England, 1735. The Age of Enlightenment, a time when gin was attended more often than church in London, when there was a wait list for the notorious asylum of Bedlam, and consumer culture mirrored the aggressive expansion of every major industry. The streets of the densest urban center in the world were softened by coal haze from foundries and forges, many thousands were homeless and destitute, while the privileged class ate multiple courses of meat at every meal. At night when the meager candle flames of street lanterns winked out, the city was utterly dark, creating the perfect atmosphere for those with unsavory intent...
Like Bigfoot in modern America, in the world of Emelyn Morley, everyone has heard tales of Saunmoor, a hidden haunted city in Sussex, ruled by its cold immortal queen, though few believe. Adding a layer of fantasy to true history requires the building of authentic roots, and these roots cannot take hold without robust research, and storytelling that rings true for the time period.
For me this has involved reading a lot of letters, combing through first and second hand sources on every subject from lifestyle, travel, food and medicine to political scandals of the day, crime, poverty, science, the Anglican church and even popular superstitions.
Bram Stoker wrote the novel Dracula in 1897, but few realize that whispered tales of vampires had first been bandied about Europe nearly 170 years prior. In the Gentleman's Magazine, issued in May of 1732, I was intrigued to find the following quote related to a sensational homicide case, suspected of vampirism: "It is said he killed but four persons, whereas, had he been a vampyre of any rank, we should have heard of his ten thousands."
Even the London College of Physicians took to issuing pamphlets warning about the undead, citing places like Germany, Hungary and Serbia where locals had taken to digging up corpses suspected of springing to life to murder and drink blood. Many a poor subject laid to rest had their remains desecrated in the name of public safety, with some even buried with sickle blades about their necks, to effect decapitation, should the body attempt to rise from its grave.
But of course the vampire is just one of many mysteries that abound in English history and folklore, and certainly not the only thing to go bump in the night.
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