Robert MacNichol, also known as Lazarus, is the protagonist of Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock.
Background[]
Robert MacNichol was born in 1824 in Syracuse, New York. He had a fiancée, Anne Forrester, to who he was writing a journal for. During the American Civil War, MacNichol fought for the Union Army. After surviving many battles he obtained the rank of Lieutenant. MacNichol participated in the Battle of Gettysburg where he was wounded and his entire unit killed. After recovering in a hospital in Washington, D.C. for three months, MacNichol returned to active duty and was then stationed in Burkittsville, Maryland to oversee the distribution of supplies.
On October 23, 1863, while walking in the countryside of Burkittsville, writing in his journal along the way, MacNichol came across a raiding party of Confederate soldiers. He dispatched all the soldiers before returning to the town to report his findings to his commanding officer, Major Thomas Belling. Soon after Belling tasked MacNichol to lead a small squad of three soldiers to find the rebel foragers in the nearby woods and dispatch if necessary. MacNichol became acquainted with the men under his command: Private Mosley, Private “Skunk” Moore, and Corporal Newhouse. MacNichol and his squad encountered rebel soldiers tearing up a section of railroad tracks. The Union soldiers quietly ambushed the rebels and killed all except for one who fled into the woods.
MacNichol and men chased after the fleeing rebel and finding more rebels, who have been scattered throughout the woods while being attacked by demonic creatures. After killing every rebel soldier, they surrounded a single survivor, who was frightened out of his wits by the woods that he claimed is alive. Soon after the rebel became possessed by a supernatural force, who warns MacNichol of a girl before falling dead. Disturbed by the experience, the soldiers try to find a way out of the woods. They find a bridge, which Newhouse attempted to cross. Once halfway to the other side Newhouse is pushed off into the creek by a ghostly pale hand. This panics the remaining soldiers and they quickly cross to the other side.
Later that night, the soldiers rest around a campfire before they are attacked by the ghost of Newhouse, who killed Mosley. MacNichol and Moore quickly dispatched the ghost, but Moore was left greatly distressed. MacNichol and Moore continued their attempt to escape the woods before they arrive at a graveyard where they are confronted by the ghosts of Mosley and Newhouse. This encounter caused Moore to panic and flee the scene, leaving MacNichol to fend for himself. After dispatching the ghosts, MacNichol finds a nearby empty grave with a headstone bearing his full name. MacNichol soon left the graveyard to search for Moore which led him to Coffin Rock, where he finds Moore in an extreme state of panic and paranoia. Moore took aim at MacNichol with his rifle, telling him that his commanding officer is dead. MacNichol attempted to convince Moore to put down his weapon. But Moore refuses and rambles about an old woman who told him that she had died in the caves and that he was going to die in them too. After exclaiming that "he showed her", Moore shot at MacNichol, grazing him across the head and falling unconscious.
As Lazarus[]
In 1886, MacNichol was found half-dead in the woods by Robin Weaver, who informed her discovery to her grandmother, Bess Weaver, who then took MacNichol to her house. After MacNichol was nursed by Weaver, he woke up with no memories of who he is or was due to his injury to his head. Bess gave him the temporary name "Lazarus", comparing him to the biblical figure. When Robin disappeared in the woods, Lazarus repaid Bess' help by finding her granddaughter.
Lazarus met a search party who were sent to find Robin. After being offered to join them, Lazarus declined due to a warning from Bess, who foresaw that they will all be heading to their deaths. Lazarus became acquainted with Peter Durant, a librarian who helped informed him about Burkittsville's peculiar history, before heading out to continue his search. At a disassembled railroad crossing, Lazarus encountered Steuben, a blind and cryptic Russian immigrant, who claimed that Robin plays at his house in the woods and is not in any danger. Suddenly after their conversation, Lazarus saw Robin running into the woods and he quickly followed her. In the woods, Lazarus faced and battled numerous monsters and mysteries, as well as having flashbacks of his past.
Lazarus finally finds Robin at Coffin Rock, protected by a barrier and near possessed with the disemboweled bodies of the search party with Steuben who in reality served the spirit possessing Robin. The dark spirit planned to transfer the remainder of his essence into the girl and use her as a strong physical vessel. The spirit also informed Lazarus that he was already dead but "She" took him away. Lazarus, realizing who he is and what had happened to him, destroyed the magic circle used for the spirit's ritual by using four significant items to break a series of cairns, thereby briefly suppressing the spirit. In desperation, Lazarus ruined the ritual by drinking a bowl of blood drawn from the dead search party, and saving Robin, but transferring the spirit into Lazarus who then told Robin to Robin and return to her grandmother. With the spirit's essence killing him, Lazarus used his remaining time to find and kill Steuben, who was transformed into a demonic monster.
In October 27, 1863, MacNichol/Lazarus awakens at the Weaver house, but the skies are a dark purple and Bess Weaver knows Lazarus's actual name and rank, something she couldn't have known.
Trivia[]
- MacNichol possibly woke into the dark realm that Elspeth Holliday had found herself in the previous game.
- In the previous game, an elderly Robin Weaver tells Elspeth Holiday that Lazarus had returned once already. How and why is currently unknown.
- It is very possible that the "She" that the spirit was talking about was in fact the ghost of Elly Kedward, or the Blair Witch. If this was the case, MacNichol was saved and guided by the same witch that supposedly had cursed children.
- The old hag boss, encountered in the game, has been directly linked to the Blair Witch movie franchise. This is likely a red herring, intended to make players believe this is the Blair Witch.
- The Spirit that possessed Robin, caused the deaths of Moore, Mosley, Newhouse and possibly MacNichol was very likely to be Hecaitomix, an ancient evil Indian spirit who is the antagonist in the games and the cause of all the horrors in Black Hills Forest.
- According to Human Head Studios, the Blair Witch, disguised as Bess Weaver, resurrected Robert MacNichol after he died during the civil war in order to put a stop to Hecaitomix from entering our world. Her reasons for this remain unknown.