Hermetic Journals

by stephen.lumley Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:11 am

Journal 25

Entry 1 June 27 Friday 1928

Another lost day in Boston. No lead on any Latvian immigrants in the area. Painfully annoying. I know the answer is somewhere here. I would almost pay for a lead. Spent the night with Oliver and Jeremy in a speak easy in a laneway, quite apart from the ongoing depression in Boston. Very amicable fellows and I am sure no other interesting personalities will pass my way in this country. Jeremy casually announced while he is working on a fraud case at the moment. He has come across a gentleman’s club across the river in Cambridge. Hermetic order of the Silver Twilight. Interesting name Hermetic – pertaining to being airtight or sealed or contained. Twilight that lost time between light and Dark.

Charming group though he claims (probably a result of his learnt bedside manner) , some skills are never lost. Persons of high intelligence, well spoken of but apparently many more employees than needed in the group.

Oliver thought it would be quite delightful if we had a look at this rather quizzical group. Ended up joining the club thanks to Oliver. I dare say I couldn’t afford it on my own. Met a man John Scott. rather odd appearance, Long hair, blonde . 5’11” around 1-50-165 lbs. Perfectly groomed. Suit and tie, shoes, all immaculate. Very ashen complexion, some pockmarks. He talked about the benefits of memberships such as meetings and banquets talks on science, philosophy religion. Non members are confined to the lower level ( ground floor.). Rather lucky really this floor represents the most avenues for escape. None to speak of elsewhere.

Met a friend of Oliver’s. George Bernhauer. A German Engineer. I detected a note of Belgian in his accent. Prefers schnapps when drinking socially but Cognac with friends? Interesting swap of drinks.

A butler rang a small dinner plate size gong to summon the others to dinner, We were left to drink and talk small talk. We left early in the morning by taxi.

Entry 2 June 28 saturday 1928

Met at Oliver’s Hotel this morning for elevenses. An interesting night. A friend of Jeremy’s left a note to check the society register ( Must check this Monday) Jeremy reads of a man who lost his life overnight. Murder it looks. A member of the society. We are yet to establish how he died. Might make for an interesting visit to the morgue.

His name is James clark. A lawyer. Apparently he was moving from Boston with his lovely wife Sarah. Apparently his house was broken into during Saturday and a safe ransacked. A key could be planted on someone. No real leads except a couple of cult books. Jeremy finds a reference to the silver gatekeeper. Message that we are accepted into the group and we are to go through initiation on Wednesday .

Entry 3 June 30 Monday 1928

Went to the Library . Interestingly enough the society is not registered. Jeremy and I came across an ad for Carl Stanford. ( I vaguely remember his name mentioned at the HOTST). Runs motivational talks at 320 Backbay Lane. This week it was presented by B. Ramsdale Brown and in Conjunction with the Look to the Future Group. Apparently based in New York.

Information on the Look to the future group is incoming. We are getting the society Register from New York..

The meeting place is a restaurant called Crueller’s. A type of bakery/resteraunt?

We still have the lead of the bus driver to examine ( witnessed James Clark in his last moments) .Who is John Scott? Who is B ramsdale? Who is the look to the future group? Who is Carl Stanford? Who are the well to do members of this group.? Clark was also a member of the Masons. Information here?

Entry 4 June 2 Wednesday 1928

Nice elemental electrical storm tonight. Attended the initiation ceremony. Really quite Masonic and childish really. I wonder if such idiots could be truly guilty of fraud and possibly murder? The human condition really provides for anything I suppose. Led into a room with black robes ( obviously the symbol of an newly initiated) Led into a large room with men with three colour robes. Black, Grey and white. Less white possibly indicating a leadership caste) A ratio of 6B:3G:1W.

The room has a dozen electric chandeliers hanging from it. No exits accept down from this floor. No windows. A velvet curtain, two raised Dias and a wooden altar. A cult thing or just childishness?

More questions than answers, but I am tired. I need a woman, a drink and sleep. We may have things to do?

by **Admin** Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:07 am

This is the journal of Harold G.

(It's a cut/paste of the text Steve sent to me via email. Later on we'll upload the PDF which retains the original formatting.)

Journal 25
Entry 4 June 2 Wednesday 1928
Nice elemental electrical storm tonight. Attended the initiation ceremony. Really quite Masonic and childish really. I wonder if such idiots could be truly guilty of fraud and possibly murder? The human condition really provides for anything I suppose. Led into a room with black robes ( obviously the symbol of an newly initiated) Led into a large room with men with three colour robes. Black, Grey and white. Less white possibly indicating a leadership caste) A ratio of 6B:3G:1W.

The room has a dozen electric chandeliers hanging from it. No exits accept down from this floor. No windows. A velvet curtain, two raised Dias and a wooden altar. A cult thing or just childishness?
More questions than answers, but I am tired. I need a woman, a drink and sleep. We may have things to do?

The party has taken an interesting turn. Met a man called Edward Call. A physician. I asked him about the hierarchy of the order. He seems to be under the impression that most matters are referred to John Scott or Carl Sanford although realistically there is no great hierarchy.

He showed us the secret handshake.. Now it really is silly but he says it will give us preferential treatment. ( that is if you are dexterous enough to do it)...
He also told us of the widespread nature of the order. It seems to be much wider spread than the Masons. There are chapters in every major city America and in most major cities across the world.

It did prompt Edward to comment that he felt there was too secrecy associated with the order. I found this a rather obscure comment to make as it is a secret order.
Other members told us that as neophytes ( Black robes) not much is expected of us except we can mingle and recruit and give/gain preferential treatment from other members.
I was also drinking my gin when I overheard Oliver’s conversation with a school headmaster. A man named Pollard I think. Barry Pollard. He also talked about how the order, its diverse membership and its encouragement of vices.

The curtain has the order’s symbol on it. Oliver and Jeremy decided to look at the curtain and the room. I decided to wait downstairs to make sure that they weren’t disturbed. The pretext was that they had lost a key. They told me later that Max ( with a British accent) showed up. He wasn’t dressed as a servant but clearly not a member and said he was Carl Sanford’s driver. He was clearly more of a body guard though. I caught the bus home to get more of the route James Clark took. The boys took a cab home.

Entry 5 June 3 Thursday 1928
Minimal lead follow up today into the investigation ( is that what this is?). Spoke to the bus driver today he remembers Clark getting on but not getting off? Spent a few hours searching for a body. Under and about the bridge, and the general area.... Found nothing..

Oliver informed me His mother said he had a cousin at the globe . He might try to see the author of the article o Clarks body..
Olivers cousin Wendell Smythe said he would introduce Oliver to the author of the article

Entry 6 June 4 Friday 1928
Oliver is introduced to the author of the article. And of all the odd things, it was a woman!!!! A rather handsome gal named Miss Lucy Smart. She could not shed any light onto the problem of the disappearance .
Entry 6 June 6-7 Monday and Tuesday 1928
When reading the cult books a few days ago I found a lead. A narrative of a man Clyde Whipple and A cultist speech. It mentioned/ hinted at Cultist activity??? at a Caverns underneath Cambridge road. It seems to have its basis in a time when Boston was a long time in the past when Boston was nought more than a few farms ( about 1721... around 200 years ago).

We decided to do some Library work..We found the place of the church and we suspect that the farmhouse is under the orders house.
We also found some old newspaper articles. One that mentions Warlock John Scott and a warrant for the arrest of Karl Stanford in the disappearance of a child Erin O Malley. ( unusual... distant relatives perhaps ????????? )

Entry 7 June 8 Wednesday 1928
A visit to the Boston Spelunkers society at the local campus yielded few leads as to the whereabouts of the caverns.
So to a visit tho the geography faculty..

Oliver got a phone call to meet John Scott at the orders headquarters.

Entry 8 June 9 Thursday 1928
Oliver told us of the meeting he had with John Scott.. Max Reid the body guard met him at the door. He mentioned to Max that he looked like a regimental man. Max stated he was in another life. Oliver stated that the inference was that an air of truth existed when he talked about another life. ( I couldn’t help but chuckle at this... Oliver chuckled as well..

Essentially the meeting was a solicitation of funds. He was told that we ( Jeremy and myself) were clearly not rich enough and that he had a business proposition.. Oliver never mentioned how much ( Oliver would be far too polite for this ) but we were to be immediately to be promoted prior to another meeting at the society.

Entry 9 June 10 Friday 1928
We were given our grey robes prior to the meeting. Grey robes of initiates. We were told with grey robes we could go anywhere by John Scott. He also stated that he would talk to oliver later about the business deal..

Karl Stanford then gave his lecture and really quite strange. General lecture but I engaged in a debate with Stanford as to the intellectual base for his lecture. He is really quite intelligent. We retired downstairs for drinks..

We stayed upstairs and found some very interesting things.. The first thing we found was an old library with first editions on Science philosophy occultism and engineering. First editions that were rare printed texts....

Oliver then found a door upstairs behind the curtain in the ceremony room. We decided to go in after all we can go anywhere.
Upstairs we found a series of room. And a library. Each room had a mural. They were painted by a man named Picman... They were pictures definitely but they seemed, well real..

Mural 1 was very artistic a knight ( A knight of the outer void)
Mural 2 Was a happy silhouetted landscape with a figure facing away from me. I actually thought about tapping him on the shoulder. ( Am I losing my mind???. It was a picture)

From here the pictures got more disturbing. Each a little more chilling than the last. Times lie this I wish I was a more religious man. But now I have nothing to fall back on.

Mural 3 Depicted a clear night sky, a full moon a circle of stones and iridescent spheres moving in the sky) half creatures screaming... Now I feel like running.. I feel thesame apprehension and lack of understanding in my friends.. Although we are not saying anything. We are keeping light and low key jokes...

Mural 4 Spiralling stars and galaxies I feel Insignificant. The pressure on my mind is mounting but Jeremy breaks. It almost feels like he is having a breakdown.. Almost like the immigrants in the Tottenham outrage. I have seen this reaction in them. Although the result was much worse.

Oliver went forward he told me the pinnacle was a picture that was horrible but it lead to a room without corners. A library that we found up here we raided. Took books randomly...
We took Jeremy home.

Post script We are home but I feel strange.. Unprotected, somehow a little changed... I have found two books that almost compel me to read them. A new lover. Better, I cant put this book down. My life of excesses has never known anything like this... I can’t stop reading them... Oliver too has a lover a book. I see how he walks and talks. He too has changed and is compelled to read his book. Oliver we put to sleep. I read as much as I could until dawn broke...

I fell asleep then woke 6 hours later after some troubling dreams..

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