A Philadelphia Haunting.
Cornelius Vanderbilt Sinclair was a man of ambition and secrecy, a titan of banking, railroads, and whispered shadows in the opulent days of the Gilded Age. From his grand estate in Elkins Park, he pulled the strings of finance, while indulging in a world few dared to acknowledge – the occult. His shaman, a mysterious figure whose name was only murmured among servants, promised Sinclair immortality for a hefty price. Sinclair paid without hesitation.
As Sinclair's health declined, paranoia crept in. He arranged for his wealth, gold amassed from his empire, to be hidden away. The Woodlands Cemetery would hold his secret. A stable hand, young and naïve, was tasked with the burial. But Sinclair, ever cautious, ended the man’s life, concealing the truth for eternity. Or so he thought.
There was cause for Sinclair to worry, the map he handed the stable hand was never destroyed. It lingered, hidden within his estate, waiting to be found.
In 2024, Mike, George, and Ronny, three friends working for the Heritage Revival Restoration, stumbled upon the aged map in a bundle of old papers while restoring Sinclair’s mansion. A cryptic set of instructions pointed them to The Woodlands Cemetery. The three, driven by curiosity and the promise of adventure, decided to follow the map.
Under the cover of twilight, they arrived at the cemetery. The grand oak with the split trunk stood ominously in the fading light. Despite their excitement, their digging yielded nothing. Disappointed but undeterred, they left, believing the tale to be mere legend.
Days later, while working at Sinclair’s mansion, Ronny unearthed a hidden diary beneath a loose floorboard. It belonged to Sinclair's long-forgotten mistress. One entry stood out:
"Cornelius grows stranger by the day. He speaks of a map, and something about gold being hidden forever. He mentioned having 'it' made into a coffin. I know not what 'it' is, but his obsession frightens me."
Realization struck. Sinclair must have feared the map's discovery and had his coffin forged from the very gold he sought to hide. That night, armed with shovels, the trio returned to the cemetery.
Moonlight bathed the tombstone of Cornelius Vanderbilt Sinclair as they began to dig. Hours passed until the coffin was finally unearthed. As the shovels clinked against metal, the ground trembled. The coffin burst open, and from its depths rose the furious spirit of Sinclair.
Ronny screamed as spectral hands seized him, pulling him into the earth. Mike fled, but Sinclair's ghost caught him in the dark, snapping his neck with unnatural strength. Only George remained, paralyzed in terror. Sinclair's essence flowed into him, twisting his features into a grotesque semblance of the long-dead banker.
Possessed and disoriented, George staggered into the cemetery road. Blinded by headlights, he met his end beneath the wheels of a speeding car. As George's lifeless body crumpled on the pavement, Sinclair's spirit slipped from his broken shell and drifted back into the cemetery.
The following morning, Roy, the cemetery groundskeeper, found the open grave. His eyes widened at the sight of the coffin—solid gold, gleaming under the pale sun. Without hesitation, he dragged the bodies of Mike and Ronny into the pit, covering them with soil. By afternoon, the grave appeared untouched.
As Roy extracted the golden coffin piece by piece over the next week, Sinclair’s spirit crept closer. George’s death was ruled a hit-and-run, and Mike and Ronny were listed as missing.
Over the following weeks, Roy carefully sold the golden fragments to discreet buyers. Only after the final piece was gone did Sinclair fully possess him. By the end of the year, Roy had vanished, last seen boarding a steamship bound for distant shores.
Rumors spread of a wealthy man in Europe, living lavishly in a grand estate built with old money and gold that shone unnaturally bright under the moon.
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