Our next book, 101 Adventure Frames in Enchanted England, is coming to Kickstarter! This is a preview: a complete adventure frame from the manuscript. This is an example of how we ground some of the adventure frames in history and folklore: in this case, the famously haunted estate of Layer Marney Tower. It also involves a cat!
Catspaw
by Chris Hopper
Layer Marney Tower. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Public domain image, free to copy and use.
Rid a castle of a phantom cat.
Content Warnings: None
Genre: Intrigue
Place: Layer Marney Tower, a country house in Essex
Time Period: After 1558
Length: Short (up to 3 hours)
History Connection: High
Folklore Connection: High
Keywords: Shadowbeast, wizard, nobles, construction, comedy potential
Hook
Layer Marney Tower is Tudor-era country house (a large mansion) whose construction was never completed. It has a staff of servants and construction workers but has had no owner in residence since the passing of Lord John Marney in 1525. No resident, that is, except for a ghostly white cat that continually knocks over armor, claws up the plaster, and generally makes a catlike mess of things. Whenever the staff attempt to catch the pest, it vanishes into thin air. The construction workers are spooked and refuse to continue work until the apparition is banished.
Line
Tomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, has attempted to restart construction of Layer Marney Tower several times. He's vexed at every turn by the ghostly cat, which in fact is a shadowbeast: a spiritual manifestation of a miscast spell. The late Lord Marney had employed a wizard, Edgar Hollins, to speed along his ambitious plans. The shadowbeast arose when Hollins tried to cast a spell that was beyond his ability. It has since grown and now resembles a cat the size of a dog. It is slowly dismantling the work its creator had once aided, creating hazards like unstable stairs, or dampening newly set plaster until the weight is enough to bring down entire walls. The shadowbeast is not very physically imposing. If confronted, it flees rather than attacks. It prefers to hide in shadows and go about its “work” unseen.
Sinker
Dismissing the spell can be achieved through a number of high-potency magics, or it may be undone using the notes of Edgar Hollins, which can be discovered hidden in a secret workroom in the house. But the miscast spell might be load-bearing: It would be wise to first find out the purpose for which it was cast before dispelling it! At the game master’s discretion, it may be possible to repair the spell to assist in the manor's reconstruction, as it was originally intended to do.
Preparation Notes
A rough map of the unfinished house will be helpful. Decide what spell Hollins had miscast: Was it a conjuration to summon a spiritual construction worker, or something grander and more important? Hollins might still be alive, so you can write him into the ending if you’d like.
Historical Note: Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower remains one of the most haunted sites of Essex. Henry, 1st Lord Marney died in 1523, and his son John died in 1525, halting construction for much of Elizabeth's reign and giving start to the ghost stories while his daughters maintained the half-finished home. We know that Norfolk was granted the property by the Queen after taking wardship of Marney's daughters, and that Elizabeth visited there very briefly in 1579. How brief? There are no receipts or records of note, so it's presumed she chose not to even stay the night!