Catalogue of the Trapped Dead

Also known as **The Skin Book**, it is an untitled book with paranormal properties, Gerard Keay refers to it as a Catalogue of the Trapped Dead. Each page is made of human skin, and most are written in Sanskrit, though they can be written in other languages. It is connected with The End.

## Properties

The book itself holds pages that must be manually created and added to the book. By making pages from a dead person's skin and writing a depiction of how they died, the person's spirit is bound to the page. The person can then be summoned by a living reader if the page describing their death is read. Existence in the book is said to be painful, and the spirits claim to be aware that they are not really the original person.

Pages removed from the book retain their ability to summon the person, but burning the page will release the bound victim.

Mary Keay found a way to bind herself to the book with the ability to manifest herself at will, with the ability to interact with physical objects.

### Known Pages

* Unknown Man: bound by Dr. Margaret Tellison (1955)
* Eric Delano: bound by Mary Keay (unknown date)
* Mary Keay: bound by herself (2008)
* Gerard Keay: bound by Gertrude Robinson (2014)

## Known Owners

* Dr. Margaret Tellison
* Mary Keay
* Gerard Keay
* Gertrude Robinson
* Julia Montauk and Trevor Herbert
* Jonathan Sims (one page, destroyed)

## History

The book is first seen used by Dr. Tellison in 1955. The young Mary Keay observes her killing an unnamed woman in her office, writing in Sanskrit on the dead woman's back with black ink, and then removing the rectangular piece of flesh to hang on a hook to dry. Dr. Tellison then summons the spirit of a man (whom Mary recognizes as a previous patient) by reading aloud from a certain page in the book, then interrogates him to access his money. Mary proceeds kill Dr. Tellison to steal the book, intending to use it for better things than money. Mary works for years to learn Sanskrit and master the book.

Five years into their marriage, Mary kills Eric Delano and binds him into the book.

In 2008 Mary speaks to Gertrude Robinson, recounting how she acquired the books and claims to know all of the book's secrets, except one, although she's close to cracking that too — this secret is later revealed to be how to bind herself to the book. Mary gives a page from the book to Gertrude, later confirmed to be Eric Delano's page.

Later in 2008, Mary attempts a ritual to bind herself to the book in an attempt to become "beyond death", but is not entirely successful. She becomes "powerful but erratic" and is able to "manifest almost at will," punctuated by periods of fading away. When Mary manifests, she now appears as a shaven woman covered in Sanskrit tattoos and can interact with the physical world.

In 2013, Mary's son, Gerard Keay, steals the book and brings it to Gertrude, who destroys Mary's page and Mary with it.

In late 2014, upon Gerard's death. Gertrude binds him to the book, leaving it to sit in a police evidence locker for almost a year before it disappears.

In 2017, the book is revealed to be in the possession of the Hunter duo Trevor Herbert and Julia Montauk, who regularly summon Gerard from the book to use his knowledge of paranormal monsters. When they allow Jonathan Sims to borrow the book to speak to Gerard, he rips out the page at Gerard's request and later burns it to free him.

## References

1. ↑ MAG 154
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 MAG 111: Family Business
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 MAG 154: Bloody Mary
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 MAG 4: Page Turner
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 MAG 62: First Edition
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 MAG 107: Third Degree
7. ↑ MAG 117: Testament