Case #491
Official investigation into the death of Elizabeth A. Warden and Sarah C. Warden.
Warden, A. Elizabeth. Female. 1882-1903. -Accused
Warden, C. Sarah. Female. 1854-1903. -Stepmother of Accused
November 18th, 1905.
EVIDENCE:
The following pages are from Elizabeth Warden's diary.
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October 26th, 1903.
Great news! Earlier today, I was sitting in the study hand stitching some finishing touches to my costume for the party, when I heard Daddy shouting for me from the lobby. He seemed rather excited over something, I could hear the surprise in my step-mother's voice. I shouted "I'm coming!" towards the hall as I looped the thread into a knot and gave it a little tug. I'm being a witch for this year's Halloween party, and it's the first time I have sewn it all myself. I'm still pretty impressed by it. While I was besides myself with pride, my father and step-mother, who realized I wasn't coming to the lobby, decided to pursue me in the study.
"Elizabeth dear, you should come when your father calls you" said my step mother, in her typical dreadful, judging tone. I saw her scoff when she glanced over to my witch costume. Sarah decided to take it upon her self to run the Halloween party this year, and it was her wishes that everyone keep to the theme (which so happened to be Alice in Wonderland.) I was not about to wear some tacky, childish Alice costume. I could tell she was still holding a grudge over it; if she wanted someone dressed up as Alice, she can be Alice herself! (I think the Queen of Hearts suits her so much more...)
Lucky for her, my Father spoke up before I gave her some of my two cents on the matter.
"Darling, Elizabeth, look! I've brought you home a little surprise. I was going to give it to you on Christmas, but I just couldn't wait," he said to me as he placed a decent sized box into my hands. I was pretty shocked, it wasn't like my father to give out gifts. I sat down on the sofa, and placed the box gently on my lap. I lifted up the corners and pulled out the crinkled tissue to reveal a shiny black box. I remember thinking for a few moments about what strange looking object it was. I pulled the black box out and realized what was in my hands.
"A Kodak!" I had shouted to my father, who's face lit up with joy. Sarah seemed uninterested, but I thought she was just jealous.
"Great! Now you can take photos of the party," she was quick to add. What began as an awesome present, had already turned into a boring job. I can see why my father bought the Kodak now. I'm sure he'd been planning for me to take pictures of the party for Sarah all along.
Oh well, at least I still have a few more days to mess around with my Kodak before Halloween. Here's the very first picture I took, starring yours truly!
Looks pretty nice, right?
October 26th, 1903.
I decided to go out and spend the day around the lake. It was really beautiful- sunny with a mild breeze. I took a picture of our house on the way over:
It's been an unusually warm Autumn. Most of the leaves have not fallen yet. It's even a little surreal.
October 29th, 1903.
Today has been drastically different from three days ago, there's a chill in the air! I can hear the wind whistling outside the windows tonight. It's beginning to feel like Autumn, just in time for Halloween! Unfortunately, my step-mother has been having me clean and prepare the house for the party, so I haven't had the time to explore with my Kodak as much as I would have liked.
October 31st, 1903
Happy Halloween!! Here's a picture I took of myself yesterday as I tried on my costume for the first time:
Isn't it great? I added some designs to the dress yesterday morning, I felt it needed a little something extra. Sarah wasn't so happy that I was using the kitchen broom as a prop- in fact she was telling me off just as the photo snapped. I'm sure I can get some better pictures of it later.
It's still early in the morning, only some family members have arrived. Sarah was quick to get me on picture duty.
Speaking of Sarah, the award for most ridiculous costume goes to my step-mother, Sarah Warden.
And to think she criticized my costume...
 |
| Uncle Simon and Aunt Beth |
Uncle Simon fits the Mad Hatter, that's for sure. (It's only 10:30 and I swore I saw him looking around the wine cellar). I'm not really sure what character Aunt Beth is. March Hare?
 |
| Cousins Samantha and Frederick. |
Apparently, they are tweedledee and tweedledum. They are pretty darling either way. Freddy has been playing with his father's umbrella all day. Hasn't anyone told him that opening an umbrella indoors is bad luck?
Sarah's shouting for me to come downstairs, it sounds like some more guests arrived.
November 1st, 1903
I did not sleep last night. I've made sure the candle by my bedside has stayed brightly lit until the sun rose. I can't even believe what I'm looking at. I don't want to look at them, but I can not look away. The images developed from the party last night...
Well I guess I should give a brief summary of the events that led to these images.
Last night, around 2 in the morning, my step-mother brought all of the family and friends together into the parlor. While everyone was out enjoying the food and music in the other room, she had set up tarot cards, a crystal ball, and several other strange objects in the center of a room on the table. All of the furniture had been re-arranged to revolve around center of the room, and some tacky Halloween decorations hung around the curtains to give the room this "gypsy fortune teller" feel. I knew my step-mother wasn't a particularly religious woman, but even this felt a little over the top for her.
"A séance?" I remember my father asking her. He had always grown up in a strict religious household. I could see him fidget nervously.
"It's just a little Halloween fun, dear! Is there something wrong with that?" She rebuked to my father. Her tone of voice kept my father's mouth shut, with the fear he'd end up being to blame for ruining her party events.
With that, the guests and my parents sat around the table in the parlor, the candlelight illuminating everyone's faces in an eerie way. My step-mother and aunt began the séance, invoking the spirits of the dead and past family members with words of both hate and love. Some guests took it seriously, others took it with a hearty laugh.
I found it as a good opportunity to take some pictures. The room was filled with whispers to the long departed, and the flashes of my Kodak's bulb.
In one of those flashes, I could've sworn I saw a face illuminated behind one of my aunts. I shrieked and jumped back, interrupting the flow of the séance. Some of the guests shrieked along side me, but most of the men in the room laughed. They switched the lights back on, and the guests began to say their goodbyes after the long, eventful night.
"Elizabeth, you've got your self all worked up! I didn't even get to finish the séance!" Sarah snapped at me as she pulled me aside by the arm. While the guests filed past us back into the hall, Sarah narrowed her eyes at me. I could tell she was trying to think of something insulting to say. Instead, a few guests came over to speak with her, and I used the opportunity to retreat back to my bedroom.
I was going through the images of the party this afternoon, a lot of them were the generic images of the guests and decorations. But when I got to the séance...well. See for yourself:
I don't understand. Did I really see that face? I must have...
These images are haunting. I haven't showed them to anyone yet. The faces, I see them in my nightmares. I see them in the shadows, in the corners of my eyes. I'm afraid to use my camera again. This will be my secret.
November 2nd, 1903
I keep seeing a boy. Well..not really seeing him. I can't sleep, but when I do, I see a boy in my dreams. They aren't dreams, they are nightmares. He carries an axe. I don't know why I keep dreaming about him.
Father and Sarah have been arguing a lot today. I don't know why.
November 3rd, 1903
Arguing worse. Nightmares are worse. Everyone's fighting now. It's like my nightmares are reality. I thought I heard a voice today. It was calling for me.
November 5th, 1903.
They've been fighting over me! I'm just so MAD. I can't sleep. Everyone is always shouting.
Sarah stole my camera from me. I want it back.
November 8th, 1903.
Sarah found more pictures on my camera. I DIDN'T TAKE THEM. She didn't believe me. I don't know where these came from. Here is one:
Father left today.
I saw the boy. He had an axe.
November 11th, 1903.
Sarah stole my diary.
She saw the pictures.
November 13th, 1903.
The boy and I have a plan.
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2 bodies identified as Sarah Warden and Elizabeth Warden were found November 13th, 1903.
EVIDENCE:
-Axe found at the crime scene: murder weapon.
-Kodak camera found near said murder weapon.
-Additional photographic evidence found VIA Kodak:
End of transcript.
