The man I spoke with tells me that he met some former residents of the town some time ago; of those who had lived there all their lives.
Talking about various things, the subject of the Gravesfield witch ended up coming up; at that moment they became serious and commented something like:
"The legend is wrong, the witch of Gravesfield never left, her presence has cursed this town with ruin to this day. That was what destroyed the Wittebane lineage, what sent to hell the prosperity that this town would have "
"Be very careful what you look for, don't go out late at night, because if you do, you can start praying not to find her. She is still out there, not even the forces of hell could take her away, and now they are the escort with which she walks our streets looking for someone else to take to the deepest abyss"
It should be noted that of course they were clinging Catholics. He didn't mean it to me in a bad way, but as if to say, you know, believers believe more of those kinds of stories, forgive the redundancy.
I was curious, how is the witch still in town?
He told me that the belief of the superstitious is based on this.
- The Witch cursed the town, her sorcery is the reason for the misfortune and the rarities that are seen at night - He expressed in a very overacted way and clearly in mockery.
- And what does that mean? – I told him waiting for him to answer me something more concrete.
Then he started talking to me about this woman.
A woman who's been showing up in Gravesfield for the last 10 years or so and no one knows who she is, or where she came from. If she is a resident, if she is a frequent tourist, some hermit of the forest etc. She only appears from time to time around town, sometimes here sometimes there, usually causing trouble both at night and in broad daylight.
What kind of trouble? Of those that ban you for life from a coffee, that kind of mess.
Those who have met her describe her as a woman of about middle age, with an extremely pale complexion. They find it strange especially that she always has false fangs, a very large white wig and an outfit to say the least... unusual.
More than once she has been asked her name, to which she has only simply answered "Marilyn", she has not given middle names or surnames. There hasn't even been a chance, she always disappears when she's about to be questioned further.
Sometimes she talks about strange things that don't make sense, doesn't respect the authority or the needs of others, and on many occasions has been seen rummaging through the garbage.
This behavior has led most residents to believe that she is simply a crazed wanderer. And it probably is, but… let's just say there are rumours.
From her first incident to her last, Marilyn has been associated with strange phenomena. Whether they are oddities intentionally caused by her, to inexplicable situations in which she has coincidentally coincided in one way or another.
Now, I am going to tell you some of the most notorious anecdotes about this woman. Some were shared with me by this same person, and others I got on my own by researching about Gravesfield. But first I need to emphasize that you have to be very cautious with the information that I will give you. I need them to know how to differentiate what is the myth, from the person of flesh and blood.
I say this because the woman is not a rumour, she exists; she can be seen in photographs, police records and countless testimonies of her apparitions around Gravesfield.
The stories that surround her are something else that must be interpreted as such. You can count it as a curiosity, but if you do happen to go to Gravesfield and meet Marilyn in person, don't even think about pummeling her with accusations. In the end, this is no more than mere gossip among neighbors, for which there are no notable arguments or evidence. It is understood?
The manager of a second-hand store, together with his employee, said that Marilyn entered their establishment on a quiet day in the morning when there were not many people in the vicinity. She looked indecisive and unsettled, to say the least; she looked at various objects in no order, not caring or not distinguishing what was for sale from what wasn't, such as the cash register which analyzed very carefully.
She didn't say anything or ask anything.
The manager was going to take the initiative to question her about what was looking for, but at that moment he realized that his client had a small owl on her shoulder, which they had not noticed until now because of the immense hair of the woman.
He kindly explained that animals were not allowed in the store. Marilyn, without altering her expression of irrelevance, showed them a stick; her owl was placed on the top of it, and before his eyes, she turned the animal into a solid wooden figure.
- Better? – She answered.
The clerk reacted with surprise and applauded her. The manager was skeptical, so he asked a few questions about the nature of her act and asked to analyze the cane with the now carved owl figure on it.
Apparently this attitude did not like Marilyn very much. She ignored the interrogation and exclaimed tiredly:
- I don't have time for this – She then grabbed a small battery-powered television, and ran out of the store.
They quickly launched themselves in pursuit, but after a few meters she managed to slip past them into an alley; although they do not explain how she did it since it was only one way out.
They called the police, but were unable to find the woman's location.
As the television was not worth much, they ended up forgetting about the incident months later, however, the manager is still upset about what happened. He warns that this woman is just a thief and a fraud who uses these tricks to break people's disbelief and do what she wants.
The employee, on the other hand, stated that he has no idea how she could have turned that owl into wood, or how got away from them in that alley. He checked it several times and never found another exit route that could have used. He acknowledges that maybe there is something that escapes his knowledge and she will use… but who knows.
A boy walking his dog in the central park saw Marilyn in the distance carrying a huge bag on her back.
He had already heard several of the rumors that were beginning to be told about the woman, so recognized her instantly and out of mere curiosity decided to follow her to see where was going and what was doing.
She took a walk through a good part of the town, stopping from time to time to continue filling her bag with various garbage that encounter across along the way. He also said that saw her talk several times with her accompanying owl, although he did not hear exactly what was saying. Maybe she really was crazy, the boy thought.
She ended by directing him to an old house several meters between the trees, clearly abandoned. He supposed that, if she was a wanderer, that place would have to be her refuge, and everything she was collecting would be for decoration, or eating, or whatever.
He swears that saw her come in, but when went over to take a look…she was gone.
He went into the house, checked every room. Nothing.
No sign of Marilyn, nor of the huge bag she was carrying.
He revisited the place several times, and each time the same story. The house was completely empty.
Nobody lived there.
A call to 911 in the wee hours of the morning.
This anecdote managed to become known thanks to the operator who receive the call told her family, and from there the word spread.
According to what she said, there was an upset and somewhat dismayed lady on the phone saying that a crazy woman was in her front garden rummaging through her garbage and stealing some of his decorations, leaving everything a mess.
The operator asked for her information and address, then ordered a patrol to go investigate. While they arrived she told the woman to stay on the line describing both the actions and the appearance of the intruder.
That is how it was known that it was surely Marilyn, since the profile described by the owner of the house both in the call and later with the officers, coincided a lot with her particular features, not to mention that she was already well known for its occasional disturbances or damage to private property.
However, while the woman continued with the operator, relating point by point what she saw, something in particular caught the attention of the latter.
The woman on the other end said she didn't know how to express it, but somehow this invader was "enlightened."
What was she referring to? The operator insisted in be more specific.
She said that it was as if the area where she was standing looking at the trash had some kind of light source, just in that spot, and that it was quite noticeable because the streetlight pointing at that area had been out for a week.
Any flashlight, a lighter?
She said no. From her window it was not possible to distinguish well, she only saw that they were like points of light floating around her. As if they were fireflies, but larger, yellow in color, with a more intense and uninterrupted glow.
After a few minutes of having this conversation, the invader put everything that interested her in a bag, got up, and walked away while these "points of light" followed her.
Shortly after the patrol arrived at the home and the woman hung up the phone to greet the officers.
The operator was very curious about the strange case, and a few days later she had the opportunity to speak with the officers who showed up at the scene, to ask about what happened after the call ended.
Nothing in particular. They took the testimony of the owner of the house and made an inspection of the area in the patrol car to see if they could find the mysterious invader.
They got no trace, no weird light anywhere, basically all trace of their presence was gone.
And that is where the event ended. Certainly someone was in the woman's garden that night judging by the mess the officers found; but regarding the strange lights, it was attributed to a simple confusion of the woman for being in a state of semi-consciousness after suddenly waking up by the noises of the search.
They must have been some lamps that the invader had and which she did not notice.
One of the most famous altercations involving this woman happened recently. I know that you are going to think that it is a joke, a ridiculous thing that in no way can be real; but it happened.
A cafeteria in the middle of the afternoon, packed with people, and I'm telling you that to get to the counter you had to stand in line.
Marilyn appeared at the scene, lined up, and it didn't take a minute for her to tell the woman in front to let her sneak in.
The woman refused.
What would happen next i wouldn't even know how to catalog it.
Various books, food, among other utensils inside the cafeteria, and I quote, took on a life of their own and began to attack customers.
Yes, what you hear.
As absurd as it sounds, all the calls to the police that were made that day, along with the large number of witnesses who recounted exactly the same facts… It could hardly be a fraud.
They say that people ran out of the premises in terror while these "animated objects" chased them, and did not stop until a few minutes after they returned to normal. Most at least, because some of these were lost and never found.
Fortunately, no one was injured, as strange as it sounds to say that, despite the fact that there were those who said they were "bitten" by these objects.
The police carried out an extensive investigation that could not come to any conclusion. The objects in question were not tampered with in any way, no traces of hallucinogens were found in the air or food that could infuse people with this mass psychosis.
Everyone raised their hands to their heads, civilians, policemen, scientists, no one was able to give an explanation for what happened. It was decided to attribute it to a very, very convincing act of illusionism.
The incident is associated with Marilyn because it occurred shortly after she entered the cafeteria. Because of what the woman who was in front of her in line commented, and because of the testimony given by a man days later, who was the one who was right behind her. He said that saw Marilyn raise her hand and make a circle in the air with her index finger, just a few seconds before it all started.
As usual, Marlyn had already fled by the time the patrols arrived, so an interrogation was not possible. Why she did it, and more importantly, how she did it; only she has the answer.
The case was so notorious that it reached the local newspaper where some of the most relevant testimonies were shared, along with a photograph of the incident taken by one of the passersby who was passing outside the cafeteria.
It is so absurd to think of the idea of living objects; not that they moved, no, they literally said that they grew hands and formed mouths. It seems impossible, but the story is completely real.
If that seemed strange to you, I'm telling you right now that it's not the only case of these characteristics involving this Marilyn, and surprisingly, not even the first one that happened in this cafeteria.
Days after returning from my trip I came across the blog of an anonymous person on the internet who claimed to have worked in that same establishment, and recounted another event that had happened a few months earlier.
This time the cafeteria was almost empty when Marilyn arrived. She showed up at the counter and ordered a latte, or at least that was understood since she wasn't able to pronounce the word latte correctly.
When they serve her and demand payment, the woman was thoughtful. She looked around her for a moment and suddenly ran out the door saying that she would be back in a moment.
10 minutes later she came back in, now carrying a live raccoon that was trying to wriggle out of her hands, scratching and screaming. She showed it to them and said - Here is your payment –
Annoyed by this joke in bad taste, the employees demanded that she leave the place immediately, while she continued to insist that such a hairy beast should be paid more than worthy, and that she was even being generous.
They called the police, Marilyn at that moment decided to escape as usual; but this time, tossing something weird on the croissants on the counter before left. Fearing that it was some poison or something unpleasant, they decided to throw them away.
The situation would become strange when a few days later, this supposed employee went out to take out the garbage. I quote verbatim what he placed in his post.
"That was a particularly busy day at the cafe. The town was celebrating the 38th anniversary of its founding and almost all the places were closed, except of course that splendid place where it occurred to me only a few months before to ask for a job. Would I have joined the commemoration? Nope, I've been living here for two years, it's not that I'm very interested in its customs or historical relevance; but a day off is a day off. Anyway"
"It was already 7 at night and we were preparing to close. It was my turn to take out the trash, of course, because serving like 150 people and slipping on a baby's vomit wasn't enough to fill your day. I didn't think about it anymore and just grabbed the bags to take them to the back where we have the containers. At that time the alley is in absolute darkness, the superiors never deigned to put a damn lamp, the only thing you have is the brightness that comes from the open door that you leave behind you. Some of the most unpleasant experiences of my life were in that alley, with that darkness; imagine what it's like to have a cockroach fly into your face and you don't realize it until you have it walking in your eye. That place has generated traumas for sure, but nothing remotely similar to what I had to experience that night"
"Rats live among the containers, we have always known that. They were a nuisance at times, but usually they would hide as soon as they saw you arrive. Something happened to those rats, something I can't explain even now. You'r going to think I'm crazy when read it, but I swear to God and my life that it's true, and my colleagues can attest to it because they also had to live it. I approached the containers as usual and left the first two bags, the noise it made when carrying them prevented me from realizing that something was heard, but now, I could notice it. Some whispers that came from behind the containers, you know those babble from the B-series ghost movies? Something like that. I didn't understand what they were saying, but they were clearly there and I started to get scared. The first thing you think of in these situations is the typical thing that your companions are playing a joke on you because they know you don't like taking out the trash. I yelled at them something like - nice joke, although I don't know if hanging around with the rats would be considered as the affected one is me - I laughed at them, and stopped in my tracks when I saw those little eyes, those demon red eyes peeking out from between the darkness, drawing closer as they continued to babble. Then I understood that they were literally babbling something that don't meant anything, but not on purpose, but rather if they were trying to form sentences, although they still did not know how, you know? Like babies, but with a very scratchy deep distorted voice. I was backing up as they followed me until the light from the door illuminated them enough. It was the rats pretending they were trying to communicate with me. BUT WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? The bastards ran towards me, I threw the bag I had left at them and escaped back into the building, locking the door behind me"
"I had a panic attack, I lay on the ground covering the door as if I was waiting for it to be knocked down… I could hear them scratching on the other side. My colleagues came to help me, I was not able to say a word until 30 minutes later. I told them what happened, obviously they didn't believe me, although they did dare to go out to investigate with their cell phones despite the fact that I begged them not to. The typical thing now would be for them to come back saying that they didn't find anything and that I would come off as a liar, or worse, insane. But fortunately for me (in quotes) that was not how it happened. They came back a minute after running and almost screaming, they said that they also heard the babbling and that they saw the red eyes among the containers. Now they thought I was the joker, I swore I wasn't, and judging by the panic attack I had, the idea quickly vanished. We didn't know what to do, so we just closed the cafe and went home, we'd figure out what to do in the morning. I couldn't sleep turning the scene over and over in my head as I thought myself crazy trying to assimilate that some talking rats had attacked me. The situation was very surreal. What weird Ratatouille movie had I gotten myself into? Was this some Reality Show? I wish. And there you have me trying to understand the situation and at the same time thinking – If these rats wanted to tell me something, what would it be? - I do not know. I thought about it for a few hours and made it clear that there were two things they said and they seemed more or less understandable. The words, Bread, and Knowledge"
"Anyone would say that something like that would be just an isolated event, but no, the talking rats were still there the next day, and the next, and the next. We had all seen them by this point, and attacks like mine happened a couple of times. They didn't stray too far from the containers, that relaxed us a bit, and we also noticed that as the days went by their vocalization improved. The words bread and knowledge became perfectly clear. It really sounds so absurd that I'm talking about this, but that's the way things are, and that's why we had no idea what to do. How do you act before a situation that should be impossible? We talked about it with the managers, but they didn't even want to look at it, we called the police who made fun of us, we tried to capture or record them, but it was as if they knew our intentions because they always ran away or hide when we tried; and kill them well... it is understandable that none of us dared. So it stayed, we decided to ignore them until we could do something else. Well, not me, them, I quit a week later. I couldn't bear the situation, the stress and the paranoia that caused me to know that there were some talking rats in the back of the cafe, that they could try to enter at any time or whatever, and nobody did anything. My colleagues were taking weight away from the matter by giving it any mundane explanation I don't know why. How can you explain to some fucking talking rats? I am not able to understand the attitude they decided to take"
"It's been months since I resigned, but sometimes I stop by to visit and ask about the dear tenants. The last time was a few days ago, and yes, they told me that they are still there and that they have developed their level of speech until they can form understandable sentences – Bring more bread of knowledge – is what they usually say. Whatever happened to those rats had to be the croissants we dropped and they must have eaten. I've tried to find this Marilyn to understand what the hell she threw at them, but no luck. The woman looks like a ghost, she only appears and disappears when she wants. I will be updating this post with new information as I get it. I hope to find her, that woman is definitely not normal"
The text ends by attaching a photo of Marilyn with the raccoon moments before the police were called, taken by a client who watched the scene.
The person who wrote this did not give any personal information or proof of their testimony, so we cannot be so sure of its veracity.
Even so, I will be attentive to the original post in case it updates with something new. The story sound absurd, talking rats? But the same is true of animated objects, which have much more evidence in their favor, so it does not hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt.
There are several more stories like these that if you want I can tell you one day, but I think for now the message is clear.
That's Marilyn, and this is what has created her strange reputation.
It's like those typical rumors you hear in the neighborhood when you're little. If it is the haunted house, the sewer monster, the giant rats; and in this case, the weird woman in town who is actually… a witch.
Marilyn has never answered anything about the things she has done. It is not known where she comes from, it is not known who she is, so the only thing people could do was make up his theories, which range from the most esoteric to the most extravagant.
The one that is mainly believed is that in the past she was dedicated to giving magic shows, or was in some way related to said profession.
These inexplicable events would be nothing more than some of her surprising tricks, which she now takes advantage of only to distract people and run away, or get some reward in return.
If there is no other option with more consistency, then if you can believe it, and even more so if you have not been the witness of the events... but still, living food?
The people ran out of the cafeteria in panic, inanimate objects pounced on them and chased them, some even said that they were bitten and even left marks on them.
In which magic show have you seen something like this? This woman would have to be one of the best magicians in history, and she is living as a hermit digging through garbage in a lost town on the edge of the world.
I researched as much as I could about groundbreaking magic shows in the pre-2000s, before Marilyn first appeared in Gravesfield, and was unable to find anything remotely similar.
Nothing with this caliber of surrealism, no parallelism, nor any mention or similarity that could associate this woman with renowned illusionists of those years, or even an assistant. Absolutely nothing.
If this woman was involved at some point in the entertainment business, she had to go very unnoticed in an inexplicable way.
But it is also that if it were so, we must take into account that several of her incidents were not even in public. She was unaware that she was being watched, like the story of the boy who saw her disappear into an abandoned house.
Perform acts of magic just on a whim, without anyone seeing you? It sounds very illogical for how supposedly logical this idea seeks to be.
But then, if we don't believe in this explanation, what are we left with?
- Aren't you wanting to insinuate that there are people who think that this Marilyn is the same witch from the legend? – I said to the man in the store with an incredulous face.
Supossely Yes. The story of the woman who called 911 greatly encouraged this rumor with that of the points of light, very similar to the testimonies that were collected in the records of the 17th century.
A woman in the middle of the night, with a sphere of light floating in her hand.
The Gravesfield witch never left. Now these lovers of superstition blame Marilyn for everything, saying that her presence is the nexus of the weirdness in Gravesfield.
They claim that she has recently reappeared because was in a dream, waiting for the town to become prosperous once more, to plunge them back into misery.
First causing problems here and there, raising the level more and more, to end with something similar to what was the disappearance of the Wittebane brothers.
Others, on the other hand, say that she returned from hell itself, leaving behind gaps through which unspeakable things have crossed.
His words, not mine.
As such Marilyn has not harmed anyone directly, that is what I can tell you.
I don't think the woman is a real witch, let alone that she is 400 years old.
Even so, I cannot deny that these testimonies, if they are true as I knew them, are worthy of doubt at least.
