I started writing THE ETERNAL GUEST a couple of years ago, but was never quite happy with it. The narration kept falling into an antiquated tone, as though no matter what I did, it wanted to channel M.R. James. It was so different from what I was working on style-wise at the time, I shoved it in a metaphoric drawer and walked away, deeming it a failure.
Now that some time has passed, I'm able to see this story for what it is. Not a modern day horror tale, but a Gothic story of a haunted manor house and a character torn between the supernatural and madness.
Lesson learned: go where the story wants to go, and don't force it to be something it's not.
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The inspiration for the story came from my annual pilgrimage to Casa Loma's immersive theatrical experience, Legends of Horror.
Casa Loma (Spanish for Hill House) is Toronto's castle built in the early 1900s. It's a spectacular tourist destination and has been used as the backdrop to many films including Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. So, you've probably seen it, even if you didn't know what it was. Every Halloween they transform it into a grand haunted house experience, Legends of Horror. It's decorated to the nines and they have plenty of actors made up like ghouls and monsters sneaking about ready to surprise you. This one year, I was walking through the gardens (which you have to do to reach the house) and I sensed someone or something behind me. It was one of those sixth sense moments as there was no noise, no air disturbance, no shadow cast to give anything away, but I knew something was following me. I turned and a woman dressed in a simple white dress stood directly behind me. Her hair was matted, her skin had an unnatural pallor. I leaped with a defibrillator jolt of adrenaline, and she causally walked away, back into the trees and shrubs, bare footed.
Perhaps because of the scare it gave me, the idea of this woman's backstory played on my mind. What was she supposed to be? And why did she haunt the garden? What emerged was the skeletal bones of this story.
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I will be posting THE ETERNAL GUEST during September-October of 2020 (possibly November too, if I add more scenes to the story). I'll be getting at least one installment up a week, and unlike past stories, I won't be posting on a regular schedule. They'll appear as soon as they're ready whatever day that should be.
Happy Halloween!
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UPDATE Jan. 17. 2021: The Eternal Guest is now complete.
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The Eternal Guest
HorrorDr. Richard Cardin's is called to a remote estate to bear witness to a groundbreaking scientific discovery. But when he spies a bewitching young woman from his window, the purpose of his visit becomes secondary to the mysteries confronting him. Who...
