Secrets of the Amos Family

Paula Amos Harold is the greatest baker on the planet. However, in the baking world she’s a mysterious figure with even more mysterious methods. Her signature TTV Chocolate Cake can not be duplicated. Her delicacies have inspired artist from Beyonce to Banksy and even resolved global conflicts. Today, I’ve compiled the most credible accounts of the history and mystery of world’s most infamous baker.

Interview

World renowned reporter Pamela Scott received the privilege of interviewing Paula. The first and only interview of the baker and the last from Scott. Few have access to the unreleased footage. Forcing investigators to rely on transcripts from her interview. Using those transcripts we know Paula did not consider herself a baker.

“To be a great baker, it takes a good heart.”

Paula constantly distanced herself from the baking world. Insisting on being called a scientist.

“I am not a baker. My mother was the best baker in the world. It killed her to lose her shop. Fortunately, I had a penchant for taking care of things. Keeping them alive in my early days as a scientist.

Paula Amos Harold has no history at any institutions. However, Scott discovered a record of Paula Amos. A prodigy of the scientific world. According to her professors, she would easily become a doctor in any field she selected.

Paula revealed she took her mother’s maiden name of Harold as her own shortly after finishing her studies. However, neither Paula Amos nor Paula Amos Harold completed their studies at the university. In fact, she practically vanished for the next decade.

Luckily for us, Scott did her homework. Discovering several stories in the school paper dedicated to the brightest star on campus. One Paula Amos from Somers Town.

According to Scott, this town suffered a series of unfortunate events when Paula left for school. Events that became known to locals as the ABCs, or the Amos Bakery Curse.

“I was born there. However, between the jealousy of my mother and the ignorance of my work, they drove us out of town.”

Apparently, there was a dispute between the Amos family and a few people in town. In the end, the Amos’ left and the town slowly died. Starting with anyone associated with the downfall of the Amos Bakery. Known as the Amos Bakery Curse.

To her credit, Paula dismissed it as little more than small town folklore. A tool to scare children into behaving. Best believe, every in town knew their ABCs.

“Perhaps a glorious act of cosmic justice. All afflicted with things my research could have saved. They created their misfortune. Everything that happened could be explained by medicine and science.”

The mystery is part of the intrigue. Aided by the high profile of Pamela Scott’s last interview. Further catapulting Paula to fame.

History of the Amos Bakery

Paula revealed she was not a baker. In her own words, she’s not even a good person.

“A scientist with a morality separate from her scientific pursuits.”

Paula’s adult life has been dedicated to one thing. Recreating her mother’s signature cake.

Mrs. Amos dazzled the neighborhood with her cakes. Winning countless awards. Everyone expected Paula to follow suit. Paula had her own ambitions. A brilliant child with a playful pension for mischief. She spent her early years experimenting. Conducting field research throughout the town. Attempting to create her own self-sustained ecosystems. Apparently, her mother’s shop wasn’t off limits, either. It’s one thing to burn clay in a charcoal grill. It’s another of your mother’s kitchen as your laboratory. Then the rumors started.

Amos Bakery was the envy of the entire city. Rival bakers were always trying to steal Mrs. Amos’ recipes. Demanding to investigate the bakery. Ransacking the place in search of secrets. A slice of heaven from hell.

Paula’s experience in the kitchen largely came from years of helping her mother clean up. Occasionally helping with the odds and ends between her research. As a pre-teen, Paula was pre-occupied with farm animals. Few took notice. It was believed she could maneuver through the town undetected.

Then one day Paula found a sick puppy. Bringing it in her mother’s bakery. They say she kept that dog alive for weeks before Mrs. Amos stepped in.

There are people that swear she frequents Somers Town undetected. As unlikely as it seems, a trip to the local hospital and surrounding labs acknowledges a bright junior employee graced their facility. Such reports are unsubstantiated. Such rumors paint a different picture of Paula. One reason, I suspect, why she prefers to remain anonymous.

Rumors

The Amos Bakery was a fixture or Somers Town. Mrs. Amos’ cakes were magical. Using her baking skill to support her family after her husband passed. Just after Paula was born. Her success generated envy, jealousy, and eventually whispers of witchcraft. Few had trouble being cruel to the baker and her little creator.

Unable to determine the secret of the Amos Bakery, they created their own solutions. It must have nefarious origins. Nature had no part in such delicious delicacies.

Paula rescuing the puppy gave the town a chance to pounce. Insisting that she had not rescued a sick dog. Instead, she had committed a crime against nature. There are still those who wholeheartedly believe that dog was dead. Using them to revive it through witchcraft. As ridiculous as it seems, it worked. They ran the Amos’ out of town and burned the bakery down.

No one is certain of the fate of Mrs. Amos. She never fully recovered after losing the bakery. For years imitators would try to recreate her signature dessert: The Very Tasty Chocolate Cake.

Rumors persist she died despite no evidence of her demise. The same people also insist that Paula was kicked out of school. Conducting secret experiments, reviving living creatures, and duplicating tissues. She disappeared because the school was caught on to her ethical issues. Or perhaps they were afraid of being cursed.

The Curse

Somers Town crumbled in the aftermath of the bakery incident. According to Paula, “they were the makers of their own misfortune.” Anyone associated with the downfall of the Amos Bakery met misfortune. Which became known locally as the Amos Bakery Curse. Best believe, every in town knew their ABCs.

Mayor Oly Packer. always viewed the Amos family as outsiders. He convinced the council to revoke Amos Bakery’s license. Several years later, he collapsed during a city council meeting with a mysterious affliction. It required the removal of his eyes in transit to the hospital.

Karen Pelli led the charge against the Amos Bakery. Karen became the first of many bakers to meet misfortune in Somers Town. After using tainted ingredient she fell ill. Upon careful consideration, they kept Karen’s kidney. Dozens of bakers from Somers Town lost some of their core ingredients.

All would acquire Ageusia. Losing their sense of taste. Maybe they had to learn their ABCs. They had to pay. Mrs. Amos had placed a hex upon that land. A cruel curse amongst the bakers.

Have to admire the local folklore. Ramblings of dying town desperately searching for the reasons for a boogie man. Paula was just the nerdy troublemaker. Not the baker. Now, she was concocting cakes that even surpassed her own mothers. Combining her mother’s gifts with her scientific acumen to create a new species of dessert.

More than Cakes

A cake from Paula never survives long after being unsealed for reasons beyond its irresistible taste. A single slice of her signature TTV Chocolate Cake comes with a mandate: Consumed within 4 hours of opening.

This is not the first product line attributed to Paula. Harold’s Handmade Treats. Appearing in hospitals during Paula’s lost years. Candies and sweets that were as nutritious as they were delicious. In fact, it was believed that Harold’s Handmade contributed to several miraculous recoveries. Yet no one knew who was making them. Never a card nor a charge for their services. 

The Truth is Somewhere in the Middle

We may never truly have all the answers. The oddity of her persona’s both appealing and off-putting. The bits and pieces of her last interview certainly aren’t settling either.

“To be a great baker, you need a good heart. It’s not common sense, it’s a scientific breakthrough.” 

Perhaps Paula found her purpose. Using her mother’s Very Tasty Chocolate Cake as the foundation of her success. But why not honor her mother for her creation?

In her interview with Pamela Scott, she reveals that her cake; the TTV has a meaning some would define as nefarious. The Tricuspid Valve Chocolate Cake. When asked about the Amos Bakery Curse, Paula scoffed. Then Paula retrieved her finest selection of treats. Pamela could barely resist.

“Immaculate. Everything is so vibrant. Pulsating with flavor. Sure seems like a baker to me.”

Once Paula fed her guests, things get murky. Even the transcript has several unexplained empty blocks. Fans of Paula believe she revealed her secrets to Pamela alone. Secrets to the universe itself within her baking methods. An exposure so grand that the rest of humanity became pointless. Like Mrs. Amos, losing her purpose. Her heart exploded just two weeks later.

Others come to a darker conclusion. As a child, Paula was known for conducting amazing experiments on sustaining organs and even entire organisms. Locals believe she brought a dead dog back to life. Classmates believe she got her kicked out of school for breaking the laws of nature.

In her interviews, Pamela was unsettled by the atmosphere. She had been through wars. Never before had the hairs on her neck refused to go down. Fortunately Paula, a woman of science, had an explanation for every oddity.

There are reports of unreleased footage from the Pamela Scott interview. Footage that supposedly shows Paula angry at Scott for insisting that she’s a baker.

“To be a baker, you need to have a good heart. My heart’s not so good. At least, not anymore. No, I am a scientist.”

Scott, amid sugary ecstasy, utters her last plea.

“Can you tell me one of your ingredients? Just a hint?”

At this moment Paula’s expression changes. The only time she offers a genuine smile. 

“Cultivating the best ingredients in the world. Harvesting only the freshest ingredients. Keeping my eyes open for better ingredients whenever I come across them. For you, and only you, I’ll make an exception.”

Another strange mystery surrounding Paula Amos Harold. Pamela Scott’s death only added to the lure of her products. The final stepping stone that launched her to global fame.

Urban legends suggest Paula is a monster. Robbing the citizens of Somers Town of their organs. A penance for the harm they caused to her mother. They believe Paula kept Mrs. Amos alive. Spending her years creating and testing recipes with the organs of her victims. Until she finally perfected her craft. Her food pulsates with life because it is life. The best organs each selected for optimal taste. Using the money from her concoctions to keep her alive, just like the animals on her farm.

Perhaps I’m just a realist. A person who believes Paula dedicated her life to making the world a better place. Using those missing years to get closer to her mother. Using her love of science and her mother to create tasty treats. A heritage of passions culminating in culinary bliss.

Then again, I know my ABCs. Some rumors can have dramatic and deadly consequences. Given the history of those who insult the Amos family, a smart person would keep their mouth shut. Unless offered a delicious slice of chocolate cake.