Campaign Chunk Volume 10.7 – Bella in the Elm
In April 1943, as World War II was in progress, two schoolboys made a horrific discovery. Whilst searching for birds nests in Hagley Woods near Birmingham, discovered a human skull in an elm tree. The skull still had some flesh on it and was quite a sight to behold, especially for two young people.
Quite upset, one of the boys told their father what they had discovered and on further investigation by the police, the rest of the skeleton was found inside the tree, except for one of the hands. Some taffeta was stuffed in the skull’s mouth. Scraps of clothes with the labels cut out, battered shoes and a gold ring were also found in the tree. The missing hand was found broken up and scattered around the tree. A pathologist discovered the bones belong to a female who died 18 months previously, was approximately 5 foot tall, had given birth and probably had brown mousey hair.
After an extensive search through the missing person records and other avenues, the case was forgotten about until the end of the year when graffiti started to appear in nearby towns such as “Who put Bella in the which–elm?”. This appeared frequently and over a period of time and would re-appear once removed.
In 1940, a letter surface from an “Anna” that claimed that “Bella” was in involved in a Nazi spy ring, once again sparking interest in the mystery of “Bella in the Elm”
Hooks & Rumours
- Some rumours are saying she was a double agent, working for the allies during the war
- A few occultist have put forth a theory that the removal of the hand and the scattering of the bones was in fact part of a complex ritual.
- A film short film about the incident is being made and the makers are trying to find out as much as possible about “Bella”
- Someone is claiming to be a descendant of “Bella” and is trying to get her remains taken out the country
Inspired by – Bella in the Wych Elm
http://theunredacted.com/the-hagley-woods-mystery-bella-in-the-wych-elm/
Volume 9 of the compiled and updated Campaign Chunks is available at DrivethruRPG.com
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178179/Campaign-Chunk–Volume-9
