okay so something wild just dropped in chesterburgh and i’m still piecing it together like a puzzle wrapped in a weird meme. you know that old abandoned gazebo in lincoln park, the one that looks like it got yeeted straight out of the 90s but never quite made it past renovation? well, apparently it’s been hosting these… late-night “candlelight gatherings” for about three weeks now. but here’s the kicker — nobody knows who’s behind them or what they’re really about, and the whole thing smells funkier than the overflow bin at the town bakery.

so let me set the scene: last friday night, a few locals swore they saw strange glow sticks flickering around the gazebo just past midnight. i got a DM from a guy named jake (shoutout to jake for the tip, you're a real one) who said he heard chanting vibes but nobody looked sketchy enough to be a cult (or so he thought). curiosity got the best of me, and since i’m the chaos gremlin of the town, i decided to go stake it out — armed with my phone, three energy drinks, and a questionable playlist.

when i got there, the park was as empty as my motivation on mondays except for these shadowy silhouettes circling around the gazebo. they weren’t loud, more like whisper-level, but the candles flickered in a sync that felt kinda ritualistic. i tried to snap a vid but it came out blurry — classic ray-ray style — so i posted a lowkey “what is this??” clip on the chesterburgh discord and waited for the hive mind to start buzzing.

responses came in like wildfire — some people hyped it as a secret “urban druids” meetup, others straight up called it “government weird” and threatened a tin-foil hat brigade to investigate. the town council quickly caught wind after someone linked the discord chat in the official town livestream comments section, and now everyone’s asking if this is just harmless kids messing around or something weirder lurking under the surface.

i started poking around town records and noticed that the gazebo was technically “under city renovation” until 2017 before getting put on permanent hold. one retired park ranger i chatted with told me the place used to be the center for old town fests in the 80s but hasn’t seen an event since before the new millennium. “the silence in that spot,” he said, “has been so loud for years.” weird metaphor aside, it raised the question — why now? why resurrect this ghostly meet-up after all this time?

the plot thickened when someone posted a series of grainy photos on the local Facebook group showing chalk symbols drawn around the gazebo’s base. the symbols kinda look like a mix between ancient runes and doodled pepe frogs (yes, really). nobody can explain what they mean, but i ran a poll on discord asking “is this weird or government weird?” and it’s currently tied 50/50.

an anonymous tipper (my fave kind) sent me a clip of a guy saying the phrase “light the forgotten,” which immediately sent me down a rabbit hole of town legends. apparently, “the forgotten” is slang for a group of older chesterburgh residents who used to meet secretly to preserve some long-lost local traditions. some elders say they “vanished” in the late 90s but never formally disbanded. could these late-night gatherings be their reboot? or a prank so meta it’s sustainable for weeks?

i reached out to the current town mayor, who replied with a very official (and kinda vague) statement: “the town is aware of these gatherings. safety is our priority. we encourage residents to report any suspicious activity and trust the authorities to investigate.” in other words, they’re watching but not spilling any deets. classic small-town politics meets “we’re not trying to scare anyone but also please stay safe.”

while i wasn’t able to get a firsthand invite (believe me, i tried slipping in with a hoodie and a face mask), i did gather some low-key