Rumour 1: (March-April, 1983, France & Switzerland) Several times over the last six months, a group of monks from an order that resides in Castle von Wattenwyl, Switzerland was spotted on the Camino de Santiago, a network of trails used for pilgrimages. The monks were carrying something on a kind of palanquin. The tourists who saw the monks couldn't see who or what was inside the palanquin. These monks were spotted several times on a route that took them through the Alps and then through France to Dieppe.
Players with connections in the European occult community might have heard these rumours. Some players could begin the game having investigated further.
Rumour 2: (April, 1983, Calais, France) La Vierge, a ship docked in Calais had to take on a new crew after several sailors refused to return to the ship. The sailors described how, when a crate was loaded on La Vierge one evening, a flood of squealing rats poured out of every hole. Taking this as a bad sign, the men quit the ship, barely arguing about lost pay.
Players with connections in the European occult community might have heard these rumours. One player could begin the game having investigated further.
Rumour 3: (Spring and Summer, 1983, New England) Those sensitive to auras of evil and portents of doom are warning of something moving in the spirit world. Whispers of "a doom that reaches across the Atlantic" and "skies black with wings" are becoming more frequent and often centre on New England.
A character with an ear for whispers among the living or the dead might begin the game having investigated further.
Rumour 4: (July, 1983, New England) Years ago, Tituba Noyes, the matriarch of a Boston family of witches offered a reward for the heart of a man known locally as 'The Coin.' The reputed thief fled Boston and wasn't seen again until a couple days ago. When word spread that 'The Coin' was seen at a Bed & Breakfast along Maine's Coastal Route 1, the matriarch let it be known far and wide that the bounty stands.
A character that might work as a bounty hunter for witches--or at least might know the kind of person who would--could have heard this rumour and investigated further.
Rumour 5: (August 10th, 1983, Farmington, Maine) The newspaper report tries to make the theft of a hearse sound funny, but does so cautiously. It's hard to see how anyone could have pulled this off though. A hearse, as part of a funeral procession, goes under a bridge. The funeral procession comes out the other side of the bridge, without the hearse. Later that day, the deceased--still in his coffin and still very much dead--is found in line outside the Splash and Dash Amusement Park. No one saw the coffin arrive in the line-up. Some thefts are audacious and some are bizarre, but when they're both, that calls for some attention.
A character interested in crimes of an occult nature may have come across this information and investigated further.
Rumour 6: (August 21st, 1983, Okham, Maine) One of most beautiful ships built in the Okham Shipyards has returned to the town in which it was built. The crew say the voyage was the calmest they've ever experienced. When one crew member mentions how it's odd to have crossed the Atlantic with an almost empty cargo hold, another shushes him and reminds him he was well paid.
A character local to Okham might have heard these rumours.
