Jacobs & Co. Psychical Investigators

The banner of Jacobs & Co.

**Jacobs & Co. Psychical Investigators**, also known as simply the **Jacobs & Co.** agency, was a ghost-hunting agency based in Cheviot Hills, a small town north of London in the United Kingdom. Headed by Agent Jacobs, who searched its supervisor, it was the only known agency in town and thus the company people in the area were known to turn to in order to deal with ghosts. This was opposed to larger towns like London which due to their size had a large number of ghost-hunting agencies as a matter of course.

Their standard uniform consisted of a canary yellow jacket with brown sleeves, burgundy slacks and long white socks, these colors largely matching those of their banner.

## History

Following the discovery of her Talent at a young age, Lucy Carlyle is sent to work for the Jacobs & Co. agency on her eighth birthday, the required minimum age for employment. At the time, Agent Jacobs had been running the agency for more than twenty years and was treated with a great deal of respect by the local townsfolk. Lucy quickly learned the ropes of the operation and impressed Jacobs with her Talent in particular for Listening, passing her tests quickly and by her eleventh birthday receiving her Third Grade, and with it her first rapier and a copy of the *Fittes Manual for Ghost-hunters*.

Though Lucy had dreams of continuing with the company and securing her Fourth Grade, allowing her to become a section leader, it was not to be. Lucy's time at the company came to an abrupt end with the tragic Wythburn Mill Incident. Lucy and her fellow agents were sent in by Jacobs to investigate the haunting of the mill. At first, they believed the haunting to only be a weak Type One, but Lucy got a bad feeling. She reported this to Jacobs, but he refused to pull the agents back on only a vague feeling and had grown skittish over the years, unwilling to accompany Lucy back as she asked. As the haunting, a powerful Type Two, manifested, Lucy shouted for Jacobs's help, but saw only the distant ember of his cigarette as he refused to enter. She could only listen to her fellow agents' screams as they were all killed, she the only survivor.

Though heavily criticised at the inquest, Jacobs ultimately escaped blame for the incident. The agents' loss was ruled Death by Misadventure and their families were compensated by the Fittes Fund. The mill was demolished, and Jacobs returned to work shortly thereafter, left to the task of rebuilding his agency. It was expected that Lucy would soon rejoin them, but she instead ran away, seeking employment in London. Due to her abrupt leave from the Jacobs company, she found herself being passed over by numerous agencies for not having her Fourth Grade certificate, nor any reference from Jacobs. She ultimately found employment at Lockwood & Co., its leader, Anthony Lockwood, setting more store by Talent than by references or certificates.

## Behind the scenes

In the Netflix TV series, Lucy Carlyle is made to work for the agency unwillingly by her mother and runs following the mill incident. Her friend Norrie is left alive, but in a seemingly incurable state of ghost lock. Furthermore, when Lucy meets Penelope Fittes at the Fittes Ball in "You Never Asked," she tells Lucy that they have seen to it that Mr. Jacobs will long be in charge of agents again. It is unclear what the status of the Jacobs & Co. agency is in the wake of this, though it is possible it may have become a branch of Fittes.