Cross Roads
During spring '24 I set out to make a horror short. I enjoy making spooky imagery, but struggle with the writing. The feedback I kept getting was either too wholesome, or too boring, or both.
This story relied on a long build up and repetition to the reveal. I was really excited to work on the imagery and worldbuilding, but as I went along I wasn't sure I should commit to 45 detailed pages if the reveal and ending was as weak as the feedback suggested.
I ay revisit it later, but I tried it from another angle and made a mor4e straight forward short that will hopefully be finished for Halloween '25
The concept centered around a gas station at the crossroads, the last stop before crossing over. The two men who run it are based on the voodoo guardians of the crossroads Papa Legba and Kahlfu; renamed Papa Louis and Koyote.
Their current daytime employee is a spirit named Rene who is refusing to crossover, instead helping the should who stop in.These three characters and the location have been repurposed in Carters creek, and maybe other short stories. The idea of location as character is intriguing and this place developed a fair bit of life in my mind.
The first 15 pages are below, and I included the rough draft pages, a little "behind the scenes" showing a little of my process.
