#gloomtheory

Below shows all of the clan cats that are related to Brokenmask and their adopted kids, with the exception of Caterpillar and Tansy being outsiders. This is just the family tree which means that not all these cats were alive at once nor does it show all of Gloomclan's cats (I could be wrong about that, though). For instance, there are 3 leaders and the clan is described as "thriving" which wouldn't be the case with only a dozen or so members. More than that, there is also an apprentice (Hazypaw). For an apprentice to be named means that they never grew up and died young. For an apprentice to die, and only one shown, it could be more likely to have been from the mountainous terrain - Brokenmask is very adamant that Bounder and Rattle don't leave the camp until they're old enough, so the terrain is clearly dangerous enough if traversed wrong (rockslides are mentioned as well).

Being "made extinct" connotes to some sort of extinction event, either by murder or natural causes. Currently there isn't enough to go off of for a theory on if they were killed by other cats or by their mountainous environment. I would like to refer to the pinned post's blurb for Gloomclan: "Gloomclan dwells in the mountains, bordered by Burrowclan and Ridgeclan. Once a thriving community, Gloomclan's numbers have been whittled down to the point where one might question if it can even be considered a Clan at all..."

Alongside this, Brokenmask mentions that the clan thrived so well "that they filled all the empty caverns".

This implies that this extinction happened over time. It could've been through a lack of herbs or because of their environment. For now, I'll leave this theory on hold until more exposition happens. I might update this at a later date.

Currently I am working on a theory discussing if the ghosts of the dead cats remained or not.

So it's established early on (Moon 2) that most of the cats in Gloomclan are dead. Currently we don't know exactly why or how or for how long, but we do know that Brokenmask has murdered at least one (Gorsestar) in Moon 0.

It's also mentioned at the very beginning (Moon 0) that Brokenmask has "ghost sight". Remember this for later.

So what do the dead clan cats have to do with the ghosts? I believe that all of the "ghosts" that are spoken about are all Gloomclan cats. But are they even real? Or is it just superstition made by the other clans? My theory: The ghosts were real.

But first, who do we know from Gloomclan that isn't Brokenmask? I'll refer to this theory that discusses and explains about Gloomclan's fall.

But why am I talking about how the clan cats died? Like I said earlier, those ghosts were the dead clan cats. Keyword: "were". Brokenmask never seems to lie, only telling half truths or withholding information if they don't want to say the full truth. Brokenmask I've noticed will speak briefly and murmur in replies when they don't want to lie; or not even speak at all. (Though as the story has progressed, Brokenmask does seem to enjoy talking more because of Rattle and Boulder) It's not clear if Brokenmask is one to lie about the ghosts "giving up on this place" or not. Though they've found out that Gorsestar's ghost still remains, Brokenmask pauses before lying; the implication of Gorsestar standing behind Brokenmask (as in, in the back of their mind) adding more guilt to their conscience. Remember this for later.

My interpretation (and likely Plumbadger's and Frostpaw's) of Brokenmask saying that the ghosts have "left" is that they have moved on to join the ranks of Starclan. However, it still implies that the dead cats still lingered after their death before moving on to Starclan.

If the clan cats were killed because they were murdered rather than of natural causes like starving or falling, I believe that they would linger around longer as vengeful spirits. So if they were murdered, they would still be around - yet vice-verse they would have moved on, like Brokenmask said.

Brokenmask is likely used to seeing the ghosts (with their ghost sight) of their deceased clanmates. But then when Brokenmask sees Gorsestar's lingering spirit behind Rattlekit, they can't seem to keep composed; they always react to that ghost in fear and concern.

You could argue that the reaction could be because of the guilt; which is true. However. When Brokenmask first sees Gorsestar's ghost, their expression is full of shock (and likely fear); and when they sense his ghost later on, they only "feel nervous". With Brokenmask's shocked reaction, it's clear that Gorsestar's ghost has been lingering for at least 8 moons and that is not normal. Brokenmask likely expects the ghosts of his clanmates to have moved on by now, but Gorsestar is remaining. As a vengeful spirit.

So! To conclude all of this yap. I believe that YES ghosts were in the Gloomclan territory which gave Gloomclan its superstitious reputation of having ghosts in the mountains. But only one ghost remains; Gorsestar's, a lingering and likely vengeful spirit that is constantly reminding Brokenmask of their mistake.

BUT HEY-- ..it could jsut be that Frostpaw thinks that the dead clan is lingering as spirits and Brokenmask is trying to look cool and emo and scare that poor child... and THAT'S JUST A THEORY! AAA- no i'm not doing this bit.

All the images, art and posts are sourced from @gloomclan and all credit for those go to her. These are only my thoughts and speculations posted for fun and my theories shouldn't be taken as fact.