The Vermillion House

There is a 50 acre patch out past the fringes of town. Clean, well manicured and surrounded by a forbidding stone fence.  Sitting square at the center of a fairly tortuous forrest is a very large white manor house. Parking is around the back on the other side of the enormous pool.

The House is owned “on paper” by the Wellsley-Barrington Investment group. But everyone who knows anything knows that the real owners of the House is the Van Doren family.  

The House, which sits on their ancestral land, is a temple and a retreat from the ravages of modern life. Great Grandfather dedicated this place to his love of the epicurean philosophy. And each month, a fete is held for the richest and most powerful old money families. Where one can sample the finest cuisine, partake of potent potables, have access to exotic chemical entertainments, and in certain parts of the house, indulge in the most depraved acts of sexual theater known to man.

And if that were all that was going on. Who would care really?  So what. Big deal. you’ve got yourself an “Eyes Wide Shut” cult of your very own.

But that’s NOT all that is going on.

Most of the members don’t actually even know. Many are vetted over a long period of time to see what their attitudes are. Some are tested, but a lot of that has gone by the way-side in the face of a fairly robust predictive model that can psychologically profile the membership based on several indices and a writing sample or two.

But once, one is “Raised to the Purple” (I.E. Allowed to wear a purple robe and the Vermillion Mask) one becomes a member of the House’s inner circle and the power that goes along with that accolade is staggering.

The Vermillion House was originally a cult that grew into a potent occult group in it’s own right. But if spells and rituals were all that was going on...Yeah. Again. Big deal. So you’re sex fiends and you dig satanism. So what?

Well it’s like this. Once a quarter, The Vermillion House hosts a meeting of the Inner Circle, where business is talked, and votes are taken.  And then, at a ceremonial dinner, they eat the flesh of a human being.

The operation that allows this to happen is a very well oiled and compartmentalized machine.  The people who snatch the target, don’t necessarily know that the target is going to be killed. They are handsomely paid.  The people who torture and murder the target for the cameras. Aren’t told how the body is disposed of. They are handsomely paid. The crew that butchers the body are only told that it must be butchered in a certain way in order to prevent it’s identification. They are handsomely paid. And when the meat is delivered to the Vermiliion house. It is not delivered to the upstairs kitchen. It is delivered to the downstairs kitchen, where some member of the Inner Circle sees to it’s proper disposition. For many years now, Lennox Van Doren has worked his culinary genius for this ceremonial ritual. and it has paid him in many many ways.

What do they get out of it?  That is largely up to you. One could posit the idea of a very high-lineage family of CoC Mythos ghouls, stealing thoughts and experiences from the flesh of the people they eat.  One could posit rejuvenative qualities from the ritual meal itself. Certainly, no one has succumbed to Prion sickness.

But for the most part, the real reason that the Inner Circle does what they do, is because they are so rich and powerful...

They can. And no one can stop them really.

Story Uses:

*Following the thread of a missing loved one might lead to the front foyer of hell on earth. Perhaps you’r character lost someone and has finally managed to trace them back to this accursed place, only to discover that the House has judges, legislators, and some of the most powerful people in your chronicle city playing along.  Most of them don’t know anything about the cannibalism and will simply move heaven and earth in order to protect their good time. Good luck crawling out from the million ton shit-hammer that is about to come down on you.

*Every few years or so, some lackwit on the Inner Council gets the bright idea to suggest that they hunt humans for sport on House grounds. Cooler heads almost always prevail. “I mean, what if they got away or harmed someone of quality? Think of the scandal!”   But you know, it’s just possible that a party crasher might find out that exceptions can be made.

* While it’s certainly a tempting fruit for some enterprising supernatural creature to pick, The Vermillion House has always made it clear that it will run it’s own affairs thank you very much.  It often invites supernatural creatures to come round to one of the big parties and treats them like visiting royalty.  But at some point, it’s usually made VERY clear to them, that the Inner Circle calls the shots here. The Inner Circle is mystically potent enough to defend the House against anything short of an Exarch invasion. and the raw amount of influence that it can throw at a target is enough to make most vampires curl up in a fetal ball and make high pitched keening noises.  And you know, there are some horrors in the World of Darkness that ought to stay uniquely human.

* Okay. So maybe, you find out what’s going on. And maybe you disapprove.  And maybe, you actually have the balls to try to do something about it.  I don’t know what sort of iron-clad proof you’d have to provide in order to get the newspapers to listen to you, and I don’t know what sort of documents you’d have to wave in open court.  But lets say for a moment you fought this fight, uphill battle the whole way, and somehow, against all odds or hope, managed to shut all this down...

    The aftermath of this undertaking would be a serious stain on the fabric of your hometown for decades. Never mind the dozens of captains of industry who would go to jail behind this or commit suicide in the face of this, but the whole business would economically depress the whole place in a manner you cannot possibly fathom right now.

   Yeah, it’s like ripping a poisoned heart out of a person who needs that heart to pump their blood.