Kingsport 1844: Old Gibbet/Fishermen’s Chapel

39) The Old Gibbet/The Fishermen’s Chapel
Hangman’s Road, West Kingsport. Est. 1692/1644

A) Hangman’s Trail
One mile west of Kingsport, Clay’s Lane sprouts a southern pathway known as Hangman’s Trail. Following this path deeper into the woods leads to a marshy glade marked by a rotting wooden platform surrounded by May-apples, sundews, and mandrakes. Referred to by locals as the Old Gibbet, this is where Price Byram and Kingsport’s Selectmen hanged the thirteen “witches” of the Kingsport Cult in 1692. (The remains of the gibbet itself were long ago dismantled by curiosity seekers and souvenir collectors.) Among the condemned unfortunates were three souls associated with Kingsport’s founding—Denys de Quetivel, Malachi Hogg’s daughter Lobelia Tuttle, and Alcide de Talebot’s grandson Geoffrey Talbot. Kingsport legend contends the bodies were left hanging for days, guarded by watchmen who mysteriously vanished one night along with the corpses. The truth is more prosaic. Once the bodies started to decay, the town decided to bury them near the Fishermen’s Chapel. (Well…Denys de Quetivel burst into vermin the moment he dropped, but you get the picture. See “Kingsport History” for details.)

Some superstitious Kingsporters whisper that on certain windy nights, the creaking of the vanished gibbet can be heard as far away as the Hollow. In spite of—or more likely, because of—its haunted reputation, Hangman’s Trail is a favorite location for romantic assignations, illicit trysts, and midnight strolls.

B) The Witch Tree
At the southern end of the glade is a twisted oak locals call the Witch Tree. (Of course they do.) Its trunk is inscribed with the name of the thirteen hanged victims: Bernadette Cawches, Mary Curwithin, Exekiel Diamond, Denys de Quetivel, Mammy Redd, Peggy Scot, Adèle St. Pierre, Geoffrey Talbot, James Tuttle, Lobelia Tuttle, Charlotte Valdelorge, Silence Warriner, and Lucy Wenepoykin. Kingsport superstition claims the tree has been burned or chopped down multiple times, but always grows back with the names intact. Despite this pervasive belief, no Kingsporter has harmed the tree in decades.

C) The Fishermen’s Chapel
A path by the Witch Tree leads to Nanepashemet Creek, past which is a hidden vale, the location of the Covenant’s first house of worship. Known as the Fishermen’s Chapel, the small wooden church was built in 1644 by Denys de Quetivel and Malachi Hogg, and dedicated to the Bons pêcheurs. After the witches were hanged, the good citizens of Kingsport attempted to burn the church, but a sudden rainstorm doused their righteous flames. Undaunted, they attempted to pull down its walls, but their oxen were stricken with ague. After the first musket aimed at the church misfired, the anxious mob decided to salt the earth and abolish the location from their collective memory. Two hundred years later, the church is remarkably preserved. Although the roof has partially collapsed and the wood is rotting, the walls are still standing, and the plank floor is barely overgrown.

Modern Usage
The Fishermen’s Chapel remains a scared site to the Covenant and is occasionally still used for initiation rituals. Unfortunately for the Cult, it’s also become something of an underground Mecca for freaks, dilettantes, hedge-witches, spiritualists, and occult wannabes from all across the Miskatonic Valley! A quick search through the chapel finds ample evidence of these unwelcome visitations, including candle-stubs, a moldy Tarot card, a rusting black-handled knife, and an empty bottle of Hadrian Quire’s Nausicaä tonic. However, a Spot Hidden roll finds something more interesting trapped between floorboards, recently exposed by the warping of the aging planks.

The Byakhee Whistle
An ornate ship’s whistle with glyphs etched into the corroded brass, this whistle was used by early cultists to summon Byakhees. The whistle is clogged with mud, but may be rinsed clean in the creek. If blown, the whistle produces an off-key shriek; a warbling, atonal trill that triggers a Sanity roll for a 0/1 loss and sends nearby animals into a frenzy. The whistle has been irreparably damaged, and is only good for annoying dogs. A Kingsport Cult roll recalls stories of witches using whistles to summon familiars; but only a Fourth Degree Initiate knows the truth. If the whistle is shown to anyone connected to the Covenant, it raises an immediate red flag. See “Cult Pushback” for details. If shown to Lady Jezebel, she instructs the finder to destroy it immediately and never speak of it again.

D) The Graves
A stones’ throw from the chapel is a small graveyard surrounded by a rusting iron fence. It holds thirteen graves, huddled together as if for warmth. Each grave is marked by a wooden branch thrust into the ground, like thirteen claws reaching from the silent earth. The base of each marker is surrounded by miniature stone cairns, woven stick figures, moldering cloth poppets, colorful glass bottles, and coins pierced by nails. No matter how many times the good Puritans of Kingsport remove these memorials, new offerings spring up. While most are created spontaneously by mischievous kids and skylarking lovers, occasionally one finds fresh flowers, or a written prayer dedicated to Lobelia Tuttle or Old Mother Cawches. On the centennial of the hanging, thirteen animal skulls were discovered topping the graves, each etched with a mystic symbol. (This tribute mystified the Covenant just as much as anyone else in Kingsport!)

E) Programmed Events
If player characters visit the Old Gibbet, the Keeper is free to throw in chance encounters with various NPCs. Both Lucretia Brown (Encounter 12) and Hadrian Quire (Encounter 17) visit Hangman’s Trail to gather herbs. During the day, Lulu (Encounter 6) sometimes comes to the chapel to read Tarot cards. At night, Mary Brody (Encounter 2) may find herself sleepwalking to the graves, her unstaring eyes full of dreams. Aside from such chance encounters, three Programmed Event are slated to occur along Nanepashemet Creek:

October 27-29: Rachel Ward’s Mandragora, Part 1
On Monday, September 30, Rachel Ward took a rooster to the Old Gibbet and tied the bird to a partially-excavated mandrake root. Plugging her ears with wax, she released the enraged chanticleer and allowed its struggles to pull free the root. As she expected, the rooster died. Following Jezebel’s instructions, she trimmed the root and buried it in the grave believed to belong to Lobelia Tuttle. Every night thereafter, Rachel has watered the root with “cow’s milk in which three bats have been drowned.” During the three days remaining to the ritual, Rachel Ward must find the time to walk to the Fishermen’s Chapel and water her mandrake. She keeps the bottle of “bat milk” buried under the cool waters of Nanepashemet Creek, although it’s gone sour and chunky. The chore takes ninety minutes. If even one day is skipped, the ritual will fail. Because she has Jezebel’s permission, this task shouldn’t be unduly onerous.

Next Steps in the Mandragora Ritual
Before Rachel departs Kingsport, two more steps in the Mandragora ritual must be completed. First, she must retrieve the root and bake it with verbena, which may only be done at midnight on October 30. See “Rachel Ward’s Mandragora, Part 2” below. Once the root has been baked, she must wrap the Mandragora in a “dead man’s winding-sheet pulled from the grave between sunset and sunrise.” Because Rachel’s holiday from the Starry Busk starts the day of October 29, she only has two days to secure this critical component. Graverobbing is no easy task, but there are two possibilities—either contact Bishop Butcher of the Powderhouse Ghouls, or grab a shovel and do it herself! Contacting Butcher triggers “Rachel Ward’s Grave Errand, Part 1” under Encounter 5, “The Diving Bell.” Going it alone skips Part 1 and Part 2, directly triggering “Rachel Ward’s Grave Errand, Part 3” under Encounter 40, “Hog Island.”

October 30, 11:00 pm–1:30 am: Rachel Ward’s Mandragora, Part 2
At midnight on October 30, Rachel must uncover the mandrake root and dry it in an oven heated with branches of verbena. If Rachel desires, she may bring Fat Lenny for protection. Rachel should return to the Starry Busk by 1:00 am. Lady Jezebel has prepared the brothel’s oven herself. It takes a half-hour for the root to dry, which gives Rachel just enough time to meet Bishop Butcher at Maul Street Pier. (See “Rachel’s Grave Errand, Part 2” under Encounter 40 if appropriate.)

October 31, Noon: Leland Morgan’s Opium War, Part 3
One possible outcome of “Leland Morgan’s Opium War” requires Morgan to conclude his opium transaction at the Old Gibbet. Morgan finds Hurricane Jane Mersey waiting at the rotting platform. With little fanfare, Jane exchanges one pound of opium gum for $20. Of course, she is surreptitiously guarded by Alabama Dan, who’s concealed by the Witch Tree with his Kentucky rifle. If the transaction goes smoothly, Jane smiles—“A pleasure doing business, luv. No let’s forget we know each other, yeah?”

White Leviathan > Chapter 1—Kingsport 1844
[Back to Encounter 38, Valentine & Howell Gun Shop | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 40, Hog Island]

Author: A. Buell Ruch (The Old Gibbet is based on the work of Kevin A. Ross)
Last Modified: 12 December 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]