The Mulberry Inn & Tavern Horror Scenario

Coming around the bend, Pieter found the warm glow of the inn's windows a welcome sight. This deep into the forest the days seemed shorter, the shadows thicker, and he didn't like the queer buzzing he'd caught now and again. At night the insects almost seemed to chant murmured blasphemies and his dreams had been haunted by distorted figures cavorting about his slumbering form.

By contrast, the sweet voice drifting from the building comforted Pieter and drew him like a moth to a flame. What he really needed as a soft bed on which to rest his head. With a stomach full of fine food and maybe even some feminine company he'd sleep like a baby. The traveler let out a sigh of relief as he studied the sign. It depicted a mulberry bush dotted by bees.

"How quaint," he thought and his smile grew wider.

Pieter entered the Mulberry Inn and Tavern. That was the last anyone saw of him.

A Waning Cult, worshippers of dark fey, has turned an abandoned roadhouse into a deathtrap for unwary travelers. The cult’s head priest works to revive a dark icon. The cult abducts guests that will not be missed and sacrifices them to the Rachis Lantern at a nearby cave. Besides the cultists, the heroes will have to deal with ever-present direfly swarms and other otherworldly dangers in the dark forest surrounding the inn.

This is a location-based horror scenario for Dungeons & Dragons 5e. It includes 8 original monsters and a few ideas of how to use the Mulberry Inn & Tavern from a one-shot to an established location in your campaign. This scenario leans heavily on folk horror, body horror, and cosmic horror themes.