The Black Zodiac plays an important part within the film, as the twelve captured ghosts are all part of it. It is said there should be thirteen ghosts for the zodiac to be complete but what the final one is called, is unknown, most believe the final ghost to be called The Broken Heart.
This particular zodiac is of the dead instead of the living and gives a small description of what each earth-bound soul must be in order to become a member of this particular zodiac.
The First born son is the first ghost of the zodiac, for a ghost to become this one, it has to be a small boy, who has died from a shot to the head. The Torso has to be a ghost who is missing is waist downwards or just their legs. The Bound Women is a ghost of a women who has died being tied up in some form. The Withered Lover this is the ghost of someone who has died with a withered or worn appearance. The Torn Prince is of a man who has died with his right side being torn, showing muscles or bone or both. The Angry Princess is the ghost of a young women who has committed suicide. The Pilgrimess is the ghost of a women accused of being a witch dying a slow and humiliating death. The Great Child is that of a child who is very large in height and overweight. The Dire Mother is the ghost of a mother who is small in stature. The Hammer is the ghost a muscular black smith who wields a large hammer. The Jackal is the ghost of a man wearing a cage on his head. Finally The Juggernaut is the ghost of a tall, disfigured and strong man.
The last ghost is The Broken Heart, a ghost created by someone sacrificing themselves to save their loved ones, there is no record of this ghost nor has one been found. Only one person has tried to create The Black Zodiac but failed at the last ghost, his name was Cyrus Kriticos
In this isle you will find information on who each ghost were and how they died, along with who The Broken Heart was supposed to be. There will also be information on who played the ghosts and what sound is heard when they are near.
The First Born Son is the ghost of a young boy killed by a shot to the head. Cyrus chose the ghost of Billy Michaels. Who was killed during a game of Cowboys and Indians with his neighbor. His parents thought he was going through a phase when he refused to come out of his imaginary world and would go in to tantrums when someone tried to convince him to leave his world. Sadly his parents were wrong, as one day his neighbor challenged him to a duel, Billy's toy cap gun was no match to the steal tipped arrow that took his life. He was later captured by Cyrus Kriticos to become the first born son. In the film he is seen either on the walls or hanging from the sealing as some parts of the basement floor has Latin spells written on them. He normal scares people into the grasp of more dangerous ghosts. Whenever he is present the sound of a whispering child is heard saying "I want to play". He was the sixth ghost to be released when the Basileus Machine was activated.
It is said that the ghost of the torso has to be missing its legs or waist and lower. Cyrus chose the ghost of Jimmy Gambino. He was killed as an example by Larry "The Figure" Vatelo. Jimmy was the son of a jockey and spent his day at the track instead of at school and his nights at bars gambling. He eventually opened his own betting shop, be unable to turn down a bet he was just barely able to make his payoffs which eventually caught the attention of Larry "The Figure" Vatelo. Larry made a bet with Jimmy on a boxing match, when Jimmy shook he sealed his fate. On the deciding blow, this fighter was knocked out and Jimmy fated, when he came to Larry and his men had come to collect their winnings, but Jimmy had been cleared out, so Larry decided to make an example of him, several actually cutting his body into pieces and wrapping them in cellophane and throwing them into the ocean. For Jimmy betting was his life and death. In the film he appears as just the torso, searching for his head. He first appears behind Bobby Kriticos scaring him off, towards other ghosts. He is the fourth ghost to be released when the Basileus Machine is activated. Muffled screams can be heard signalling his presence.
The ghost of The Bound Women, is said to be a ghost who has died being tied up. Cyrus Kriticos chose the ghost of Susan Le-grow for The Bound Women. Her parents were the wealthiest people in town, which naturally made Susan the most popular girl at school, however one of Susan's flaws was her infidelity, she left a long list of broken hearts. Her friends and parents said she would regret it later in life. They were half right. In her senior year she dated football captain Chet Walters, on her senior prom night Chet found his prom queen in the arms of another boy. The next day her new boyfriend was found clubbed to death and Susan was missing. Two weeks later she was found buried beneath the fifty yard line on the football pitch. Chet Walters was found guilty of her murder and was sentenced to death row. His final words were "The bitch broke my heart so I broke her neck". Susan's ghost was later captured by Cyrus Kriticos to become The Bound women, she is first heard calling Bobby down to the basement, to which he does, her first appearance is appearing behind Bobby scaring him towards The Torso. The sound of insane screaming and high pitched laughter can be heard when she is present.
The Withered Love
According to The Black Zodiac, The Withered Love is someone who has died with a withered or worn appearance. Cyrus Kriticos chose the ghost of his niece in law Jean Kriticos. In life she was a loving and caring wife of Arthur Kriticos, and mother of Bobby and Kathy Kriticos. Their happiness came to a fiery end, one night in December, when Bobby and Kathy had gone to bed, Jean and Arthur snuggled in front of a fire, in the dead of the night, a smoldering log rolled from the fire place, igniting the Christmas Tree, in a panicked rush, Arthur assumed his wife would make her way outside, while he went and got the children. Arthur soon realized he had assumed wrong, Jean never made it out of the house, and died in the hospital of her burns. As a ghost she tries to warn he son Bobby not to come down to the basement but to no avail, she later communicates with him using his toy microphone and tells him to put on the glasses so he can see her, and begs him to return up stairs to safety. She later appears to her husband before the obeying what the Latin recording is telling her to do. She is last seen appearing to her family telling them she loves them. Interestingly there is no whispering voice when she is around and she is the only of the twelve ghosts who don't get revenge on Cyrus Kriticos, even when he put her family in danger. It is unknown when she was released from her containment cell.
The Torn Prince
It is said The Torn Prince, has to be a male ghost with the right side of his body torn showing his muscles or bone. Cyrus Kriticos chose the ghost of Royce Clayton. In life he was a star baseball player in school, with every college offering him first class tickets out of his small town life. One day a greaser named Johnny challenged him to a drag race. Royce accepted unknown to him, Johnny had cut the breaks to his car. Royce held his own the first half mile of the race, but suddenly lost control of the car. His car flipped several times, dragging him beneath it. It was safe to say Royce never escaped his small town life, his remains were buried in a plot of land over looking his beloved baseball ground. As a ghost he still carries his baseball bat with him as a weapon, against people who are trapped with him. In his containment cell he is seen sitting on top of the car that took his life. The sound of angry and violent wails can be heard when Royce is near. He uses his bat on any within close enough range to him. It is unknown when he was released from his containment cell.
The Angry Princess
According to the description given of The Angry Princess, the ghost has to be of a women has committed suicide. Cyrus Kriticos chose the earth bound ghost of Dana Newman. It is said that Dana was blessed with beauty but cursed with the inability to see it, add that to a string of abusive boyfriends. By the time she was twenty Dana had fallen in a deep depression which doctors couldn't seem to pull her out off. She started to work at a beauty clinic where she was paid in nose jobs and other unnecessary procedures. One night while alone in the office, Dana tried to remove an imperfection, which went horribly wrong and left her blind in one eye. Finally she gave up on beauty and mutilated herself in a bath tub. When she was found, people said she was as beautiful in death as she was in life. She first appears in the film, in her containment cell, visible angry at the lawyers remark towards her, when the Basileus Machine is activated she is the first ghost released, attending to attack the lawyer for his comment, but he is killed by sliding glass doors before she has the chance. She is later seen in the bathroom watching Kathy look at herself in the mirror with sadness, she is also seen attempting to attack Maggie but fails. She is later seen at the center of the Basileus Machine with the other eleven ghosts powering it up. She still carries the knife in which she killed herself with, and when a person looks through the spectral viewers and she is around their is blood everywhere and I'm sorry written on the floor or wall. The whispering sound of "I'm sorry" can be heard when she is around.
The Pilgrimess
It is said that The Pilgrimess is the ghost of a women accused of being a witch dying a slow and humiliating death. Cyrus Kriticos chose the ghost of Isabella Smith for The Pilgrimess. In life she traveled to New England to find a better life but when she got there, the tight knit town didn't accept her so she was outcast. Soon after she arrived local life stock stared dying, the preacher accused her of killing them, an accusation that she denied, not long after the preacher fell ill and an angry mob, accused Isabella of being a witch, cornering her in a barn and setting it on fire. Moments later Isabella appeared from the wreckage unharmed without a single burn upon her skin. The towns people sentenced her to a slow death in the stocks, where children stoned her, women cursed her and men spat on her. She eventually died from starvation. It is unknown whether Isabella was a witch. She is first seen in her containment cell and is presumably the seventh or ninth ghost to be released. She is later seen chasing Arthur, Dennis, Maggie and Kalina through the house to the protected library. She is the oldest of the twelve ghosts and it is unknown what sound happens when she is present.
The Great Child and The Dire Mother
According to The Black Zodiac, The Great Child is a large and overweight child and The Dire Mother, is a mother with a small stature. Cyrus Kriticos chose the ghost of Harold Shelburne as The Great Child. Born to Margaret Shelburne as a result of a rape, Harold was raised in the carnival as an attraction and his mothers protector, because Margaret never stopped spoiling him as he grew, to the point he never grew out of diapers. One night as a practical joke some carnival workers kidnapped his mother, Harold went in to an angry faze trying to find her, but when he did, she was already dead, Harold killed the carnival people and put their remains on display for every paying customer to see, when the carnival owner Jimbo found out what Harold had done, he had him mutilated beyond anyone's imagination. The sound heard when Harold is around child whimpers.
Cyrus chose the ghost of Margaret Shelburne as The Dire Mother. In life she could never stand up for herself, due to her only being a mere three feet tall, her own mother would even dress her as a doll, but Margaret didn't care as long as she fit in, she grew tired of people picking on her and constantly staring. Seeking acceptance she joined Jimbo's carnival, where he put her on display, but found life as an attraction horrible. While cleaning one of the donkey pens one night, she was raped by the tall man. Giving birth to Harold, she never stop spoiling him, even as he grew. One night as a practical joke on Harold, some carnival workers kidnapped her and put her in a bag, by the time Harold had found her she had suffocated and died.
They first appear in the film in their containment cell, and are presumably the seventh and eight or the eight an ninth to be released, they next appear in the hall way blocking Dennis and Maggie's escape route out of the house.It is unknown what sound is heard when Margaret is present.
The Hammer
According to the Black Zodiac the hammer is the ghost a muscular black smith who wields a large hammer. Cyrus Kriticos chose the earth bound ghost of George Markley. George was a hard working and honest blacksmith, until a man called Nathan accused him of stealing and threatened to banish him from town. George knowing he was innocent stood up to Nathan and refused to move. One day Nathan and his gang beat George's wife and two children to death when they were returning home from the market. When George found out what Nathan and his gang had done, he hunted them down and beat them to a pulp with is large blacksmith hammer. The local people caught George and tied him to a tree, using his own hammer the drove rail road spikes through his body, slowly killing him, as an insult to George by cutting of his left hand and replaced it with his hammer. He first makes his appearance in the film, when Maggie and Dennis pass his containment cell. He is the tenth ghost released and chases Arthur and Kalina through the house, until they narrowly escape to the main floor. The Hammer is next seen, when he is attacking Dennis who, traps Arthur in the corner. He is then called to the center of the machine to power it up with the other eleven ghosts.
The Jackal
The Jackal is described as a ghost with their head locked in a cage. Cyrus chose the ghost of Ryan Kuhn as the Jackal. Ryan was born to a prostitute, and grew up to develop a sick and uncontrollable taste for the female body. As a result he became a wild and cunning sexual predator, attacking, raping and murdering prostitutes and stray women. He later admitted himself to Borinwood Asylum, in attempt to cure is predator ways. After years in a padded cell he eventually went insane, scratching at the wall so violently his figure nails were torn completely off. The doctors kept in a straitjacket after he attacked a nurse, and tightened it every time he would act out, resulting in his limbs contorting. In a last ditch attempt to escape he gnawed through through the straitjacket, eventually the doctors locked his head in a cage and locked him the basement, there he grew to hate human kind and screamed madly when approached. One night a fire broke out in the asylum, while everyone escaped Ryan decided to stay behind and meet his deserved fate.
He is the fifth ghost to be released and one of the most dangerous ghosts there. He first appears when Kathy puts on a pair of spectral viewers, he stands in front of her and then drags her towards a wall and scratches and rips her clothing. He is later seen again, in the halls of the upper house and attacks Arthur, brutally tearing into his back. He is last seen with the other ghosts leaving the house when the machine is destroyed.
The Juggernaut
According to The Black Zodiac, The Juggernaut is described as being tall, disfigured and strong. Cyrus chose the ghost of Horace Mahoney. As a child he was abounded by his mother and was an outcast at school. His father put him to work in the junk yard. He spent his teen years along, crushing and dismantling cars. His father soon died, and with nobody to guide him, he slowly went insane and killed hick-hikers and people he toed back to the junk-yard. His M.O was either crushing everyone bone in the victims body or tearing them apart with his bare hands. His luck ran out as it always does when he picked up an undercover female cop, when she called for back up, and entire team arrived. Three police officers lost their lives, when he broke free from the handcuffs, he was finally killed when five police overs unload their entire round of bullets into him and another just to make sure.
In death his soul was bound to earth, and he would attack and kill anyone who entered his junk-yard, he was captured by Cyrus and his team, but not before he killed the entire team save for Dennis and supposedly killed Cyrus Kriticos. He was later seen brutally killing Dennis, by breaking his back on a pole, before being called to the center of the machine, with the other eleven ghosts. He is freed from the house when the machine blows up.
