Following Pike Lake's Wandering Hands

There's a strange creature afoot - er, ahand - in Pike Lake and the BCWPA is getting to the bottom of it!

Learn more about Path Hands (ballyraven.com)!

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Transcript

This is a Ghost Story from Benton, OH.

Though young Jacob Taylore was an outsider, he was a welcome outsider. Handsome, ambitious, and single, many sought his attention for themselves or their daughters. 

A logrolling was in order.

Not grand events, the thrown-together affairs were nonetheless exciting. For a day, villagers put aside their own duties to gather and work as one; land would be cleared of tree, stump, and brush. But after, fires and food and dancing and plans. Jacob would be expected to do the same for new and old faces alike. He would also be expected to give special favor to those who contributed the most.

At the end of the day, the gathering had grown loud. Spread out over smoothed earth, fires popped up, encompassing piles of debris atop rough stumps. The clink of cookware and savory smell of meat caused the clearing to be filled with not only light, but fellowship. Laughter, singing, and the tap of feet joined the happy chorus. Only a handful of particularly diligent women continued to work into the twilight. A sudden shriek, however, stilled everything, even the firelight.

Tripping on her skirts as she twirled, Miss Beth Turner fell hard and headfirst into the middle of the largest bonfire. A broken leg kept her grounded; pushing herself up, tangled among the burning brush, she could not pull or back away, only scream. An unexpected horror, a few seconds passed before help rushed to her thrashing side. So badly burned and cut were her hands that they sloughed off and fell back into the flames. 

Water extinguished the suffering woman, the bonfire, the logrolling festivities, and her hands. They sizzled and smoked atop a charred stump.

The gathering wordlessly collected their tools and dishes, leaving the new resident a solemn pile of leftovers. Everyone avoided staring at the horrific display, though a few paused to say a prayer for Beth and those treating her. Her wounds tended as best as they could be, the last of the party carried her down the trail to rest. Jacob had seen plenty of burns, but none this bad. Before returning to his rented room, he decided to take care of the hands first; if she were to die, it would be proper to bury all of her－not leave those for the animals to devour. Unfortunately, they were already gone.

Beth lived for another six days. Her hands were never recovered, though people still claimed to see them. In the forest, it was said that one could see the disembodied, burned fingers pulling their palms across the ground, sometimes chasing, grabbing, and scratching at whoever came by.

Was Beth's fearful, angry spirit trapped in her disembodied hands? Were the hands possessed by residual emotional energy? Was something more malicious at work in the forest? Or was it all just a story? While the tale evoked more questions than answers, it was the beginning of great discoveries.

Investigations proved the bit of folklore to be at least somewhat true: there was an entity living in the woods and Beth was a real person. But, these disembodied hands were most certainly not Beth. These things were not trapped souls, but organisms - life from another dimension. Was there another Ohio ghost story linked to a real organism? Was this just a stroke of luck, or were most, if not all, ghost stories partially true?

Paranormal entities are always attracted to events we would only describe as terrible; some beings have preferences, others requirements; some pretend, others possess; some feed on substances imperceptible to our senses, and others feed on us. While the latter are always more immediately dangerous, they are the most easily understood.

BCWPA agents are trained professionals; do not handle or interact with paranormal entities at home - they can be very dangerous and unpredictable.

Here at Pike Lake, it is another rainy, spring day. It’s a very special one, though, as early this morning, one of our bait boxes alerted us of another capture. While these small research boxes are not our most high-tech, they can tell us the weight and general size of what’s inside them. Staff, however, knew exactly what was waiting for us here: the local, macabre entity that lurks here was marked with a tracking band. Wrapped around one of its fingers, the mechanism was placed during a state of lethargy; usually aggressive and combative, in the cold darkness, they become slow to move, think, or react. As they always travel in a pair, only one band is needed to know the second’s general location. Collecting health and environmental data, their unique needs and preferences have been mapped out. Some examples include that they prefer rabbit meat above all others and generally hunt once a week around 3pm. 

Today, the Pike Lake Ghost will be returned home. "Pike Lake Ghost" isn’t really a suitable name for it, though: the lake wasn't in here yet at its emergence, only built in 1930, it isn't a ghost, and it’s a pair - two individuals, not one. The BCWPA decided to give it a new name: "Path Hands." Today, we follow Agent 1073 as they record data and clear the trap. While paranormal processing can be dangerous, the Agency has quite a bit of experience with this particular entity.

Traveling wild game and hiking trails, these ghostly hands are an inseparable, clumsy couple we have been tracking for a few years. They’re not often seen here, on the shore, but reports place them frequently by the tree line, on the trails, and deep in the woods.

Some locals call it "zombie hands" for its grisly appearance; while they do look a lot like those undead entities, they are not reanimated flesh, but repurposed flesh, the organisms possessing and making new homes in or with dissected organic material.These kinds of paranormal entities are called bibelotites, Path Hands a subcategory that specifically infects the disembodied flesh of multi-digited appendages. Microscopic, insect-like creatures before metamorphosis, they are attracted to the smell of blood and cooking, burning, or decaying flesh. Traveling in pairs, they seek suitable hosts to transport, drill into, and build their cocoons within.

All bibelotites, even of the same species, are unique. Their secondary forms are based upon their host, their personality, as well as their partner's. In a 1915 study, two coupled bibelotites were placed in observation; each were given a hand from one organism, and a second hand from a different organism. The same species with the same hands produced two similar, yet different pairs; while their anatomies were identical, their appearances and activity were distinct. One pair appeared as bloated, purple, and disfigured versions of the appendages they possessed and were active only in periods of darkness. The other pair's metamorphosis changed the appearance of their hands little, only growing rigid bumps along the tops of the fingers and one side of the wrist; this pair was active regardless of light, but moved markedly slower in darkness.

Pairs, even those made up of different organisms, take on similar appearances after metamorphosis; the size and makeup (number of fingers, for example) are dependant upon the host. Path Hands is wholly unique.

The trap box would be easily missed along our walk, had the creature’s small, shining eyes not given away its location. Still, we only immediately noticed it because we were looking for it. BCWPA traps are placed far enough off trails to avoid curious hikers and tampering; they are also camouflaged with local flora and debris. A special type of trap is used to capture small, flexible organisms; it can be very easy for animals like this one to force or squish their way out of regular boxes and harm themselves. These breathable, panel boxes keep them safe and comfortable; with a built-in auto-release, contents are freed after a few hours if staff are unable to attend to the box. 

Path Hands are carnivorous animals, so this trap was set with beef lures; a success, no bits of the treat remain. Agent 1073 puts on their padded, bite-proof gloves - just in case the trap has an unexpected failure. The Path Hands have been captured seven times, one of which only captured one of the two, posing a dangerous situation for the responding agent; the BCWPA has been looking for evidence of other bibelotites in the area, to no avail. The couple resides here alone.

All living things must be treated with respect, care, and precaution. Being in and around trap boxes, as well as agents, does not lessen Path Hands’ discomfort, agitation, and fear. 

Coming into full view of the box, Agent 1073 crouches quietly and stills. Just like any wild animal, the hands feel threatened around larger creatures, especially when they’re in a small, unfamiliar place and the threat is loud, moving erratically. Bibelotites aren’t native to our world, and, unlike other paranormal entities, they don’t travel here on purpose. They may fall through a window area, are forcefully or accidentally brought by or alongside other entities, or are teleported into the area by evil or dark magic. As they are not interplanar travelers, once they arrive, they are trapped here, unless others step in to help. Their surroundings must feel especially threatening, confusing, and frightening.

Paranormal beings cannot coexist in our world. Many throw our ecosystems into chaos and disfunction; minor beings, like these, have little negative impact, but must still be returned home. However, benign entities like the hands can be studied here first; researching their activities in our world helps us predict their behavior, understand their functions, and interact with them more safely for all involved. Bibelotites are difficult to find and safely study in the paranormal world, so our knowledge mostly stems from the rare encounters here.

After a catch has calmed, agents must document observations. What does the entity look like? How is it acting? How is it responding? There are a variety of tests performed on new species, paranormal categories, and for cases like our hands, who seem to fall for the same trap again and again; the process takes very little time. This animal is much different than those you would normally see around Pike Lake - and they really do resemble a pair of decaying, human hands, though, with some strange abnormalities. Flexible and almost rubbery, they have a red, bubbly crest at the top of their wrists that resembles wet gore; however, they display no bones or bone-like material usually paired with these kinds of grisly displays. Topside, they are composed of a shiny, chitinous material called the outer-shell; glossy, purple-black, it protects their organs from harm and helps them blend into the shadows. The underside is not encased in a shell, but a thick, reptilian hide instead. Rough and unfeeling, it protects the animal from getting hurt while traveling over difficult terrain or from flinching while attempting to feed. They walk on four fingers, balancing and observing their surroundings with the thumb-like limb. Small, black, beady eyes sit on the top and bottom of the thumb. Their eyesite is poor in the light, but it is completely blind in the darkness.

Pulling out a flashlight, Agent 1073 looks at its undeerside; feeling provoked, it flails against the box’s viewing window, biting at the material. On the bottom of each finger-looking appendage, is a circular opening. With these specialized suction-cup mouths, they quickly procure food; full of tiny fangs, the mouth holds onto prey as the teeth spin at an angle, cutting a circular sliver of flesh from a host in seconds. Afterward, the hand lets go and scuttles in the opposite direction, far away from retaliation. Small, they need very little to sustain themselves and don’t need to hunt very often - though they won’t pass up on an opportunity for an easy meal, like this trap box. Hunting at the same time, the creatures rely on speed and surprise.

Though the animal can only gargle and hiss, it is not particularly quiet. Its shell and dry skin rub together as it moves, making loud, raspy, crispy sounds. Most hear the hands approaching before they attack; if very hungry, it may still try to bite anyway. Bites are painful and about half an inch in diameter, so they will need proper disinfectant and wound care. 

The state of the caged pair denotes that change is coming. The outer shell is nearing molt; vulnerable, the BCWPA will keep it under monitoring before transferring it to the Interdimensional Exploration Unit for release. A few hundred years old, continued tracking in the paranormal plane will help us learn the life expectancy - and hopefully, reproduction - of such alien organisms. Agent 1073 pulls out a dark cloth bag, gently sliding the box into it. The light-blocking bag will soothe the creature, making its journey more tolerable.

If you would like to learn more about Path Hands, bibelotites, or would like to see a picture of the Path Hands, visit www.ballyraven.com/encyclopedia/path-hands . The BCWPA has prints of the Path Hands field study available to purchase at ballyraven.com/store.