Burning of New Prairie
| The Burning of New Prairie | |
|---|---|
 The origin point of the fire as shown in the New Prairie Gazette, May 6, 1976 | |
| Location | New Prairie, WI |
| Date |
May 4, 1976 11:30PM (UTC−04:00) |
Attack type | Explosion, Fire |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Injured | 17 |
| Verdict | Loose wiring created a spark that engulfed the buildings |
The Burning of New Prairie as the local newspaper headline stated, happened on May 4, 1976, when a great fire broke out in a small building in the downtown corridor of New Prairie and spread over a 10-block radius, destroying much of the original "old town".
The Night of the Fire
On the evening of May 4, 1976, New Prairie suffered the most destructive structural disaster in its modern history. Shortly after 11:30 PM, a fire broke out in a small, weathered commercial building located in the historic heart of the old part of town. Fueled by unseasonably dry spring winds and the dense, timber-heavy construction of the surrounding neighborhood—much of which dated back to the city's early development boom in the late 1930s and early 1940s—the blaze quickly escalated beyond the containment capabilities of local emergency crews.
Within hours, the fire transformed into a massive inferno, jumping streets and cutting through a staggering five blocks in every direction. The intense heat fractured brick facades and collapsed historic storefronts, reducing decades of New Prairie's foundational history to ash. By the time regional fire departments managed to suppress the flames early the next morning, a ten-block radius lay completely devastated, leaving hundreds displaced and reshaping the city’s geographic landscape forever.
Yet, amid the smoldering wasteland of twisted metal and collapsed timber, one anomalous sight stunned investigators: the exact small building where the fire was determined to have originated was the only structure left standing. Though its exterior was severely charred, blackened, and gutted by the heat, its structural core remained inexplicably intact, casting a stark, solitary shadow over five blocks of flattened ruins.
Rumors & Speculation
The unnatural survival of the original building immediately ignited decades of intense local lore, urban legends, and conspiracy theories within New Prairie. While official municipal reports blamed the fire's rapid spread on a combination of high winds, outdated electrical wiring, and a lack of modern firewalls in the 1930s-era structures, the public narrative quickly turned toward the unexplained.
The Cursed Footprint
The most prominent local rumor suggests that the building itself is impervious to destruction due to something buried deep beneath its foundations. For years, amateur historians and occult enthusiasts in New Prairie have speculated that the structure was deliberately built over an ancient, localized point of malice, drawing a straight line between the fire and the city's darkest, centuries-old secrets.
The Arson Cover-Up
Among more skeptically minded residents, whispers persisted that the fire was a coordinated corporate or military effort to completely purge the old part of town for future redevelopment. Theorists point to the pristine preservation of the origin building as proof that a highly specific, chemical accelerant—or an engineered anomaly—was being tested or covered up inside, radiating heat outward while leaving the epicenter standing.
The "Eye of the Storm" Phenomenon
Local teenagers and urban explorers who frequented the perimeter of the scorched district in the late 1970s claimed that the building's charred shell retained a bizarre atmospheric pressure. Rumors spread that the fire didn't destroy the building because the flame wasn't actually a traditional fire, but rather a violent release of energy bursting outward from within, leaving the source completely hollowed out yet structurally locked in place.
What Actually Happened
On May 4, 1976, the time-traveling trio of Andy Williams, Kevin Stewart, and Heather Dinola arrived in New Prairie from the mid-1930s. Their arrival did not go unnoticed. Almost immediately, they were confronted by the 1976 iteration of the Dark Killer.
The Confrontation and Chase
Unlike previous encounters in the 1930s, where the Dark Killer stalked them in the shadows, the 1976 iteration recognized the trio instantly. Possessing the collective memory and unresolved hatred of the entity across its timeline, the 1976 Dark Killer pursued them with terrifying, direct aggression.
The confrontation escalated into a desperate, high-stakes foot chase that wound through the narrow alleys and dead ends of the Old Downtown district. Knowing they could not openly fight the supernatural entity in the streets, the trio was forced to seek refuge.
The Trap at the Shuttered Storefront
Cornered, Andy, Kevin, and Heather burst into a dilapidated, shuttered commercial building near the heart of the district. Unbeknownst to them, this building—which had lived many lives as a community anchor, a bicycle shop, and most recently, a neglected storage unit—was a dead end.
The Dark Killer breached the building moments later, trapping them inside. As the entity advanced, the three were forced to scramble deeper into the neglected, clutter-filled interior to evade him.
The Catalyst and the Inferno
In the darkness, while attempting to create a temporary barrier or distraction, Andy accidentally ignited a small fire using scattered debris and the electrical wiring of a decrepit old repair torch.
The fire itself was not the catastrophe. The catastrophe occurred when the flames made direct contact with the Dark Killer. The encounter triggered an unforeseen, violent reaction within the entity’s unnatural physiology.
Instead of being burned, the Dark Killer’s form became unstable. He unleashed a deafening, concussive explosion of dark energy that blew out the windows and ripped through the interior structure. The blast did not destroy the building—it instantaneously hollowed it out from within and blasted a massive, radiating wave of intense heat and fire outward into the surrounding neighborhood.
The Aftermath and Escape
The resulting super-heated blast wave turned the five surrounding blocks of historic 1930s-era wooden structures into a tinderbox inferno within seconds, devastating the Old Downtown area.
Amid the initial panic of the explosion and the spreading inferno, Andy, Kevin, and Heather managed to recover and escape through a rear exit. Taking advantage of the chaos and the responding emergency services, they fled the burning district.
Recognizing the scale of the disaster they had accidentally caused, the trio immediately utilized their time-traveling device to return to their primary timeline of 2001, leaving the ruins of New Prairie behind them.
The Dark Killer's Retreat
Having expended a massive amount of energy in the discharge, the Dark Killer did not perish in the fire. Severely weakened and needing time to regenerate his form, he fled the scene of the fire he helped create. He returned to his home, the Martini Farm, on the far outskirts of New Prairie, nursing his decades-long grudge against the trio as he prepared to wait for their inevitable return.
The Site Today
After the fire, J.P. Derelli vowed to help rebuild the old downtown area destroyed by the blaze. As part of the rebuilding, he said he wanted to keep the "miracle building" preserved for future historians and as a symbol of how the city has grown. It sits at the base of the Derelli Towers exactly like it was the day the fire was put out.
Appearances
Films
- None
Stories
- The Old Days (unreleased) (first mention)