Articles & News/Ancient Demon Killed Family

The following article was published on the front page of the Weekly Watcher on March 26, 1959. Multiple versions of the article seemed to exist.

Version 1

One version of the article was available at the Hawkins Public Library:

VICTOR CREEL CLAIMS: ANCIENT DEMON KILLED FAMILY The Murder That Shocked A Small Community WAS IT A TRIPLE HOMICIDE? OR DEMONIC RITUAL?! Roane County prosecutors successfully argued that Victor Creel, 40, is a cold-blooded killer, responsible for the brutal slayings of his beautiful wife Virginia, 36, and their two innocent children, Alice, 15, and little Henry, 12. But even now from behind bars at Pennhurst Mental Hospital, Victor insists that he is innocent. According to several insiders, Victor believes his house was haunted by an ancient "demon". He maintains that this vengeful demon terrorized his family, reaching a bloody climax on that awful night in March.

Version 2

A slight variation of the article existed:

Triple homicide? Or demonic ritual? Prosecutors successfully argued that Victor Creel, age 40, is a cold-blooded killer, responsible for the brutal slayings of his beautiful wife Virginia, age 36, and their two innocent children, Alice, 15, and little Henry, 12. But even now from behind bars at Pennhurst Mental Hospital, Victor insists that he is innocent. He maintains that a vengeful demon terrorized his family, reaching a bloody climax on that tragic night in March. Whomever you believe, the strange case of the Creel family has put the heretofore sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana on the map. "It is safe to say that the entire region will never be the same again," District Attorney Philip Bradley said of the ordeal. Now, our sources inside the mental hospital where Creel is serving out his life sentence have gotten the exclusive scoop from Creel himself, including grizzly details never before reported, and Creel's theory as to why his life was conveniently spared. Are these the ravings of a murderous madman? Or is there something to the supernatural yarn Creel has spun? The Creel Family had only recently moved into their home in Hawkins, having relocated from South Bend. Court documents revealed that Victor's childless uncle had recently passed away, leaving Victor a modest inheritance with which he eventually purchased the two-story murder house. Creel claims that as soon as the family had settled in to their new residence, they began to experience a series of disturbances that could only be explained as paranormal. Night after night, a horrible stench would presage the discovery of a deal animal on the property. One evening, the daughter Alice found a rotting possum in her duvet cover, with no idea how it could have gotten there. Another such spine-tingling event occured when the bathtub began to spout not water but insects. Their healthy lawn turned black overnight. The family's former gardener (who wished to remained anonymous) who was a witness at the Creel trial, testified that Victor was certain the house was haunted by a malevolent spirit. "He kept going on and on about this evil spirit. I didn't know what to believe", he told the court. "I said I thought probably some teenagers set the grass on fire, but he wouldn't listen to me." Creel's gardener tells our source that the family had had enough. He believed that these horrifying occurrences would not stop unless he took matters into his own hands. As he told us, "I had to protect my family." At this point, he tells us, Creel sought out a priest to perform an exorcism. This cannot be confirmed, and the identity of the alleged priest is still in question. This publication's inquiries with local houses of worship have been inconclusive. But the exorcism failed, says Creel's former groundsman. He claims this so-called "vengeful demon" was too powerful, resisting the priest's commands to depart from the family home. He insists that it was this very attempt to intervene which angered the spirit. "He thought that he fought back and it was punishing him. That's why it killed his family, disfigured them, pulled out their eyes." Victor himself was completely unharmed in the bloodbath, he responded "He seemed to think it was enrgaed by what he tried to do. He tried to destroy it, so it destroyed the things he loved most in the world. Now he has to live with the loss." The night before Creel's sentencing, he was found by gaurds at the Roane County lockup attempting to cut out his own eyes with a stolen cafeteria fork. He said he acted out of guilt and sadness. The guards were able to restrain him, but he is now partially blind. Creel's graphic retelling of the events of the night of the murders included some other fantastic details that have caused our editorial staff to scratch their heads. He says that he witnessed the demon lift his family off the ground and suspend them in mid-air. Even more unbelievable still, he told our source that he had what could be referred to as an out-of-body experience. "One minute I was there, and the next," Creel said, "I was transported to another time and place. And when I came to, they were all dead." Pressed on the exact where and when of his unbelievable transportation, he replied, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Creel claims that as soon as the family had settled in to their new residence, they began to experience a series of disturbances... (repeat of paragraph 5) Meanwhile, the Creel murder house sits empty in Hawkins. A site of unspeakable horrors. No amount of fresh paint or lustrous linoleum can undo the terrible deeds that were done at this address. But if convicted murderer and mental patient Victor Creel is to be believed, the house still has one resident that isn't going anywhere. "It was there long before we moved in, and it'll still be lurking there for a long time. Believe you me." Are these the ravings of a murderous madman? Or is there something to the supernatural yarn Creel has spun? Prosecutors successfully argued that Victor Creel, age 40, is a cold-blooded killer... (paragraphs 1-7 repeat)

Notes

• The article describes "little Henry" as only 12 years of age, with Alice being 15.
  • This is strange, since Alice appeared to be considerably younger than Henry in the on-screen scenes they shared.
  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which is set in 1959, depicts Henry as a 14-year-old, conflicting with what is stated in the article.
• The article says the Creels relocated from South Bend, Indiana.
  • This possibly conflicts with The First Shadow, which showed the Creels living in Rachel, Nevada before their move to Hawkins.
• The article states that Victor's uncle was the source of the inheritance used to buy the house in Hawkins; in "Dear Billy", Victor instead states that it was Virginia's great-uncle who left behind the inheritance.

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