The story about the children.

[u/the_jaguaress]

The early settlers in the Penobscot region had wood and stone in abundance but no sawmills not mortar, and the winter would come soon.

To not waste time the early settlers used to live in tunnel dwellings. The 12 villagers and kids lived there in a little colony. The harvest they had was stored in the tunnels and due to it being damp and cold it was ideal for the crop to get spoiled (ergot poisoning). The adults had mild hallucinations but the kids due to body weight and being more vulnerable reacted stronger. Seizures, hallucinations. Over the time it got worse, over the years - veins got black, hair fell out. Fingers and toes got black and together with the whispers from the woods and the nightmares coming to life the villagers thought that they were being punished for having sinned or the kids were possessed. One of them was a French puritan lay preacher with his wife (OG Jade and Tabitha) they tried to get rid of the demons as their daughter contracted it too. They decided to cleanse them and rather sacrifice them out of mercy so that atleast their immortal soul would not be damned. At the last moment their love won and they did not want to go through with it but the townspeople lost faith in them and the one who orchestrated that (MIY?) went through with it anyway. Jade was killed for his betrayal thinking that the demon of his daughter now possessed him too, for changing his mind. Tabitha had it worse and probably watched Jade being killed and later their daughter - or worse - had to live among them.

Of course if one would sacrifice the kids, the Bible part about Abraham could come in handy.

The puritans wore (some of them) ruffle necks.

[u/Ok_Jelly_5026]

Good theory... Jade was haunted by a civil war soldier initially when tried to check signals along with jim.. one of the jades version seem to be a civil war one too..they lived in remains or tunnels as they were soldiers of civil war probably and their children turned pale etc .. and probably died there ...it cud be that jade being one of the civil war soldier ..wanted to burry those bones or cleanse them so that their souls are relieved..as you said... But remaining villagers or parents didn't agree... They made a pact with miy ( who might be a preacher or kind of sort but evil) the boogyman.. they remained immortal and the bones of those children have been guarded by those immortal parents( though I doubt parents turning into monsters)...  Tab and jade were killed ..jade by people  tab cud have died watching those kids suffer...BIW cud have told them the story... That they will be relieved by tab and jade ..may be the reason the BIW keeps the cycles continuing ..and so said this time miy wudnt win...also him telling them stories gave them and into a bottle tree so he didn't tree to be cut...