The Inspiration for Redcap Manor

As a child, I was fascinated by stories about faeries. Not the tiny, benevolent, insect-winged women invented by the Victorians, but the mercurial Seelie Court and malevolent Unseelie Court of legend: boggarts that torment families for daring to thank them, changelings left in place of babes, and faeries that alternately reward or punish those mortals who dare confront them. While ghosts are evergreen in their popularity, it seemed to me that the haunting potential of the British and Irish faerie has, to some extent, been lost over the last century or two. Even in today's fiercely materialistic age, many will admit to believing in ghosts with little in the way of embarassment...but surely there are few who will confess to believing in faeries? The origins of the upcoming book Redcap Manor lie in the desire to return a central part of British and Irish folklore to its rightful place. There have been plenty of stories of ghost-hunters over the years, including Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, the Ghostbusters, and even Mystery Inc. (of Scooby Doo fame)...so why no fairy-hunters?

While many creepy and captivating stories of faeries inspired Redcap Manor, the single greatest influence is perhaps Rumpus Mansion, a haunted house attraction at the magical Blackgang Chine amusement park on the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. I visited Blackgang Chine a few times as a child, and Rumpus Mansion was always the highlight of the trip. Like Redcap Manor, Rumpus Mansion is an old stately building that is now teeming with pixies, boggarts, gnomes, witches, ogres, and unicorns. Both book and attraction also embrace their Edwardian setting: in Rumpus Mansion, an Edwardian household has fallen victim to an incursion by the Fae, while in Redcap Manor, members of Edwardian high society seek to use early 20th century technology to study the Fair Folk. If you ever have the opportunity, I strongly recommend visiting Blackgang Chine, Britain's oldest amusement park (the park opened in 1843 and received the royal seal of approval from Queen Victoria in 1853).

Redcap Manor will be released for sale in the next few weeks. Join me next week for some insights into the inspiration behind the artwork of Redcap Manor!