Black Gables is everything you could hope for in a classically gothic story. Tension oozes off the page as readers are introduced to a town where the supernatural and mortals overlap in layers no one can unravel. Someone, something is watching and Rosella doesn’t know where to turn. A strange school, even stranger pupils and teachers imposing rules that make absolutely no sense at all leave her full of worries with very few answers.
It is my pleasure to welcome author Eibhlís Carcione to Scope for Imagination with a guest post about what inspired this haunting tale.
What inspired me to write Black Gables
I had been thinking about writing a book about the creepiest school in the world for some time. Once I had the idea I couldn’t let go. The crumbling school made of black stone by a mysterious lake of changing colours, blown-in fog and mist was very vivid in my mind. We have many lakes in Ireland and I have always been enthralled by their stark beauty and dark waters. So I had plenty of inspiration from many lakeside walks.
I know from my experience as a teacher that starting in a new school is challenging for new students. But for 12-year-old Rosella Frawley the protagonist in my story it is especially daunting as she has moved from a vibrant life in the city to a remote desolate spot. Coupled with this her mum has lost her memory in an accident and Rosella has to attend a school with creepy teachers. I loved creating the creepy teachers. I wanted them to be nasty and wicked with lots of secrets.
“The school building is of black stone, and it looks like an old mansion in a creepy film, surrounded by ancient elm trees with twigs like witches’ fingers that seem like they’re about to reach out and throw anyone passing into the lake. Crows and pigeons lurk on the broken slates of the roof and wait for schoolyard crumbs. They are the largest pigeons I have ever seen, with pale green-grey eyes and greasy dark feathers.”
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