BREEDING GROUND: An Homage Macabre

Breeding Ground is a series of posts where I share sources of inspiration for my fiction, including research or articles that inspired my tales.

This month I’m sharing details about my story “An Homage Macabre”, published in Issue 6 of Frightmarish Zine

HOW I WAS INSPIRED

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that the initial seed for An Homage Macabre came from a superstition! I touched on this in “Folkways: Graven Images”, the non-fiction piece in Issue 6 of Frightmarish Zine, but in case you haven’t read that, I’m here to share how this little tidbit became the harrowing tale.

*** SPOILER ALERT! ***

Here’s what I found while researching this superstition:

To deliver a curse against someone, the simplest procedure is to turn a photograph of them to the wall of turn it upside down (or, even better, to do both). 

Read on to see how I took this seed and built an entire world around it!

ABOUT AN HOMAGE MACABRE

On what should have been an idyllic wedding night, Emiline uncovers an unsettling truth about her beloved husband, who is using powerful magic to control her. Before this terrifying power can subjugate them, Emiline and her fellow womenfolk must join together in a brave fight against this insidious oppression.

THE METHOD TO MY MADNESS

I think the main thing I try to do when I’m inspired by these strange superstitions and old wive’s tales is to look at the root of the idea. Why do people believe these things? And in the case of the photo/portrait superstition, what actions do they take as a result of believing this?

Everything starts when Emiline’s bridegroom, Grayson, gives her a portrait on her wedding night. When she rebukes his offer, she experiences strange happenings that only escalate as she discovers more morbid paintings.

In my story, the men of the village aren’t simply trying to hide things from their wives. It’s about control. Punishment. And even about knowledge – their desire to keep their wives subservient by literally in some cases, keeping them in the dark about their intentions.

The real challenge I had was in describing the senses – and the lack of those sensory experiences – when Emiline was affected by the paintings Grayson had done. But there is a catharsis in this story, one that I felt was well-deserved for the women in the village and that allowed them to take back control of themselves and their bodies.

READ AN HOMAGE MACABRE

If you haven’t picked up a copy of Issue 6, you can grab individual issues (both print & digital) on my website. I hope you’ll read it and let me know what you think about Emiline – and Grayson