{{Case File 01/19: Provenance}}

[Cast Facts:]

-FrontPage headline for the Hudson Valley Beacon: (Main Article) Proposed Development Plan creates a Political Stampede; (Side Right) Couple’s Throats Slashed In Own House

                + Victims Mark and Anne Telesca purchased Merchant Family Portrait at charity auction; that night they are found in their bedroom with their throats slit; no signs of forced entry, prints, or murder weapons. Doors were locked from the inside and the house gives off no EMF (Electromagnetic Field: A physical field that is produced by electrically charged objects and which affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction, one of the four fundamental forces of nature); Telesca house has no violent crimes or haunting in its history.

-John’s Journal Entry:  Marked Sunday March 11^th shows text and a taped map of the Division of New York State overlaid with red pen notating three murders in the upstate area (1912, 1945, 1970) with the same M.O.  There was so much time between the murders that no one saw a pattern except John who suspected another murder would occur.

+ Merchant Family Portrait stored after 1970 murder until donated to a charity auction a ‘month ago.’

-Research:  April 16, 1912 Newspaper article: (Headline) Father Slaughters Family, Kills Self.

+ Barber Isaiah Merchant (36) uses straight razor to slit kid’s, wife’s, then his own throat.  Neighbors called him stern with a harsh temperament, ironfisted rule over his family. Rumor ws the wife planned on leaving him so he “gave them a quick shave instead.”

+ Surviving Merchant family members have mother and children cremated and put in the family mausoleum, but gave Isaiah’s body to the county where he was buried in a nondescript grave in a pine box.

+ Painting lore suggests that the subject haunts the owner; old tradition: when children died their favorite toys were preserved in the crypt

+Adopted Merchant daughter Millie was up for adoption because her original family was murdered in their bed and no one suspected a little girl. Kills at night using straight razor depicted in the painting and is destroyed when her antique toy doll containing her hair is torched. Isiah Merchant changes features of the painting to warn owners (position of head, hand, picture inside the picture, position of straight razor).

[Episode Canon:]

-Scene Settings: Telesca home after charity auction that had an open bar; married couple separate, wife heading upstairs to get “comfortable” while husband turns on security system. Emo/punk bar with live local band and graffiti décor on brick walls. Blake auction house: all art, antiques, ect. Taken out of Telesca sale and put up for private showing/silent auction (estate sale); owned by Daniel Blake. First floor motel room (# 12): black and white explosion of retro 70s decor accented with silver. Merchant Mausoleum:  travel to 3 graveyards before they find it. Evelyn’s home: purchases painting and places it on the mantel over her fireplace after boys’ first failed attempt at destroying the malevolent spirit.

-Sarah Blake: Tall brunette with dark green eyes first seen in a black velvet dress with diamond studded earrings in her father’s auction house.  Studied art in college but sucked at creating it so she became an auctioneer for her father.  Mother died one year ago unexpectedly making her retreat within herself but has recently decided that life isn’t what her mom wanted for her and hasn’t dated since because of it.  Attraction to Sam starts in auction house and is later called for a date at a fancy restaurant. Orders beer not wine and invites him back to her place where he gets the “provenances” (certificate of origin) of the painting.  She learns about the supernatural, but refuses to let fear conquer her actions and insists on tagging along.

-Events: Brothers assume Isiah is haunting the painting and causing the murders; they break into the auction house to destroy it and fail (spirit protects the painting); Sam has first date since Jessica with Sarah; Sarah lies to the cops about Evelyn’s death; Sarah learns about the supernatural and the truth behind the painting; group travels to mausoleum; Dean searches through county death certificates; Sam reveal to Sarah about Jessica and Mary’s deaths; Millie attacks Sam and Sarah; Sarah destroys painting.

-Extras: Brother’s cover at the auction house: “Sam Conner” and his brother are art dealers with the company Conner Unlimited; Repel spirits with salt or pure iron (Sam uses a fireplace poker); Dean calls them L.A. TV scouts looking for “special skills.”

[Sam-isms:]

-Sam disarms a security system by removing the face plate in the Blake Auction House.

-Sam makes wishes on eyelashes.