Every child in Venturia grows up on stories about Vallombrosa — and no two of them agree. Nobody takes any single version seriously as history, but everyone knows them; they're cultural furniture, like the tales you tell about the haunted house at the end of the road.
What Everyone Agrees On
A handful of points recur in every telling: the di Errante family was wealthy and powerful, something catastrophically bad happened, the supernatural fog appeared afterward and never lifted, everyone inside died or vanished, and the place is deadly — people who enter don't come back.
The Contradictory Versions
After that, the legends scatter wildly. Two brothers fought over a woman — and every teller disagrees about who killed whom, and why. The bride was a witch who cursed the estate when she was jilted. A plague broke out at a feast, and the fog still holds it in. The family were secretly pirates with cursed treasure. Demon deals gone wrong; immortality experiments; the woman was secretly a selkie, or a vampire, or a dragon; one brother still lives inside, ruling over ghosts; fabulous treasure guarded by the undead; and anyone who enters relives their worst fear in an endless loop.
The Annual Tragedy
During the Autumn Masquerade, the Amaranth Theater stages The Tragedy of Vallombrosa — but the plot changes every year, depending on which director is in charge and which legend they favor. Residents bet on which version will be staged and argue over the production. It's a running civic joke.
What People Actually Believe
Children believe the frightening versions completely. Teenagers call it all superstition and dare each other to touch the fog. Adults assume something mundane got exaggerated across the centuries. Scholars shrug — you can't investigate, because the fog kills. The elderly tell whichever version is most entertaining, adjusting the details for effect. The shared conclusion: something bad definitely happened, the fog is real, and the specifics are anyone's guess.
See Also
- The Amaranth Theater — Home of the annual Tragedy of Vallombrosa.
- Vallombrosa — The forbidden fog-zone the legends concern.