Entry #4: Locations Of Interest

Okay, so below I've compiled a list of spots around Burdale (past and present) that I think are notable and need to be investigated further.

• Burdale Bar is located on the corner of Cliffside Drive and Birdview Street. It has been a staple of Burdale since before the town's incorporation. Outsiders seem to be drawn there. Pretty sure the barkeep has been the same guy for over a hundred years...

• The Spiral Staircase was a shop of oddities and curiosities owned by Nelson Myers, a descendant of Arthur and Emma Myers. According to the Myers family's story, Nelson eventually came into possession of the mysterious cog-like artifact that Emma supposedly found at the base of Conjure Mountain after the 1864 Conjure Quake Event. Nelson Myers died in 1964 in a fire that destroyed The Spiral Staircase. His young son was never found in the wreckage and was presumed dead. The Burdale Historical Association museum was built on the site in 1967 and has been in operation ever since. From what I've gathered, the artifact survived the fire and is now locked away in a storage vault inside the museum. I have an inside source who works there. He's never seen it.

• Hale Forest Park - Many of Burdale's mysteries are connected to the forest, including The Wildwood Man and The Light Beam Incident.

• Bridwell Park - Named after Burdale’s first mayor, Oliver Bridwell, the park spans six acres and is located in central Burdale. Its amenities include a playground, a gazebo, a baseball field, picnic tables, a swimming pool, and an outdoor basketball court.

• Spellbind Park & Senior Center is the third park in Burdale. Located at the base of Conjure Mountain, to the south of Burdale. Spellbind Park is falling apart, despite what the town website suggests. The park was built mere yards away from the collapsed mine entrance. Next to the defunct entrance is a memorial statue that includes the names of each of the miners who perished - one name has been scratched out, but my research points to the name being Peter "Pete" Baker. I believe he was the husband of The Witch Lady.

• Conjure Mountain Coal Mine - The collapse was such that it was too dangerous to attempt to recover the bodies, so they’ve remained in the mine for the last 150 years. I want to know why, so I'm planning on getting a few like-minded dudes together to try to excavate what we can from the site. I'll keep you posted on that.

• Crown Rock - Located to the north of Burdale. The remnants of an early European stone castle sit on a lower peak, despite there being no logical reason for an ancient European-style castle to exist there in the first place. If my theory about places or objects somehow crossing between realities is right, this could be one of the biggest pieces of evidence we have. The high peak of the mountain is home to The Crown Tree. There are also remnants of small tribe settlements built into the walls of the mountain, but they have long been abandoned. Additionally, ancient cave drawings and glyphs of The Wildwood Man, as well as what appear to be strange objects in the sky, have been found at different elevations around the mountain. I have seen these glyphs with my own eyes, and will post photos.

• Conjure Mountain stands tall with a 3025 ft elevation. Located to the south of Burdale. A hiking trail leads up to a spot below the mountain’s peak, Witch’s Landing. The peak itself has been mostly inaccessible since The Conjure Quake Event.

• Witch’s Landing is the flattened peak of Conjure Mountain. It is the site of The Conjure Quake Event.

• Conjure Coal Mine is the collapsed coal mine beneath Conjure Mountain where 23 miners lost their lives.

• Specter Ridge, according to The Burdale Historical Association, "stands with its highest elevation point at a staggering 4828 ft." There are various radio towers located along the ridge, some of which have functions that are known, and some which are a mystery (but I have my theories). At the southern end of the ridge is the Star Emblem Facility.

• The Star Emblem Facility (as I call it), though uncovered documents indicate the official name of this building is The FIRM, which apparently stands for Facility for Immortality Research and Multidimensionality. It is a mysterious building on the southern edge of Specter Ridge. I've hiked to this facility multiple times - there are cameras hidden all over the place, not to mention other kinds of surveillance instruments on high alert up there. And then there's the barbed-wire fence surrounding the building with signs all over that say "WARNING: Highly Restricted Area". What exactly they're doing in there, I don't know. But considering construction on the facility began almost immediately after The Conjure Quake Event, I think it's safe to say the two are connected. The "Multidimensionality" part of the name sure as hell doesn't hurt my theory either. My sources tell me they're researching the quantum immortality theory, though I haven't quite figured out how that connects to the CQE or whatever they found on Conjure Mountain.

  On the door of the structure is an interesting looking eight-pointed star shape. What does it represent? I have a theory. Also, The Drone. Once a month, on the same day, at the same time, this hum comes from that direction on Specter Ridge. Some call it The Drone, others call it The Hum. The kids call it The Clockwork because you can practically set your watch to it. Not everyone can hear it. Weird.

  But I'll tell you who definitely can - all the cats around town. Oh yes, Burdale's fat and glossy strays line the fences, the rooftops, with their eyes shining like tiny lanterns. They purr together which creates a second hum on top of the first. Are they tuning in with the hum? Or are they trying to drown it out?

  And then there's Static Hour, as we like to call it. Fifteen minutes to an hour before The Drone, radios spit out fuckin nursery rhymes (creepy af), or televisions cough up old songs but in reverse. It's like it's not even static, but almost like it's some kind of language or scrambled code that we haven't cracked yet.

• Mt. West is Burdale's westernmost mountain. The hills of this mountain house Burdale's public library, the Bridwell family cemetery, and Skinn/Walker Drive-In, among other notable locations. The Bridwells, the Skinns, and the Walkers are three families that I believe have big roles in this massive cover up.

• Arboreal Art Gallery is the local art gallery, located on Cliffside Drive. The gallery is privately owned by Buddy Pal, a local artist who's artistic muse is the mysterious Wildwood Man. What's with his obsession? I don't know, but he's a very interesting man with some interesting knowledge on the beast we call The Wildwood Man.

• The Somewhere Motel is located on Cliffside Drive, across the street and down a bit from The Burdale Bar. Nothing special, but it's got a continental breakfast. According to the front desk guy Wallet, The Somewhere Motel has a sister establishment some place in New Mexico called The Elsewhere Hotel, and I'm pretty sure that's not the only connection that place has to Burdale - I have a theory, but I'm still working it out. Anyway, quite a few of our out-of-towners stay here at The Somewhere Motel, many of whom have disappeared.

• The Burdale Historical Association (est. 1967) is a museum showcasing Burdale’s history, including thorough exhibits on The Conjure Quake Event and The Light Beam Incident. I work here. Supposedly, the cog-like artifact connected to the Myers family and the CQE is locked away in a storage vault somewhere inside the museum. I've never seen it, and as far as I know it's never been put on public display.

• The Rabbit Hole is an underground music venue/cafe that hosts local bands and other performers. There is some very interesting information dating back quite a few decades that can be found written on these walls - some of which, I've found particularly helpful.

• Spectral Spectacles is the local amusement park. Located just northeast of Burdale, within The Phantom Valley. It's owned by the family of our current mayor Samuel Tripp Loch. It can't be a coincidence that the town of Swansong in the UK has a counterpart to Spectral Spectacles called Wendego Wonderpark. There are too many parallels between these towns.

• The Bizarre Bazar is a mall across from the base of Mt. West, next to The Skinn/Walker Cineplex on Bridwell Ln. Its storefronts include various retail shops, a Chalupacabra fast food restaurant, the Appalachia Creamery ice cream parlor, and a Cosmic Burger. The property is owned by the family of Oliver Bridwell.

• Skinn/Walker Cineplex & Drive-In is the local movie theater located on Bridwell Ln. The facility features six indoor theatres, as well as a large screen across the street at the base of Mt. West. This screen is used for drive-in screenings. (Now showing: Pictures On Silence - a film adaptation of a musical about a man going through the five stages of grief after his wife and son are killed in a car accident.)

  Everything involving the Bridwell family is suspicious. They've got roots everywhere, and the roots go too deep. Too much power and influence.

• The Arcanum of Christ Church is the old church on the west edge of town. The original leader was some dude named Greaves and he believed the Quake was some sort of message or reckoning from God. Beautiful church. Weird religion. The candle vault? Totally ridiculous. Their symbol was a letter A in a circle with a small cross made in the middle. The A is supposed to stand for Arcanum, but then also Ascension, but then it's also supposed to look like an arrow pointing up (again with the ascension thing). It's all dumb. Where it gets weird though is the symbol looks a lot like a symbol used by a serial killer in New Mexico over thirty years ago. A lot of the notes and letters he wrote to the police had religious implications. He supposedly went on the run immediately after killing his last victim and he's never been heard from since. They called him The Architect. Oh, and where was The Architect living while he was committing his murders? A little place called The Elsewhere Hotel. Yeah dude. I have a big theory about The Architect that I'll share in a later post, but until then I'll just say that I don't think it's a coincidence that these symbols greatly resemble each other.