Class: Personnel
FILE_006_001:
Audio recorded interview with Sgt. Oliver Keen prior to his appointment as Head of Dante’s Recon Sector. At the time of this conversation, Mr. Keen was enrolled in the Visual Arts Program at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts. This interview was conducted at Dante HQ on XX/XX/1998.
Thank you for coming, Mr. Keen. We hope you understand, but we needed to start a file on you for our records. You seem to have played an important role in this situation.
I guess I have, yeah.
So, could you please tell me how you became involved with Ms. Woe?
We’re not involved. I only met her this month.
My apologies. How did you meet Ms. Woe?
Her email about the sketchbook. That was the first I ever heard from her. I went to her house a few days later and we met there.
Ms. Woe sent personal e-mails to a long list of known mythologists, folklore scholars, and anthropologists. Why would a visual art student like yourself be included in that list?
Well, I share some of my art on the internet. I think Matilda was just a fan of my work.
Right. Your art has made a bit of a splash in certain communities, correct? Would you say the nature of your art is seated in horror?
Definitely. I think most people find my work pretty scary. (Laughs)
Can you tell us a bit about how you came to develop your artistic style?
…Well, that’s something I’ve never really shared with anyone.
We are alone here, Mr. Keen. Hardly anyone will see this record.
Alright. I’ve mentioned what happened when I was a child. My parents were killed by an animal that broke into our house.
Yes, I was made aware of that.
Well, everyone, the police, the doctors, the therapists, they all told me it was a bear. None of them saw it. I saw that thing. I looked right at it…that’s why I draw. I won’t ever let myself forget that creature. I’ve been reverse engineering it onto paper since I was a kid.
Have you brought an example of your work?
Yes. This is my best reconstruction of the creature, so far.
It’s quite a vivid image. So, Ms. Woe had seen your art and thought of you as a sort of notable figure in this community?
Sure, I guess. To be honest, I was happy to be acknowledged by someone. I brought a copy of her e-mail like you asked.
Great. I will add it to the record. (Tape cuts.)
FILE_006_003:
E-mail message sent to Mr. Oliver Keen from Ms. Matilda Woe on XX/XX/1998.
Dear Mr. Oliver Keen,
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to you as a fan of your brilliant illustrations, and as a person of similar interest in the world of the supernatural and unexplained. I have read each of your blog posts, and I am inspired by your intense desire to uncover the truth of your tragic childhood. I have a troubled past of my own, and I firmly believe that otherworldly forces are to blame. Now, allow me to clarify why I have reached out to you:
About six months ago, I came in contact with an object that may prove the existence of another world. I want to invite you to analyze this artifact in person. Considering your experiences as a child, and your skill in depicting horror, I thought you would be a trustworthy candidate to share this information with.
I have already reached out to many other notable names in the fields of occult research and folklore. If you wish to attend this meeting of like-minded people, please let me know and I can provide my full house address. I live in the northern Massachusetts area.
Again, I believe the artifact in my possession has the potential to verify the truth we have all been searching for. If you require proof, please see the photo I have attached to this message. (artifact.png) I would be thrilled to meet in person soon.
Thank you for your time,
Matilda Woe
FILE_006_001:
Interview with Mr. Oliver Keen continued.
Now, can you take me through the events of the past few weeks?
Sure. I replied to the e-mail and agreed to meet at her house. I drove about two hours to get there. From the sound of her e-mail, I expected a lot of people to be there, but it was only the two of us when I arrived.
What motivated you to go?
The photo. I would’ve ignored it if I hadn’t seen her picture in there.
So, you were interested in her?
Uh, no I… I didn’t mean it like that. She just looked like she had been through a lot… Kind of like how I look in pictures.
What happened when you got there?
She showed me the book right away and kept warning me about opening it. She said she had horrible visions and hallucinations from looking at it. She’s really afraid of it.
How were you feeling in the moment? Were you afraid?
I mean… I’ll be totally honest with you. She made me nervous. I went to school with all boys my whole life until just recently. All of a sudden, I was two hours away from school, being showed a possibly haunted object by a girl I had never met before.
We considered it for a bit, but eventually, I decided to just open the book. Nothing weird happened to me at all, but I couldn’t believe that art. Have you seen it yet?
Yes, I have looked into the book, and I didn’t experience any hallucinations either. The artwork is unsettling to say the least. Could you describe what you saw for the record?
It’s all circles. At first glance it really just looks like scribbles, but the closer you look the intricacies start to jump out at you. It’s clear to me that every line is painstakingly placed. Some of the circles look like they are photocopied. He was perfectly replicating his previous brushstrokes all over the book.
You were impressed by it?
Definitely! It takes a ridiculous amount of skill to draw something so abstract, perfectly, over and over again, hundreds of times. Go back and look at those circular symbols, they might all be different sizes, but the minor details are identical.
I stared at them for a long time before I asked Matilda to bring me some paper and a pen. I tried to recreate a circle for hours. I was so focused I forgot I was hours from home. I think it was around midnight when it actually worked.
That was when it opened up?
Yeah. I found some thinner paper and ended up just tracing Levi’s lines. The moment I finished, the ink started to like, shake on the page.
We have observed that too. The ink also seems to turn black regardless of its previous color. Please, continue.
After that, it started to bleed through the paper. It also smelt really strange.
Yes, most people notice the unpleasant smell right away.
I dropped the paper once I realized something was happening. When it was sitting on the floor, I could really see the depth of the hole I had just drawn. It was like an optical illusion, as if we had just burned a little tunnel through the floor.
That’s when I put my hand in. I don’t know why, I just had to know this was real. It was the weirdest sensation. It was like pushing my hand through a screen of oily water. I felt my hand come out the other side and I felt more air. Again, my brain registered that this was not normal, and I pulled my arm out.
The black sludge was on you?
Yeah…that freaked me out. It came off pretty easily, though.
What happened next?
We panicked…I ripped up the paper and threw it in the fire. We just sat there in silence for a bit, processing everything. I slept on Matilda’s couch that night. The next day was when we decided to contact someone. After our presentation to those Army officials, we were put in touch with you guys.
Great. Thank you, Oliver. You were a massive help today.
No problem. Actually, I wanted to ask you about something.
Sure, what is it?
Matilda told me she’s gonna start working here, doing research on the gates. I was wondering if there’s anything I can do. I’m not really a scientist, but I had a few ideas.
I will look into this for you. What kind of position were you thinking?
You need people to go in there. I’d do it.
(Tape cuts here.)
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