“The Pniese” is a term from the Pequot Indians given to those who recognize  supernatural visions and symbolism during a tribulation.   They were also spiritual advisors for “the sachem” or the tribe’s civil representatives. Some Pniese were also shamans and warriors.

ANGEL

COLT

JADEITE

MOONBEAM

SPECTER

TWILIGHT

THE PNIESE

NOTE: My basic knowledge of the Pniese comes from the book, Pequots in Southern N.E. “the Fall and Rise of an American Indian Nation.”  Editors: Lawrence M. Hauptman and James D. Wherry.  Forward: William T. Hagen.  Copyright 1990.  Published by University of Oklahoma Press, Norman Publishing, Division of the University.

Much of the information from the above text was weaved into the “Halloween Night Fever” saga for fictional and entertainment purposes.  The “Halloween Night Fever” saga, the author, publisher, and this website are inefficient sources on the Pequot Indians and their culture. 

PNIESE HISTORY

             The Pniese’s earliest recording is a stone tablet that dates back approximately 7000 B.C.  It is believed that Eskimos, which migrated from the north, or ancient Pequot Indians wrote of a dark autumn night where strange creatures wandered the forests and around their homes.  This was also the period where a wise shaman chief named Kama selected a special group of warriors to maintain order during this annual phenomenon through magic, physical prowess, and psychic self-defense.  After Kama died, some descendants not only dreamt of him, but were able to pull pieces of caribou skin out of their dreams, which he presented. The tribe believed that those who Kama gave the caribou patches to were the ones worthy of being Pniese. The tribe also discovered that all Pniese lost much of their natural psychic ability and physical strength as they reached adulthood.  It was decided that no Pniese will continue his or her duty before their twentieth birthday. 

             Somewhere in this period, the Pequots were able to develop a magical whip that had the ability to make its user either transparent or invisible.  The whip is made out of the rarest purple wampum, but how it achieved its mystical status is unknown.  Both the stone tablet and the wampum whip exist to this day and reside in Huford House.  The Pequots also discovered that garlic and wolfsbane were effective weapons in battling the undead.  Records also showed that they coated their arrowheads and tomahawks with silver.

             In 1614, Dutch settler Adriaen Block became the first European settler in Connecticut.  A year later, more settlers arrived, mostly Irish and Dutch.  On the night the Irish called “All Hallow’s Eve,” the European settlers were shocked to see supernaturals roaming the land.  They attacked and massacred as many supernaturals as they could, believing all of them to be evil.   After that night, the Pniese tried to create stability by telling the settlers that the supernaturals would never return.  From that point on, the Pniese had two objectives to avoid future riots and massacres: the protect all supernaturals from being exposed to the public and to enforce the law on renegade supernaturals. The Pequots also adopted the European custom of dressing in costumes to frighten away evil entities.

             In 1634, the Pequot Indians and European settlers signed a peace treaty.  Justin Swanson, a Dutch diplomat and the treaty’s leading director, won the Pequot’s trust and they initiated him as the first Pniese of European descent.  Justin Swanson was friends with Sleepy Owl’s  first Christian ministers and introduced bottles of holy water to the Pniese as a weapon against the wicked undead. The peace treaty was later broken, but Swanson and the Pequots remained allies.

             The Pniese was almost wiped out on Halloween night, 1757, when all but Victoria Sassacus (a.k.a. Specter) were founded butchered in Huford House.  Huford House had become the Pniese’s unofficial headquarters during this era as Jeremiah Huford II was Sleepy Owl’s leading citizen and a secret ally.  Huford himself was also murdered.  It is believed that the victims’ ghosts haunt Huford House to this day, allowing only current Pniese to enter and attacking anyone else.

             The Pniese was re-formed in 1758 with less Pequot Indians (due to a declining population attributed to war and disease) and more European allies.  George Swifburg became the second non-Pequot to join.  In this era, the Pniese gained access to ecto-plasm, believed to have come from the ghosts that haunt Huford House.  They discovered that when ecto-plasm was combined with silver, it could bind evil spirits.  SarahThomason and Li Takahoshi joined the Pniese in 1865, the same year when slavery was abolished.  The Takahoshi family created a staff made from silver, which became the official weapon for those who held the “Moonbeam” identity. At this time, the “Pniese” name dwindled in circulation with the term “Halloween Warriors” taking its place. After World War II, the Swifburg’s used slingshots and pellets made from wax, garlic, and wolfsbane as their official weapon.  The Pniese also began coating their handcuffs with silver to strengthen its resistance to the undead.

             By the 1950s, with the rise of trick-or-treating, the Pniese began using the various forms of transportation including go-carts, bicycles, skateboards, and roller skates.  The Thomason’s, who were mostly auto mechanics, gained access to a 1957 Chevy Bel Air and with it, the Pniese were able to get around town faster than ever.  The ’57 Chevy still exists today, but has gone through several modification over the last few decades, which include computer installation, a CD player, and turbo gear.  The Pniese name gained another synonym during this time as Baby Boomers began using the term, “Monster Cops.”

             In the 1980s, holy water was poured into squirt guns, which replaced glass bottles and made it easier to carry and draw against supernatural enemies.   Walkie-talkies were also introduced to enhance communication.  In the 1990s, the Pniese replaced their traditional capes and gloves with a more synthetic material that makes the new capes and gloves fire and waterproof. The capes themselves are weaved with Kevlar, which makes them bulletproof.  The Thomason’s also employed scuba gear and invented a modern Breathalyzer, which allowed the Pniese to do underwater investigations.     

             The Pniese have always had access to a variety of allies.  In Sleepy Owl, allies are mostly the current Pniese’s relatives, many of whom were former Pniese themselves. There are exceptions to this rule, however.  Don Desmond, the local jeweler, provides the Pniese with silver arrowheads every year.  There are also allies in the local police, fire department, and town selectmen as well.  Most supernaturals who cross over into Sleepy Owl are respectful and quick to cooperate should the Pniese seek their help.  Among the top allies are four gargoyles named Arullus, Rufus, Tokey, and Howie, who often hang out on top of Saint Roland’s Cathedral playing cards.  Count Torlock, a noble vampire, is another example (when he isn’t flirting with attractive female townsfolk.)  Moonbeam also has ready transportation as Phantom, a white ghostly stallion, is known to leap out of Lake Black Feather and offer rides.  In the Netherworld or “Other Side,” the laws are strict and absolute when it comes to the Pniese.  Assaulting a Pniese can lead a supernatural in Poltergeist Prison for a hundred years and killing a Pniese is a mandatory thousand-years of torture.