Okay so the first thing I was able to fully clean up so it's readable (after literal weeks) are these ripped up scraps off the front page of an Atlanta newspaper from about forty years ago. You wouldn't believe the state I found it in, wrapped in saran wrap and caked with dry dirt. Just sitting in a cardboard box in the back of the safe. I went through a repeated process of gently scraping and removing as much of the caked on fragments as I could, very gently washing it with a damp paper towel, letting it dry, then repeat. Took about five rounds of that.

The paper itself has been ripped to shreds, and there's a portion I can't be sure is even a part of the same issue. But the articles themselves look like they discuss some sort of epidemic, but I've Googled this same incident and haven't come close to anything like what this paper describes. If this is a real newspaper, any mention of these incidents have been completely wiped from the internet.

Again, this camera is so horrible and I'm sorry, I know it's basically illegible so I'm gonna transcribe what it says under each photo.

Photo 1 + 2 :

"Deaths Plu(a?)g- Small Towns in 'Paranormal Epidemics:'

A Report by Ellen Harowitz

Atlanta Chronicle Reporter

A series of bizarre deaths has sent shockwaves through small towns across the nation, with reports emerging from states including New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, and our very own Georgia. Dubbed the "Small Town Paranormal Epidemics," these tragic incidents have left communities on edge and authorities baffled.

Residents have been left horrified by the gruesome scenes unfolding in their midst: bodies discovered with black fluid oozing from their orifices, accompanied by macabre mutations that defy all known laws of nature. Witnesses have described victims with extra limbs, grotesquely elongated and insect-like in appearance, sparking fear and speculation about the sinister forces at play.

Sheriff Mark Thompson of rural Fulton County, Georgia, expressed his deep concern over the perplexing nature of the cases. "We're facing a situation unlike anything we've encountered before," he remarked, his brow furrowed with worry. "Our priority is to protect our community, but we're grappling with forces beyond our comprehension."

Medical experts, called in to examine the bodies, have been left dumbfounded by the inexplicable phenomena. Dr. Lillian Collins, a leading pathologist at Emory University Hospital, admitted that the anomalies observed were unlike anything she had ever seen. "The level of biological distortion is unprecedented," she stated, her voice tinged with disbelief. "We're dealing with something truly extraordinary."

The rest of the right side is cut off halfway, but I can make out something about pointing fingers at government officials and closing paragraph that assures readers an investigation is being carried out.

Underneath, I think the next article begins, apparently discussing a 'Mysterious Disappearance'. How foreboding.

Photo 3:

Not much in terms of text. I'll transcribe it in a moment, but it looks to attach to the top-right of the last scrap and the two pieces form a box containing the crossword puzzle.

I'll try to transcribe these lines in the way they cut off from the tear:

"-ten in an

metaphors, the

-ature "-Nova Caro"

to local authorities. The

spoke of obscure prophecies and cryptic

-ngs of which we cannot disclose in this

article, with investigators left puzzled

and the community unnerved."

Photo 4:

The rest of this just seems to be the hints list for the crossword but to cover all my bases I'll still put what I can see of it here.

" Down:

1. The online world of computer networks and especially the Internet

2. To put into text : set down as concrete and unchanging

3. A small portable combined camera and video recording device

4. A dessert made with ladyfingers, mascarpone, and espresso

6. A usually large portable stereophonic radio and tape or CD player

7. A person who makes and serves coffee (such as espresso) to the public

8. Filled with energetic excitement and enthusiasm

9. A Mexican restaurant specializing especially in tacos and burritos

12. A toy that is covered in plush fabric and filled with soft material

13. The art of modelling or sculpting figures, esp. in clay or wax

14. A creature that thrives on chaos and is sustained by it

15. The spacing between letters or characters in a piece of text to be printed

17. A small device that plugs into a computer and serves as an adapter or as a security measure to enable ------ of certain software

19. --feline quadruped, often with-"

" Across:

5. An amusement park with facilities (such as pools and wetted slides) for aquatic recreation

10. A sequence of numbers and/or letters that is required for access to something

11. A computer program that allows the entry, calculation, and storage of data in columns and rows

16. A fan or performer of heavy metal

18. A huge serpent or snake; a python

20. An electronic communication system in which spoken messages are recorded or digitized and stored for later playback by the intended recipient "

As of right now, I'm still mulling over the possibilities of what the text of the second scrap means, but the first portion lines up almost exactly with the descriptions my parents would give me of these things when they started teaching me about the Arcana. It was like each victim had been torn open from the inside out, their organs reduced to ink black gore. Likely one of the most repulsive sights you could lay eyes on, for sure.

According to my father, a colleague of his called Quincy Archer (who I'll discuss later when I go through his file) observed a sort of.. 'resistance hierarchy' when it came to the victims. It had to do with those gross symptoms that caused people to hack up that black substance, and something about the "emotional vitality" of each of the infected... I hope I find something on it because he called it some sort of theory and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called..

If anyone has any theories, comments or anything to add feel free to comment below, I'll be reading them and I'm working on analyzing more stuff for future posts.

Also, thanks for being here and reading and keeping me sane. Feels nice to have a community.

-Izzy