The O'Shaughnessy clan has history steeped in Pagan and Celtic tradition. Though the worshiping Gods and Deities has long been thinned from generation to generation, the O'Shaughnessy bloodline still has with it the debt of a God. Centuries ago one of the O'Shaughnessys ancestors aided the loved one of a God. For this they were bestowed with the power of health and life. A power that would allow the gifted to heal any wound, no matter how grievous, and recover from any disease, no matter how deadly. Unless their head was severed from their bodies, the gift would keep them healthy. From that point forward certain O'shaughnessys within the bloodline would still receive this gift though it is uncertain how or why. Early on it was discovered the gift allowed the gifted to commune easy with nature and it's creatures, be they Mouse, or Pookah. Boggin or Wolf. The gift did have it's drawbacks however.
In 1348 Cavel O'Shaughnessy was deemed a warlock and in commune with the devil, when he neglected to die trapped in a home whose residence all perished from the black plague.
Cavel was singled out as the reason for the plague being in the town, his way of collecting souls for Lucifer, and was given a very short trial to where he could confess his crimes of being in league with evil. A proud and just man, Cavel O'Shanghnessy spat in their faces, telling them all he no longer lay with the devil than he lay with the constables wife. Cavel was taken to the public square and burned at the stake. However. He healed as he burned, marking him even more in the public's eye as a warlock, he rejoiced and shouted about how God deems him truthful, and just, and he lived long enough for them to chop off his head.
It wasn't till the 1800s till another part of the gift was reviled.
During a late night out, Maggie O'Shaughnessy was on her way home from her sisters house when she was attacked. The man was fast, and had the strength of ten. He looked into her eyes and told her to calm though she did not. Time and again he tried to make her calm, then finally, the man tore into Maggies neck, devouring her blood then releasing her when the wound suddenly closed. He suddenly dropped to his knees as Maggie scrambled backwards watching the pale man. What Maggie did not know at the time was the man was a vampire, and after that first deep swallow of her life, he heard his own heart beat. It was the first time in decades.. he suddenly felt the cool night air, his sight grew weak from being in darkness, his strength faded to that of a normal man, and his body grew warm. Clear tears flowed from his eyes, then he ran off on unsteady legs. That was the first encounter of the gift healing one of the living dead. There are others to be sure.
The downfalls of being blessed by a Deity of life.
The first written occurrence of the phenomena was in the Journal of Father Hugh O'Shaughnessy in 1805 The passage In his journal read as such.
“ I have witnessed what one can only take to be a sign that the Devil walks among us. While out on my walk at dusk, I passed through the churches graveyard, which I do most often. I speak to those that lay and wait for Gods hand to rise them. However this night God did not have a hand in the resurrection. One grave I avoid in the cemetery, one person who I do not talk to, and that is a man that went by the name Edward Tiernon. A man of much status in the community, and with much sway in the church. I knew him as he was though, for he confessed as such to me. A man who has murdered, and raped, a man who was indeed evil, but powerful enough to be buried within hallow ground. As I passed his grave on this night; a path I don't usually take but for a downed tree that had yet to be cleared from a storm the day prior. I felt the earth shiver, a feeling like one gets when they are in pain. And from the earth a mud covered hand thrust from the ground, and the decomposing corpse of Edward Tiernon pulled himself from his grave, and lept at me. He was strong for a dead man, tore at my jacket as I held him at bay, his teeth snapping at my face. My hand found a stone, and I used it, bringing it up forcefully to the side of Edwards head. I heard bone crack, and black blood splattered from the wound. Time and again I did this, till the dead man fell against me, I rolled the corpse away and looked to what I had done. His head was caved in on one side, a large hole there with matter leaking out. He no longer walked. I took the body away from the graveyard, from the church grounds and burned it. “
this phenomena happened many times though the years during the lifetime of the O'Shaughnessy bloodline. Those with the gift brought forth the dead when they walked near the grave of someone who did evil acts in their living years. It was found out the full moon was also a factor, and the freshness of the grave.
Those with the gift know to avoid cemeteries at times of the year, and to keep an open eye. For the O'Shaughnessys are not Zombie hunters, but Zombie Prey.
The quirks of being gifted.
Even though the whole walking dead zombie thing would be toward the top of this list, and the Vampire changing into human is another added bit of odd, there are a few others to note.
Your now E. Fokkin T. No the members of the family with the gift don't become squat little long necked aliens with glowing fingers and chests. But plants thrive around them an arrangement of cut flowers will last three times as long as normal, a O'Shaughnessy with the gift could be picked out easy if people knew of the gift. They would be the one with the greenest yards, the most healthy plants, and trees that seemed to grow weekly. This effect seems to last even months after the family member has moved on. Though death or sickness has more immediate outcomes. But if you want the best robust and tasty tomato, then have an O'Shaughnessy with the gift around.
Another quirk of the bloodline isn't to be taken to lightly, and it was discovered much like dear Maggie discovered the gift of turning vampires.
1915 during the first world war, on the western front Sheamus O'Shaughnessy was sitting in a trench with some of his lads, the fighting had been heavy that day, it seemed an endless give and take between themselves and the central powers. Night had fallen, and the small group of soldiers were sitting around a makeshift camp stove, trying to make some soup out of what rations they had. The night had grown cold, and O'Shaughnessy, Holson, and Moreau, hungry as they tried to keep their spirits up. Holson wasn't affected much by the cold, and he radiated heat so he was one of the best people to sit close with on the cold night. Moreau, well Moreau he was just human, a funny Frenchman, just as scared as the rest of them. But Holson, Holson was something else, and Moreau, and O'Shaughnessy both knew it. They had seen him fight, seen the beast inside, and his secret was safe with them, because he had saved both of their lives over and over. Well it just so happened this night Moreau had a bit of an after supper surprise for his two trench brothers. The Frenchman had procured a bottle of whiskey. Sheamus was delighted, though Holson went on that whiskey did nothing for him, but he did like the burn a bit. So it was by sheer happenstance that when tin cans were offered out, a few drops of blood dripped from O'Shaughnessy's face into Holsons cup. Now any other time I wouldn't recommend slicing open a finger and dropping a few drops in to an unsuspecting shifters drink. They might not take it well after they find out. And yes, the O'Shaughnessys do heal, they still experience pain, and pain hurts like a son of a bitch. But on that night, by accident this happened. We still don't know how a few drops of O'Shaughnessy blood effects the other kind. But it does, it's like a normal person drinking some of the hardest liquor around. That little bit of blood allowed that alcohol to take effect, and even though the following cups did not contain O'Shaughnessys blood in them, they compounded the effect. And for the first time, Holson got completely snackered.. Or drunk as they may say.
Leave it to an Irishmans blood to make those not of the human type drunk.