The Netherhall Experiments is an adult fiction series featuring a team of researchers in 1899, situated in the Netherhall estate of Carnlochry, Scotland, who are sent objects of occult and erotic significance for use in experiments. The story takes the form of a series of research reports, written by Dr. Vishal Pasi, documenting his and his colleagues’ experiments with each “experimand”.

Plot and Narrative

The Netherhall Experiments features a team of researchers, consisting of Willie Gillespie, Dr. Vishal Pasi, and Theodor Riedesel; the three are brought together after responding to an advertisement in a newspaper from “The House”, seeking researchers for a series of experiments. The team convene at Netherhall, an estate in the village of Carnlochry, Scotland, owned by Theodor. The House arranges for an experimental object (or “experimand”) to be sent to Netherhall, with a brief description of its history and what it may be capable of doing. The team is encouraged to experiment with the object, resulting in unusual sexual encounters between the team and the object.

The Netherhall Experiments was released on Patreon, where patrons are able to vote on the experimand to be sent to the team, out of a choice of three. The object that receives the most votes was sent, and shortly afterward, the chapter of the story dealing with the chosen object was released.

Characters

• Willie Gillespie is a Scottish mariner from Glasgow primarily working on the Drum Line. His role in the team is to handle matters involving mechanical work, manual labour and security if the experiments go awry.
• Vishal Pasi is an Indian physician from Pune working between his home city and Birmingham, England. His role in the team involves setting experimental parameters and writing reports on the research conducted.
• Theodor Riedesel is a German painter, photographer and arts patron who is the last scion of a former aristocratic family, and until recently living outside of London. His role in the team is to photograph and illustrate their experiments.
• “Magnus” is a member of the House, the organisation responsible for sending experimental objects to the team at Netherhall, as well as disseminating their reports. He provides contextual information about the team’s reports and correspondence.

Chapters

Chapter I: The Patterning Engine

The colleagues of the House vote on sending the team the Pallid Ale, Carnesboros’ Grasp, and the Patterning Engine, and the latter is chosen.

Chapter II: Weyset’s Gaol

The colleagues of the House vote between the Haunted Cameo of Ych, the Pehnt Plug, and Weyset’s Gaol, and the latter is chosen.

The Experimands

• Chapter I
  • The Pallid Ale is a brew concocted in the monastery of a remote Mediterranean island. The ale has a smooth, fruity taste, and elicits an arousing effect in the imbiber. This drink is rumoured to have been used in the veneration of an animal-god pantheon on the island millennia ago.
  • The Patterning Engine (selected in Chapter I) is a deceptively simple machine said to have been used in the Mesmer War that plagued the criminal underworld of London in 1866. A wheel and piston mechanism inside causes the discs on the face to rotate: viewing these discs over an extended period may cause an enrapturing effect upon the observer.  Upon experimentation, the team discovered that the Patterning Engine may be capable of implanting hypnotic suggestions and broadcasting emotional states.
  • Carnesorbos’ Grasp is a fleshy, tentacled entity that can be evoked into physical manifestation with the use of the Temple Tunnels Vulgary: attempting containment results in its dispersement into resplendent aether. The entity is often slick with a divine pale fluid of unclear but unequivocally holy origin. The entity has some degree of intelligence, and appears capable of a form of mental communication with those observing it.
• Chapter II
  • The Haunted Cameo of Ych is a small locket-sized piece of jewelry, depicting an uncertain figure — the glass is dark, and it is said that smearing one’s finger over the surface while picturing a particular person will cause a doppelganger of that person to appear.
  • The Pehnt Plug is an artifact of uncertain origin that washed up on the shores of the Gower peninsula. It is made of a smooth, glassy material, with the curious property of always being slightly warm to the touch. Those who make use of it in a carnal fashion witness unusual creatures that manifest around them, dissipating only when the user is spent.
  • Weyset’s Gaol (selected in Chapter II) is the material result of an exorcism of a libidinous demon that made its carnal lair in the basement of a monastery. The demon is said to have been driven into the lock of the basement door, which was then removed. However, attaching the lock to a door and stimulating the strange flesh inside allows the demon Weyset temporary manifestation.

The Netherhall Correspondence

The Netherhall Correspondence was a tie-in where patrons could write in with questions, with each researcher providing an answer.