Dread Hollow was established in the early 1600s. A small farming community that would forever have its reputation tainted by one of its first settlers, Mercy Harker. In a sinister plan to bring untold evil to Dread Hollow, Mercy convinced the founding fathers the town was being led into the depths of depravity and darkness by thirteen young women she claimed were a coven of witches. The witch trials lasted only three days before fear forced the founders to pass the guilty verdict. The constable, Jedidiah Kane, was tasked with the executions. All thirteen women were hanged, and their bodies burned. As smoke from the smoldering corpses filled the air, a cackling sound began to echo through Main Street. Mercy Harker had watched her wicked scheme unfold from the clock tower. Through the howls of her maniacal laughter, she screeched, “This town is now mine!” Lightning streaked from the sky, striking the tower and sending it tumbling to the street, supposedly killing Mercy. As the blood of the thirteen innocents spilled upon the soil, a curse struck Dread Hollow, summoning darkness and evil that would forever terrorize the town. Throughout the years, more people have gone missing in Dread Hollow than in any other small town in America.

The darkness that shadows Dread Hollow is said to have spawned from Ruby Falls Haunted Cavern. The evil that resided in the Haunted Cavern terrified visitors for decades before seeping down the mountain and settling on the town of Dread Hollow.