Rash of Bizarre Deaths Haunt IRC
Dateline: April 15-16, 1998... EFnet
Current and past denizens of the respected EFnet IRC channel, #alt.vampyres, appear to be the victims of a deadly conspiracy to purge EFnet of all members of this channel.

The #alt.v denizens were shocked earlier this week to learn that Cathari had perished in a devastating automobile accident on April 8. Reports indicate she was crushed and mangled beyond recognition. A private memorial service followed cremation.

Her death was closely followed by that of Emrys, on the very same day! Emrys had been absent from the channel for an extended period of time. Apparently, however, his attempt to distance himself from #alt.vampyres was no defense against the deadly conspiracy.

Tragically, Emrys' vixen, Jetgirl (aka. Josephe) was the next to fall victim. Denizens from both the IRC channel and the UseNet Newsgroup alt.vampyres will miss her quick wit and the opportunity to attend her Halloween wedding.

This week brought the demise of #alt.vampyres channel founder, Shroud, and his bride Ericah (sometimes Saundra), one of the most talented poets either the IRC channel or the newsgroup had seen. Long absent from the channel, neither Shroud nor Ericah were able to escape the maniac who seems to have made it his/her mission in life to decimate the ranks of the #alt.vampyres channel.

As the day progressed, reports of sudden deaths are too frequent to discount the conspiracy or "Curse" theories abounding around EFnet. These sudden and increasingly bizarre deaths include those of:

• Kashie
• Trickster
• EthenHunt (formerly known as Siddneyy)
• Takhisis
• Tiernan
• Machina
• Paden
• Linz
• Dellamorte (a/k/a Lashr)
• James_M
• Omnedon
• Hylocori (a/k/a grrkitty, flagg)
• VenusIvy (a/k/a Gibby)
• SusiNeito (a/k/a Rebekkah, PersikPit)
• K-
• Yakko
• Askelon (a/k/a Morpheus)
• viscera and TwrlPuppy (aka. The XiNiX Twins)
• ryssa
• Kitsune

In the most puzzling death to date, Phelan, pseudo-guardian of the channel's borders, was murdered in midlurk the morning of April 15.

Websurfers everywhere expressed shock to learn that Artemis, webmaster of the #alt.vampyres web site, was listed among the victims.

Rumors, as yet unconfirmed by reliable sources, are that the channel members, while apparently and reportedly dead, have been spotted here and there around IRC. Speculation is that, far from being vampyre poseurs as some have alleged, the denizens are indeed becoming undead rather than deceased!

Much to everyone's surprise and bewilderment, this appeared in place of Cathari's obituary a few days after the rash of deaths.

Please stay with us as we continue to follow this heartbreaking story of the death of a channel... one member at a time. If you have news, additional deaths to report, theories or related links to this tragic tale, please notify the Pagemaster so that all available data can be assessed in our search to find the evil fiend(s) perpetrating this travesty.