Happy New Year everyone! Gosh it's been awhile since I've been on here and so much has changed but with a new year, I want to get back into writing and I've got two new ideas that I need to sink my teeth into. However, I'm not sure where to start on the research for both of them so I was wondering if everyone could point me in the right direction. First subject - brief summary: FBI Agent who lived in Bar Harbor Maine, is called back after the body of a young woman is found in the Acadia National Park. There they'll find a cult which has been around since the town's beginnings and they'll find family connections. So for this subject, I need to research the FBI as well as Bar Harbor, the occult, cults and possibly forensics. And the second subjects which is heck of a lot longer so bare with me: It's going to be set over a multiude of books and the basic basic plot is: two strangers are soul mates with past lives from Ramesses the Great & Nefertari to Queen Victoria and Albert. But there's a curse which is going to stop the past lives or something like that. I need to research the historical couples that I've picked (which may change once I start organising my mind) and they are: Ramesses the Great & Nefertari, Augustus & Livia, Justinian & Theodora, Charles V & Isabella and finally Queen Victoria & Albert. Any hints, tips or suggestions would be much appreciated and I can't thank you all enough in advance for the help.
I can't help you with the FBI, but I can probably help you with the occult, depending on what you want to know. As far as historical research for those particular couples, I can point you to a historical forum where you will definitely get answers for most, if not all of them. Info about V&A shouldn't be hard to come by though.
That would be amazing! Thank you so much - in terms of the occult, it's along the lines of investigation of it as well as what would be used in ceremonies, what 'demons' (if you want to call them etc), etc.
It depends on the tradition being followed. Many occultists these days will mix and match, and accoutrements like a sacrifice aren't always required, but for the purpose of a story, could be added - whether that be a chicken, goat or person. The usual requirements are some form of circle, but this doesn't have to be physically drawn on the ground, it can be marked out with things like stones or candles, or simply drawn in the air with your sword, knife or wand. Sometimes, a specific invocation is required but again, that's very much optional - you might simply recite the name of the demon in question three times. Some rituals, such as lesser pentagram ritual, has specific requirements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_ritual_of_the_pentagram Most of these can be substituted, however. For the various names of demons, consult the Ars Goetia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon Rituals in non-Abrahamic traditions can vary significantly. For example, in Shinto mysticism, the procedure to summon, for example, a mountain god will be tied to that specific mountain and the traditions of the people who live there, or have very specific conditions, such as having to sacrifice the first-born daughter of the village headman every 49 years to ensure prosperity by starving her to death, or other practices closely tied to local legends. If you need more info, feel free to ask! As far as info on historical couples, ask on historum.com. Tell them I sent you.
That's amazing, thank you so much. I'll head over now and join them. I suppose for the occult and the cult itself, its more working out why would they be in the Acadia National Park and what would they be doing, and why do they need females and what's their history with the town. My original thought is maybe in the town's beginnings they used the occult to keep the town safe and help it grow and from what I've read of Bar Harbor there were a couple of instances of where disaster has occured which, in my story, it could be down to not enough worship or something along those lines. The original thought is that the FBI agent in the story was born in Bar Harbor and her grandfather was chief of police, who was either involved in the cult/occult or find out what was going on and was murdered. As well as all this, I want to try and add some supernatural elements to it - like there is something lurking in the woods and it can physically hurt people if needed.
I would consider a fictional town over Bar Harbor (BaH HabaH as we call it in New England). Not sure if you've been there before, but it's very small, very famous (locally), and very specific. You may have a tough time navigating the fishbowl-like setting while retaining any sort of accuracy. Like most of coastal Maine, it's overrun with tourists in the summer, and Bar Harbor gets most of the celebrities, so there's some renown there that will probably demand a certain level of accuracy. Not saying you can't do that or anything, but being from the vicinity, when I saw Bar Harbor in the thread I kind of giggled a bit. Just some food for thought.
Now, if it's that kind of place, whatever supernatural entity they're summoning is more likely to be a local legend, more closely associated with the history of the place, rather than some generic demon (even a named demon). That will give you more scope to have Mulder and Scully the FBI characters do some more research into whatever lurks beneath the town's surface, as well as make up the details of the ritual yourself.
Ah thank you! To be honest, I picked Bar Harbor because of the National Park there which seemed to be the perfect setting but if you're honest opinion is to create a fictional town instead then that's something I need to think of before I start writing. The other reason I picked Bar Harbor was because of the history of the town itself as well.
That's a good point to be fair. If I do end up with creating a fictional town, then I'll have to create a fictional legend or use something local at least.
I was having a little looking to see if there are other areas of the US where such a book can take place with the occult/cult and I've hopefully narrowed it down to three places (outside of Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park) 1. Baxter State Park 2. Pine Mountain Area 3. White Mountain National Forest area
Arcadia is Dope. Capital D dope. But again, very very specific. It's on an island so if even fictional towns are going to be fall into that Maine harbor area fishbowl. I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're planning on setting a series of books there, you're probably going to want to visit. There's a vibe to coastal New England that is difficult to capture from afar. Maine in particular. People are nuts there. They blend in in rural wide-open America, like Idaho or Texas where there's room for everybody, but Maine is at the tip of the East Coast, so it's full of Boston and New York area tourists (and from Canada to the north) so it's not uncommon to have a quaint little town surrounded by anarchist/separatists that have to buy their milk at the same convenience store as Martha Stewart. As far as the occult goes, that would fit perfectly in Maine. It wouldn't even make the top ten in the weirdo department. There's also a rich indigenous history in the area, so any local legends or colonial era curses will probably have to take that into account to some degree. And I'm not talking about cultural sensitivity or anything, but many towns and regions have Native American names. I don't anything about that specific history, but being from New England, I know that the influence is everywhere. So if you're going to be dealing with the formation of the town and it's "ancient" history, you'll need to account for that. Not sure if you're a Stephen King fan, but almost all of his books are set in rural Maine. I'd recommend reading some of those just to get a sense of what the area is like and how the locals deal with the world around them. King is a lifelong Maine native so it's not only accurate but has that casual familiarity that people don't even notice about their home towns.
Thank you so much. I live in the UK so only know of New England from afar as my Uncle, Auntie and Cousin lived in Easton, Maryland for 20 years so I've had second hand excitement about New England from themselves. And obviously what I've read online or in books. I did make a note of the Native American as I wasn't sure how to go about that without being insenstive or sounding like an idiot for not knowing as obviously, I'm from the UK so I will only get the information second hand and I want to be true to the area. I will definately check out Stephen King as it's been awhile since I've read anything of his so I will go and have a little gander at what I can find.
Oh, shit, that's my jam! I have a vacation house there, which I actually lived in for a few years right around the time I joined this forum. Probably get up there 4-5 times a year. I know it inside and out. What do you want to know?
Oh amazing! I'm doing well today now haha. Basically anything you might think would relate well to the story - either real towns, fictional towns, the history, etc. Basically anything at this point as I just looking at maps and trying to find mountain ranges
The mountains are small. Mt Washington is the tallest at 6288 feet, part of the Presidential Range which has half a dozen peaks over a mile tall, but it's nothing like the Rockies or the Alps and they're barely speed bumps compared to the Himalayas and other Tibetian Plains ranges. But they're extremely dangerous. Mt Washington is often referred to as "the worst weather in the world" but there's some local tribalism involved with all that. But people die there constantly. It's very hikeable and I've done it several times, but I've been turned back by AMC guides on more than one occasions. 100mph winds out of nowhere. Squalls that drop the temperature from 90 to 0 in August. Very scary stuff. My dad and uncle got in trouble one time. I don't think they were on Washington but were nearby on Madison maybe. Mild hypothermia in July, I believe. Here's a link about all of that. I didn't read through it but it seems to get the gist: https://www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/danger-zones-mt-washington-by-dougald-macdonald/ There are very few towns. Being a mountainous area, it's more or less uninhabitable aside from the seams and valleys. North Conway (my town) is kind of the capital of the area, but there's also Jackson, Woodstock, Waterville Valley, and a few others. They're all built around ski resorts. All are touristy vacation spots with virtually no other industries in the area. I don't much about this history, but besides logging, there was no other reason for people to settle there. This is a decent map: https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2256/map That red circle of roads surrounds the mountains. There are no other ways through the center save for a few seasonal roads that are poorly maintained. Rt. 302 is the only way to get there, running east-west along the southern edge of the Presidentials. Rt 16 runs north-south from Conway to Jackson (sharing a stretch with 302) and approaches the mountains to the East. Rt 3 links everything together along the north. The fainter red line along the bottom of the circle is the famous Kancamagus Highway, linking Conway with Woodstock. There are no side streets or signs everywhere that say "No Gas for 30 miles" or whatever the number is. Very steep grades and curves and a beautiful drive in the summer but I'm hesitant to mess with it in the winter, especially in the dark. I got caught there in a snow storm once and it was not fun. The "Kanc," as the locals call it, is also an excellent place to be killed by a Moose, as we were discussing in another thread. A friend of mine's uncle was decapitated on a motorcycle there a few years, and I've heard of other incidents. Other than that? It's a whole lot of nothing, but it's beautiful beyond description.
Haha, nothing might be what we need at this point. I was thinking of the Appalachian Mountains as I know the folklore and history around that range would be vast and probably a good setting for a cult/occult.
Probably not. Obviously I can't and won't talk for AHewlett, but I try to write as detailed a plan as I can before writing my story ... and even something like that is never set in stone. Sometimes I get new and fun ideas as I write a new chapter, but they conflict with (or even contradict) parts of The Plan™. But hey, as long these fun ideas don't break anything, I simply work them in. Similarly, AHewlett started in Bar Harbour, then moved to various parks and forests, and is now thinking of the Appalachians. (Naturally, they stretch over a huge area, but the Maine part is very appropriate for the occult ... challenging, rugged, remote, and spectacularly scenic. I hope those FBI agents are also seasoned hikers).
Not the Bar Harbor area. That's Amazon, Air BnB and full Wifi. Some of the interior areas and the northern tip toward Canada are a bit more rugged, but the majority of the state is very flat and accessible. I think you'll have better luck in Appalachia with the occult thing. That's real hillbilly country. Maine and New England are very gentrified. Nobody is setting up an occult shop in Arcadia without ten tourists streaming it live on social media.
Sorry, Homer ... I meant that the Maine part of the Appalachians is "challenging, rugged, and remote". Obviously, a tourist town like Bar Harbour wouldn't be. I don't know much about the occult history of Maine or New England (except for the Salem Witch Trials -- but surely everyone knows about that, I hope?) ... but when I googled "occult history Maine", I found an excerpt in the library of the University of Maine (2002, PDF), which suggests links between Maine (specifically, Casco Bay) and the Salem Trials. I'm not suggesting that AHewlett should use the Salem Trials as the backdrop for his/her novel. They're world-famous, of course. But at least this article is good research material.
Thanks everyone! I did all my research in the beginning for Bar Harbor but as Homer pointed out, it's probably too much of a well known place to start. Which is what has now set me working backwards (which is fine, I like working backwards for some reason) so I had a look at the Appalacian Mountain range as I know there's a lot of folklore in that range and obviously, as pointed out, Native American history as well. So if I do go down that route, I just have to be mindful of what I put in about Native Americans. As of yesterday while I was looking and searching, I'm thinking more Vermont but I need to sit my backside down and research the Appalacian Mountains themselves and the area as well as the folklore and maybe create a town of my own that's going to be well away from anything on the map so it can't be too well know, like Bar Harbor would be. So for now, I'm working backwards, starting again and seeing what I can come up with. And don't get me started on the other idea - that one is a headache. I need a co-writer for that one, I think.
