An essay by Professor Philip Fowler, as provided by Jimmy Bernard
Art by Errow Collins
The tale that will be described here is one of tragedy and mystery intertwined. For many years, people have wondered about the fate of Henrietta Beauchanson, widow of the late oil magnate, Philip Beauchanson. The facts concerning her demise are clear as water, but it is not here that the mystery lies.
Twenty years ago, she died in her house on Longberry road, after a long period of uncertainty and fear. The men who found her remains never fully recovered and haven’t spoken about the event since the filing of their official report. The house where she spent her final days is still for sale and will eventually be torn down, to fully remove the stain that Madame Beauchanson has left on the neighbourhood. Besides valiant children trying to prove their bravery, no one has entered the house since that fateful night and the scream in the dark. One evening there was a small fire, which was extinguished through a window. The police captain and fire brigade sergeant who entered the home came out sweating and trembling with fear.
It’s a tale easy to lose oneself in, especially with all the mystery surrounding it. What will be written down here is a collection of notes and personal experiences, given by people who were in any way related to the events which took place that fateful night. This document will be concluded with several fragments of Madame Beauchanson’s diary, which was found beside her lifeless body.
It is important to try to keep a scientific mind while reading these accounts, for folklore and mythology have no place in the modern world of today.
It was cold. The whole house felt cold. It reminded me of my grandpa’s basement–it’s always cold there as well. I didn’t wanna go in, but Peter Pallson and the others called me chicken. I told them I wasn’t chicken, but they kept making chicken noises at me, even when I told them to stop.
To read the rest of this story, check out the Mad Scientist Journal: Winter 2017 collection.
Professor Philip Fowler has a degree in forensic science and psychology. He specializes in unsolved or mysterious crime cases and devotes himself to shining a new light on these. His colleagues describe him as a detailed but obsessive scientist. It is unknown where this keen interest of his originates from and some speculate it could have something to do with the death of his younger brother, when Professor Fowler was a mere boy.
He resides in Bruges, Belgium, where he has an office looking out on the canal.
Jimmy Bernard is a 25-year-old writer with a degree in applied psychology. He works as an HR analyst and writes stories in his spare time. Besides writing, he plays guitar and spends most of his time reading. He resides in Belgium and visits Professor Fowler, a very old friend of his, at least twice a month, to discuss some of the new cases he has uncovered.
Errow is a comic artist and illustrator with a predilection towards the surreal and the familiar. She pays her time to developing worlds not quite like our own with her artist fiancee and pushing the queer agenda. She probably left a candle burning somewhere. More of her work can be found at errowcollins.wix.com/portfolio.
“The Case Of Henrietta Beauchanson” is © 2017 Jimmy Bernard
Art accompanying story is © 2017 Errow Collins
