The Artist and the Supernatural

In Harlequin's Shadow, Neal is ecstatic to have a reason to visit Auvers-sur-Oise. He's not the only one. This picturesque village west of Paris had my plot bunnies hopping for joy too. In my series Crossed Lines, I've blended Neal's ability as an artist with supernatural themes. Normally I relegate supernatural plots to the sidelines in the main Caffrey Conversation series, but the unusual predicament Neal finds himself in made that impossible for this story. There's no better site than Van Gogh's former home to explore the mashing of the real and surreal.

Warning for minor spoilers to Harlequin's Shadow

I first became aware of the village through an episode of Doctor Who called "Vincent and the Doctor." The Doctor, as played by Matt Smith, and his companion Amy traveled back in time to visit Van Gogh toward the end of his life. Van Gogh was living in Auvers-sur-Oise. He believed he was being haunted by a demon that only he could see. He could see the demon through the windows of the parish church, and he captured that image on canvas.

Van Gogh's isolation reminded me of how Neal was in the first Arkham Files story, Visions from Beyond. Only Neal could see the ghasts who'd invaded Arkham. In Chapter 3 of Harlequin's Shadow, Mozzie's reference to demons in the church serves as an Easter egg to the Doctor Who episode in addition to the Arkham Files analogy.

In this story, Neal's not worried about ghasts but a goddess. Astrena is a dangerous muse who exacts a heavy price for inspiring her protégés. It's tempting to think Van Gogh was one of her victims. Like Goya, Van Gogh was plagued by psychotic episodes and delusions. Many viewed him as a madman. His biography reads like something H.P. Lovecraft could have written. It's not a surprise that Peter feels there's something sinister about the church. What happened to Van Gogh makes Neal's situation seem all the more real.

Astrena is not the only threat confronting artists. Scarbo lurks in the background as well. Readers of Dark Rabbit have already been introduced to this nasty little demon. Scarbo was a last-minute addition to that story. I was in the midst of working on the draft for Harlequin's Shadow and was searching for an alias for Isabelle's friend, René. I was familiar with Ravel's piano suite, Gaspard de la Nuit and thought Scarbo would be an apt code name. Initially I didn't realize how appropriate it was. Ravel's work is based on a series of prose poems by the French poet Aloysius Bertrand. I discovered Scarbo was a small vampire-like creature who delights in tormenting artists, poets, and writers at night. With a description like that, surely he must serve Astrena.

Did Van Gogh believe he was being tortured by Scarbo? Will Neal come to fear him? The connections between Neal, Van Gogh, and Auvers-sur-Oise don't end with this chapter.

Harlequin's Shadow on Archive of Our Own
Harlequin's Shadow on FanFiction