The Manacles
[comments:(0), views:(3316), rating:(0.0)]

Author: Steve Hatherley
Homepage: http://www.flar.demon.co.uk/
System: Call of Cthulhu
Type: Hook
Category: Horror
Requirements:

	THE MANACLES
	  The Manacles are a cluster of forbidding rocks 
	jutting from the sea nine miles east-north-east of 
	Lizard Point, the most southerly point of England. 
	Although only a square mile in area, the Manacles 
	have wrecked hundreds of ships and claimed 
	thousands of lives.
	  The church at St Keverne, a mile away, has more 
	than four hundred shipwreck victims in its 
	graveyard. The sea bed contains many more.
	  The Manacles get their name from an old and 
	obscure legend concerning a young boy and Satan. The 
	boy hates his brutal father who is always whipping 
	and beating him. Eventually, sick of his father's 
	drunken rages, the boy strikes a bargain with Satan 
	- but Satan's price is high. He wants the boy's 
	soul.
	  The bargain is sealed and Satan keeps his word. 
	The father is struck insane and hurls himself from a 
	cliff to his death. Stricken with grief, the boy 
	goes to a priest and confesses his sin. The priest 
	forgives and blesses the boy, but cannot stop Satan 
	from claiming his price.
	  In blind panic the boy steals a boat and rows out 
	to sea, desperately trying to hide from Satan. 
	However, the Devil is not stupid and catches the boy 
	alone at sea. Reaching up with claws the size of 
	hills, Satan claims the young boy's soul. However, 
	the boy is blessed and as Satan's huge claws 
	envelope him, they turn to stone.
	  The legend has it that Satan is still under the 
	sea, trapped by his stone manacles to that same 
	spot.
	  The legend is almost entirely forgotten now and in 
	calm weather the Manacles are a popular fishing 
	area.
	MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN CORNWALL, G Hall, 1921
	
	That legend cannot be found anywhere else but in this book. 
The Manacles derive their name from 'maen eglos' which means 'stone 
church' in Cornish.
	Just around from Manacle Point (on the nearby coast) is 
Porthoustock. The cliffs there are carved into grotesque shapes by 
extensive blasting.

Possibilities
1       The legend is partially correct and a Great Old One is 
imprisoned beneath the sea bed. The quarrying and blasting at 
Porthoustock has been started by a small group of dedicated 
worshippers that wish to free the Great Old One.

2       The legend is a complete fabrication, but there was evil 
present at one time. Upon the Manacles an ancient Deep One temple, 
the stone church, can be found. It was abandoned centuries ago and can 
be found by anyone who explores the Manacles.

3       The stone church is still an active Deep One temple, with 
their hybrids quarrying away at Porthoustock to free a Star-Spawn of 
Cthulhu trapped there. They are still a long way from freeing the 
vast beast.

Copyright (c) 1990 Steve Hatherley
steve@flar.demon.co.uk