Jason Shook
This will have you seeing things out of the corner of your eye that may or may not be there. An eerie and unsettling soundscape, delivered best while listened to in the dark.
Obsidian Relic presents a southern gothic horror soundscape.
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In 1948, twelve families who were tired of the secular evils of society joined together and formed a new religious sect. Led by their pastor, Elias Whitby, these families absconded from secular society and formed a new denomination in a wooded valley in Southwestern Appalachia. They called their town Wellspring, and they called themselves the Acolytes of the Sacred Wellspring. They thrived in their private community, and within a decade, withdrew completely from secular society.
In 1974, strange natural and unnatural phenomena occurred in the southwestern Appalachians - springs turned bitter, animals grew sick, or died mysteriously, and several reports of members of the Wellspring Acolytes bringing their children to local doctors and the hospital were recorded, these latter events coincided with the lunar eclipse, in November 1974.
In 1975 People began disappearing, and local rumor and superstition held Wellspring at fault, although none dared to venture into the forested valley to confront the community. These disappearances were some of several other disturbing events in the valley area, especially when parents from Wellspring took their children to doctors in other towns, claiming demonic possession.
Records are sparse - if any - and those available are usually discarded tatters of newspaper clippings or old cassette tapes - case logs and medical journals. There are, however, rumors and gossip aplenty in the surrounding communities.
In 1980, journalist Ron Goven ventured into Wellspring Valley to investigate the Acolytes of the Sacred Wellspring and their community...
He was never seen again.
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On a dreary morning In 1980, under a pall of thunderous clouds, after three new disappearances of local children, and one additional local reporter, the Oconee Sheriff Department entered the Wellspring Commune - the chapel bell seemingly announcing their arrival - only to find it desolate and bereft. Through the unnatural valley mist, the commune nestled within the clearing of the forest, its houses and buildings in severe states of disrepair; decades of moisture and decay rotting the fragile wood and timber into slouching skeletal husks, hand-fashioned and rough-hewn crucifixes adorned every home and stabbed into the earth in reckless fashion along paths. In some places, the crosses were inverted, with what appeared to be blood splashed upon them.
The people of Wellspring appeared to have abandoned their homes immediately, taking no personal possessions. Clothing and other debris lay untended, seemingly left in place as if the residents vanished. Through the cloying mist, the chapel stood on the largest hill, overlooking the community from behind the guardian crucifixes that rose in front of its handmade woodworked frame. The large wooden crucifix adorning the steeple had fallen to an inverted position in front of the spire, and once more it appeared as if blood had been splashed upon it, in an upward thrust from the ground, but the distance and splatter pattern would make such an action by a human difficult.
Inside the chapel, thirteen decayed adult corpses were discovered - twelve in the center of the sanctuary, the thirteenth - and most likely Pastor Elias Whitby - sitting in the ornate wooden pastor’s seat on the pulpit, overlooking the macabre scene. There was no immediate clue as to what caused their deaths; no way to determine whether the deaths were suicide or something else.
The basement of the chapel is where more unknown horrors were discovered. Deputy Thomas Mills described it as “the most hellish thing I’ve ever seen”, and the other officers at the scene refuse to comment. A general report is as follows:
“The basement and undercroft of the chapel had been mined and expanded into a network of rooms and tunnels that ran beneath the commune. The rooms were sparse, many with only a single bed draped with chains and restraints, and a chamber pot or bucket on the floors. The walls were adorned with crucifixes, and upon each bed lay the decayed corpses - mostly children, although some were adults. Each body had a small cloth draped over their faces, upon which had been sewn various sigils of unknown meaning, or bible verses.”
Despite the corpses discovered in the chapel, the majority of the adults in Wellspring were unaccounted for, and no reasons for their disappearance nor whereabouts have been found. Wellspring Valley was cordoned off from public entry and the county eventually rezoned the area declaring it a nature preservation.
The incidents of Wellspring Valley currently remain an open investigation with the local authorities.
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Commune is a narrative soundscape weaving field recordings and sound design to create an immersive aural atmosphere of dread and foreboding with a backdrop of southern gothic horror.
credits
released October 6, 2023
Written and Produced by: Dan Edenfield
Cover Art by: Valentin Baguirov
First Track sounds pretty uninspired at first,but dont let this fool you.
Its the Epic Introduction to a really great Sword and Sorcery Themed Dungeon Synth Album with heavy 80's Synth vibes.
Love it bechthold
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