Frank Vanderboom is a member of the Vanderboom clan, and he is the only child of Emma. His birth is a byproduct of his mother being mysteriously impregnated by a flower in 1884.
Rusty Lake: Roots[]
In 1891, Frank plays on his swingset in the front yard as his uncle Albert watches nearby. He swings too far and flies forward, ending up hanging onto the windlass of the well. The player gives him his teddy bear, and he now only holds on with one hand. When Albert rotates the lever, Franks falls down into the well. His mother Emma desperately searches for him over years, but he is never found.
The bottom of the well is connected to William's secret laboratory through a storm drain. In 1909, the player can feed Frank a potato when he reaches his hand through the drain, and in return he will give them flint stones. Albert also gives him food periodically, but teases him by moving his hand away before Frank can take the food.
Eventually in 1924, he makes an escape attempt. He sends a paper airplane up out of the well, and someone above sends down the bucket. The paper airplane had written out instructions for the person above to use to interpret symbols made from twigs to understand what Frank is asking for. First he asks for a drink and then food, and receives Dog urine and a cooked Fish. He uses the Fish bones to make his final symbol, the request for a wooden stick. When a cane is sent down, he uses it to drag himself over to the bucket. The bucket is pulled back up and he is now finally free after 33 years down in the well.
He reunites with Albert in Fall 1926, and the two have a chess match. Both are thinking about murdering the other one. When the two chess pieces, the Knight and the King, are placed on the board, Frank dons a king's crown. After checkmating the King, Albert now dons the king's crown. Then the chess board will be filled with letters, and the King is checkmated again by spelling out the word "CEREBRUM". Frank goes up behind Albert and chokes him to death. During the Winter of 1927, Frank wants to have a hot bath and asks the player to turn up the heat for him. Once the temperature is high enough, he gives them a key to open a locked drawer. The scissors inside are used to cut off Frank's hair, and one of his locks are placed into a jar on the side table, becoming the ninth sacrifice.
In 1930, Frank goes up to the attic in his search for the silver timepieces. The portrait of him and his mother Emma maps out a certain constellation that can be seen through the telescope. When the constellation is lit up, his mother's spirit appears through the stars, and she asks the player to have her son read her letter, the one she wrote for him 39 years ago. After opening up the window and putting bird seed in the feeder, Harvey flies in and delivers the letter, which Frank finally reads. The letter holds the clue, "LOVE", needed to open up a small locked chest in the attic, which contains the silver timepiece.
In 1933, he shares a dance with his cousin Rose. They dance to two songs, "The Vanderboom's Family Time", and "The Lake Suite". Finishing the second dance causes the record player to break, and the player takes the needle to stab Rose in the finger. Then in 1935, when the three timepieces have been found, he meets with his cousins Leonard and Rose in the secret laboratory. When his timepiece is placed into the correct slot in the lab's back room, the tree's roots will wrap around him. As his eyes become a solid white, his thoughts are now solely focused on the resurrection.
Trivia[]
- The tarot cards associated with him are the Hermit and the Star. The former refers to his time trapped in the well, while the latter references his search for the silver timepiece, during which he looks up at the stars.
- After Frank is freed from the well in 1924, he does not take the teddy bear with him. This is the teddy bear that he fell down the well with back in 1891.
- The potato he holds in the chapter "Checkmate" in 1926 may be the same potato that he traded for the flint stones in "The Brood" chapter in 1909.
- Frank's fate remains unknown at the end of Rusty Lake: Roots, as he stays trapped by the tree's roots during the resurrection.
Gallery[]
See also: Frank Vanderboom/Gallery