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and down the showbiz route from New York to Chicago. Made famous by the famed ventriloquist Giovani Collazo, the act made a pretty penny until Collazo was found strangled in his dressing room before a show. For years after, the Noodle and Doodle act was sold to one ventriloquist after another and inevitably, they all met their doom in short order (often through unexplainable circumstances or untimely accidents). The tale of Noodle and Doodle fell into showbiz legend. The act was shelved for more than 55 years until the dummy was discovered in a storage unit by promoter Basil Morton, who jumped at the opportunity to revive the notorious Noodle and Doodle act for his comedy management business. In the years since, Noodle and Doodle have continued to change hands, delighting crowds wherever they go. Strange rumors linger around the puppet however, with some claiming the dummy can move and talk all on its own. One fellow performer has even claimed that doom follows the act wherever it goes. Of course, these tales are all part of publicity and promotion…. Right? The Devil of Bottin ’ s Curve A metaphysical creature that exists only in mathematical theory (or at least once that theory is proven), the Devil of Bottin’s Curve is so named for the French professor of mathematics who initially discovered it in 1750. While deep in his research, Edouard Bottin stumbled upon the equation and spent nearly three months proving it. When he did, he unleashed an invisible beast that lurked in the void between our world and some other, dark place. This creature ravaged Bottin, tearing him to shreds in a literal shower of blood and gore. Bottin’s death was ruled a murder and remained unexplained by the Marechausee, though his papers did pass into the possession of the Viete School, where they were suppressed by men much wiser than the deceased Bottin. Nevertheless, the papers were eventually discovered by over-curious students who took it upon themselves to prove the theory. The Devil of Bottin’s Curve was once again unleashed, slaying all in attendance before disappearing without a trace. And so it has transpired over and over again as the years have rolled by, with young, hungry mathematicians trying to solve Bottin’s Curve, eager to prove their worth. The history behind the deaths that have come before are always covered up or dismissed as something else entirely, so the theory lives on. How long before it is once again unleashed? The Dang Ole Thing The town of Fludd, Louisiana was a notoriously insular and unfriendly place for outsiders in the 1860s. Old legends, bootlegging operations and secrets best left forgotten were the rule rather than the exception. There were things sunk to the bottom of the swamp that could ruin a man, if the secret got out. Reverend Cleaster Blevins and his small congregation came to Fludd looking to build a house of worship out on the bayou but asked too many of

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