Rest in Peace Investigations: Beyond the Veil

My name is Henry Bartholomew Stratham. I can be found on the dark web as a paranormal fixer. What most people don’t know is that there’s an alternate dimension that is superimposed over our own space and time. This other dimension is home to the dwarves, goblins, trolls, and fairies who are mentioned in so many of our world’s folktales.

While most humans lack the ability to see into this alternate reality, much less travel there; the faire folk do not have the same limitations. Since their reality is based in another dimension, whenever they visit our world, most humans can’t even see them.

Although most of the faire folk who visit are peaceful, some are mischievous. Gnomes with a sock fetish might take one sock out of every pair leaving the human in question with a drawer full of mismatched socks. A group of snickering brownies might be responsible for simulating poltergeist-like activities complete with dresser drawers that open and close on their “own accord” and books that seemingly “fly” across the room. When combined with disconcerting moaning sounds and half-seen illusions of ghostly figures drifting through walls; these “pranks” can be downright frightening.

A few of these creatures are also dangerous. Trolls and ogres for example, have a fondness for human flesh. Some of the murders that have been attributed to an unknown serial killer have in fact been committed by one or more monsters.

This then is the bread and butter of my business. Since I have the gift of inner sight and can see and interact with these intra-dimensional beings, I sell my services as a “paranormal” fixer; an intermediary who can act on behalf of my clients when communing with ‘the unseen powers’. Since most people assume that these “unseen powers” are ghosts, I have seen no point in correcting them since doing so would involve making far too many explanations.

As to how I got the gift of inner sight is anybody’s guess. It’s possible that my ability might be genetic. Although most people know my father as Dr. Stratham, a small-town family doctor, in actuality he is Merlin; THE Merlin of Arthurian legend who lived in Camelot and worked with the Knights of the Round Table.

My mother was a witch and not the pleasant earth-mother sort of magic user such as the one depicted by Catherine Bell in the ‘Good Witch’ tv series. Instead of being kind and loving, my birth parent was an evil practitioner of the Dark Arts. I haven’t seen her since Dad drove her away after he caught her holding a Satanic knife to my throat while I lay on a stone altar table in our basement.

As if all of that wasn’t enough for a lifetime of psycho-therapy, I am also autistic. While I am not a savant or even a genius, much to the bitter disappointment of my father, I have an eidetic memory. When combined with my gift of inner sight, I possess what can only be described as a unique skill set.

Although my occupation is not technically illegal, most authorities consider my line of work to be little more than that of a con-job. This is why I advertise my services on the dark web and use various aliases that I’ll burn when things get too hot from a legal perspective.

Due to issues with the mafia who wanted a “piece” of my action as well as a misunderstanding in the Fair Realm which has resulted in an elf led squad of ogres who have been trying to arrest me, I was in the process of changing identities and relocating out of Las Vegas when I was diverted to find, recover, and deliver a magical orb to Her Sublime Luminance, Queen Thessalia of the Fair Realm. Little did I know that this mission would become my biggest challenge ever; involving the magical use of a bottomless bag, an alternate reality in which the Nazis won World War II, time travel back to 1944, and a prolonged visit to the Fair Realm where I encountered a psychotic flower nymph, fell afoul of the local constabulary, and met a talking otter.