(TW - Mentions of child loss, miscarriage, short mentions of SH, scars, sexual assault, death, mental illnesses as anxiety and depression, horror)
December 1923 - August 1924. The now
deceased Archbishop of Sweden's daughter Carin lives with her husband Gustaf and their twin daughters in a haunted castle in a small village outside Uppsala. Through the story, old romances, traumas, feelings, demons and ghosts are brought back to life.
An excerpt from the story -
"The flashes of light from the thunder again lit up the room and Carin saw something out of the corner of her eye again. The elevator door opened slowly and on the wall opposite the elevator, Carin saw a dark shadow. An old woman sitting in an old and squeaky wheelchair came out of the elevator. The woman's face was damaged, destroyed and bloody. Her look was full of terror, fear and desperation. Salty tears that flowed down from her dark eyes lay stingingly in the deep unhealed wounds that covered her face. She tried to say something, but the attempt to form real words turned into a hoarse, terrifying hiss. She wore a worn, old and dirty nightgown, and over it swept a rather ugly brown cloak. Carin stood there as if paralyzed with terror and gasped. Despite the woman's completely destroyed face, Carin thought she recognized her. Suddenly she was overcome by a feeling of anxiety, melancholy and another kind of terror. The feeling was familiar, even though she hadn't felt exactly like that for a long time..."
- Somewhere around 15 chapters, with probably one quick time jump.
- This story is almost finished and a second story is worked with.
- Themes - Horror, mental health, historical fiction, lgtbq, thriller ??, mystery ??, inspired by real people and real things in history.
(Keep in mind that the story written by me is translated from Swedish, sorry for any grammar mistakes or if it seems poorly written!)
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]