Mandela County

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Evil Lair
Full Name	Mandela County
Alias	Mandela
Origin	The Mandela Catalogue
Edifice	No information
Location	Soemwhere within the United States of America
Residents	Mark Heathcliff Cesar Torres Adam Murray Dave Lee Thatcher Davis Ruth Weaver Sarah Heathcliff Lynn Murray Jude Murray Immigrants Evelin Miller (possibly) "Citizens" Cesar's Alternate N Faceless Girl Intruder/Stanley The Preacher Faceless Alternate Archangel Gabriel
Properties	Mandela County Police Department Building MandelaTech Building St. Gabriel's Church The Murray Household The Torres Household The Heathcliff Residence
Purposes	???.
Status	Unknown
Type of Evil Lair	Enigmatic Cursed Town

Mandela County is a fictional U.S. county located in southeastern Wisconsin and the titular location for The Mandela Catalogue series. Modeled after Washington County, WI, it lies south of Bythorne County and borders the fictional Werksha and Yonder counties. Mandela County has become infamous for its association with the Alternate phenomenon and its disturbing history, which has left it nearly uninhabited.

History

Mandela County was presumably established in 1832, as suggested by the emblem of the Mandela County Police Department. For much of its early history, it seemed to function as an ordinary county. However, at some point before late 1982, a mysterious mental illness emerged, claiming numerous lives before it subsided. This condition, though initially considered eradicated, returned later that year with devastating effects, coinciding with the rise of Alternates.

In the 1990s, Mandela County experienced one of its darkest periods when 3,426 children, including Adam Murray, were abducted by an entity referred to as "6." These kidnappings extended beyond Mandela into neighboring counties, leaving communities in a state of fear and despair. Reports of Alternate encounters became increasingly common, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and dread throughout the county.

By the early 2000s, Mandela County's population began to decline rapidly. Residents fled to surrounding counties, citing “safer living conditions,” while others fell victim to Alternates or the mental effects of their presence. The county’s Christmas parade, scheduled for December 7, 2004, was canceled, likely due to poor weather or escalating fears surrounding Alternate activity. By November of the same year, Mandela County was effectively a ghost town, with its population decreasing at an alarming rate. The Mandela County Police Department noted that most survivors relocated to Werksha County, which appeared unaffected by the Alternate threat for reasons unknown.

A population trend chart from The Mandela Catalogue: Interlude reveals that Mandela County’s population dropped from over 14,763 in 1990 to under 1,075 by 2009. By this point, Mandela had become almost completely abandoned, its streets and buildings left desolate. Those who remained were largely forgotten by society, as Mandela County became synonymous with danger and death. Despite this, Alternates and their influence appear to remain contained within the county, with no known reports of their spread to other regions.

In Volume 4, the Mandela County Police Department described the area as uninhabitable by 2009. The population decline suggested that if the trend continued, the county would be entirely unpopulated by 2012. This eerie prediction aligns with the apocalyptic themes often associated with The Mandela Catalogue, including the old belief in a Rapture-like event in 2012.

While Mandela County has been largely abandoned and forgotten, its haunting legacy persists, making it one of the most dangerous and enigmatic locations in the world of analog horror.

Locales

• The Murray Household: Former home of Adam Murray and the site of Lynn Murray and Ruth Weaver's deaths. It was also where Thatcher Davis first encountered an Alternate.
• The Torres Household: Residence of Cesar Torres and his mother, and the first site of an Alternate encounter involving Mark Heathcliff.
• The Heathcliff Residence: Home to Sarah Heathcliff and the death site of Mark Heathcliff. Investigated by Thatcher Davis and Ruth Weaver.
• St. Gabriel’s Church: The childhood church of the Heathcliffs, associated with the Preacher and the site of Dave Lee’s death.
• MandelaTECH: Workplace of Dave Lee and Evelin Miller.
• Mandela County Police Department Building: Headquarters of the MCPD and the location of Thatcher Davis’s final confrontation with an Alternate in Volume 333.

People Who Died in the Location

• Mark Heathcliff
• Cesar Torres’s mother
• Lynn Murray
• Ruth Weaver
• Dave Lee
• Cesar Torres

Settlements

• Mandela
• St John

Trivia

• Mandela County’s population plummeted from over 14,000 in 1990 to just 1,075 by 2009, with a steady yearly decline of approximately 300 people.
• If real, Mandela County would be one of the least populated counties in the mainland U.S. and the most dangerous due to the presence of Alternates.
• Washington County, WI, the real-life inspiration for Mandela County, has a population of 136,761 and borders Milwaukee County.
• The Holy Hill Basilica, located near Hubertus, WI, is featured as the church in front of which Mark and Sarah Heathcliff took a photo. It also appears in the Mandela County Police Department logo.
• Mandela County’s uncanny visuals, including its landscapes and landmarks, are designed with a surreal and unsettling aesthetic to enhance the analog horror tone of The Mandela Catalogue.