The Curious Case of Ms. Gretchen Weiss: Some Observations

From the diary of Mackie MacKenzie:

I had almost started to believe that Arkham is a nice and quiet. A nice summer with some academic contemplation and language studies, garden parties, a couple of great getaways...exactly what I need. I also aced the course in Arabic, but nothing less was expected. And then a call regarding the whereabouts of one of my graduate students turns sour, and all of a sudden I am having conversations with Karen while sharpening the Pocket Knife of Doom. Karen is, however, a great conversation partner. 

I am still trying to figure out the true nature of Gretchen's paintings, and I am quite certain that one is endowed with strange and otherworldly powers. How would a perfectly innocuous graduate student come into contact with forces similar to the ones we've encountered? Now, will Howard just bury the cat carcass already!?

 

Poor Schatzi!

Gretchen's new style of painting

From the diary of Henry Chester: 

(unintelligible)

From the diary of Howard Lake:

I have spent months trying to figure out if these guys are freaks or the real deal, but as always, I decided that I'll just tag along. It was eerie to stand in a closet on what I thought was gravel, but what really turned out to be teeth. Hundreds, if not thousands of teeth. The poor Weiss woman must have had quite the breakdown. Yet, if these were the teeth of murder victims, even sleepy Arkham would have noted. We visited the provost, Ralph Maynard, later that afternoon, and he only confirmed that Ms. Weiss had been absent for almost four weeks. Really strange. I also have to remember not to flirt with librarians. Hey, why is there a cat carcass in my shopping bag?

Gretchen's old style

A closet content unlike others

From the diary of Jules Pollack:

I am getting really curious about this Gretchen woman. It will be interesting to see if we can meet her at the Arkham Sanatorium. I am also really curious about that place, since I have heard so many dark and disturbing rumors about this particular institution.

Ms. Weiss did have a nice, clean, albeit frugal, apartment. Several of her own paintings, a photograph of what seems to be her twin sister (Isabella), German poetry and literature in the style of the Romantics, lots of textbooks, all checked out from the Miskatonic University Library. But oh my goodness, Ms. Weiss really spooked Mrs. Gardener, her landlady! That shy graduate student really didn't seem to be the biting type.

From the diary of Moira Baker:

So, is there any connection between the  break-in attempt at the Miskatonic University Library and the circumstances of Ms. Gretchen Weiss? I do remember the break-in just before the opening of the exhibition featuring the Arumbaya fetish, and that was quite the affair. But what does it really mean when Mackie says that the painting is endowed with otherworldly powers? Or is just that poor Gretchen Weiss simply lost her marbles and that's that?