The below extracts are taken from a set of 30 scrapbooks found in the attic of a ruined clapboard house on the outskirts of Spokane, WA in 2007. The items in the scrapbooks- letters, news clippings, articles, firsthand accounts- were compiled over many decades by a one Mr. R. Jenkins.

Mr. J Jenkins’ one consuming obsession seems to have been a group of three shadowy figures who he referred to as “the Hydes”, and a bizarre, noisome phenomenon that accompanied them which he terms “the maelstrom”. He spent over 40 years collecting this information and writing his feelings and speculations about it. Here follow a few samples of the ephemera that are the fruit of his idee fixe.

A letter on yellowed paper is the oldest of the documents. It is headed: “Sain Nicholas, Near Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, 14th October, 1803.

The letter is from a “Catrin” to her cousin “Alis” in Cardiff. It begins “What a to-do there has been tonight” and in a gossipy tone details the doings of a fellow townsman of hers (strangely named “Mr. J”) who was seen near Tinkinswood, a known pre-Christian burial mound and standing stone ruin about a mile from the town.

A one Mrs. Cottrel observed the townsman at the ruin by torchlight “commence to pace about the ruin in circles and circles” with one of his “shocking” books. She and neighbors then saw the mist begin to “dance a jig around the stones”  and see  that “a light shone up from the dreadful place”

After sending for help in the town, she and some neighbor women saw “a whirling and swirling in the mist around the ruin like a spiral, and heard the pounding of low drums and a terrible screeching”.

They then claimed to see “three shadows rise up from the ruin, a tall one, a shorter one and a small one- all black with their clothing swirling about them in the infernal wind”

The incident ended when the townsfolk arrived with torches. “The light went out with a whoosh… Mr. J— was gone in the mist”. Mr. J— was never heard from again, the Vicar speculating that he “has gone straight to h—” and the letter ends: “I am sure no one is very surprised. No good could come of a place they call Castell Carrigan- “witch’s castle”, after all, and that terrible Mr. J— with his wicked books.”

A crumpled telegram sent in 1927 from the SS Hyde,  somewhere in the North Sea-

SS Hyde 66 DEGREES 33’ 46”N 2 DEGREES 06’22”W

LUMINOUS SPIRAL ANOMALY SIGHTED 2344 HOURS GRID REF 04 MARK 5

HEADING NNW STOP DURATION SEVEN MINUTES STOP COMMUNICATIONS

INTERRUPTED THIRTY EIGHT MINUTES STOP THIRD OFFICER VANISHED STOP
CREW REPORTS DISORIENTATION STOP THREE STOWAWAYS SUSPECTED

STOP RETURNING LERWICK WITH ALL DELIBERATE SPEED STOP PLEASE

ADVISE STOP

And lastly, a recently declassified government document which detailed observations of a strange spiral-shaped electrical anomaly by several astronomers throughout the western hemisphere in the mid 1950’s.

It reads, “the anomaly, which pulsated on a frequency that ranged from 88.1 to 333.2 Mz, is located within our solar system, approximately 750 million miles from earth and appeared to be growing at a rate of 3.2% every 24 hours.”

Continuous observations of the anomaly became so important to the scientific community that a research foundation was formed.  “For decades this group of experts has tirelessly observed, analyzed and kept records on this anomaly that they term “the maelstrom”- significantly without the apparent official help or sanction of the governmental and private organizations that normally support these kinds of studies.”

Pasted in below this clipping was a single handwritten note addressed to Mr. Jenkins from an anonymous member of the ‘Hyde Research Society’ indicating that “recent telescope records obtained from an anonymous astronomer in the group indicate current size approaching 10,000 square miles and coming close to the earth.”

Within the margins of this final page of the collection, Mr. Jenkins writes these final comments:

“The preceding article both disturbs and elates me. “The maelstrom” is obviously just the latest manifestation of these same anomalies occurring throughout history.

“I know only one thing for certain- the appearance of that infernal trio, “The Hydes” is related to it.

“The anomaly has never before reached a mass of this magnitude. Its appearance coincides with more recent sightings of The Three who I fear may be the harbingers of our own doom- or glory.

“What fate will this growing maelstrom have on mankind?

“Only time will tell, and all I can do now is helplessly watch.”