Official WIP Intro Post
General Stuff:
Genre: dark fantasy, gothic horror, folk horror, historical fiction
Quick run down: In regency England, a misfit half-demon child belonging to a species of beings who guard the doors between the world(s) of the living and the dead enters the mortal world. An amateur magician unleashes an entity determined to tear apart the delicate balance between realms. Shit hits the fan.
Vibes: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Over the Garden Wall, The Witch, Interview With the Vampire (movie), The Company of Wolves, The Secret Garden, Sleepy Hollow, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Labyrinth, Return To Oz
POV: Multiple POVs, third person, interlaced with diary entries and letters--so partially an epistolary novel
Some themes: death, breaking the cycle of generational trauma, forging one's own identity, adolescence, being the black sheep, being the sacrificial lamb, found family, isolation, anti-capitalism/colonialism, queerness, oppression, the "other", inversion of normativity, the predator archetype, "the empowered child", control/power, grappling with fate and history, making the future, etc...
Features: character driven, nobody's really the "hero" or "good guy" (whole point is everyone's a person/being the world traditionally sees as "wicked" or "evil"), fairies, witchcraft, sorcery, Stonehenge, romanticism, castles, ruined monasteries, graveyards, magic lantern shows, hearth cooking, early industrial revolution, early science, ballrooms, candelabras, desolate moors, ghosts, demons, consumption, melancholia, friends who are each others' beloathed, souling/trick-or-treating, dandies, dying 19th century waifs taking control of their own destiny, time travel, pretty dresses, the taste of butter, deals with the devil AND MORE
Story:
Set-up: England, 1810. The nation has reached a strength and prosperity never before seen, and advancements in technology and science are rapidly pushing the 18th century into the dizzying 19th. Industrialization is changing the fabric of life in hardly conceivable ways, and amidst the rise of capitalistic modernity it seems the belief in a lively and ever-present spirit world --so ubiquitous in previous centuries-- is under serious threat. But with upsets like mass crop failures, the ongoing Napoleonic wars, and multiple uprisings in recent memory, anxieties in this rapidly changing world are high, with some turning to evangelicalism and reactionary moralizing. Many believe the end of the world must be near arrival. Meanwhile, the world continues to largely be lit by fire, and one must still use the moon to light their way on a country road at night. And in the country there are those who still believe in quaint things like the Fair Folk and practice primitive charms. And in these dark places, in these cracks between the veil, tucked in the corners of the tangible, there are ancient supernatural forces yet lying in wait to stake their claim on the land of the living once again.
Plot (will change/be added to as I develop more): A dying child summons a demon in his bedroom to help him run away from home and finds himself bound to serve the spirit. After spending his whole life within the walls of his family's mansion, he's simultaneously thrust into both the mortal world of his time and into that of the Other Side. After some time spent feverishly drinking from the cup of life to the point of excess with the encouragement of his new demon companion and plunging headfirst into delicious immoral behavior that flies in the face of the oppressive society of his time, he thinks he's made himself a pretty good deal. But soon he learns that the demon is interested in involving him in more than just juvenile delinquency, and in fact intends to usher in a new era where evil spirits, the dead, and Other Things will freely meddle with and torment the living. What's more, there's a species of guardian spirits who have previously prevented this from happening--ones who open and close the door between worlds in a controlled manner, ones who, particularly, steward the yearly lifting of the veil that occurs on Halloween/Samhain. And the demon intends to destroy them all, starting with a young member of their race who has foolishly entered the mortal realm, thus breaking an ancient covenant. The child is sent to search for and manipulate this being into the demon's clutches, which he finds more difficult than he anticipated when he accidentally makes the first friend he's ever had in the process. The two then journey around England, with the human child acting as the being's guide through messy mortal life. Together they survive off of the victuals they scare out of hapless cottagers they haunt along the way while the demon works to recruit more earthly and unearthly helpers to its scheme. It all leads up to a climax where the fate of the worlds, and of Halloween, is decided. There's also definitely going to be subplots and backstories.
Characters (so far) with example images:
