Crossroads

The **Crossroads** are an otherworldly entity and serves as a primary antagonist in both the InCryptid and Ghost Roads series. It is a world-spirit that invaded Earth many centuries ago with ill intent. It primarily communicates using Crossroads Ghosts and Crossroads Guardians as intermediaries.

 **Spoiler warning!**
Ahead are significant plot details from the InCryptid novel, Spelunking Through Hell (2022). Read at your own peril!

## History

Many centuries ago, the Crossroads invaded the world of Lemure and committed genocide on its people. Only a handful escaped to settle elsewhere. After sapping all viable resources from Lemure, the Crossroads abandoned it and eventually found Earth. It continued to use Lemure as a dumping ground for victims of its bargains.

From there, the Crossroads attacked and overpowered the Anima Mundi of Earth. It developed a particular hatred for sorcerers, and sought to destroy, depower, or use them whenever it had the chance.

Several centuries ago, one of James Smith's ancestors made a bargain with the Crossroads that his sorcery would always breed true, "that there may always be a sorcerer in New Gravesend". The Crossroads kept its word, but maliciously interpreted the wording to mean that only one sorcerer of his line needed to be alive at any given time, causing the parent to die as soon as their child's power started manifesting. It also bound his descendants to the town, preventing them from leaving. James's friend Sally attempted to make her own bargain with the Crossroads to release him from his curse, but this only resulted in the Crossroads taking her too.

Around 1950, Bobby Cross made a deal with the Crossroads for eternal youth, which he maintained by consuming the souls of people who died on the road (like Rose Marshall). The King of the North American Routewitches was the living witness, and Mary Dunlavy was the dead one.

In 1956, Thomas Price made a deal with the Crossroads in exchange for Alice's life; the Crossroads had been trying to get to him through Mary for years. Family legend says Thomas spent some time avoiding paying his bargain, locking himself away into smaller and smaller areas of warded space, until he is entirely confined to one room in the house.[*citation needed*] In truth, he was merely confined to the house itself, and the Crossroads waited until Alice was eight months pregnant to take him so that she would be unable to follow. Alice has spent the better part of fifty years searching for Thomas through different dimensions.

In 2015, Antimony Price, through the Crossroads Ghost Mary Dunlavy, made a deal with the Crossroads to save the lives of herself and Sam Taylor from drowning, in exchange for an unspecified future favor. She gave up her magic as collateral. Several months later, the Crossroads came to collect when Antimony and her friends arrived in New Gravesend, Maine. Through Mary, and later Bethany, it demanded that she find out how much James Smith knew about the Crossroads, and then kill him. Antimony instead allied with James to destroy the Crossroads, and with the help of Mary and Leonard Cunningham, Antimony was able to confront it in its own dimension and defeat it.

The death of the Crossroads allowed Alice to make significant progress in locating Thomas; she theorizes that she wasn't able to make several of her key discoveries until the Crossroads were no longer exerting an influence on the worlds.

## Bargains with the Crossroads

People known to have made bargains with the Crossroads include:

* Mary Dunlavy: Became a crossroads ghost
* Bethany: Became a crossroads ghost
* Bobby Cross: Became immortal as long as he reaps souls
* Gwendolyn Brandt: acquired a Bidi-taurabo-haza in exchange for killing Thomas Price
* Thomas Price: Exchanged his freedom for Alice's life
* Antimony Price: Exchanged her magic for Sam's life
* Sally Henderson: Exchanged her freedom for James's ability to leave New Gravesend
* One of James's ancestors
* Various residents of Lemure

## References

1. ↑ Spelunking Through Hell Ch. 21
2. ↑ That Ain't Witchcraft
3. ↑ *Sparrow Hill Road*, "The Killing of Route 14"
4. ↑ Spelunking Through Hell Prologue
5. ↑ Spelunking Through Hell Ch. ?