DEMON CHILD ™
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It was the mid 1800’s. Working in a cliffside village in Mexico, archaeologist Harrison Peters has unearthed an ancient shrine of the Aztecs. Delving ever deeper into the shrine, he comes across a sacrificial altar - the surrounding walls filled with etchings of bloody sacrifice. Translating some of the symbols, he realizes that the altar was part of a ritual involving Xibalba, the “road to the dead”. “Finally!”, echoing through the halls, “Now I have my own discovery!”. Working with the Mexican government, Harrison returned to his home in Massachusetts - artifacts in tow.

Allison Peters, Harrison’s wife of three years, was ecstatic at his return. She was a small woman, pale and blonde - some might call her frail. Allison was now six months pregnant, and was glad to have her husband home for the birth. Having had two miscarriages, she worried that the baby wouldn’t survive. Two weeks prior to her husbands arrival, it seemed as if the baby had stopped moving. She didn’t want to burden Harrison with her misgivings - she just quietly cried to herself now and then. “Things will be okay now that Daddy’s home......”, she would whisper to her belly.

As he worked through his notes on the etchings and studied the layout of the shrine, he realized the significance of three totems he had brought back. Each had a symbol for an Aztec god carved into its surface: the sun, a bird, and a jaguar. With the totems making a triangle around the altar, a human blood sacrifice would be made. The totems had to be handled by “priests of purity”, and the sacrifice had to be an innocent. With a bit of mockery, Harrison arranged the totems and slit his thumb. “I have now opened the gateway to the dead!”, he laughed. Suddenly, the air became cold. Shrieks and wails could be heard emanating from the center of the triangle where his blood had been spilled. Then, suddenly, everything was quiet. Harrison, visibly spooked, decided to lock the totems away. Although he didn’t realize it, Harrison had allowed something evil into the world....This evil would later be born as Mary Elizabeth Peters.