A Boba tea store on Lombard Street in San Francisco was struck by a sudden and inexplicable wave of violence yesterday, as late last evening a gunshot was reported outside of a store by the name of Bobasaurus. Police arrived 30 minutes later to discover the dead bodies of at least 15 individuals - several found with gunshot wounds that were deemed to not be of a supernatural nature by authorities - and dozens more injured. Medical staff have reported patients with strange patches of yellowed, infected skin and many living and dead individuals alike have been found harbouring parasites deemed to be common tapeworms.
Segments of released bodycam footage show an armed mob that threatened police, who were incorrigible and unable to be communicated with and properly de-escalated by the officers present at the scene.
The Occult Wildlife Landing organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they were responsible for transmitting a mutagenic virus into the California water supply, in order to protest the recent removal of multiple trees in Yosemite National Park as a method of preventing further wildfires, although this claim has been doubted in all official statements put forward so far.
Popular podcaster Ted Gundy has come out condemning the "deranged scheming" of OWL, but has not yet left out the possibility of a spreading zombie plague to manage.
For now it is left unclear to the public the true nature of this frightful attack. Yet another wave of berserk supernatural violence, or the signs of a more sinister machination?
“Unsettling are the days in which everyone is an expert.”
― Criss Jami
Nowadays you can't go a day without some phony prophet trying to peddle their wares to you.
Driven by the increased interest in the supernatural, charlatans from palm readers to televangelists are everywhere. And while the vast majority of witches, psychics, magicians, hypnotists, cures, potions, faith healers, and clairvoyants are complete fakes, they do make a living.
As the saying goes, "it's easier for an actor to make it in alternative medicine than Hollywood."
Most people scoff at these clearly-phony supernatural services, yet those same people often buy into at least one scam.
The most dangerous charlatans are the self-styled monster hunters who carry a mall-ninja arsenal and guns with silver bullets. Most have never encountered anything supernatural and do absolutely nothing besides burn some sage and patrol the area for a night or two. Even so, those who are superstitious, fearful, or desperate enough will hire them to solve the problems they simply don't understand. In some cases with disastrous results.
For Contractors, charlatans are red herrings and obstacles. Clumsy fakes that conjure a smokescreen of misinformation and escalate the situations they're in.