It’s been an intense week doing final edits on Book 1, so this week’s blog is an exploration into the swamps that haunt our forests. The photo was taken in a provincial park in southwestern Ontario, just as leaves were starting to put on their colours. We came upon this weed-strewn marsh where nothing seemed to be moving or making any sound.
Now there are those of you who might see this image as a pretty artifact of the woods, something to enjoy on a pleasant walk through nature in the early autumn, and of course it can be taken that way.
But there are some of us who see the eerie possibilities in how well this would work as a fantasy or horror setting.
The mire appears to stretch endlessly, dark murky pools drowning the roots of lifeless trees. What are they? Is there anything that crawls through the waters, perhaps only coming out at night, when it won’t be seen as it slowly stalks its prey? Perhaps something seeks refuge in an abandoned tree, making its home inside a hollow trunk, hidden amid the remote woods where no one or nothing will think to look for it. Or could it be the trees themselves that are the unsuspected menace?
It’s up to your imagination to spin the tale of what goes on in the swamp when no one’s around to see it.
All photos are by me unless otherwise specified, and all rights are reserved. E. Jurus
(P.S. My hubby and I escaped alive — or did we?)