As moonlight cast haunting shadows upon the frayed edges of the journal, I could almost envision the young author, their sanity slowly unraveling, as they chronicled the sinister events that unfolded, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare in a dance of malevolent intrigue. The very act of transcribing their experiences onto paper appeared to invoke an ancient evil, one that lingered between the lines, eager to claw its way into our realm once more…
An eleventh entry awaits… and a special one indeed. Join us for the first blog in a series of expose materials written by the author.
THE RUNAWAY
A Stray Souls Story
Journal Entry #11 - ``Behind Closed Doors``
Originally posted on 7/26/13
A Concise Account of The Inner Circle:
Back in the early 20th century, the Society of Unified Silence popped up right in the American heartland. They were a mysterious bunch, not following the mainstream Christian teachings. See, they had this peculiar belief that God was both the Creator and the Destroyer, not just some merciful being.
As time rolled on, a split happened within the Society, leading to the Inner Circle’s formation. Around the mid-1920s, this splinter group got fixated on the darker side of their faith, all about praising the destructive nature of God. They saw suffering and chaos as God’s purposeful acts, a way to teach humanity some profound lesson.
Only the most dedicated members of the Inner Circle knew about an ancient prophecy that was the bedrock of their beliefs. Fueled by their faith and a desire to fulfill God’s plan, they decided to lay low. They ended up in the hidden corners of central Michigan, creating the town of Aspen Falls, where they could practice their beliefs in peace.
They figured that their beliefs wouldn’t fly with the mainstream religions of their time, so they played it smart. They made Aspen Falls look like your typical farming community to avoid suspicion. This act allowed them to grow and gain control over the town without anyone knowing what was up.
Within the Inner Circle, they believed they were paving the way for a “Savior.” But here’s the kicker – mainstream religion folks would see this “Savior” as the Destroyer. According to the sect’s more extreme texts, this special kid needed a very particular bloodline. That lineage was supposedly the only one that could contain the will of God the Destroyer, aka “Darkness.” Apparently, only a specific young man, who reached 18 and had a life filled with hardship, could do this job and reshape the world.
One of Aspen Falls’ five founding families was the chosen bloodline, and their descendants always held influential positions in the community. These family members controlled important town matters and spiritual affairs.
Here’s where it gets wild: the Inner Circle came up with a plan to make multiple potential vessels. Their methods were brutal, no doubt, but oddly organized. The trauma had a pattern, and if you looked closely, you could see it plain as day…
That’s all for today! Thanks for joining us for an inside peek at Stray Souls!
As always, if you have any content to share or questions for the team, please feel free to reach out. You can stay in touch with me and the rest of the Versus Evil team by joining our Discord and following us on our various social media channels.
~ VS | Renee
Stray Souls Community Manager