"When the mansion was first built the owner had two sons, Gideon and Darren. Gideon was the elder brother and should have inherited the mansion, but he was a disturbed boy. He was fascinated with the occult and tortured animals to cast "dark spells". He was even rumored to have led some of the servant's children into the woods, never to be seen again."
Christine paused to take a sip of coffee before continuing, "Darren on the other hand was said to be a model son, so their father favored him. When their father died, Gideon was outraged to learn he'd been passed over for the inheritance and tried to kill his brother. He was sentenced to death and was burned at the stake and that was the end of it."
"But it wasn't," Marcia guessed.
Christine shook her head, "That story is all public record. What no one but my family knows. Is shortly after Gideon was buried a servant cleaning the crypt claimed to have seen him lurking in the shadows. Shortly after a note was found on Darren's bed claiming one day Gideon would get his revenge."
The woman shrugged, "At the time, a noble from Britain was trying to buy the mansion, so it was assumed he was trying to scare Darren into selling the mansion. Maybe that's the truth too, but I guess if magic's real Gideon might really be responsible."
"Did anyone ever check to see if his body was still in his coffin?" Marcia asked.
"Sure and a body was there, but it was so badly burned no one could have told for certain that it was his body."
Rusty and Marcia share a look and then nod, "We might want to take a look at that crypt."
"Certainly I'll give you the key. Though I for one hope you find nothing amiss there. All this is bad enough without ancient warlocks running about."
Marcia and Rusty accepted the key and excused themselves. Once they're out of earshot, Rusty asked, "So, where are we going to start with all of this?"
"The way I see it. The most important first step is..."