The Lighthouse Horror

***The Lighthouse Horror*** is a classic horror novella by Darryl M. Finch-Ellis. This is the first novella written by Finch-Ellis.

Whilst writing *Jericho* Darryl had been experiencing some severe writer's block after some serious personal issues, and so decided instead to write a short-story, which transformed into a novella, before continuing to write *Jericho*.

Originally planned as a short-story to be around 40-60 pages long, the story grew into a novella that will be roughly 100 pages long. This is due to the story naturally developing. Finch-Ellis is a writer who prefers to write and plan out his entire story before writing it (known in the writing community as a *gardener*), however, for this story he wrote it as it went, chapter-by-chapter, page-by-page (known in the writing community as a *grower*). Darryl has commented that it is surprisingly something he enjoyed doing, but still preferred the gardener approach.

The Lighthouse Horror is 77 pages long.

## **Setting:**

The setting for the novella is within and around a lighthouse on the German island of Oonram.

## **Plot Summary:**

During a thunderstorm, Brennan Albom writes his accounts of what occurred during the last time he was caught up in a storm of this magnitude. Brennan believes he will be killed before the storm is over, then proceeds to explain why, recounting his time kept as a prisoner / slave to a German lighthouse keeper on an island named Schreiner, meeting a kind local named Ortud, and coming into contact with besieging creatures known as the sea-sapians.

Albom goes into further detail on the mistrust between himself and Schreiner which leads up to the climatic final night where the thunderstorm occurs and he takes his last ditch at escape.

## **Characters:**

**Main Cast:**

* **Brennan Albom:**

The protagonist of the novella, Brennan details his account leading up to what he perceives to be his demise. This all comes about as he is at home during a thunderstorm in 1918, similar to one which occurred in 1916 during the Great War, when he had been taken captive by a German lighthouse keeper (Schreiner) where the lighthouse became under siege by creatures known as "sea-sapians".

* **Rasmus Schreiner:**

A German lighthouse keeper and antagonist of the novella, he comes across Albom when he washes up on the shoreline of Oomram. Schreiner keeps secrets from Albom and forces him to do manual labour for him until the tension boils over to unbearable levels during a thunderstorm in 1916. Schreiner is aware of the dangers of the sea-sapians before Albom even knew what was attacking them, adding further distrust between them.

* **Ortud Beckenbauer:**

The deuteragonist of the novella, Ortud is a local from Bi-a-Wik, a port town close to Oomram. She is friends with both Albom and Schreiner. Ortud has a love for English literature, as well as soft spots for both men at the lighthouse.

**Secondary Cast:**

* **Cpt. Hamlet Richardson** - Brennan's superior in the British Navy.
* **William "Bill" Neagan** - British Navy seaman.
* **Ronald "Ronnie" Birch** - British Navy seaman.
* **Adm. John Jellicoe** - Admiral in charge of the British Navy during the Battle of Jutland. (Mentioned only).
* **Kaiser Wilhelm II** - Ruler of Germany during the Great War. (Mentioned only as King Willy).
* **R.Adm. Sir Robert Arbuthnot** - In charge of the H.M.S. Defence. (Mentioned only as Sir Robert).

**The Seasapians:**

The antagonists of the novel, the Seasapians are a race of humanoid reptiles that live an acquatic life within the North Sea. It is unclear whether or not they dwell elsewhere. They are notable for the sounds their frog-like feet make, and their large orange eyes that can be seen in the dark. Their skin is extremely dense, being able to absorb a lot of punishment, and even be unfazed by fire - although they are naturally scared of it, along with loud noises.

## **Lovecraftian Edition:**

Released on the 18/12/2021 and being 153 pages, *The Lighthouse Horror: Lovecraftian Edition* includes additional content, including - a piece on *H.P. Lovecraft* by *Darryl M. Finch-Ellis*, the two pieces of *Lovecraft*'s works that inspired *The Lighthouse Horror* - *Dagon* (1917) and *The Shadow Over Innsmouth* (1931) - and readers' group discussion questions for the two stories.

## **Trivia:**

***Warning this section contains spoilers of the novel ahead***,

* *Darryl M. Finch-Ellis* confirmed in his *Lovecraftian Edition* that the novella was inspired by both *Dagon* (1917) and *The Shadow Over Innsmouth* (1931) by *H.P. Lovecraft*.
* Being set during the Great War, it is possible that *The Lighthouse Horror* could be connected to his wider *Dark Blaze* universe.
* Brennan's surname is a tribute to author *Mitch Albom*, famed writer of *The 5 People You Meet In Heaven.*
* This is the first novella written by Darryl M. Finch-Ellis.
* Ortud's surname is a tribute to famed West German footballer, Franz Beckenbauer.
* This is the first story written in the writing style of a *grower* (E.G. *Stephen King*) instead of a *gardener* (E.G. *George R.R. Martin*).
* Due to the writing process (as a grower) Darryl found it quite difficult to write at times as he feared hitting dead ends.
* The Seasapians seem to be inspired by the *Deep Ones* from the *Lovecraftian Mythos* and "*Gill-Man*" from the 1954 film *Creature from the Black Lagoon* directed by *Jack Arnold.*

## **Release:**

The novella was released on the 12/04/2021 to much fan fare.

### **Critical Response:**

Readers have praised The Lighthouse Horror for both its pacing, plot and the ending being entirely unforeseen. The Lighthouse Horror has been remarked as Darryl M. Finch-Ellis' best work to date.

You can find all the reviews on Amazon **HERE**

Reviews for the *Lovecraftian Edition* on Amazon can be found **HERE**

## **Buying & Additional Links:**

Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has additional social media accounts you can visit, the links are listed below:

* The Lighthouse Horror Paperback (U.K.)
* The Lighthouse Horror Paperback (U.S.)
* The Lighthouse Horror Kindle / E-Book (U.K.)
* The Lighthouse Horror Kindle / E-Book (U.S.)
* The Lighthouse Horror: Lovecraftian Edition Paperback (U.K.)
* The Lighthouse Horror: Lovecraftian Edition Paperback (U.S.)
* The Lighthouse Horror: Lovecraftian Edition Kindle / E-Book (U.K)
* The Lighthouse Horror: Lovecraftian Edition Kindle / E-Book (U.S.)

* Darryl's Official Website

* Darryl's Official Facebook Page

* Darryl's Official Twitter Page

* Darryl's Official YouTube Account

* Darryl's Official Instagram Account

* Darryl's Official Soundcloud Account

* Darryl's Official Patreon Account