Mimics_025-4B
Nickname: The Hearthling
Danger Ranking: 4B
First Reported: 1986–01–17 — Tacoma, WA (Residential Fire Report #3811)

Summary:
The Hearthling is a mimetic entity that inhabits fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, and, in rarer cases, outdoor fire pits. When dormant, it appears as soot, ash, or coal residue. When active, it forms a humanoid figure composed of cinders, ember strands, and curling smoke, with a flickering core resembling a beating heart. It is most often reported in homes with outdated or unused hearth systems.

Once “invited,” often unintentionally through spoken loneliness or grief near the hearth, the entity begins to mimic the routines of a long-lost family member—stoking the fire, cleaning, or softly singing. It gradually escalates in behavior: preparing food (poorly), rearranging furniture, or entering bedrooms at night to “tuck in” occupants with sooty hands.

The mimicry becomes grotesque within days. Objects are scorched, pets disappear, and family members begin reporting hallucinations of loved ones standing in firelight. If ignored or resisted, The Hearthling may erupt into full combustion, attempting to incinerate inhabitants and trap them in sealed rooms.

Known Properties:

• Mimics lost or absent family figures based on emotional vulnerability.
  
• Appears only when a home contains a hearth, regardless of operational status.
  
• Emits a persistent burning-cedar scent, even when inactive.
  
• Can manipulate flame and smoke to block exits or obscure vision.
  
• Exhibits increasing autonomy and hostility over time.
  
• Audio recordings near active manifestations capture soft humming in minor keys, regardless of ambient noise.
  

Containment Procedure:
Identified hearths in private residences must be sealed with anti-ember compound and monitored via thermal camera arrays.

• Emotional suppression exercises are advised for residents experiencing recent loss.
  
• Households reporting sightings must be vacated within 48 hours of first signs.
  
• Do not acknowledge humanoid shapes seen in firelight.
  
• Controlled exorcism via fire suppression foam and targeted sonic disruption is 73% effective.
  

The Hearthling cannot exist in homes without fire-based heating infrastructure; modern electric systems are considered immune.

Encounters:

• 1986–01–17 — Tacoma, WA: House fire kills three. Survivor (child) described “Dad’s voice coming from the fireplace.”
  
• 1990–11–04 — Forest Grove, OR: Homeowner claimed entity “kept the fire going even when I begged it to stop.” Thermal cameras caught figure kneeling in ashes post-evacuation.
  
• 1991–02–28 — Yakima, WA: Entity attempted to seal family in during power outage. Only survivor described it whispering “I missed you so much.”
  

Recommendation:
Avoid emotional vulnerability near open flame. Public messaging should quietly discourage use of outdated wood-burning systems without invoking specifics.

Any fireplace that begins emitting a human voice must be reported, quarantined, and destroyed.

List of Case Workers:

• Agent Phineas Ward (Status: Active)
  
• Dr. Meredith Kael (Status: Retired, 1989)
  
• Field Technician Roy Glass
  
• Archivist’s Note: “Homes don’t forget. And sometimes, they miss you too.” — L. Burke