King Diamond's Abigail


This morning, I was listening to Powerslave while doing my work thing and that got me to thinking about Seventh Son and THAT got me to thinking about concept albums in general and THAT led to where I am now … Abigail by King Diamond.



At the risk of spoiling an album that is over 30 years old, “Abigail” tells the story of a couple who move into a mansion the husband inherited.  Seven horsemen tell the couple to flee but they do not listen.  On the first night in the house, a family ghost warns the husband that his wife is carrying the spirit of Abigail, the ghost’s stillborn bastard daughter who will be reborn if the wife is not killed. 

The husband still does not listen and things go south, fast.  The wife is possessed, the husband is murdered, Abigail is re-born and the strain kills the wife.  Abigail is later found by the seven horsemen in the family crypt beneath the mansion and it is implied in the story that she is eating her own, original, mummified corpse.
The horsemen then take the baby out into the woods and impale her with seven silver spikes in hopes of preventing yet another resurrection.

By this point, you may be asking, “What does any of this have to do with anything?”

I think this is a wonderful premise for an adventure.  Your player characters enter the story, either knowing the young couple or perhaps they see the first arrival of the seven horsemen and decide to investigate.  Perhaps they are locals and are aware of the mansion’s ill-reputation and decide to “keep an eye out” for the couple in case something untoward begins to transpire.  Maybe the party cleric is the priest the husband wished to summon for the exorcism. 

And what is up with Abigail?  If the ghost’s wife had cuckolded him, then who is the real father?  Is she a devil or a demon or something else entirely?  Given the rapid pregnancy, I would place my bets on something supernatural and Mephistopheles is always my favorite (links to Gift of Hellfire, Armageddon and Annihilation) Archduke of Hell.

The story itself is set in the 1800s and (via flashbacks) 1777 but the story itself could be easily adapted to any era of play.

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