Weird

General Information

As you may have read elsewhere, I had the idea of using the Tarot as guideposts of a story but didn't really have anything to hang on that outline. Then we received a copy of Weird Maryland as a gift. One day when flipping through the book, I saw the picture of legendary Goatman and thought he rather resembled the character on The Devil card. Then, as I continued to scan the book, I ran across the picture of Black Aggie and thought she could pass for The High Priestess. That's when inspiration struck! I sat down with my old deck, the book, notepad, and pen...and started building the skeleton of the book. Here is a list of entries of the book that made their way into the story.

Weird: Locations and Legends

The Legend of Black Aggie The statue that used to be in the Druid Ridge Cemetery. I changed her name, of course, but that wasn't all. You see, the "real" Black Aggie is just a woman in a cloak hooded cloak. But...

The Other Aggie? ...there's another statue nearby. This one is also a dark, brooding female, but this is the one with the extended arm and the garland of ivy and flowers. This is the one with the "glowing red eyes," and all the mysterious, late night, supernatural goings-on for the frat hazings.

The Point of Failure As explained in the Locations page, this is a spot on the campus of the University of Maryland.

Alien Invasion In 1952, there were many reported (but unconfirmed) instances of alien spacecraft buzzing around the DC area. This became the foundation for my aliens, although they don't have ships and I relocated them in time.

The Hebron Light is an account from several witnesses of a glowing ball of light flitted in nearby woods and fields. This became my ghostlight that Matt described as reflected headlights, only to later discover they were an as-yet-unexplained power of the Goatman.

The Baltimore Hon's For those not in the know, this is an actual, um, type of person. Think garish dresses, feather boas, heeled sandals, bee-hive hairdos, and cats-eye glasses. Baltimore lays claim to the invention of this character. My version of Divine, in Empress-mode, encapsulates the look perfectly, and since she's immortal, it seems only natural that she'd be the instigator.

Midgetville Every town of any size has a similar legend. Maryland has three of them!

The Goatman The Maryland version of the goatman centers on the US Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville--where I put the graveyard in which he attacks Matt, Helana, and Vincent. There are a couple of versions of his origin. In one, he's a scientist that just goes loopy and runs into the forest. In another, more supernatural version, he's the result of an experiment gone wrong, that escapes into the woods.

Poe's Toaster Edgar Allen Poe is, indeed, buried in the Westminstr Presbytrian Church in Baltimore. For many years, there actually was a mysterious someone who would appear on or near Poe's birthday (Jan 19th). In the wee hours of the morning, this someone would walk to the gravesite and raise a glass in tribute to the writer. The person would then depart, leaving behind a half-bottle of cognac and a number of red roses. As I recall, 2009 was the last visitation. Some speculate that whoever was doing it decided to end it on Poe's 200th birthday.

Nipper You might not know his name, but you know the dog. Nipper is the name of the fox terrier in the painting His Master's Voice of a dog--with cocked head--listening to a gramaphone. The painting was later turned into a sculpture by the same folks who did many of the attractions in The Enchanted Forest! Combined with the little dog on the card The Fool...and you now know how Diogee evolved!

The Enchanted Forest Of course I knew of the Enchanted Forest long before we got the book. Yet it's detailed in there too!