by J N Moon
The name dates back to the Doomsday Book, 1086 and is a derivation of ‘Blaculveslea’ from the 7th century words ‘blaec’ means black and ‘ulf’ meaning wolf. I research this courtesy of: www.surnamedb.com
Conor Lowell; Conor the origin of this meaning is Lover of Wolves and as far as I could find is Irish in origin.
Lowell; the French origin of this meaning is wolf cub!
Luke: Meaning in Greek is ‘Light giving’.
Ethan is Hebrew of origin and means ‘Strong and Long Lived.’
That’s about it for names, so how about Wychwood Forest....
I’ve been a drinker of Hobgoblin beer for maybe twenty years, and it comes from Wychwood Brewery. The brewery is situated near Wychwood Forest in the Cotswolds, UK.
The name is so amazing I did research and had to use it! I was originally going to base this in Scotland in Galloway Forest Park but research proved there was little around this vast forest and I wanted a location to be closer to cities and towns.
Wychwood forest is said to the most haunted forest in the world...So as a writer I can’t ignore that. Recorded in the Doomsday book, 1086, it was a royal forest and this where it gets its name. Witches, ghosts of highway men, trees that bleed blood and hobgoblins are just a few of the legends associated with the medieval forest.
Witches in disguise as trees whose bark bleeds when you cut it, ancient pagan rites and woodland spirits. Traditions that were outlawed by the church in the 10th century but still continue today include children collecting liquorice and water from the Lady’s Well to make a concoction and drink it during Palm Sunday to prevent illness.
Now onto the monsters!!!
The Nuckelavee: From Orcadian folklore, this is a demon that lives in the sea but sometimes comes onto land. When it does, it is in the shape of horse and rider, but massive with no skin but black blood and sinew exposed. It is pure evil, and the only way you can escape it is through spring water, since it is a salt water-based creature. But...further research led to the belief that the Nuckelavee is of Fae origin, albeit a dark one and as such all those from that origin can be killed with iron. A terrifying demon that Scottish folks still revere today, (well according to my Scottish friends anyway!).
Nuckelavee is said to kill livestock and crops with his terrible breath and bring death and chaos on all those in his path.
Teran: as in the book fights the Sea Mother or Mither O’ Sea and I took this straight out of Orcadian folklore. For a change I thought I’d write about some British monsters, and if you look up Orcadian Folklore you’ll find a wealth of terrible tales...Teran is a Sea Demon who fights the Mother of the Sea every Spring and Autumn equinox to rule. In Autumn he wins as the Mother is tired from ruling from Spring to Autumn. And hence the sea storms begin...
Asrai: Water born nymphs from British folklore. It is said that if you are touched on the skin by an Asrai then that part of your body will always remain ice cold! Which I think is pretty eerie and cool. A relation to Fairies but the Asrai were also said to be friendlier but to look upon their fair faces you would (if human anyway) fall into a spell from their beauty. Again, a British folklore creature rarely written about, I thought they would add an interesting dynamic to the story and make a change from the land-dwelling Fae. Asrai live in fresh water, which does contradict my Nuckelavee walking through it, but hey...it’s fiction!
Black Shuck: There seem to be a lot of black dogs in British folklore, Shuck being one of them. He is said to wait for travellers at crossroads, at night and is a harbinger of death, a keeper to the underworld. His black coat and red eyes are omens of doom, his tale originates in East Anglia, UK. Shuck is derived from the ancient name, ‘scucca,’ meaning devil,’ it’s hard to believe that just a few hundred years back people actually believed this. As I’m writing about werewolves, I thought it would be a nice spin that Shuck, also known as the Ghost Dog, would be a spiritual companion to Emma, her being Wolf Born. But then, I love dogs...demon or otherwise!
Black Forest: Werewolf origins. Wow, there are loads of supernatural legends based in the Black Forest, Germany! How to pick one! I read through quite a lot but none fitted my story so the story of the hunter in the 12th century who was bitten by wolf, taken ill and then his soul merged with that of the wolf...alas is my own! For this I thought about Skinwalkers in Native American folklore, traditionally humans whose bodies would be controlled/ possessed by an animal. I set it in the Black Forest because it is steeped in so much supernatural history and because this was a retelling of Red Riding Hood, though not originally A Brother’s Grimm tale, yet fitting.
The Witches Towers though are another interesting element of the Black Forest and Hell’s Hills-both actual names from the place. Hinterzarten because it’s located in the Black forest and it was founded in the 12th century. And I like to use real names and base events on actual folklore/ legends.
Origin of Red Riding Hood
Actually, this dates back to the 10th century, France and later passed onto Italians who renamed and reworded it The False Grandmother where the wolf was replaced a with an ogre and as expected it was a tale to warn girls not to talk to strangers and the dangers there of, however research shows that the story originates as much as 3,000 years ago and based on Aesop’s fables.
Re-worked by the Brothers Grimm, the tale has been made into a gentle children’s story today, but like all fairy tales its roots are much bloodier and violent, a warning to children. In the most known story the wolf eats the Grandmother and, as you know waits for Red Riding Hood. So in Wolf Born I mixed it up with Ethan, the uncle taking the place of the Grandmother and Conor, who we all believe to be good, in fact being the big bad wolf and it’s not until Emma has the dream of him as werewolf do we get the first clue that he’s not all what he seems. But I liked Conor, and so the story consisted of him being possessed to tear out her heart, but will he ever return to his human form?
Three Groves Wood: Another real ancient woodland located within the Cotswolds, is part of the Golden Valley Wildlife Way. I couldn’t find out much about its history except that it is an ancient woodland!
Dragon Shifters: Luke Philips is a character that first sprang to life in the series Always Dark Angel, and started off as a minor character. I developed him with the thinking that as a dragon shifter he would be somewhat reserved in character and lack the social skills of other immortals, as he says, changing into a dragon is riskier than say a werewolf-due to size for one thing...I love Luke now, I often forget my characters are not real. Now he’s an established character in two of my series and you’ll meet him again in the future.
Scrying and Magic: Scrying or using an object to see the future. Dark Mirrors, mirrors and water are all objects used for this. Not unlike tarot to predict what’s coming. I used to do tarot back in the day-so I know my stuff. But they tell you what you already know really. Never tried scrying but in the town, Glastonbury in the UK where I lived for a while twenty-years ago they sold dark mirrors (and still do) made from obsidian and these can (apparently) show you future events!
Research. Why do I care? I could make it all up. As a writer that feels like cheating you, the reader. I know a lot of people don’t care if everything is made up but I try and find some folklore/ mythology/ legends and research those then enhance that for the story. I do this for everything in my books, it does take a lot of time and I’m still learning how to pull that research together quicker. But do you care? I’d be interested to know....
Universe...a lot of my characters from my series (two at present-a third coming next year) cross over into each other’s worlds. It’s not so much as world building but rather, universe building and I think that adds a richness and familiarity to bring the words on the paper, the stories to life...
Book 2: Dragon Born Autumn 2019...
About the Author.
A writer of Dark Urban Fantasy with a smattering of gothic horror.
What got me hooked into vampires, as a kid I secretly watched
Hammer Horror films on my tv, then reading the classics, Dracula and Frankenstein. I was always more interested in the vampires than Van Helsing!
Inspiring movies, Underworld, The Lost Boys, and Blade.
My books are gritty and action-packed, taking you into the underbelly of the world of the damned, who live alongside the world of the living.
Vampires, werewolves, demons along with mythological creatures are all mixed into my stories. A balance of fantasy and reality, a world that takes you, the reader away from the mundane stresses of life. And sometimes a smattering of the philosophical to...
Dark, Sublime, Gripping Stories.
When I’m not writing, I can be found wandering in nature, reading or at the movies.
I’ve recently put my air guitar away to learn the real thing!
If you want to connect, I like talking to like-minded souls so get in touch.
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Where Am I?
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: alwaysdarkangel
Facebook: Author JN Moon
Web: jnmoon.com