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Dr. Herbert Jameson
"He was a genial and
caring person by and large, but every bit the professional. He took his job as serious as a General in the field. Emily thought
of him as a friend, but at the same time she felt that some of his views and methods towards treatment might be lagging a
bit behind the times."
Dr. Jameson, a member of the Weston Hospital staff since 1970
and son of another long-time physician, serves as both Emily's cheerleader and mentor. In 1986 he is instrumental in secureing
her a scholarship to West Virginia University...and in 1992 he accepts her under his wing as a Ward Nurse at the hospital.
He is a fair and caring
person...if somewhat old-fashined in his approach to his field...yet his own actions as well as his past are destined
to haunt him. He bears the unenviable burdon of having inherted the proverbial "sins of the father"...whatever they may have
been.
He was responsible
for entrusting Emily with the care and observation of her very first patient...an entrustment which goes horribly arry, resulting
in an unusual death as well as many other unerving events.
Folowing the closing of
the Weston Hospital in 1994, Dr. Jameson followed Emily's suit and moved to Charleston. He then semi-retired and remained
content to serve as a guest speaker and lecturer at hospitals throughout the state. However secure his distance from Weston
may make him feel...and no matter how much he may regret his sins...the spector of his past actions are doomed to dog him...to
the very end.
Dr. Frederick Petrov
"A wizened old doctor of 62 who had defected from the Soviet Union in 1948."
Dr. Petrov is a
LONG-time hospital physiscian, having served at the institution since 1949. A former doctor in the "Red" Army...one of the
pioneering Soviet authorities on the inner-workings of the human mind...Dr. Petrov was approached by Soviet officials in 1948
to look into the possibilities of applying his skills in the area of espionage. Rather than stay in Russia and begin a life
of secrecy...Dr. Petrov emigrated to America in 1948...at GREAT risk to his life.
A very good friend of
Emily's...as well as nearly all of his patients...Dr. Petrov is widely regarded as a "father figure" by many at the hospital.
His tenure...the longest on record at the hospital's closure...has been a fairly uneventful one(At least on the surface.)
and his record is virtually spotless. The fact that he has served for so long at the hospital makes him the default "go-to"
man whenever a new rumor about its history crops up.
He often jokes about his
"early" days in the Soviet Union, making light of his being offered a job as a "Spy Doctor." However, for all of his jocularity
and parental aura...no one at the hospital REALLY knows much about Dr. Petrov's actions prior to his arrival in America. Sometimes,
other staff members have stopped and wondered..."What did he actually DO while he lived in Russia?"
Claire Voyant Rittenhouse
"The woman...had the unmistakable appearance
you would get if you threw a librarianm, a high school senior, and a leb technician into a blender and hit PUREE" Page 175
Very close to Emily
in age, Claire Rittenhouse serves as a "sensitive" for the N.A.A.P.I. Meaning simply that she often has the ability to
tune-in to spirits, ghosts and the like. Her unique ability, aparent to her since childhood, has been honed to a razor fine
point and she now has the ability to both strengthen it and terminate it as she sees fit...a talent highly useful when incoming
messages become too powerful or frightening. Claire joined the N.A.A.P.I. in 1996 and has participated in more than 50 confirmed
haunting perges.
A native of Salem
Mass. Claire grew up in an atmosphere highly conducive to her present field. Much like Emily's relationship with the
hospital, Claire was exposed to the world of the paranormal almost at birth...living in such close proximity to one of New
England's most celebrated and notoriously haunted sites.
From the outset, it is
obvious to Emily that Claire is a very distinctive individual, both caring, professional ,and personable at all times. Using
her intuative abilities, Claire is partially able to see through Emily's self-imposed facade and into her true feelings. It
often seems that she alone is able to feel true compasion and empathy for Emily and her present situation. For this, Emily
is most greatful.
Patrick J 'Sparks' Dawson
"Neon green tie...bright orange shirt...black,
thick-rimmed glasses...Emily thought he would have looked right at home seeling PCs at a shopping mall." Page 175
The son of a highly decorated Naval radioman, (Hence
his distinct nickname) Patrick Dawson is the quitessential nuts-and-bolts, facts-and-figuers "geek". Highly skilled with
all manner of electronic devices, Pat serves the N.A.A.P.I. as a certified "Field Technician"...in other words...he's the
one who strings the cords, programs the computers, cleans the camera lenses and operates nearly all of the electronic field
devices. In contrast to his obvious skill and knowledge at his craft, Pat has unfortunately not been blessed with a finely-tuned
sense of either grace or emotion.
Also a native of Salem Mass. Pat grew up in much the
same environment as Claire. Early and potent exposure to both paranormal activity and a steady stream of local ghost stories,
inspired Pat to begin honing his skills in earnest. This may possibly explain why his social skills have yet to fully
mature. By his 12th birthday he had already garnered the attention of the local N.A.A.P.I. offices due to his publicised
exploits in "searching" a well-known, suposedly haunted local site.
Pat was accepted into the N.A.A.P.I. in early 1991...barely a week following his
18th birthday. He was made a full-time agent in 1996. To date, he has participated in well over 100 succesful field actions....including
5 rare cases of confirmed demonic possesion. THIS...may explain why he is still single.
Despite Pat's often humorous lack of social graces, his techonological prowis is
unquestioned...even among his most ardent of nay-sayers.
Dr. Archilbald Fielding
"His hair consisted of much more salt than peper,
his lines were begining to stretch from his forehead to his neck...the thin pince-nez glasses on his nose gave a very distinct
'Tell me About Your Mother' aura." Page 138
Every bit the sterotypical
image of a 19th century phychiatrist, Dr. Fielding is the ranking "Analyst" for the N.A.A.P.I. He plies his trade well, particurlarly
in the field of "Subconscious Recolections" or "Hypnosis."
Dr. Fielding...or "Archie"
to his long-time N.A.A.P.I. friends...has litteraly begun to grow grey in his service. Along with his friend and close confidant
Henry Thompson, Dr. Fielding was also a charter member of the N.A.A.P.I. recomended to his life-time posting by Minn.
Senator Hubert Humphrey in 1969...for whom he had served as a behind-the-scenes physician during the 1968 Presidential campaign.
An overly kind and gentle-minded
individual, Dr. Fielding has been blessed with the virtue of eternal patience...as well as a highly refined sense of
diplomacy. In vitually every instance, he allows common sense and compasion to dictate his actions as well as words. It is
his higly evolved skill at inducing calm and relaxing which allows him to open up Emily's partially repressed mind and extract
some of her long-forgotten...and somewhat painful memories.
Nancy Flesher
"Nancy worked in a clerical position at the hospital, eventually
rising to the head of the office administration branch of the institution. Her father William, a field manager for Central
WV Power and Light, had headed up the enormous task of rewiring the aging facility in 1965, and thus owed it a great deal
of his own personal gratitude."
Nancy
Allen Flesher is Emily's mother...a mother who was NOT keen on the idea of Emily going to work at the Weston Hospital. A long-time
hospital employee herself, Nancy rose to the head of the Administrative section of the hospital in 1978, where she served
in a respected capacity until her sudden exit in 1991...less than a year before Emily was to join her there.
While an obviously loving
and devoted parent, Nancy only begrugingly accpets Emily's chosen path in life. With the typical air of an over-protective
parent, Nancy tries with all her might to disuage Emily from her intended path...to no avail.
Nancy is not blind however,
she is aware of the strange and unexplainable incidents occuring all around her. At first, she seems perfectly willing
to dissmiss them as nothing more than the usuall run-of-the-mill oddities common to Weston. As time progresses however,
Nancy herself may be forced to re-examine her own feelings towards the hospital, her daughter...and possibly even herself.
Steve Reynolds
"Standing on Emily'sdoorstep was a man in a
blue one-piece work uniform baring the State Seal and the letters W.V.D.H.H.R. He could not have been a day over thirty-five,
was well-groomed, with dark brown hair, and had a clipboard tucked under his right arm."
Beware...this man is NOT what he appears to be.
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Diane Casdorph Yost
"She
could not have been a day over sixteen, but her pallor and expression made her appear years older. Her blonde hair, which
only a week prior must have been a source of pride and beauty, was now hanging in tangles, partially covering her forlorn
face."
Diane
has the dubious honor of being Emily's very first assigned patient. In February 1992 at the age of sixteen, Diane's house
burns to the ground, claiming the life of both her parents as well as her seven year old brother. As the soul survivor of
this tragic episode, Diane is left without a family or much of future...and consequently is admitted to the Weston Hospital
suffering from severe shock and mild catatonia.
Emily happily accepts
Diane's case, and for a while, Diane appears on the raod to wellness. However, someone or someTHING interviens in a horrible
fashion, sending Diane's mind to the very edge of sanity. Out of the blue she starts seeing spectral images and hearing strange,
unearthly voices, and reading mysterious diaries, aparently shown to her by the ghost of a former patient. She also develops
a sudden hatred and violent aversion to her assigned physiscian...Dr. Jameson.
Diane's ending is not
a happy one, and it will all-too-soon be realized that her death may well serve as a catylist to shake the hospital...and
the entire town ...to its foundations.
Dr. Phillip R. Braley
"Many were a little
shocked when, in 1998, Dr. Braley had eagerly volunteered to spearhead local efforts to revitalize the former hospital...to some, his efforts seemed to border on obsession."
During
Emily's tenure at the hospital, Dr. Phillip Braley is serving as Dr. Jameson's protoge'. She never really has the opportunity
to become aquiainted with him as their duties and shift times keep them at a distance most of the time.
From what little information
Emily can scrape together, Dr. Braley is somewhat cold and distant. Much like Dr. Sikes...the hospital's Chief Administrator...Dr.
Braley is often aloof, usually showing up only for his assigned duties and very unwilling to engage in any form of social
interaction. However, he and Dr. Jameson never seem to to be more than arm's length away from one another, and Dr. Braley's
devotion to him is absolute.
Following the closure
of the Weston Hospital, Dr. Braley is one of the few physicians chosen to remane behind and serve at the new State Hospital.
Almost immediately, he becomes one of the chief cheerleaders in the drive to find another use for the now dormant Weston Hospital.
He undertakes this unenviable task with an EXTREME passion At times...some even wonder if he is attempting to atone
for some sort of past indiscretion.
Does Dr. Braley know more
than he is letting on?
Nathaniel Riley
Nathaniel
Riley...though he assumes many different names in the course of his duties...is a highly touted and respected Field Officer
for the N.A.A.P.I. He is handed the task of investigating the "Weston Affair" as it comes to be known. He executes the
role of the "Secret Agent" and the "Undercover Spy" to utter prefection, blending in and then disappearing while leaving only
disjointed memories of his actions and appearance. The importance...as well as the resulting confusion...of his undercover
actions are not lost on his sense of humor. He enjoys his job.
Age 35, Nathaniel has
served in the N.A.A.P.I. since 1992. Starting off as an "Agent in Training" he advanced through the ranks to the commision
of "Field Officer" in 1997. Nanthan has earned a reputation as one who functions better as an indiividual...as well someone
with a passionate, almost extreme concern for the safety and well-being of those who are placed in his care.
Nathaniel's past is somehwat
of an open secret...open to everyone except Emily that is. He was born in a small town in Western Iowa in 1967. Following
his admission to the N.A.A.P.I. in 1992, he moved to a small neighborhood outside of Ottawa to be closer to his new and unusual
profession.
Dr. Edwin Sikes
1992
"Dr. Sikes was the oft-aloof Administrator of the Weston Hospital.
Emily well remembered his brusque and stern manner. He had once actually threatened to fire her from her job of raking leaves
when the handle of the rake..which must have been nearly as old as the hospital...snapped in two."
The very imbodiement of "cranky ol' man", Dr.
Edwin P. Sikes served as the Head Administrator of the Weston Hospital from 1978 until its closure...during which time he
made many friends...and actually managed to keep one or two of them.
Respected by some....and hated by nearly all...Dr. Sikes
rules with not so much of an "iron-fist" as a "wet sponge." Often absent from the facility for days on end with little or
no reason ever given, Dr. Sikes none-the-less maintains control of "his" hospital mainly by way of his extensive credentials
and well-develloped linguistic skills. The fact that he has several local and State politicians in his hip pocket does not
hurt either.
2002
"Though he appeared a littler greyer, and a few new wrinkles
had crossed his once plump olive face, the picture of Dr. Sikes...whom Emily had not actually seen in person since 1986...struck
a cord somewhere deep in her gut."
Many were sad to see the hospital go...but it is highly
unlikely that anyone thought the same of Dr. Sikes. Following the loss of "his" hospital in 1994, Dr. Sikes...reamining cranky
to the very end...semi-retired, pulled up his own stakes, and moved west to Denver Colorado.
It is whispered by a few long-time Weston residents that
he still occasionally keeps in touch with former staff members, including Dr. Braley. Some residents even think they have
glimpsed him a time or two back in town...wondering the hospital grounds and then disapearing with no trace...incidents which
are quickly attributed to "bad memories."
Detective Michael Cunningham
"Ah yes...Charleston's answer to Dick Tracy."
A Detective
with the Charleston Police Dept. since 1990, Detective Cunningham has worked his way up to the status of "Plain-Clothes Investigator".
Dectective Cunningham
is both a loyal and very capable officer...almost too capable at times. However, he also has not been blessed with the greatest
of social etiquet. At times his questioning of victums leaves a little to be desired in terms of compasion and tact.
Also, he has a very unhealthy
habbit of persuing events beyond his own capabilities, and thus may well find himself in over his head if he is not careful
Henry Thompson
"A stout man in his mid 50s, wearing
a brown pin-striped suit...he looked like a cross between Winston Churchill and Don Adams." Page 121
Professional, formal,
properly spoken and the epidomy of the British "General-in-the-Field," Henry Thompson is the current head of the North American
Association for Paranormal Investigations...the N.A.A.P.I.
Originally a native of
Ontario, Henry Thompson's family migrated to Susex England in 1946, shortly following the conclusion of the second World War.
Henry grew up in an academic
as well as miltaristic household...one which would have been slow to accpet his involvement with an organization of ghost
hunters. Yet following his graduation from Oxford in 1969, Henry Thompson returned to his birthplace of Ontario...settling
within the Canadian Capital of Ottawa...and was quickly offered a charter membership in a newly formed multi-national organization
dedicated to the study of paranormal activities. At the personal bequest of Prime Minister Piere Truedau...he accepted.
Following eleven years
of untiring service, Henry assumed the helm of the N.A.A.P.I. in June 1980. Generally regarded as a capable leader and a firm
believer in protocol, Henry has earned the unwavering respect...as well a tiny amount of good- natured mimicking...of the
entire N.A.A.P.I. staff.
Henry Thompson lives in Ottawa,
two blocks away from the well-concealed nerve center of the N.A.A.P.I.
Dr. Isaac Mathews
"Dr. Mathews looked to be about the same age
as Mr. Thompson, though in far better physical condition. He was tall, slender, and attired in a white shirt, brown tie, and
brown sweater. His own set of thick eyeglass gave him as much of a "lay down on the couch and tell me your troubles" look
as Dr. Fielding."
Regarded by most
of his co-workers as a "one-man think tank", Dr. Mathews is the consumate, conservative professional. He is skeptical...not
with regards to belief in the paranormal...but rather skeptical of nearly everything else. To him, facts, figures and aquired
knowledge are the foundation upon which everything in life MUST be built. He will not only look before he leaps...but also
take the time to measure and compute the exact distance to be covered.
A native of Xenia Ohio,
Dr. Mathews(Even then a well-respected local analyst.) migrated north to Canada following the destruction of his family's
offices by a tornado in 1972. Despite his absolute professionalism, it is apparent that Dr. Mathews may still hold some kind
of mental grudge at being literally "uprooted" from his home and compelled to move elsewhere.
After two years of only
partially succesful practice in several towns around Ontario, a chance encounter with a supposedly "possesed" patient
brought Dr. Mathews' obvious skills to the attention of the N.A.A.P.I. Though leary at first, Dr. Mathews was open-minded
enough to join the organization when it became apparent that his savings where likely to run out before his life span.
With only a minute knowledge
of parapschology, Dr. Mathews spent the better part of his first three years learning the ropes of the N.A.A.P.I. His succes
rate in the field of 98.7% for a five year period(1982-1987) is sitll unmatched by any other opperative.
Dr. Mathews retired from
field work in 1995 and now serves the N.A.A.P.I. in an "In-House" capacity only.
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