[RECORDING BEGINS]

ARCHIVIST

Statement of Samuel Adams, regarding an interaction with… an eight-legged deer. Original statement given February 7, 2013. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London. Statement Begins.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

You’ll have to forgive if you struggle with reading this. I’ve always had terrible handwriting, and the details I remember are hazy at best. I doubt you’ll even believe me– nobody else does, but you guys look into this stuff, right? I’d like you to try, at least.

This all started around late December, when I’d gotten in touch with a few friends from America. I planned to visit them and ski in the Appalachians, so we set the date for the week of January 27th, and that’s exactly what we did. I booked a ticket and got ready to go. I’ve been skiing for a really long time. Started when I was eight, on a trip to Switzerland. I’m not a bad skier, but not the best. Point is, I didn’t have a freak accident because of inexperience, alright? All of these marks were deliberate, and I was NOT hallucinating. 

I actually had a lot of fun that week. Had some great runs, the snow was pretty good, and had a blast hanging with friends I really wish I could see more often. There was a pretty good bar at the lodge where we stayed. It’s called Stag’s Head. The locals say it’s due to the large amount of deer that live near the lodge, in the woods. Apparently they’re pretty friendly, and if you’ve got some chips, they might let you come a little closer. I didn’t see any though. At least, not till the end of my stay. 

I’d stepped outside for a second, just to… actually, I’ve no idea what I was doing out there, in the freezing cold and pitch black dark of the woods, illuminated only by the lights from Stag’s Head. I’d had two drinks at most, so I was a little tipsy, but far from unable to make sound decisions. I was just standing there, minding my own business, when I saw it. Well, not entirely. All I saw at first was just two glowing eyes. Then four. Then it moved just close enough so that I could see it, but in the dark, I thought there were two of them. But it was one deer. A common deer, but it wasn’t right. At first I thought it was a doe giving a buck a piggyback ride, of all ridiculous things. But that’s not what it was. The deer had two heads. One doe, with the head of a buck on top with large, branching antlers. And when I looked at the body, it got worse. From where the shoulders of the deer sprouted two legs, and the hind legs looked like they’d split in half, forming two conjoined legs each complete with fully formed hooves. So the whole… thing had two heads, and eight legs total. And it was looking straight. At. Me.

  I just kind of stood there. I’m not daft, I wasn’t planning on approaching it. And this is going to sound really stupid, but it looked furious at me. Like I’d personally offended it, somehow. I think the worst thing I did was say hello to it, at that point. But then, I made a really stupid choice, and pulled out my phone to take a picture of the thing.

I think I was halfway through snapping one photo when it lunged at me. I had no idea deer could be so… violent. Miraculously, my phone was just fine, but I wish I could say that about myself instead. The antlers jabbed me in the stomach, and I found out the hard way that all of those legs were capable of kicking. I’m honestly surprised I was able to stand up, but I did, and saw that deer running back into the forest. And when I looked back, There was something– someone else. This big, hulking figure that I’m pretty sure was a man, but his silhouette made it seem like he had far too many limbs. I think he laughed– a low gravelly chuckle was the last thing I heard before completely blacking out. I woke up to my friends dragging me back into Stag’s head, shrieking for medical attention. 

I arrived back in London two days after that happened. I don’t think I’ll stay away from skiing, but I do think I’ll stay out of the woods from now on.

ARCHIVIST

Statement ends. I don’t believe this statement was ever properly followed up, but… it seems highly unlikely that it would be successful. Besides, I highly doubt that whatever occurred wasn’t the result of either head trauma or intoxicated hallucinations. We did contact Mr. Adams for a follow-up statement, which he gave willingly enough. According to some locals, they have mentioned seeing something similar, but are wise enough to stay away. Apparently, they have named this deer ‘Francisco’, which is ridiculous enough, if this deer does exist. Mr. Adams did send us the photograph he attempted to take of the thing, but the quality is poor and the only things that can be made out are three pairs of glowing eyes– two from the deer, and one from somewhere in the background. According to Mr. Adams, after asking for more information on this supposed background man, this figure in the background seemed to have a relatively handsome face, was incredibly tall, and seemed to be in possession of the deer.

The only other person I can think of with that description would be one Jared Hopworth, though that is only a guess and cannot be confirmed. However, if looking closely in the photograph and also security footage that Sasha managed to retrieve, oddly placed hoof prints can be seen alongside extremely large footprints. Staff at the lodge has reported no such evidence of molds or imprinting devices on the property.

Recording ends.