From now on, my life is all about denying you victory at every turn. Until you're dead or I am. 
- — Ellie Coffin
Coffin Hill #19 is an issue of the series Coffin Hill (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 2015. It was published on June 10, 2015.
Synopsis for "House on the Hill"
Eve Coffin has allowed herself to be dragged into the horrific world of her ancestor Emma Coffin, the Coffin Hill Witch. And so, Emma taunts her, reminding her of the man she killed in Boston; reminding her that she is not innocent of murder either, though Eve has certainly not killed as many people as she. But while Eve feels no regrets about shooting down a murderer, Emma admits that all she has done has been about revenge, and she has killed for it.
Back at Coffin Hill Police Station, Officer Wilcox and Chief Leland Starr are working together on an unauthorized case, to learn the truth about the small room that Wilcox found hidden in the wall of her bathroom. Starr admits that he is helping because he had done a similar investigation recently, trying to find his birth mother. He was adopted, and it turned out that his mother is living somewhere in Coffin Hill, which is the only reason he took the transfer there.
Back in April of 1971, Ellie Coffin was nearing time to leave Barclay Hospital's psych ward, where she had roomed with Lorelei Smith, who had murdered her whole family, under the influence of the Coffin Witch. Having become friends in their time together, Ellie was sad to leave a still unstable Lorelei, thanking her for her help in getting through her time in the hospital, and worrying for her future, given that she had a baby on the way. Lorelei assured her that she would be fine, and that she would be a good mother - even if unwed and crazy.
As Ellie and Lorelei considered the things they'd do once they got released, Ellie caught a glimpse of the Coffin Witch looming over Lorelei in a reflection, and warned her friend to go inside. She then turned to the witch, and ordered her to stay away from Lorelei and her baby. Grimly, the witch warned that while Ellie could protect her friend there, once they both left, she'd be fair game.
Eve and the ghost of Constance Wright find themselves in a hedge maze outside Coffin House and Eve assumes that must mean it's important. Along with her great grandmother Emma, there had been two uncles. One of them, when he'd returned from France, had never been right. The scene before them in the maze shows that he had witnessed a bloody shooting, that would haunt him into old age.
Suddenly, the house is riddled with massive tentacles, reaching out, and Constance admits that it won't be long before she is called to the House, and can no longer be of help to Eve. Eve begs her to hold on a little longer, but the ground splits open, and Constance is dragged down. Grasping the girl's hand tightly, Eve frustratedly admits defeat, and promises to do whatever Emma wants, if it will stop her from draining the spirits claimed by the Coffin legacy - including Constance and her friend Dani - of their energy.
Elsewhere in Coffin Hill, Wilcox seeks out a Karen Wilcott, and demands to speak with her about a murder. Uncomfortably, the elderly lady lets Wilcox inside, and demands to know what this is about. Wilcox notes that Karen Wilcott was a witness for an adoption that took place in 1953 at the Barclay Hospital. She had taken money from the Wright family to sign fake papers that allowed them to make one of their children disappear. The woman admits that the family had given her a locket, and she hadn't blamed them for wanting to be rid of the child. It had been a strange child that simply watched; never cried. On her way home from that interview, Wilcox tries to call Starr, but loses her signal, and suddenly loses control of her car and crashes into a tree.
Emma explains that she has no desire to use Eve to kill like she had other people. She does, though, want Eve to get her what she really wants. She needs a body. And if Eve doesn't help her get it, she will kill all whom Eve cares about, and destroy Coffin Hill. Coldly, Eve accepts the deal.
Wilcox wakes in her car, relatively unharmed, and looks to see that the rearview mirror has the word "Stop" scrawled across it, and a figure looms in the reflection. Worriedly, she crawls out of the wreck with her gun at the ready, but finds Starr calling out to her from the road. They discover that someone had punctured her brake line, and she assumes that it was because of her discovery that the Wright family had a third child. While she doesn't know the details yet, Wilcox is sure that somebody knows what happened with Constance Wright, and would kill to keep her from finding out. She has no intent of dropping the investigation, though.
Worried for the life of her friend, on the day of Lorelei's release, Ellie placed a spell on her dolly. When the orderlies came to give them their last doses of medication, Lorelei had a seemingly psychotic episode, violently attacking them. Despite the orderlies' presence, Ellie explained that she had to do this, for her protection. If Lorelei were to leave the hospital, she'd become a slave to the Coffin Witch again.
No longer watched by the Coffin Witch, Eve prepares to leave Coffin House, but Constance's ghost warns that whatever this is, it is not a house. Eve concedes that it has been a trap for spirits, ever since Emma Coffin was lynched. Now that Eve knows the house's true nature, she knows what she has to do.
Appearing in "House on the Hill"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Officer Wilcox
- Chief Leland Starr
- Ellie Coffin (Flashback only)
- Lorelei Smith (Flashback only)
Antagonists:
- Emma Coffin
Other Characters:
- Dani (Ghost)
- Constance Wright (Ghost)
- Karen Wilcott
Locations:
- Coffin Hill, Massachusetts
- Coffin House
- Barclay Hospital
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also