Day 200

They bought it from a festival.
One of those annual ones that drew the occult lovers out of their holes.
That's where the got the necklace.
It a deer's jawbone on chain, "organically sourced" apparently.

Shortly after, it all began.
Started with dead animals being left at their front door.
Little ones, like mice and small birds.
Every one was missing their lower jaw.

They began to worry, was this a sick joke?
Should they tell the police?
Would they even be taken seriously?
They decided to leave the necklace in a drawer and hope for the best.

It got worse, as these things do.
Last month it was a jawless cat.
3 weeks ago it was a jawless dog.
Last week... oh, last week was by far the worst.

They'd gotten accustomed to checking the front door for... presents now.
This time it wasn't an animal.
It was a child.
His jaw had been removed, same as all the others.

They went into police protection, someone or something was sending them a message.
For a while after, everything was okay.
No corpses, no bloody messages, just normality.
They decided to get rid of the necklace altogether, no longer clinging to it for protection.

They made the mistake of heading back to the field where the festival was.
The morning seemed safest, early enough that everyone was asleep, but not too dark.
That morning was thick with mist, at least no-one would see them.

And they weren't seen, not until later afternoon when the mist had cleared.

Their body was found near a small hole under a large oak tree.

Their lower jaw had been torn off and replaced.

Forensics showed it to be a deer's.

It is said that they still wander that field, trying to find their jaw.
Corpses are still found there sometimes - all jawless.
The police are calling it copycat murders.

The locals know better.

They've seen that shambling ghoul.