William Stoughton's Gavel

William Stoughton's Gavel
Origin	William Stoughton
Type	Gavel
Effects	Allows the user to bring a death sentence upon their victim
Downsides	Effects
Activation	Banging
Collected by	Warehouse 11
Section	Vlad-768R
Aisle	529273-2991
Shelf	972442-1395-272
Date of Collection	March 1754
[Source]

Origin

William Stoughton was a political magistrate of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and became a major figure in the Salem Witch Trials, acting as the judge and prosecutor. Unlike most judges, he accepted spectral evidence as proof and never admitted it was wrong to do so.

Effects

Used by the famous judge of the Salem Witch trials, it was empowered by the fear and anger of the hand that wielded it. This gavel, when banged against any surface, will allow the user to "Pass Sentence" onto anyone who the user's rage is directed against. The sentence will always be a death sentence. The target for the artifact will die in one of four ways.

1. Hanging: An invisible force will wrap itself around their neck and lift the victim up into the air where they will either die by choking or a broken neck.
2. Drowning: The victim will start to gasp and cough violently as they spit up a seemingly endless stream of water.
3. Pressing: The victim will be forced to the ground by some unseen force and crushed as if a giant boulder was on top of them.
4. Burning: The victim will suddenly burst into flames.

These deaths are chosen at random by the gavel itself. This gavel will also instill the mindset of Stoughton in the user as it is used.