7 | Lore

Summary

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Havoc Town – Episode 7 | “Lore”

Podcast: Havoc Town
Publisher: iHeartPodcasts
Episode Date: September 23, 2025

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Episode Overview

Episode 7, titled "Lore," delves into the eerie resurgence of a mysterious, deadly sickness in Abbesstown, NH—an outbreak that eerily echoes the infamous Vampire Panic from 200 years earlier. The episode deftly weaves together past and present: as the town reels from blood-soaked attacks and panics over the spreading plague, Corinne Abbess—the last of a disgraced legacy—finds herself reluctantly drawn into unraveling Havoc Town’s dark history, particularly the suspicions around the enigmatic Jury Havoc and his family’s role in both past and present calamities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tragedy, Rumor, and Small Town Angst

• Timestamps: 02:01–06:05
• The episode opens with news of Jimbo Horne’s death and an emotional voicemail to Corinne from Barbara Horn, highlighting the deeply personal effect the outbreak has had on townspeople.
  • Quote (Barbara Horn, 02:27): "He loved you like a daughter. I hope you knew that."
• Corinne reflects on how disasters ripple outward in small communities, breeding rumors and conspiracy theories—everything from super rabies to government cover-ups and aliens.
  • Quote (Corinne, 04:18): "This is how tragedy unfolds. In a small town. An act brutal and swift. Echoes reverberate, the effects ripple outward. And then the talk begins.”
• The show satirizes the escalation of misinformation and emphasizes the town’s underlying anxiety.

2. The Return of the Old Legends

• Timestamps: 06:05–10:00
• Gossip swirls around the cause of the outbreak, but certain taboos—vampires—remain unspoken despite the town’s dark history.
• Sarah Beth Spalding, leader of the Havoc Historical Society, awkwardly confronts Corinne. She voices concern about Jury Havoc’s arrival and the terrifying parallel with the 19th-century plague.
  • Quote (Sarah Beth, 08:56): “The disease came with him, at least at the same time. Like it did before with his great, great, great grandfather. And it seemed to go when he did.”

3. Public Health Crisis and Lockdown

• Timestamps: 10:00–13:40
• A tense broadcast details hospital lockdowns and CDC intervention as the mystery illness spreads. The authorities recommend classic quarantine measures—distance, masks, hand-washing—heightening the sense of an escalating emergency.
  • Quote (Dr. Andrew Bradley, CDC, 10:46): "If you are showing symptoms...fever, cough, lightheadedness, mood instability or traces of blood...please report to the local medical center here in Havoc immediately so as to halt any further spread."
• Corinne decides to close her bar, prioritizing community safety despite resistance.
  • Quote (Corinne, 13:36): "Don't give me shit, Bill. I'm trying to keep you alive. Dead men don't drink."

4. Complicated Alliances and Suspicions

• Timestamps: 13:46–16:38
• Sarah Beth pleads with Corinne to reach out to Jury Havoc for answers. Despite their fraught relationship shaped by old family grudges, Corinne agrees—acting partly out of empathy and partly due to her own simmering suspicions.
  • Quote (Sarah Beth, 14:11): "What could it hurt to ask?...Please."
  • Quote (Corinne, 14:19): "Maybe start with being a little less of an enemy, and we'll go from there."
• Corinne debates the odd timing of Jury Havoc's arrival, the resurgence of the sickness, and the weight of family histories.

5. At the Havoc Estate: Confronting the Past

• Timestamps: 19:01–33:51
• Corinne visits Jury Havoc at his imposing family manor. The setting exudes historical gravity and wealth, signifying the entrenched legacies at play.
• The two have a charged, probing conversation mixing old wounds with present day concerns:
  • Art and Ancestry: Corinne is transfixed by a portrait of Sophia, murdered in the original panic. Jury recounts the tragedy and how both families suffered and survived.
    • Quote (Jury, 24:00): "Jacques Louis David, 1814...He painted the coronation of Napoleon and the death of Socrates."
    • Quote (Jury, 28:23): “After the good Reverend Abbas murdered his son, he marched up the hill to this very house...then he murdered Jury Havoc, the eighth’s wife, Sophia...and after that, he went and hung himself in the church, leaving no note.”
  • Grudges & Legacy: Discussion of diaries, unsent letters, and whether their families are doomed to repeat the sins of the past.
    • Quote (Corinne, 30:41): "Hmm. I mean, you could also say that it ended when your grandfather left and started right back up the week Havoc returned."
    • Quote (Jury, 30:53, playfully): "Ms. Amice, are you accusing me of vampirism?"
    • Quote (Corinne, 30:59): "I. No, of course not. I mean, you're fucking with me."
• The conversation oscillates between tension and tentative attempts at understanding, but is interrupted by urgent business—leaving much unresolved.

6. Cliffhanger Ending: The Dead Return

• Timestamps: 33:51–34:26
• Corinne returns home, lost in thought—but is interrupted by a chilling encounter: Jimbo Horne, previously announced as dead, appears on her porch, alive but changed.
  • Quote (Corinne, 34:06): "You're... You're dead. They said you were dead. I was—"
  • Quote (Jimbo, 34:12): "I'm not now."
• This haunting moment signals that the true horror may just be beginning.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Barbara Horn’s Voicemail, (02:27): “He loved you like a daughter. I hope you knew that.”
• Corinne on Gossip, (04:18): “This is how tragedy unfolds. In a small town. An act brutal and swift. Echoes reverberate, the effects ripple outward. And then the talk begins.”
• Sarah Beth’s Paranoia, (08:56): "The disease came with him, at least at the same time. Like it did before with his great, great, great grandfather."
• CDC Press Conference, (10:46): “If you are showing symptoms ... report to the local medical center..."
• Corinne Closes Bar, (13:36): "Don't give me shit, Bill. I'm trying to keep you alive. Dead men don't drink."
• Tension with Jury, (30:53): "Ms. Amice, are you accusing me of vampirism?"
  Corinne’s Answer, (30:59): "I. No, of course not. I mean, you're fucking with me."
• Jimbo’s Return, (34:12): "I'm not now." (after being presumed dead)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Time | |-------------------------------------|------------------| | Grief & rumors | 02:01–06:05 | | Sarah Beth’s family appeal | 06:31–10:00 | | CDC/NG press conference | 10:08–13:14 | | Corinne & Sarah Beth bargain | 13:46–16:38 | | Corinne at Havoc Estate | 19:01–33:51 | | Jimbo’s supernatural reappearance | 33:51–34:26 |

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode masterfully combines folk horror, tense mystery, and acerbic small-town wit—oscillating between the poetic melancholy of Corinne’s narration and the snappy, sometimes biting repartee among townsfolk. Enigmatic, unnerving, and darkly funny, the episode’s style is rich with atmosphere and frequently laced with pathos.

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Summary

“Lore” deepens the mythology of Havoc Town, skillfully twining generational trauma, folklore, and a new wave of terror. The reappearance of the sick—and possibly undead—Jimbo closes the episode on a chilling note, reinforcing that in Havoc, the line between legend and lived reality is perilously thin. As Corinne finds herself at the crossroads of past grievances and current horrors, her next choices—and alliances—may shape the fate of the entire town.

Transcript

[Narrator]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Jimbo Horne]

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[Jimbo Horne]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Sylvie Harris]

Iheart 3D audio for full exposure. Listen with headphones.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Havoc Town is a production of Iheart podcasts and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Headphones recommended. Listener discretion advised.

[Sylvie Harris]

Should I get it?

[Corrine Abbas]

It can't be good news. We just can't let it ride.

[Sylvie Harris]

Hi, Corinne, this is Barbara Horn. Yeah, I just. I just wanted to call you because you're as close to family as anyone here in town. To Jimbo and. Oh, Corinne. Corinne. He's gone. It was so awful. So, so awful. At the end they had him sedated, but he was so angry. It just cut through the haze and blood. What a mess. What a mess it all is. So, anyway, he'd want for you to know he. He loved you like a daughter. I hope you knew that. Anyway, I'll be calling you in the next day or two to make arrangements. I. I'd really like to do the reception at Dottie's. I know it may be too soon for you after Jonathan, but I'll call back. No, Corinne. I wish I could see his face one more time. Just once. Sam.

[Corrine Abbas]

This is how tragedy unfolds. In a small town. An act brutal and swift. Echoes reverberate, the effects ripple outward. And then the talk begins.

[Narrator]

And so Tom and that crazy street preacher both got it. It's rabies.

[Corrine Abbas]

They're just not telling us. But what about Jim? Sweating blood.

[Narrator]

Well, super rabies. Stella?

[Corrine Abbas]

I don't know. I'm not a doctor, but I heard.

[Commercial Announcer]

That a Chinese lab captain said Bachman.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Worked with the CIA for years. Heard it from a buddy at the State house. I'm telling you, it goes all the way up the ladder.

[Bill Hobson]

I heard those CDC guys got a.

[Jimbo Horne]

Look at Jimbo's body and called up the National Guard like that.

[Sylvie Harris]

From who?

[Jimbo Horne]

What?

[Sylvie Harris]

Who'd you hear that from?

[Bill Hobson]

My neighbor. This kid works up there at the hospital.

[Sylvie Harris]

He a doctor?

[Bill Hobson]

No, he works in the commissary.

[Sylvie Harris]

Oh, shit. Real inside man you got there.

[Bill Hobson]

You're being sarcastic.

[Sylvie Harris]

You're not half as dumb as you look, Bill.

[Corrine Abbas]

Revil fine. And it spreads like wildfire. Like an oil spill. Like the plague.

[Sylvie Harris]

Hon, I need six draft ales, two bourbons, a scotch and soda, and a fernet for Bobby.

[Corrine Abbas]

Ugh. Why Bobby?

[Sylvie Harris]

Who the hell knows? Tastes like minty dirt to me.

[Corrine Abbas]

To each their own.

[Sylvie Harris]

Rumor mill's grinding hard out there.

[Corrine Abbas]

Color me shocked. What do you hear?

[Sylvie Harris]

Oh, rabies, government conspiracies, aliens.

[Corrine Abbas]

Wow, they're really playing the hits. No vampires?

[Sylvie Harris]

Shockingly not yet.

[Corrine Abbas]

Well, now I am shocked. Hold that thought, because there she was, darkening my door. Sarah Beth Spalding, President of the Havoc Historical Society, Real estate maven, Leader of countless history tours, most of which focused on the great vampire panic. On the violence it spun on my family in particular.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Ms. Abbess.

[Corrine Abbas]

Ms. Abbess. You must be here on business.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Well, I don't normally.

[Narrator]

What?

[Corrine Abbas]

Walk into bars?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Well, this one, I suppose I. I suppose I'm not welcome here.

[Corrine Abbas]

Oh, on the contrary, you're quite welcome. After all, your stories have driven more than a few curious tourists in here, no matter how much I hate it. You're good for business. Oh, you aren't welcome in my home. Of course.

[Sylvie Harris]

God damn.

[Corrine Abbas]

What can I help you with, Sarah Beth?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Well, I know that this place is popular in town.

[Corrine Abbas]

I'd like to think so.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I know that everyone from the police chief to the mayor to the trash men hang out in here.

[Corrine Abbas]

That is true.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

And if there's scuttlebutt to be found, you can find it here.

[Corrine Abbas]

There is a very good chance that you're right. Uh huh.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

It's just all very central.

[Corrine Abbas]

Is there something you need, Sarah Beth?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I was just I was wondering if.

[Sylvie Harris]

Out with it.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I was wondering if you knew anything.

[Corrine Abbas]

About what? The cdc? I'm afraid my connections don't go that high.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I meant if you knew anything of Mr. Havoc.

[Corrine Abbas]

Why would I?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Because you've been seen together a couple of times. He came in here. He saved your life.

[Corrine Abbas]

What is it you're looking for?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

It's. I have a child. Corrine. Heather. And what is happening here is terrifying, but not unprecedented. I was wondering if you had seen anything odd. This isn't a joke.

[Corrine Abbas]

I know, I know. Sorry. You just. You've caught me off guard here. I know that it has to be terrifying to have a child during this sort of thing.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I'm beside myself. I pride myself on being very logical in the face of historic moments. I study the evidence and make my decisions. But what is happening is chaos. Yes. And I don't know what to do besides lock myself and Heather away.

[Corrine Abbas]

But what. What does Jury Havoc have to do with this?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

The disease came with him, at least at the same time. Like it did before with his great, great, great grandfather. And it seemed to go when he did.

[Corrine Abbas]

And you've come because it was an abbess who drove him out. And according to your history tours, the mad preacher was, you know, mad.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

I know. I'm a hypocrite. You're just the only person I know who's spoken to him. I'm sorry. I'm not being rational. I live next door to Tom Stabenot. Lived.

[Corrine Abbas]

Oh, honey.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Heather was home when it all happened.

[Corrine Abbas]

Oh, my God. I. I had no idea. Sylvie, get Sarah Beth a drink.

[Sylvie Harris]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Everything is just happening so fast. I'm just looking for any explanation.

[Corrine Abbas]

Of course you are. Well, I'm sorry to say that I haven't really had much in the way of a conversation with Juri Havoc. Of course, I do have some things I want to ask him about his family.

[Jimbo Horne]

Hey, Corinne, turn on the tv. They're talking about us.

[Corrine Abbas]

Yeah, yeah, hold on. Sarah Beth.

[Narrator]

We returned to Havoc tonight, where two separate attacks have been reported in the last two weeks and an outbreak of a mysterious illness has been reported. We now go to a press conference from Havoc Memorial Hospital already in progress.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And we have secured the area. Anyone who has any more information on the matter, please call our hotline. I'll have the number passed on to local news organizations. I'm now going to hand it over to the Deputy Director of Infectious diseases at the CDC, Dr. Andrew Bradley, who will be talking to us about the precautionary measures concerning this. Dr. Bradley.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes, hello. As Colonel Harbour said, I'm Andrew Bradley. I'm the Deputy Director of Infectious Disease. I report directly to the director. There is a lot of new information coming down the pike at us currently, and we spoke earlier of the infection of patient Zero. I want to first announce that we currently are showing no immediate new cases of this disease besides those already reported. But if you are showing symptoms including, but not at all inclusive to fever, cough, lightheadedness, mood instability or traces of blood in mucus, spit, tears, urine, feces or sweat, to please report to the local medical center here in Havoc immediately so as to halt any further spread. We're currently hoping that by self reporting we can keep this under control. Now, as for other mitigation methods, we are asking people to social distance. That's keeping 10ft from each other when possible, wearing a mask indoors when you cannot and staying home unless absolutely necessary. We also would ask that you try your best to wash hands after contact with other people and services. These are precautionary measures that we would recommend with any infectious disease. But with so little current information, we think that. Colonel harbor, ladies and gentlemen.

[Jimbo Horne]

Folks, folks, we're putting this hospital on lockdown. For the moment. We're going to ask you to please sit tight.

[Corrine Abbas]

Colonel Harbour, what's going on?

[Jimbo Horne]

I do not have enough information at this moment to be able to answer that question fully. At this time, there will be no entry or exit into this hospital except in the case of medical emergency.

[Narrator]

Apologies there, folks. It seems that they have cut the feed. That was a joint press conference between the New Hampshire National Guard and the cdc, which seems to have been interrupted by a lockdown of the hospital. More on this story as it develops. In related news, CEO of Havoc Industries, Jury Havoc the 14th has recently begun operations in the Havoc Township, with plans to announce new construction in the coming weeks. When reached for comment about the plants and how they may be impacted by the disease, a representative for Mr. Havoc declined to provide an answer.

[Corrine Abbas]

In international news, North Korea has reportedly launched another missile over the Sea of Japan. Shit. Well, all right, folks. On the advice of the cdc, we're closing down early and we'll probably stay closed for the next few days.

[Bill Hobson]

Come on, Corrine.

[Corrine Abbas]

Don't give me shit, Bill. I'm trying to keep you alive. Dead men don't drink.

[Jimbo Horne]

You don't know that.

[Corrine Abbas]

All right, last call. After that, you're on your own.

[Sylvie Harris]

All right, Ya jabronis. Line up here for orders.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

He must know something, Sarah Beth.

[Corrine Abbas]

Unless he's an epidemiologist I just doubt that very much. Okay. I've gotta take orders.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

What could it hurt to ask? I know it's a long shot, and I know that you have no reason to do me any favors. What could it hurt? Please.

[Corrine Abbas]

I'll. I'll speak with him about it, okay?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Thank you, Corinne. I promise I'll be a better friend to you.

[Corrine Abbas]

Maybe start with being a little less of an enemy, and we'll go from there.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Of course, yes. Thank you.

[Corrine Abbas]

A brief, blessed break in the chaos around us. My grandfather always said that there was nothing quite so sacred as a quiet bar at the end of a long workday. Said that the Holy Ghost was among the spirits, always laughed at his own joke. But there's something there, I think. My father was certainly an acolyte of this church and raised me up to be one as well. And I keep the faith still all these years later, even though I may be the only one left at the end of the long line of fervent abbots and abbesses. Not, of course, that I worship alone.

[Sylvie Harris]

Hell of a day, don't you think?

[Corrine Abbas]

Certainly busy.

[Sylvie Harris]

When do you head up?

[Corrine Abbas]

The jury's straight away.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

Really?

[Corrine Abbas]

Why?

[Sylvie Harris]

I just thought maybe you'd dress up. You know What?

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

No, no.

[Corrine Abbas]

You look great. Just. Yeah, a little disheveled, maybe. Well, this is how I always look.

[Sylvie Harris]

Well, at least he knows what he's gonna get. You gonna talk to him for Sarah Beth?

[Corrine Abbas]

Well, I mean, I know it's absolutely insane, but Sarah. Something is just nagging at me. I mean, the sickness, Damaris diary, the. The timing of him showing up in town. Even Sarah Beth, who spent her whole life painting my family as a bunch of superstitious weirdos, is shaken by this. I mean, for her to ask me for help.

[Sylvie Harris]

Yeah, that's wild. A sign of the end times. The seventh seal broke.

[Corrine Abbas]

Okay, I'd better head over.

[Sylvie Harris]

I am so excited and jealous. I mean, mostly excited. No, no, mostly jealous.

[Corrine Abbas]

Okay, it's just dinner. Mm. And I'm gonna make it weird, I'm sure, by pumping him for information.

[Sylvie Harris]

Eh, pish posh.

[Corrine Abbas]

I will see you tomorrow. Bullshit.

[Sylvie Harris]

You will call me tonight.

[Corrine Abbas]

Have a good night, Sylvie. Call me. You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own, with a job in home care. These jobs offer flexible schedules, health care, retirement options, and free training. They also provide paid time off and opportunities for overtime. Visit oregonhomecarejobs.com to learn more and apply. That's oregonhomecarejobs.com.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Corrine Abbas]

Evening drive through a ghost Town Even in small places like this, there are the telltale signs of everyday life. Kids playing in the yard, people out gardening or walking having a chat. The stillness was eerie and only occasionally broken up as I drove to the Havoc place by emergency workers entering a neighbor's house, a National Guard Humvee slowly rolling up a side street, horribly out of place. This wasn't a peaceful quiet. The foreboding mood wasn't softened by pulling into the Havoc Drive. There it was just up the hill, a monolithic sort of thing. Workmen had been here and painted it a stark white so that it stood out against the brown grass at the hillside. Three floors of tall windows framed with black shutters like empty sockets staring out across all of Havoc, NH as if surveying its domain. The steep steps leading up from the drive to the front door did not soften the place at all. Instead, it reminded me how far up I'D already come and how much further I'd have to climb. And then the heavy oak door was in front of me, painted black, of course, with a massive doorknocker to boot, in the shape of a bear with a large brass ring stuck in its mouth. I could imagine it turning into Jacob Marley, ready to warn me off my greed. Well, here goes nothing. Hello. I'm looking for jury Havoc.

[Bill Hobson]

Yes? Ms. Abbott. I'm Hobson. I work for Mr. Havoc. Please come.

[Corrine Abbas]

Inside was a little warmer. Dark wooden floors and dim lights. And Hobson. Tall and thin, wispy gray hair oiled to his skull. He studied me for a moment from under his heavy eyelids.

[Bill Hobson]

Before Mr. Havoc is on a call. He asked for me to sit you in the parlor.

[Corrine Abbas]

The parlor?

[Bill Hobson]

This way.

[Corrine Abbas]

Is this a bad time?

[Bill Hobson]

Mr. Havoc is on a business call, but is looking forward to your meeting. Would you like refreshments, coffee, Tea?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Tea?

[Bill Hobson]

We have an excellent wine cellar.

[Corrine Abbas]

Oh, that's. That's not necessary.

[Bill Hobson]

As you wish. Mr. Havoc will be with you shortly. If you happen to need anything, I'll be in the study upstairs. Just ring the bell here.

[Corrine Abbas]

Sure. Thanks.

[Bill Hobson]

Please sit.

[Corrine Abbas]

Not the warmest welcome. The parlor was like walking into a museum. The blue gray evening light coming through the tall window lit a well appointed room. A room that whispered of old money. A harpsichord in the corner. Ancient but dust free paintings on the walls. Rivers through European cities. Pastorals of sheep with the backdrop of steep, craggy mountains. And there, above a high mantle, a portrait. A delicate woman with pale blue eyes. White blonde hair piled atop her head in great ringlets. She wore a gown of crimson against a dark backdrop. The light in the painting fell across her face in such a way that it cast shadows about her, but it caught her eyes just so. They burned brightly, like winter sun hitting the surface of an icy pond and reflecting back too brightly. The effect was hypnotizing. She was magnificent. Soft and still, but with a terrible sort of vibrance. Like she could reach out through the painting and touch you with her white fingers.

[Jimbo Horne]

Beautiful, isn't she?

[Corrine Abbas]

Jesus.

[Jimbo Horne]

Oh, God. I didn't mean to.

[Corrine Abbas]

You scared the shit out of me.

[Jimbo Horne]

Occupational hazard. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[Corrine Abbas]

I didn't hear you come in. I was. Well, I was transfixed. This painting is gorgeous.

[Jimbo Horne]

Oh, yes. Jacques Louis David, 1814. He painted the coronation of Napoleon and the death of Socrates.

[Corrine Abbas]

Wow.

[Jimbo Horne]

Don't worry. I only know because I looked him up.

[Corrine Abbas]

Okay. Thank you. I've never heard of him.

[Jimbo Horne]

He was apparently a big deal.

[Corrine Abbas]

So who's this?

[Jimbo Horne]

This would be my great, great, great. Etc. Grandfather's first wife.

[Corrine Abbas]

Sophia.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yes.

[Corrine Abbas]

Who? My great, et cetera. Grandfather murdered.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yes.

[Corrine Abbas]

Sorry about that.

[Jimbo Horne]

Well, we don't have to rehash the past, do we? Let's go and sit in my office, shall we? This room belongs to a dead woman.

[Corrine Abbas]

Sounds good. Hey. I hope everything's okay. Or that this isn't interrupting important business. I mean, we could have pushed this to another day.

[Jimbo Horne]

No, not at all. No, I. I really wanted to get to know you better.

[Corrine Abbas]

Oh, you just seem pretty heated on the phone.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yeah, well, the governor's an idiot.

[Corrine Abbas]

That's why you were arguing about the governor.

[Jimbo Horne]

I was arguing with the governor. Oh, I can't believe it. He's proposing a lockdown in the county just as we're getting started with the new project at Havoc Mills. We've already had a shit couple of years, business wise.

[Corrine Abbas]

And I heard about the congressional testimony.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yeah, like I said, as soon as we were made aware of labor violations, well, things changed.

[Corrine Abbas]

I believe you.

[Jimbo Horne]

This lockdown could cost me a lot of money. Depending, of course, on how long it lasts. Please. Right in here.

[Corrine Abbas]

Holy shit. This is. This is more a library than an office.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yeah, I guess it is.

[Corrine Abbas]

Is this giant desk where you do your business?

[Jimbo Horne]

Where I attend it, at least.

[Corrine Abbas]

Where do you find the space? It's chaos. What are these ledgers?

[Jimbo Horne]

They are.

[Corrine Abbas]

You know, they're like computer programs that do the same thing and save the clutter.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yeah, we use them. We use them. It's just I'm more old school, tactile. I like to see it all in front of me.

[Corrine Abbas]

Hmm. Some of these look like they go way back. I mean, this one looks older than the Bible. Don't the hell, man.

[Jimbo Horne]

Sorry. I'm so sorry that. It's just that one's really fragile. It shouldn't really be back there at all.

[Corrine Abbas]

There's no need to scold. I'm an adult.

[Jimbo Horne]

I said I'm sorry. I'm under an awful lot of stress right now.

[Corrine Abbas]

That's fine. It's fine. I don't let the drunks at the bar talk to me that way. And I know them a hell of a lot better than I know you.

[Jimbo Horne]

We don't seem to be able to get on the right footing, do we?

[Corrine Abbas]

No, we can't. And you know what? I get it. The stress lockdown would screw my place up pretty badly, too. I'm sure with the CDC involved, things will return to normal pretty quickly. Right? Right.

[Jimbo Horne]

I honestly don't know, I'm pretty livid. I thought he was pro business.

[Corrine Abbas]

I mean, I'm no fan of Sununu, but I'm sure he's also pro keeping his constituents alive.

[Jimbo Horne]

Who knows? So let's not talk about business. What should we talk about?

[Corrine Abbas]

Well, I'd like to rehash the past.

[Jimbo Horne]

Neat.

[Corrine Abbas]

Well, it's just that I recently discovered the. The diary of Damaris Abbas.

[Jimbo Horne]

Oh, yes, I'm familiar with it. Oh, well, yes, my great, great. Etc. Etc. Grandfather was the one who found it.

[Corrine Abbas]

Actually, I didn't know that.

[Jimbo Horne]

Well, it's not common knowledge. He made sure that it wasn't entered into the record of events.

[Corrine Abbas]

That's sort of what I'm here to ask about.

[Jimbo Horne]

Not vampirism.

[Corrine Abbas]

No. I mean what happened with your family, after everything.

[Jimbo Horne]

After the good Reverend Abbas murdered his son, he marched up the hill to this very house and banged on the door in the middle of the night. Then he murdered Jury Havoc, the eighth's wife, Sophia, whose portrait you were so taken with. And after that, he went and hung himself in the church, leaving no note.

[Corrine Abbas]

Well, that's. That's not entirely true. What we did. A letter to his grandson.

[Jimbo Horne]

Did it explain what happened?

[Corrine Abbas]

No, no. Just told them that the vampires were going to be their responsibility in the future. And apologizing for their mother's death.

[Jimbo Horne]

Shame about Damaris. Another innocent.

[Corrine Abbas]

Yeah.

[Jimbo Horne]

Let me tell you something. Even in his grief from Sophia's loss, my ancestor felt an obligation to heal the wounds Abbas left. The current town hall was funded by him. He gave generously to the church and found someone new to lead the congregation. All of which led to the population renaming the town after him. But apparently the. The sorrow was too much. And so he returned to London, where he met his second wife, Martha.

[Corrine Abbas]

Which I suppose was lucky for you.

[Jimbo Horne]

How so?

[Corrine Abbas]

Otherwise you wouldn't have been born.

[Jimbo Horne]

Right? Yeah, I guess you got a point there. Well, the two of them begat and so did their child on down the line. And here I am. And here you are, too. So I guess old wounds do heal, hmm?

[Corrine Abbas]

For the most part. The Abba's name is still synonymous with murder and madness. Though none of us has harmed a fly since that plague of 1817.

[Jimbo Horne]

Well, it's a shame, honestly. It's funny, isn't it, that the disease which obliged the town dissipated into the ether when the man hung himself.

[Corrine Abbas]

Are you suggesting that he was responsible?

[Jimbo Horne]

Oh, of course not. No, I'm just. I'm just saying it's. It's funny in a. In A nasty kind of way.

[Corrine Abbas]

Hmm. I mean, you could also say that it ended when your grandfather left and started right back up the week havoc returned.

[Jimbo Horne]

Ms. Amice, are you accusing me of vampirism?

[Corrine Abbas]

I. No, of course not. I mean, you're fucking with me.

[Jimbo Horne]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was just too perfect. But, yes, I'm more than aware of the bad timing. It's coming up, the work. It's almost too perfect, isn't it?

[Corrine Abbas]

I mean, prospective people have died.

[Jimbo Horne]

Yes, of course. Yes. I'm sorry. And you know, one of them two. Right. Again, I'm sorry. Yes, Hobson.

[Bill Hobson]

I apologize for the interruption. Glenn Morrison is on the line.

[Jimbo Horne]

Tell him I'll call him back.

[Bill Hobson]

It's urgent, he says.

[Jimbo Horne]

I apologize. I've really got to take this call. I shouldn't be long, but it may be a bit. I do have someone preparing a meal. It'd be a shame to waste it.

[Corrine Abbas]

You know, we really can rain check it.

[Jimbo Horne]

Oh, I feel bad.

[Corrine Abbas]

It's absolutely all right. Everything has been chaos and I. You know, I. I really could use some quiet time anyway.

[Jimbo Horne]

Well, can we please meet up again soon?

[Corrine Abbas]

Sure.

[Jimbo Horne]

When's good.

[Corrine Abbas]

I'm at the bar most evening, so whenever.

[Jimbo Horne]

Now. I'd love to see that letter from Josiah Abbas. Really? Really. Bury the hatchet.

[Corrine Abbas]

Sure. I'll call you.

[Jimbo Horne]

I'll be waiting. Hey, and be careful out there. Is crazy.

[Corrine Abbas]

It was already dark when I got back in the car and made my way down the hill. Havoc, the man shouting into the phone behind me. Havoc, the town turning on their porch lights below me, huddling safely inside their homes. A ghost town now, the only sign of life. The blue light of the TV flickering in windows, watching the news for signs of the end. My own house shrouded in darkness as I pulled up and got out. I was turning the conversation with the jury over in my head. The weird defensiveness, though I imagine I exude the same when people ask about my family. And I suppose from his end, the whispers of vampirism that haunt this town are a little grating. I was so busy thinking, thinking about these things that I didn't notice the figure on the front porch until it spoke.

[Jimbo Horne]

K.

[Corrine Abbas]

Who's there? Hello? No. No. Hello? It's.

[Sarah Beth Spalding]

You're.

[Corrine Abbas]

You're dead. They. They. They said you were dead. I was.

[Jimbo Horne]

I'm not now.

[Corrine Abbas]

Jesus. Jimbo.

[Jimbo Horne]

Can I come in?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Havoc Town was created by me, Aaron Manke. The show was written and directed by Nicholas Takoski. This episode was edited and sound designed by Ben Hackett Starring Jewel State as Corrine Abbas James Callis as Jerry Havoc, Felicia Day as Sylvie Harris, Robin Bloodworth as Jimbo Horne, David Calhoun as Jonathan Abbas Summer Rain Menke as Barbara Horne Gina Riki as Sarah Beth Spalding with additional voice acting from David Caprita, Kenesha Johnson, Gabriel Minock, Julian Graham, Eric Teedy, Sasha Hatfield, Beverly Bremers, Jay Jones, Jonathan Barron, Steven Manley and Erin Manke. This season is directed by Nicholas Takoski with assistant directors Sarah Klein and Jake Diamond. Casting by Sunday Bowling, CSA and Meg Moorman, CSA production coordinator Wayne Calderon. Our theme song was created by Chris Childs executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young and Matt Frederick with supervising producer Rima El Kayali and producers Nomes Griffin and Jesse Funk. Havoc Town is set in the Bridgewater audio universe, which includes the hit fiction podcasts Bridgewater and Consumed. Learn more about both shows as well as havoc [e-mail] and find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by visiting the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Bill Hobson]

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[Jimbo Horne]

Thursday Night Football is on and it's only on Prime Video Wide open this week, the Seattle Seahawks face the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC west showdown.

[Corrine Abbas]

What a catch.

[Jimbo Horne]

Coverage begins Thursday at 7pm Eastern with football's best party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Seahawks and the Cardinals Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com amazonprime for details.

[Corrine Abbas]

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[Narrator]

This is an iHeart podcast.