a scarecrow. Then all of a sudden daylight tore through the fog, burning it away. This seems to scare off the scarecrow, or whatever it was and the Doctor escaped. The Doctor babble a tale of high drama, of fighting off a horde of crows and demonic beings dressed like scarecrows. He went on to claim he had been a great soldier himself in the War having once saving General, later President Washington. It was then that I realised that no deed was too great or small to steal credit for, no amount of praise ever enough to suffice. I told the Doctor to head to the Mill and then return to town.

I then entered the fields. The Doctor was right about one thing. There was a Murder of Crows flying over the fields and they did attack but I found that by using my torch and the sabre I was able to drive them off.

Back at the village Magistrate Kroft seemed to have caught Lord Hanbrook’s hysteria. While I too did not believe that this was the work of some supernatural being I did feel that Magistrate Kroft's decision was going too far. “Calling a town meeting he was reported as stating: ”The Militia has been summoned and have arrived. We also have an Inspector from New York. Clearly mortal men are behind this. Turn in your firearms!” Fortunately the towns people refused and the Doctor and the Reverend were able to slip him a sedative to calm his nerves.

Arriving at the Manor I found that Land Hanbrook and her daughter were in the village visiting her husband. I took advantage of their absence to do some investigation. I discovered the secret diary of Lady Hanbrook. It seemed that the Lady was a Voyeur – sneaking around the town at night, peering in through the windows of her neighbours; watching them from afar. While investigating the library I moved an old book on a shelf, a creaky door opened to reveal a dusty passage. The faint sound of violin and the aroma of sulfur beckoned me inside. I walked foe ages and final came out in an abandoned keep, an old stone fort built to defend the area from Indians and the French. I found a Rapier hidden near the exit. Obviously some Rogue had stashed it there for later. I acquired it.

I returned to the village, visiting the Doctor’s to check on Lord Hanbrook and Magistrate Kroft. The locals greeted me with joy. “You’ve come to save us.” I stood in front of the Doctor’s office and gave the villagers a reassuring speech. At the end they gave a rousing three cheers. I entered the Doctor’s and got bandaged up from my last fight. Katarina joined us. She also had been attacked by a Murder of Crows and had the Doctor bandage her up. The Doctor regaled her of how he had saved me from the Crows in the fields. I gave Katarina the Rogue’s sword. I noticed she had acquired a pistol and a large bloodhound. Outside she had obviously found herself a horse, brown. I went into visit the Magistrate. He was asleep, suffering from the nightmares. He was denying something, something that happened during the war. I frowned as I made sense of his rambling. What Magistrate Kroft had done during the War was shameful to say the least. Katrina was called to the Manor where a murder of Crows was attacking the Hanbrook home. She drove them off and was given a Cross as thanks by Lady Hanbrook. During the Evening the Reverend Harding was attacked by a man dressed up as a Scarecrow. Fortunately it I was on hand to leap to his rescue and the swinging scythe-wielding madman missed him. He fled before we could recover. Making certain that the Doctor was alright and got home safely I headed back to the store and the Blacksmith. It was long past time I assembled some tools of science to add in my investigation. I bought a mortar and pestle tongs, pliers and other items. The storeman was so eager to help he threw in a human skull for free! I also asked whether he had a book of the Town’s History and to my surprise he did. I took these items back to my room at the Hostel and began my research. I found a number of items of interest concerning the Reverend Harding. By themselves they would mean nothing but put together with some other small things I had noticed when dealing with the Reverend, his breath, the colour of his eyes and put together the fact that the man was a drunkard. I looked out across the square to the church. Locked behind the doors of his church the Reverend was probably drinking himself into a stupor.

8th September
Early next morning I walked back to the Abandoned Keep. I saw some smoke rising up from the keep. I entered the ruin and stumbled into a den of obvious rogues and was quickly surrounded. I drew my sabre. Fast-talking was the obvious solution to my predicament. I shouted out to the Militia to hold their position. This stopped the thieves in their tracks. They began to look around nervously and edge away. I informed them I was Inspector Cooke and investigating the murder of 6 people. I mentioned the Scarecrow. This disconcerted the rogues and they fled out the back of the keep and into the surrounding woods and fields. I heard gunfire and the baying of dogs to the West. Katrina. Going up into the ruined tower I saw a murder of crows fly up and away. They flew north and to my surprise the murder joined by other murders. They formed like a tide of darkness then swooped toward the town. I called out to Katrina to head back to town then ran, post hast, back to that benighted village.

On the road Katrina passed me on her horse with the Bloodhound following beside her. “Get there as soon as you can.” She sang out as she galloped past. I soon heard gunshots and more cawing and saw crows rise above the town hall. I arrived out of breath but did not pause. Crows were attacking the Magistrates Office as well and I dash that way. I pulled out my tools and set to work. quickly mixing saltpetre, sulfur and other ingredients. The crows noticed me and attacked, their cruels beaks piecing my flesh but I ignored them. Finally my preparations were completed and I cast my mixture upon the ground in front of the Magistrate’s Office then stepped back and dropped my torch. The mixture exploded in a great flash of light and smoke. To my relief it also startled the crows that fled. I hurriedly bound one of my more serious wounds but I could not dally. I could here cries of murder coming from near the church and still more cawing coming from the vicinity of the Blacksmith and General Store. I hurriedly prepared another satchel of explosive powder and ran that way. As expected Crows were attacking here as well but like the last they fled when I lit my explosive powder. As darkness fell the village itself seemed to chill. The crows had been driven off but some how the evil that plagued this town had grown stronger. With a mixture of healing herbs common to the region I was able to bind all my wounds. The blacksmith provided me with a horse and a padded jacket (my own was now quite torn to shreds) which offered increased protection. I learnt that Katarina had repaired to the Doctor’s as she too had sustained injury from these accursed birds. However I was called to the church as another man had been found murdered. The Reverend, a shaken man who was opening drinking from a silver flask explained that this was Jared Meers, brother to Farmer Meers, and his heir. It was now obvious to me that someone was eliminating all that had any link to the Hoden and Meer’s farms but who still eluded me. At that moment Katarina rode up. She was scratched across the face and her clothes much torn but she seemed hale enough.
“I have news. During the battle I saw the Midwife Sophie cast a circle on the ground and call out in strange tongue and then make smoke with little fire. She is a witch. I might have shot her then and there if I did not realise her smoke was liken to your own science trickery and that she was helping drive away the crows.”
I frowned, the midwife a witch and yet not in league with the murderer? More red herrings. Who was behind this evil? Katarina continued.
“I am off to convince the Lord Hanbrook and the Magistrate to summon more Militia if I can. I believe the creature we seek is hiding in the marsh. Be careful if you go that way. I will join you as soon as I can.” And with that she galloped off to the town hall. As she left I heard a familiar sound of many tiny wings beating together. Out of the dark a horde of locusts descended, their evil green bodies glittering in the light of the full moon. They descended on the Doctor’s office. Lighting my torch I hurried thence. By now I was becoming an old hand at fighting these creatures and soon drove them away as well. Katarina joined me with the rest of the town elders.
“The Militia have been summoned will meet us at the marsh. However I have some evil news. There are more plagues of Locusts at the bridge and at the crossroads. They have cut the town off from the outside world.
“I am glad to see you all here. I have some questions to ask of you all at this time of great adversity.”
“We are doomed,” stuttered Lord Hanbrook. “We will all be murdered in our beds.”
“Its all the fault of that little witch,” Lady Hanbrook pointed at Sophie the Midwife. “I’ve seen her at night, casting her evil spells when she thinks no one is looking.”
“My Magic is as white as the driven snow, I swear it!” protested the midwife. “Did not my spell help drive the crows from the town hall?”
“Oh pish that was my doing M’Dear,” scoffed the Doctor Self-importantly. “And you Inspector, you must admit that without my aid you would never have concocted that er powder to help me save the village.”
“Er your assistance was a great boon to me.” I said.
“Ggod will, hic, will be our way to ssalv ...ssalv hic save us.” Slurred the Reverend.
“We must burn the miscreants out, “Burn, cut, slash, and destroy. Let no Man woman or child stand in our way to bring order to this place.” Bellowed the Magistrate. We all turned to him. The Magistrate suddenly realised he had let slip the mask he had so hard to hide his true nature and settled back into brooding silence.
“As I was saying,” I continued, surveying all. “This current adversity I believe commenced not a moth ago but five years ago when the Farmers Meers and Hoden made a pact with, ahem, someone, to help them with their crops. Each year their crops grew marvellously well but at the same time, harvest time, they also lost a member of their family.”
“Offcourse,” broke in Sophie. “The fools summoned a demon of plenty who required a blood sacrifice in return for a bountiful harvest.”
“I do not say that this is a demon as such, but what ever,” I continued not happy with the hint of the supernatural to confuse my reasoning. “The two farmers believed that it was so. My own view is that they have had dealing with a mad man who had access to new scientific fertilisers and has traded on their greed and gullibility to achieve his own sick ends. This year both Farmers have had no more family to trade so the mad man killed them both and, his reasoning now completely taken flight, has pursued any who may have had any link to either farmer. The miller and his son had grown rich on the Farmers’ bounty. The Woodcutter I have learned, touching the book of the Town history was the cousin of Farmer Hoden and just this evening Farmer Mears younger brother was done to death. I er We,” and I bowed to Katarina who gave we a wink. ‘Believe the mad man to be hiding in the Marshes to the south. This is where we will repair to now. The militia has been summoned and is meeting us there. I promise that this evening the village will no longer feel the touch of evil upon her.”
“Excellent my boy,” Magistrate Kroft slapped me on the shoulder. “And I will come with you. I always knew it wasn’t no demon. Did I not tell you so.”
At that moment there came such a howling in the night that I admit that even I was shaken in my resolve. None of the other town elders volunteered to accompany us as we prepared ourselves. Magistrate Kroft rode with me while Katarina rode ahead to meet the Militia. It took two hours and nigh on 12 of the clock before Katarina found the villain’s lair deep in the marsh. Fortunately the full moon helped us.
Suddenly a shape, larger than a man loomed out of the reeds. With a war cry Katarina charged wielding her sabre and firing her pistol in a most aggressive manner. The Militia fired their muskets and yet the monster continued, sticking the bloodhound. The Magistrate and I joined the battle. I hurled another of my explosive packages and the Magistrate discharged his pistol then tried to run the miscreant through with his sword. I would swear that he struck him but the villain yet stood. He wielded a wicked scythe, which knocked done the Magistrate, and would have done for him if Katarina had not thrown a heavy cross at the blackguard, blocking the cut. Katrina then leapt forward again She slashed at the creature hitting it. It whirled and swung its scythe in an arc that I was certain would be the death of her had I not leapt forward and pushed her out of the way. I heard her cry as the scythe slashed her. I then quickly turned using torch and gunpowder to burn this unholy creature. It gave a strange rustle cry, obviously hurt and attacked. Its scythe came down on me in great sweeps. I used everything at my disposal to fend it off, my torch, and the pitchfork. As they say in a fight for survival, anything goes. My padded jacket took one deadly slice and I was left with a deep but not too serious cut on the left arm. Katarina leapt to her feet and charged the beast, added by her faithful hound. The three struggled on the banks of the river and then as I struggled to rise, all three fell in. At that moment a cloud covered the moon and all was plunged into darkness. With my torch gone I could not see anything. By the time moon passed out of the cloud there was no sign of Katarina, the dog or the Scarecrow.

9th September

We searched the whole night. We found the dog; Franklin I finally learned was it’s name, badly wounded but alive. We found bits of straw and some old clothing that may have belonged to the Scarecrow and finally, down near the Olde Wood, Katarina’s gold braid tricorn hat. But of her we found nothing.

Whatever evil had touched the town lifted. The plagues of locusts and murder’s of crows seemed to have left with the passing of the Scarecrow, although I cannot state that this was not due to some natural occurrence. The crops of the Meers and Hoden farms seemed the wither and perish overnight, as if the Scarecrows passing had withdrawn the bounty that had been placed on those fields but again I do not hold to this view. I feel it had more to do with the presence of the crows and locusts, attracted to the area by these rich crops and once they had been consumed they left. Still....

The Villagers were naturally grateful as was Lord Hanbrook and Magistrate Kroft. They both promised to write to my superiors glowing reports of my success. While thankful for such consideration, I was after all only doing my duty; it was bittersweet coming as it did at the cost of the life of a brave and resourceful young woman.

One curious footnote to this case should be set down here. When I inquired as to what was to become of the deceased men’s holdings, the farms and the windmill, the Magistrate informed me that some nobleman from Eastern Europe had already offered to purchase them. Given that the farms were now proven to be of little value it seemed that the Magistrate and Lord Hanbrook were delighted to sell them.


10th September

Postscript

As I was about to leave on the weekly carriage back to New York I was met by Lord Hanbrook and by Magistrate Kroft. Both were most excited and after calming them both down learnt that both had been robbed during the night. Purses of money select choice items of jewellery from Lady Hanbrook’s. One of the servant’s claimed to have seen a tall masked rider with long flaming red hair riding a huge horse leaving the manor and high speed but I dismissed this as the hysterics of a young serving girl. I opined that it was more likely thieves and rogues who frequented the abandoned keep who had taken advantage of all the commotion and had stolen the goods. Both men vowed swift justice, storming off to call out the militia.

I sit here now, writing this postscript with a smile knowing that a certain Wicked Lady is once more about her work and, just this once, acknowledge that thievery can be a justice served.