i went to the george corwin house and all i got was this lousy, renewed sense of creative purpose
Two places were most directly inspiring, one of which was something of a second lounge when I was a much more intoxicated PhD researcher. But I'll start with the more well known of the two: the Joshua Ward/George Corwin House.
I've hunkered down to polish up Of Flint and Fortune amidst frankly comical world and individual circumstances. Sometimes, I'm not sure if I should write, as when I start to write in earnest, stuff around me seems to escalate.
After a recent trip to Salem for personal business, and amidst this drafting, I've been thinking a lot about what inspired The Queen Anne/The Shuck, the public house where the bulk of my stories take place...
She's The Queen Anne when we meet her in The Kraken and The Canary and The Shuck when we meet her in Like Silk Breathing.
Two places were most directly inspiring, one of which was something of a second lounge when I was a much more intoxicated PhD researcher. But I'll start with the more well known of the two: the Joshua Ward/George Corwin House, presently operating as The Merchant. Because, you know, Joshua Ward was a wealthy merchant.
If you're a goth or anybody with an interest in witchcraft or the paranormal, I'm sure you've at least heard about how haunted the Joshua Ward House is... supposed to be. Odious George Corwin, poor Giles Corey (who did have something of an iffy past, but didn't deserve to be tortured to death), mythohistories galore. It really does sit on the former High Sheriff's house's foundations and they're still visible in certain places. But as to what went on in that basement, take things said by many ghost tours with a grain of salt.
In the very earliest iterations of Threads of Wyrd, which took place in 1900s Marblehead and Salem, my character David Mills was somewhat influenced by Corwin. This was way back when I was interested in making him a legible villain. Salem was also an early special interest for me; imagine a nine-year-old spouting off facts about 1692. (Incidentally, that's my preferred McQueen collection. I'll have to make another post about it.) As such, the Joshua Ward House had something to do with The Queen Anne's footprint.
Spoiler: The Merchant is actually a warm, lovely place. I was fortunate enough to stay there for a night before moving on to other pastures. I've had ~weird things happen to me and I'm not really a skeptic when it comes to the supernatural, but I'll report that nothing bad happened within its walls. The bar area did feel crowded even when it was demonstrably, fully empty, sort of like walking into a party and experiencing that little pause when people register someone new in their midst. The all right kind, not the kind where everybody actually hates you.
Yet, that's hardly akin to seeing a wild-haired witch who shows up in polaroids (I don't quite think the infamous polaroid is legit, the 'witch' looks modern-ish to me).
Or unseen hands grabbing for your neck (George, a February Pisces man, is said to be a dick even in death).
Or puddles of warm wax appearing on a table in rooms where there are no candles (that wouldn't scare me, but it would irk me).
The property is next door to a Dunkin' Donuts, so perhaps the ghosts are all over there now? I'd be there.
The second place that shaped The Shuck is Norwich's wonderful Alexandra, located in the Golden Triangle. The Alex is fabulous and has the overall vibe I go for whenever I write the Apollyons' pub. I spent so much time there, though not just because it was my local. Everyone was grand, the vegetarian food was fantastic, and I like anything Chalk Hill does. And at times when I wasn't partaking of booze, they happily got me tea. Really important that nobody treats you differently in those cases, even if it's not your 'usual.'
If your next question is, why does your fictitious pub have two names? I'll oblige you with an explanation in the near future. Have you been to the Joshua Ward House, with disastrous results? Is The Alex your local? Shoot us a note x