Prologue

I am counting today as day zero of my deeper research into Oakhurst and her history. I have done surface level studies, of course, but there is not much to be found. Very few sources speak of her past, and the ones that do rarely do much more than mention her.

Just under four hundred years ago, the town's entire population was wiped out in one go. I couldn't find any explanation of what happened, only that towns and cities involved in her trade simply stopped receiving communications one day. One source mentioned that the town had been burned down, but there is no evidence nor other writings to support this.

The first real records I was able to locate of Oakhurst were from the middle of the nineteenth century, when a pair of young women took it upon themselves to rebuild it. There are a handful of trade records, the number of which grew as time went on and the town grew more prosperous. Still, there seems to be a culture of lax record-keeping, as I can find no reference to any stewards after those first women.

In recent times, the town has become more of a tourist trap than an actual dwelling place. The ancient architecture, unexplained graves and air of mystery associated with her draw people in from across the country and even beyond, but the minimal infrastructure discourages most people from staying longer than a night or two. If the stories are to be believed, there isn't even any internet feeding into her!

The stories and rumours about Oakhurst abound, almost all of them mentioning vampires in some capacity. I am a scholar, not inclined to believe in the supernatural. However, I know all too well that that such tales usually have some truth to them, and the sheer amount that I have heard from entirely disconnected sources certainly cement that idea.

I go into the town with many questions, hoping to shed some light on her secrets and offer explanations for her mysteries. I can see the woods surrounding her walls from my train window, now, and something about them fills me with a strange dread. It is this exact feeling that drew me to her in the first place, the sense of foreboding that I had when I read her name for the first time in an old atlas I found in the library. It was from the late fourteenth century, if you believe that!

I'm signing off now. With any luck, my next update will already offer some clarity.

-J. P.

J.P's opening journal entry
by firequeenofficial