chapter 52
On saturday Willow told Buffy about Sunydale's history. The town was founded in 1867 by Richard Wilkins, apprently an ancestor of the current presidential candidate. Much of the original residents had been soldiers of the war, both sides, and former slaves. The original Wilkins had kept order with a sort of fundamentalist religion. For awhile this worked, former enemies worked together to build a new community. Then twelve girls were accussed. Noone today knows of what. Some said they had many sexual partners, others said they practiced witchcraft. Whatever their crime the town went insane, they crucified the twelve girls on trees outside the local church. According to local legend as the girls were dying they swore a curse on Sunnydale. Within a month pirates attacked Sunnydale. Some said this was the curse. Others said the pirates had been having sexual relations with the girls. Romantics believed that one of the girls escaped, reunited with her pirate lover. At any rate the pirates slaughtered almost every man, woman, and child in Sunnydale. Ever since then many stories surrounded the town of Sunnydale California. Witches, ghosts, monsters, demons, even vampires. Willow had always assumed they were just stories, even when she, Xander, and Jessie were kids and told each other the ghost stories. But after seeing two ghosts, Willow wasn't so sure it was all make believe. Today the area where the girls were killed was a part of the boardwalk. The trees where they were crucified were gone, but memorial stones commemorated each girl. The church was still standing for tourists. There was even a gift shop next door. This area also featured a scary ride known as "Castle Dracula." A version of a haunted house to capitalize on the popularity of vampires. Willow amitted to Buffy that she usually had to hold Xander's hand when she went into Castle Dracula. Others took that even further. There was a hidden room in the castle where teens were known to come to make love. There was even a young woman who'd been concieved here, and 18 years later got pregnant in that room. As Willow helped Buffy research they saw a picture of the original Richard Wilkins. There was clearly a family resemblance to the current one They didn't look exactly alike, but Willow felt a certain familiarity with this ghost of the past.