The following entry, Pott's notes on the subject, and the related 'Curious Case', changes the Professor's outlook on the supernatural and the mood of his writings. Since this is a experience of significance, I thought it best to call in a specialist on this type of entity among the Ghostbusters.
It is my pleasure to introduce one of my oldest friends; David Nelson, former U.S. Marine and Ghostbuster since 1989. Nelson has worked at the Home Office in New York City and is considered the absolute backbone of 'Team 2'.
David, take it away...
"Thanks Adam. Hey there, yeah, so this entry revolves around Revenants. They're, well they're bad news. As Prof. Pott points out, the name itself comes from French words for 'Returning' or 'To Come Back', but I've come to connect it with 'Revenge'. That's not scientific or anything, it's just been my experience.
In fact, my very first encounter with the paranormal was with a Revenant. I'll talk more about that after Pott's part but man, I can totally see why he felt the way he did after he met one.
"I have received an anonymous tip via letter that it would be of interest to me to contact the Houston Zoo of all places. I am unsure of what to expect. If its an Animal Ghost or Native Spirit in Animal Form that would be interesting. Most of the sightings and claims I have responded to regarding those sorts of hauntings have been inconclusive at best and often sadly lackluster. I hope this will be something more intriguing."
Sebastian Pott, June 1950
"After a telephone conversation with one Mr. Garrett Moore, a Zoo Administrator, I am stunned to discover that they do indeed have a reoccurring ghost of some kind and that it isn't animal related.
In 1941, the Zoo's first Zookeeper, an interesting and colorful fellow by the name of Hans Nagel, was shot six times by a Hermann Park Police Officer over a dispute between the two. In some versions of the story, Nagel was spying on teenagers in a parked car in the Zoo's parking lot and there was an argument between the Nagel and Officer Warren over who had jurisdiction in policing the area. Their quarrel turned deadly when Nagel reached for his sidearm and Officer Warren drew his in response and killed the Zookeeper. The officer was aquitted by a grand jury.*
The paranormal entity in question is believed to be the spirit of Hans Nagel. We shall see."
Sebastian Pott, June 1950
Planned map of the Houston Zoo's layout published in the Houston Chronicle,
January 7th, 1925
Curious Case #27: The Rage of the Revenant Wronged.
"Shortly after arriving on site at the Houston Zoo, I met and spoke with Garrett Moore again, this time at length over a surprising good cup of coffee. He confirmed much of the same information I'd found in my research, with a few minor differences to the story naturally. He also had knowledge about other tales with which I was unfamiliar.
While most of the strange and unexplained occurances at the Zoo are attributed to the ghost of it's former and first director, other employee experiences have not matched the sort typically attributed to the late Zookeeper. Nagel's ghost always appears close to or within the Zoo's Commissary Building, which stands on the site of the man's demise. The reported interactions with the haunting include employees hearing disembodied voices, feeling phantom touches, seeing fleeting apparitions, and objects, some quite heavy, found to have been moved without anyone's knowledge or notice.
The recent manifestation appears near the new Primate House, the 'Monkey Mansion' opened only recently. Claims describe a Human or Human-like figure with an odd gait who moves quite quickly despite that. Strange noises and loud 'gurgling' have been heard. Lastly, one employee who quit soon after his encounter, said a shadowy figure threw bags of fruit and vegetables at him one evening. Nagel's spirit tends to appear in the early morning hours.
My first thought was, 'a primate escaped'. A chimpanzee or some such creature is loose and that's all this is to this. I say 'all' as if that isn't a terrifying situation in its own right. At this point in my exploration of the supernatural, I'm far more frightened by the probability of running afoul of an errant ape then I am some mischievous vapor.
Postcard Image of the Houston Zoo Entrance from 1950
I brought up this potential possibility to Mr. Moore but he insisted that could not be the case. Aside from all the Zoo's primates being accounted for, footprints in crushed fruit and juice was found exactly where the ex-worker said his assailant had launched his attack from. "Footprints?", I asked. "May I see them?" I was informed that it was all cleaned up but photos were taken by another staff member, a young woman named Jane Ballard.
I met with Miss Ballard an hour or so later and she was just a lovely young lady, very helpful, a skilled photographer, and just very pleasant to speak with. She showed me her photos and indeed those were the shoe prints of a Human, one likely wearing sandles of some sort. I explained what I would be doing to confirm this entities existance (such as it is) and identify the nature of this being. I also showed her how I obtained voice and sound recordings and took photographs of my own using my 'Spirit Camera'. She was extremely attentive and asked to tag along. I cleared it with Moore and Jane became my assistant for the evening.
Jane Ballard, Zookeeper and Amateur Photographer
Houston, Texas 1950
After the end of day, when the Zoo was closed for the evening, Jane completed her responsibilities and met me near the Monkey Mansion where I had placed my various equipment for detecting ghosts, if that was what it was. Ballard suggested she sit on the opposite side of the Primate House, directly across from where I would be situated, with her own camera at the ready. I agreed but made it clear that I'd prefer she stay visible. I all but insisted she not be completely in the shadows. She agreed but it was clear on her face that hiding in a dark spot had definitely been her plan.
The night was warm as I recall. Much warmer than was expecting or accustomed to. The evening was far from quiet. A constant background sound, a quiet roar of buzzing, chirping, and gurgling water was like roiling waves crashing on a distant shore in the otherwise still Summer night in Texas. It is for this reason, perhaps, that I didn't notice the large, dark figure moving comparatively silently through the shadows behind the Primate House. He, it, suddenly ran forward with remarkable speed, lifted me clear off my feet and tossed me through the air towards Jane. Crouched and adjusting her camera at the time, Miss Ballard was able to easily duck and move out of the way. I went flying into the bushed behind her, accutely aware that had most likely dislocated my elbow and possibly bruised a rib.
Jane aimed her camera up, tightened the bulb she had prepared, and flashed the attacker with a brillant burst of light. The figure recoiled from the flash, covering its eyes, and let out a growling scream. What I saw as my own eyes adjusted and I tried to focus past the pain was nothing short of astonishing and for the first time in a long time, I was frozen in fear, unable to act."
This entry continues with Part II...
AD
Barking Alien
David Nelson is the Player Character of my dear friend David Concepcion, first created for our 1986-1989 Ghostbusters TRPG campaign, 'The Home Office'.
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