a lot of very smart choices being made in this one. leading with the narrative, the order of houses, planting the house capacity seed right off the bat-- this is one of those rare cases of GM material that is as rich a text for them as it is for the players to experience. great work there.
not to deride the jam's namesake, but there's an emotional intelligence and tone to this scenario that wouldn't be addressed in a lot of pulp. it's very subdued. the stakes are real, but no characters are grand heroes or adventurers, explorers-- you have honest folk trying to do their best in a storm. i don't think that alone makes it feel off-theme, but i think its your deliberate ambiguity regarding Hiruko's appearance that's the tipping point. it's a double edged sword, y'know? it makes this module more flexible overall, but loses that connection to the appendix. i don't think there's a wrong or a right call here, by the way-- just worth noting in the context of the jam.
tying the opening watercolor description to the illustration was clever. i dig it. and the note on running the game was well put. you have a strong voice :)