SPIRALING

"SPIRALING" is the third episode of *The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality*.

Characters:

* The Audio Tour Guide
* Johnny Samuels (mentioned)
* The Man With a Voice Like Honey and Chocolate and Coffee all at Once (mentioned)
* The Horned Boy (part of exhibit)
* The Horned Boy's Father (part of exhibit)
* Dee (part of exhibit)
* The Clockwork Mother (mentioned)
* The Curator (mentioned)

Exhibits:

* A Horn That Grew from the Head of a Boy
* The Antique Radio Transmitter

## A Correction Regarding The Exhibit Titled “The Guitar Of The Man Who Met The Devil At The Crossroads”

The Audio Tour Guide stops briefly to correct a mistake regarding a previously shown exhibit Guitar of the Man Who Met the Devil at the Crossroads. In this correction, Guide clarifies that the Museum received a note claiming to be from Johnny Samuels. In this note, 'Samuels' says the exhibit is falsely continuing the myth that he sold his soul to the devil to receive his musical prowess. 'Samuels' denies this and instead claims he was "taken" by Man with a Voice like Honey and Chocolate and Coffee all at once and later given the chance to slip from his mortal form. He then clarifies The Man does not appreciate being referred to as the devil or any hellish titles and also requests for his guitar back. His request is denied.

## The Horn That Grew from the Head of a Boy

### Content Warning:

Death of a child (Implied, Murder), Parental Neglect, Mob Violence

### Summary

This exhibit tells the story of a boy who was born with a unicorn-like horn protruding from his skull. With a man believed to be his father, he became the main attraction of a travelling circus in which the man would tell stories of his horn. However, upon finding a superstitious mining town recently struck with death, they were attacked. A fight broke out when the boy and man tried to leave, resulting in one miner being impaled on the boy's horn and snapping it off. As the two escaped, they tried crossing an icy lake that broke beneath the weight of their hastily packed carriage. The two managed to escape, but not without breaking the man's leg. After finding shelter in a cave, the man berated the boy who then left in a daze. Hours later, the boy returned with a fish caught in his teeth. This became a regular occurrence until Spring came and the man could now walk and the boy's horn grew back larger and more beautiful. Grateful to the boy, the man allowed him to stay in the wild where he had made his home. The man continued to travel, telling stories of the horned boy and making an even larger profit.

However, the mining town tells a different story. After a collapse and multiple deaths in the mine, a demon child turned up with his owner, "a bitter drunk who kept the creature in chains." When a person tried to approach the two, the owner lashed out and stabbed the man in the heart before the two of them fled. Later, during Spring when the ice had thawed, a woodsman discovered a child's skeleton with a hole in the head in a cave. To protect the town from further evil, they sealed up the cave and never touched it again. No evidence of this cave has been found.

## The Antique Radio Transmitter

A woman called "Dee" (name changed for her privacy), is going to work one day when her music-player breaks. In an attempt to fill the silence, she turns on the radio and accidentally finds the radio station. Even once she arrives at work, she listens closely to the station until it finishes, and she realises she is late to work. Dee then spends all of her work day researching number stations. That night, as she heads home, she decides to put the radio station out of her mind and immediately fails the next morning when the radio starts playing.

Becoming obsessed with the radio station, Dee begins to take sick days off of work, then takes an unofficial holiday, cut off her friends, and only leaves the house for groceries. During this time, she researches how to crack codes and tries to figure out the radio station. After weeks of this, she gives up and throws the radio out of her house and tries to go to sleep. However, she wakes up to static in her head and immediately goes to her car. Turning on the station, she drives for days until she is led to the Mistholme Museum. Upon arriving, she breaks in and traverses the halls to find the antique radio. Once there, the Clockwork Mother finds her and Dee is extensively interviewed to find out how she found the museum and where the radio came from. The Curator intervenes and hires Dee as a part of the research department.