Dr William Cozen 1965–

Pittford Cemetery has many stories to tell, and you have no choice but to listen.

Content Warning: This episode contains horror themes and events that may be unsuitable for younger players.

Scenes

Scene summaries may contain spoilers
1
You return to the cemetery and are contacted by Dr Cozen. The doctor says he's on the hill nearby, waiting in his car. The fewer people near the cemetery, the better. Hopefully ROT will be weaker during the day. You're looking for five stone markers dotted around the cemetery with Pictish animal designs on them. Breaking them should banish ROT from this world. Fingers crossed!
2
They key is to keep your mind quiet, but physical noise should be fine. You're looking for a stone with a wolf design on it near the centre. Dr. Cozen rambles nervously for a bit and then says he'll tell you the story of how he got into parapsychology when you find the first stone.
3
The stone should be around here. Dr. Cozen says that he had a friend as a child, Jeremy, who had an "imaginary" friend named Grey Daniel. They did all sorts of childish experiments to catch this ghostly friend. Eventually, the imaginary friend stopped appearing, until a decade later when Jeremy started to see Grey Daniel again. Ah, that's the stone! Hit it hard with the hammer until it cracks. Good job! But you'll need to hurry. That will have disturbed ROT. Head to the southeastern corner and look for a stone with a bull design.
4
The stones are fascinating, because despite their Pictish designs, they would have been produced much later, and there were never any Pict settlements near here. Still, all of the research points to them as the source of ROT's ability to manifest. Grey Daniel was not benign when he returned; he would push Jeremy to do terrible things, and gave him nightmares when he refused. Dr Cozen decided to help by performing an exorcism. Ah, that's the stone. Before you smash it, Dr Cozen tells you where the other stones are, in case it becomes difficult to hear. You smash the stone, now onto the next.
5
Confronting a spirit directly is rarely a good idea, but Cozen thought he knew everything at eighteen. The exorcism went poorly – although the spirit never returned, it cost Jeremy his life. Dr Cozen lost an eye in the process, although that didn't stop the curiosity that led him to this cemetery. You smash the next stone, and feel a rumble as ROT begins to awaken. You'll need to hurry! There won't be a second chance at this.
6
As you approach the next stone, ROT begins to speak, drowning out Dr Cozen. ROT threatens to kill you if you continue, or you can bring Dr Cozen to it and it will let you live. Find the last stone quickly. Run!
7
ROT speaks to you with the voices of the dead. Do you think you're better than its other victims? Somehow special? It speaks to you in the voice of the podcast host. You could just leave. You don't have to die. You smash the final stone, and ROT goes quiet, the voices of the dead fading. It worked! It's over!
8
You know where the gate is. Well, the wall at least. Dr Cozen apologises for all the climbing. He definitely shouldn't have gone over the wall himself, given his state. No one else has gone in since the police locked it. It is Cozen's fault really, after the groundskeeper found his body. Cozen tried to deal with ROT himself, but he was torn apart, but at least his voice didn't go to waste. It led you to break the sealing stones containing ROT, after all. But don't worry, ROT wouldn't dream of hurting you... not yet, at least. Remember: the dead have stories to tell, as long as you know how to listen.

Credits

Cast listings may contain spoilers
Cast
Angus
Six to Start Ensemble
Dead Chorus
Six to Start Ensemble
Dr. Cozen
Six to Start Ensemble
Old Mary
Six to Start Ensemble
Rot
Jonathan Sims
Sister Judith
Fay Roberts
Thomas
Six to Start Ensemble
Crew
Writer
Jonathan Sims
Director
Ella Watts
Sound Designer
Matt Part