For more than a century, Conveyor 3B in the Wrapping Annex has “spoken” in creaks every October. Engineers call it thermal expansion. Old-timers call it a warning. I call it a code.
📁 Case File
- Case ID: WS-3B-HAUNT-1025
- Location: Wrapping Annex, Bay 3B (“The Long Lane”)
- Primary Phenomenon: Rhythmic creaks each October, reportedly dating back to 1923
- Alleged Content: Messages in Morse code—requests, warnings, and one recipe for boiled custard (contested)
- Status: Open; mechanical + magical factors under review
🗓️ Timeline of Notable Events
- Oct 14, 1923: First documented “talking belt.” Note in maintenance ledger: “Creaking persists; operator insists on ‘dots and dashes.’”
- Oct 31, 1957: Safety shutdown after belt spells out STOP. Nothing found but dry bearings and a guilty pumpkin.
- Oct 28, 1989: Morse claims dismissed as “holiday hysteria”; production resumes; two boxes later misrouted to “Nowhere Shelf.”
- Oct 26, 2012: Audio capture attempted; tape garbles during every “dash.” Electromagnetic peppermint interference suspected.
- Oct (annually): Pattern recurs near night shift; strongest during aurora activity.
🧪 Methods & Instrumentation
I observed 3B over three nights with: enchanted contact microphones (peppermint-shielded), a cocoa-insulated recorder, a non-sentient metronome, and Snappers Glitterbeard’s long-exposure stills. Baseline temperature, vibration, and rune field were logged every 5 minutes. I also bribed the belt with compliments. It helped.
🧩 Findings
- Signal Structure: The creak pattern fits Morse cadence (dot ≈ short flex squeak; dash ≈ load-bearing groan). Average message length: 12–18 units.
- Trigger Window: Peak intelligibility between 00:11–00:29 when line torque drops and aurora flux rises.
- Rune Echo: Residual Continuance glyphs detected beneath the drive housing—likely a 1920s “keep it moving” charm, now fatigued.
- Mechanical Correlate: A micro-flat on idler roller C causes predictable creak on every 7th pass; not sufficient to explain meaningful phrasing.
📝 Audio Transcript (Morse Approximation)
Night 2, 00:17–00:19:
• – • • • – • • • • • • | – – – – • – | • – – • • • – •
Translation (consensus): “CHECK LABEL WEIGHT”
Night 3, 00:12–00:16:
– • • • – – – – – • – • • • – • | • • • • – – • •
Translation (contested): “LEFT RUNNER LOW ALIGN” / alt. read: “LEFT ROUTER LOW ALARM”
Note: As with all North Pole phonics, aurora interference creates ambiguity; multiple readers verified best-fit phrases.
🗣️ Interviews
“Belts don’t haunt. They remember. Every gift, every rush, every sigh—it stores up in the steel.” — Maintenance Chief Juniper Quillbit
“My grandmother wrapped on this lane. She said 3B saved her hands once—slowed itself down. Call that what you want.” — Veteran Wrapper Pippa Tinselwick
“It’s clearly thermal expansion. In a festive pattern. Coincidentally resembling Morse. Every October. For a century.” — Engineer Crumble Figment
⚖️ Analysis: Haunting vs. Hindsight
Mechanical Thesis: Idler wear + cold-snap contraction + vintage Continuance rune resonance ⇒ creak cycles that our brains parse as language.
Magical Thesis: The 1920s charm imprinted a protective habit—the belt expresses safeguards when conditions echo past near-misses.
My Take: 3B is not haunted. It’s helpful. The messages align with real risks (mis-weights, left runner alignment). Treat it like a veteran co-worker with a creaky voice.
🛠️ Recommendations (Interim)
- Install a Label-Weight Crosscheck at 3B exit for the final October week.
- Refurbish Idler C to reduce false positives, but do not strip the Continuance glyphs without archival copy.
- Post a Morse Quick Card (dot/dash) at the station; if 3B “speaks,” operators can respond with a controlled stop.
- Schedule a Rune Harmonization session after season—goal: keep the memory, lower the midnight volume.
📎 Appendix: Photo Plates by Snappers Glitterbeard
- Plate A: Long exposure of 3B under aurora shimmer; bearing housings glow faintly along the rune seam.
- Plate B: Contact mic placement; cocoa-insulated recorder (control mug untouched, tragically).
- Plate C: Idler C micro-flat highlighted; overlay of creak cadence vs. Morse timing grid.
🕯️ Closing Note
At 01:23 on Night 3, the belt fell silent. Then—one last dash, one last dot. I checked the left runner. It was a hair low. I raised it. The belt purred. Make of that what you will. I made a headline.
