The Haunted Mimic [LINKS] (Patreon)

Gargantuan Monstrosity, Neutral, Cr 9

The House Nobody Recognizes…

When a mimic has grown far too large to masquerade as a humble treasure chest, it must adopt a new form to deceive its prey. A Haunted Mimic is one such specimen that has discovered a newly docile and unassuming appearance that invites visitation. Mortals’ fascination with the macabre can often lead them to make questionable decisions. The Haunted Mimic takes advantage of this foolishness, taking on the appearance of a once-noble but now dilapidated home, complete with cobwebbed furnishings, creaky doorways, and eerie ambiance. This behavior, though odd, is quite ingenious, for who can resist a peek inside the scary house at the end of the road?

The Perfect Haunted House. Rattling shutters, creaky floorboards, and decaying walls with hanging portraits of unknown nobles. A story waiting to be discovered, a relic waiting to be taken, rooms waiting to be explored. Behind the perfectly mysterious furnishings and meticulously placed decay there is a hunger for those who would explore it. The Haunted Mimic is both the lure and the mouth, beckoning its prey to throw themselves into its waiting maw.

Eerie Echoes. The Haunted Mimic is always accompanied by creaks and groans associated with an abandoned house, but one can also hear the sound of voices from within. The voices may sound like the wailing of spirits, waiting to be discovered by investigators of the paranormal, or may even be voices familiar to those outside. Those unaware of this creature’s tricks may seek to help a person they can hear screaming from within, unaware that the owner of that very voice is likely long dead. Aside from the usual physical mimicry employed by its kind, the Haunted Mimic has the ability to copy any sound it has heard, including the the voices of those who have graced its decayed halls. When it fails to entice explorers with an intriguingly frightful setting, it can resort to playing on one’s sense of duty to protect others.

House Hunter. Overly friendly neighbors, poor adventurers seeking shelter, and daring children looking to test their mettle are the most common of the mimic’s meals as they wander unsuspectingly into its maw. The older the mimic gets, the bigger threat it becomes. With each victim it consumes, its arsenal of vocal projections grows ever more expansive, allowing it to lure even more souls into its clutches. Just before anyone can become too suspicious of the house that coincidentally appeared a few days prior to a number of townsfolk going missing, it vanishes under the cover of night, seeking out a new dead end road to occupy.

The inside of the house looks just as disheveled as the exterior. Displaced furniture litters the floor, accented with almost artfully placed cobwebs. A layer of dust covers everything, disturbed only with a perfect trail of footprints leading to the stairway. Almost too perfect, you think, as though something wants you to follow them deeper into the bowels of the rickety house. Just as this thought comes to you you hear a slam as the doors swing closed of their own accord. The furniture and floorboards ungulate around you, and you swear under the creaking of the wood, you hear the sound of a stomach growling.

10/23 Vote: Haunted House

Images and PDF HERE!