Death is the Only Cure

Permanently Closed - In the town of Crow Hollow, the changing of the seasons leaves its townspeople on edge. As summer turns to fall, the cool, damp air brings the return of a malevolent force. Each year the Headless Horseman rides and each year something beckons him to begin his hunt. Crow Hollow’s wet marshlands and sodden forest beds also give rise to another force of nature terrorizing this once sleepy town. The Crow’s Claw mushroom thrives in the damp and decay, spreading uncontrollably when fed by any decomposition. Anyone unlucky enough to cross its path when it begins to spore quickly loses control of their nervous system, losing their mind and eroding into something far from human, stretching and calcifying its host with an almost crow-like appearance. This organism is both an intelligent and invasive species that can only survive and become active when the conditions are right. Some say their chemical compounds can both kill and wake the dead. Once the Crow’s Claw colony has peaked, there is little that can be done to stop the spread. It is this very chemical that beckons the horseman each year, drawing him closer to his tomb as he follows their distinct scent of rot through the forest’s fog. Each autumn the Horseman rides, trapped for centuries between our world and the spectral plane. He relentlessly hunts for his physical body, destroying anything and anyone who crosses his path. Legend has it that the Horseman does not ride alone. Afflicted by the mushroom, these disfigured henchmen are driven to collect more mushrooms and deposit them at the colony’s center; the Horseman’s Tomb. A systematic and symbiotic relationship between this world and the next. The townspeople have lived in fear of the Horseman's spirit reaching his body for generations, birthing the lore that should his spirit ever reach his tomb, he will stop at nothing to find a head to replace his own. The Headless Horseman of soul and body combined is the bringer of the unimaginable chaos and destruction of hell on earth. Residents have dedicated their lives to diverting him from this path and controlling these colonies however they could without becoming infected themselves. Despite extensive research and self preservation, it appears that death is the only cure. At the heart of each year’s spread, controlling the spread has become the responsibility of the cemetery’s caretaker. Avoiding infection himself, his fascination with the power of the Crow's Claw mushroom has driven him to uncover new means of controlling the colony. Control the colony, you control the Horseman. Control the Horseman and you control the wrath of hell itself. The caretaker has been able to farm small colonies year-round using corpses in various stages of decay. Whether the motive be for the greater good or an abuse of power, the colonies must stay fed and controlled. The people of Crow Hollow are determined to prevent the Horseman from reaching his body by any means necessary. If that means sacrificing a stranger for their own survival, they will. Fear drives humans to the brink of sanity and morality, blurring the lines of right and wrong. What would you do for power beyond your imagination? What would you do to survive?