Dead Light was my first brush with Call of Cthulhu’s revamped 7th Edition (I know, that came out in the 21st century, and the bio says I only cover 20th century games, but I am the dungeon master here and you should be expecting the unexpected).

This is a great little scenario. Originally a 2013 Christmas gift to the backers of the (very late) 7th Edition rulebook Kickstarter, Dead Light was, at the time, probably the best thing Chaosium had published for Call of Cthulhu in over half a decade (the previous high water mark being either Malleus Monstrorum in ’07 or Tatters of the King in ’06, depending on your preferences). Unlike most CoC scenarios, this one eschews the investigation/confrontation model for something more akin to survival horror.

It’s a small scale adventure, taking place in a diner and a nearby cottage after investigators are stranded thanks to a bad storm. With the titular entity stalking and partially eating anyone in the area it can get its tendrils on, the tension ratchets up quickly, encouraging the group to find a solution fast, lest they become the next meal. That solution is suitably chilling. Also chilling is the cover art, which is gloriously goopy and outré at the same time, the best CoC cover art in a long time (there’s some unfortunate late 90s/early 2000s Call of Cthulhu art out there).

Worst part? I don’t understand what a ‘dead light’ is supposed to be – it is the sort of evocative phrase that just falls flat for me. I really want it to be some kind of direct reference to Stephen King’s It, whose true form is described by the kids in the book as deadlights, but no such luck.

Best part? It’s necessarily short, so you could play it in a single night. Say, Halloween?