The story takes place in the fictional town of Rainfield, Ohio, USA. A moderately sized city of about eighty thousand citizens in the last census, it is a few hours away from Cincinnati, at its north.
History & Details
Founded by British settlers, history says they arrived to the place where they would eventually settle in the middle of a violent storm. Thus the city was named Rainfield, although, as many have pointed out before, rain isn’t especially frequent in the state.
Rainfield remained a minor town for most of its history, although Cincinnati’s growth eventually benefited the town thanks to its strategic positioning near the city. Most of Rainfield’s industry consisted on logging, as there was a thick forest near the northern part of the town, and farming. Then, the ambitious businessman Gerard Hawk, born in Rainfield, established his food processing industries in the town during the early sixties, linking it with the farms around Rainfield. This kickstarted a process of industrialization that saw the town increase in size and population until it became a moderately sized city with a rising industry. Hawk had a brief tenure as mayor of the city and encouraged the industrial growth. Later on, he’d expand his investments on car manufacturing, establishing a few factories in the city, before passing away during the late eighties. He’s considered the city’s most notorious character, and his descendants remained in Rainfield.
Politically, Rainfield has always been a swing city, although it has leaned to the Democrat side the last few elections.
The population in the city is very diverse, as for some reason it has been a magnet for people of other states that migrated to Ohio.
Economically, Rainfield has been a minor industry center since the sixties, dominated by Hawk Industries, who are also the employers of a big chunk of the city’s population. However, some competition has sprung up along the years, with the most important one being Williams & Johnson’s Enterprises. Lately, as the country has fallen into a crisis, the city has been hit with a recession which has affected the lower and middle classes.
The RP starts the 7th of November, 2013, a surprisingly warm Thursday …
Locations of Note:
-The Upper Town
That is the name given to the residential district on the city’s north-west. Generally speaking, this is where the upper class families of Rainfield have their home, and it consists on a series of estates distributed with ample space between them, each family owning a rather decent plot of land. A very picturesque district, it is considered the most beautiful place of the city, although few can indeed afford to live there. Most of the inhabitants of the district are indeed old money families, although quite a few new rich families have established themselves here as well.
The spacing between each estate leads to the place looking quite unlike a city, resembling more a collection of upscale households erratically distributed on a field. While it was modernized and urbanized during the sixties, it is still quite the odd sight.
-----The Hawk Estate
The biggest and fanciest house in the entire city. Gerdard Hawk bought an unused plot of land in middle of the Upper Town and spared no expense in building the mansion of his dreams. Now, the massive house is inhabited by his three sons and his daughter, each with their own family, and they still have space to spare. The building is so huge and expansive that it is said to cover the equivalent of a few city blocks by itself.
The massive mansion is somewhat of a tourist spot, and is rather infamous in the whole state.
-----The Williams Estate
The Williams are a family that established themselves on the city at the beginning of the last century. Descended of an old money family in Great Britain, they inherited a fortune that dwindled as time passed and was wasted in unproductive enterprises. It was the current head, Jason Williams, who collaborated with Sean Johnson to establish Williams & Johnson’s Enterprises, the one that managed to reestablish the family’s fortune. This led to them becoming the direct competitors to Hawk Industries, the umbrella that covered all of the Hawk family’s investments on the zone, and held an almost-monopoly over Rainfield.
The estate hangs at the eastern limit of the upper town, a sober white manor on the center of a lush garden.
-----The Baudelaire Estate
An estate far away from the rest of city, at the edge of the Upper Town, practically at the shadow of the Old Woods. An eerie, gothic-style manor stands there, abandoned after its last occupant died in strange circumstances during the seventies, and has since then been said to be haunted. It takes only to put a foot in the estate to feel something wrong about this place.
Was acquired two years ago by famous, rich and eccentric writer James Baudelaire, who was searching for inspiration for his horror novels, and he now lives here with his son David and a maid. If the house was considered a dark and strange place before, it has now become truly terrible after James filled the whole place with sculptures, sketches, and designs of otherworldly monstrosities and strange horrors. The whole manor now feels like it had stepped right out of a horror film.
-----The Madison Estate
An old estate near the Center, owned before by an old money family that died out during the late seventies, their last scion disappearing to never be found. Five years ago, Clyde Madison Sr. Esquire, a prominent prosecuting attorney, acquired an interest in the state, and bought and restored it. He now lives there with his wife, his son, and his stepdaughter.
The rather upscale household stands on the center of the plot of land, with a rather well-trimmed garden surrounding it. A relatively standard example of an Upper Town Estate, what makes it noticeable is the big well at the back of the house, and how lavishly decorated it has been by Clyde Madison Sr.
-----The Edwards Estate
The household of the Edwards family, which has lived in Rainfield since a long time ago. A prominent family, it had produced rather important people since long ago, and is currently led by surgeon Robert Edwards and his wife Deborah. The Edwards now live in a constant state of motion, traveling all over the United States. However, their daughter, tired of the constant uprooting of her life, eventually rebelled against her parents and returned to her old house. Now she lives here almost alone, attended only by an old butler.
The mansion is a rather big, castle-like structure that looms near the Residential District, being cared for somehow by only a single butler.
-----Melworth Plaza
A tranquil plaza in the Upper Town, near the Hawk Estate. A big, open green space apart from the rest of the city. Home to Rainfield’s botanical garden to one side, and the zoo to the other, as well as a small artificial lake on its center, it is a tranquil, carefully gardened space away from the frantic urban life found elsewhere in the city. Highly recommended for those who want a silent walk or a moment of tranquility enjoying the views.
The plaza is named after the leader of the settlers that founded the town.
-----Church of St Francis
A big, fancy church built sixty years ago in replacement to the church that was damaged in the fire. Although not a cathedral, it was built with much luxury, and its fancy outside makes it one of the landmarks of the city, built to celebrate its newfound wealth. It stands at the edge of the Upper Town, almost at the city’s center.
-----St. Francis’ Junior & High School
A private school positioned near the church, it’s mostly oriented to the rich people living in the Upper Town, as well as the upper middle class. Rather selective with their students, it has recently obtained some bad fame due to some ugly bullying incidents, as well as the extremely elitist attitude of the institution. Combined with the popularity of their competitor, many families have preferred to send their children to Rainfield High School.
Students of both schools tend to be rather competitive against each other.
-Residential District
At the west and southwest of the city is the residential district, where the middle and lower classes live. The makeup of this district tends to be rather diverse, with standard houses at the side of bigger apartment buildings, but none of the buildings are very tall, at most five stories tall. In general, the inhabitants’ income is lower the more to the south one goes. The district is very functional, and contains just residences and stores, and a few small plazas.
-----Grace Household
A house at the northwest of the district, it is where John and Helen Grace decided to make their life. The house itself isn’t that big, although its size is enough for them to live comfortably with their daughter, and having a lot of leftover space, including a guest room that has basically become Abby’s.
The house’s garden is particularly well taken care of, and during spring and summer, it’s a sight to behold.
-----Aurora Household
An upscale house at the northeast of the district, pretty much bordering the Upper Town. There lives Luna’s family: her parents, two scientists that spend most of their time out of their house, often even sleeping at their workplace. This means that she’s often alone in her house.
While it is rather fancy, during the last few years it has acquired a look of abandonment.
-----Artemis Household
A rather standard house at the center of the district. Owned by a police officer, the house is rather small, but comfortable and lacking in nothing. However, the part of the district its positioned into has been object of many strange robberies lately, putting everyone on edge.
-----Levitts Household
A rather fancy-looking house in the northwest of the district, where the Levitts live, practically neighboring the Graces. Possesses a big backyard, with a garden, a pool, a shed, and a dividing fence where the stray cats of the neighborhood often hang out.
-----Flatts’ Apartment
Minnesota’s apartment is in a five-story tall apartment building at the southern part of the district. A small apartment owned entirely by her, where she lives alone, with the occasional pestering of friends. Often smells like smoke despite her best efforts, much to her nosy neighbors’ annoyance.
-----Miles Household
A small and cramped house at the south of the district. While not lacking in the essentials, it also has little to no luxury. Despite its size, it feels warm and lived in. The place is considered a bad neighborhood, but no grave incidents have happened since the disappearances a few years ago.
-The Slums
Nowadays calling the southeastern part of the city a ‘slum’ is somewhat of a misnomer, but many years ago it indeed used to be a slum where the poorer inhabitants of the city would live in squalor. After Hawk Industries enriched the town, and it expanded into a city, the Slums were urbanized and the government constructed many houses, expanding the city to receive a new wave of workers. It is still the poorer part of the city, but not exactly as bad a place as its old name makes it sound.
-The Old Town
The first houses made in Rainfield were mostly wooden structures, that were slowly abandoned as time passed on and the town became bigger, and better houses became available. The old neighborhood at the northeast of the city was mostly abandoned, but a few inhabitants remained until the big fire burned the district sixty years ago. The buildings weren’t destroyed, but most were heavily damaged, and finally the place became completely empty.
Many Rainfield mayors have since then tried to push forth projects to demolish the district and replace it, but always a problem or the other surged, and thus the Old Town remained behind, a bunch of empty structures that nobody, not even the homeless, dare to live into.
Nowadays, few people venture there. Although in modern America, year 2013, nobody will say the word “haunted”, it is true that when standing on the abandoned district, one always feels a strange sense of wrongness. And the darkened, empty buildings with their creaking and windows that are like eyes don’t help the matter.
-----The Old Church
The old church at the border of the district was the least affected by the fire that consumed the district. It still stands tall, looming, a dark mass with strange windows, somewhat damaged but still imposing. Abandoned after the fire, the church remained empty until twenty years ago, when it was settled into by an old preacher, believed to be crazy by the majority of the population. He’s still willing to give sermons every Sundays, and it is rumored that in his strange speeches, nuggets of wisdom can be found.
-----The Old Woods
A dense forest in the northern outskirts of the city. A long time ago, logging was one of the main industries of the town. Although with the passing of the centuries that activity died off, the forest was reduced somewhat. Some reforestation activities were done later, but then abandoned and left unsupervised, and the forest grew over its old wounds, wild and untamed. It was called the Old Woods, and it is a dark place nobody ever ventures to.
It stands past the Old Town, wrapping on the edges of the district until it reaches the eastern border of the Upper town. The sense of wrongness one can fell in the Old Town is multiplied in the woods, and they’re a place that the children of the city have learnt to fear. Not only have people disappeared there frequently, but rumors of strange happenings in the forest are very widespread, and just by observing it from far away, one can notice that it feels and looks like another realm entirely, a place where the rules are different. And sometimes, people swear they can see dark things spying from between the faraway leaves.
There are also rumors of a cabin existing within the forest that may be inhabited.
Originally Posted by Mike1984
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