Bottle Trees are trees adorned with glass bottles. At least two exist in the Township one of which is a unique Farway Tree that leads to the Lighthouse. There are also at least two Bottle Trees in the outside world in Maine, which were art installations created by Miranda Kavanaugh.
History[]
Background[]
In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Miranda Kavanaugh, an artist in Maine, created a Bottle Tree installation in a town near her hometown of Camden. As it was one of her favorites, she decided to create a replica in her yard. On her husband Henry's 35th birthday, the two took acid together by the original Bottle Tree.[1] After that, Miranda began to have visions of the Township, including the people trapped there, the Creatures, and the Ghoulish Children. Miranda believed that she was chosen to free the children from the tower, and therefore free the trapped townspeople. However, others had been chosen before her, and all had failed.[2]
Eventually, Miranda became trapped in the Township with her children, Victor and Eloise. Eventually, Miranda went in search of the Lighthouse in order to "free the children," believing it to be the key to everyone's escape. However, she was killed by the Creatures just a few steps from one of the Bottle Trees, before she could get inside.[3]
Season 1[]
Boyd Stevens, the sheriff of the Town, decides to venture into the Forest in order to find answers or a way to escape, taking Sara Myers, who has a unique connection to the Township that manifests in visions, with him. After traveling deep into the forest, they hear clinking, and follow the noise to a Bottle Tree. Sara is surprised to see it, remembering that Boyd said that no one had made it out that far into the forest. As Boyd tries to knock a bottle down so he can see what’s inside, Sara becomes pained and begins screaming before beginning to seize as Boyd helplessly tries to tend to her. After her seizure stops, Boyd sets up the tent for the night. When she wakes up, he reveals that he knocked a bottle down and the piece of paper inside simply said “1864.”[4]
Season 2[]
After Julie Matthews is rendered comatose by The Musicbox Monster, Tabitha decides to head to the Lighthouse in the hopes that it will help save her daughter. Tabitha asks Victor if he knows how to get to the Lighthouse, and he says no, but he knows how to get to the Bottle Tree, which is necessary for reaching the Lighthouse. Victor takes her the Bottle Tree, and he reveals that it is where he found his mother's body. He then explains that this tree is a faraway tree, which Tabitha remembers is how he and Julie escaped Colony House. Victor says that they usually transport people to different places, but this one always transports people to same place. Victor then gives Tabitha his lunch box, which he packed with snacks for her. Tabitha thanks and hugs him before going inside the tree. She is then transported to the entrance of the Lighthouse.[3]
Season 3[]
After Tabitha Matthews explains how she escaped the Township by going to the Bottle Tree, she and Jade Herrera return to the Bottle/Farway tree. Jade tries knocking bottles down. Tabitha tells him that the papers only have numbers written on them. Jade points out that they all have four numbers written on them, and theorizes that they may be dates. However, Tabitha points out that one reads 2659, and thinks that Jim might be right. Jade sits beside her, and admits that he saw the Ghoulish Children, having gone into the Tunnels to find something to help Julie. He explains that he saw the Symbol as a hole in the ceiling, with the lines formed by roots, while the children were on stone slabs repeating “anghkooey.” Jade says he never felt such fear, but felt like there threads finally starting to connect. Jade insists that they cannot deny what the tree did, and believes that the bottles must mean something. Dale arrives, and he marvels at the Bottle Tree. Tabitha and Jade try to convince Dale not to go inside the tree. Dale insists that they have to try, and says they will thank him later as he disappears inside. However, the tree transports him into the concrete wall of the Star Magic Motel Pool, killing him.[5]
Boyd and Jade discuss the Bottle Trees. Jade explains that the Lighthouse somehow led Tabitha to Camden. Jade tries to explain that the Bottle Tree was important to Miranda, and it has to mean something. Boyd asks if he has seen the bottles from the other tree that he and Sara found in the forest. One of the bottles he pulled down had a note that read 1864. Jade finds a slip of paper from the Bottle/Farway Tree with the same number, and asks to be taken to Boyd’s.
In the Forest, Jade finds Boyd’s Bottle Tree, and is greeted by a vision of Tom. Jade theorizes that everything in the Township has a design, but Tom says that might be Jade’s problem, because while nature has a design, the Bottle Tree is manmade. Jade says that Miranda saw it in a vision, and is therefore meaningful. Tom asks if Jade’s visions of Civil War soldiers or people crushed by boulders were meaningful. As Jade grows more frustrated, Tom tells Jade that he needs to sober up if he wants to figure things out. Jade takes the bottles back the Bar, where he tries to find a pattern in the numbers written down on the bottled messages.[6]
Bottle Trees[]
- The Bottle Tree discovered by Boyd Stevens and Sara Myers.
- The Bottle Tree that is a Farway Tree that leads to the Lighthouse.
- The Bottle Tree in the backyard of 1597 Burrow Street in Camden, Maine.
Trivia[]
- There are at least two Bottle Trees in the Township. The one discovered by Boyd Stevens and Sara Myers has bottles containing numbers written out in cursive on paper. The second also contains numbers, albeit written in digits, in addition to being a Farway Tree.
Gallery[]
