CHANGELING: A Midsummer Nightmare
Had an interesting idea for a screenplay:
A freelance artist by the name of Susan Winters living in England in a converted farmhouse on the outskirts of Glastonbury is mourning the loss of Morgan, her nine-year-old daughter. A practicing Wiccan, she has sought solace within the Celtic religion, but to no avail. To make matters worse, she learns that the recessive genetic disorder which killed her daughter has a 50% chance of being inherited by any other children she has, and is incurable.
Although Paul, her husband suggests adopting a new child or having test tube babies, she refuses to do so; Susan wants a child of her own, and refuses to look to medical science for the answers. Desolate and inconsolable, Susan wanders the house in a daze, unable to sleep and dreaming of her lost daughter. Her husband worries about her mental state, but Susan refuses to see a therapist.
Out of desperation she turns to witchcraft and the occult, and searching for answers spends hundreds of pounds on rare volumes on necromancy and black magic. By chance she discovers a reference to a faerie mound in the forest not far from the town where Susan lives--a place never touched by axes or cold iron. Susan contacts the local witches to ask them questions, but is warned to stay away from the faerie mound--especially at the Solstices and Equinoxes, when the walls between worlds grow thin and the Faerie Folk may walk between the realms.
Ignoring the warnings, Susan makes preparations for the ritual on the Summer Solstice. She bribes a local gravedigger to steal the body of her dead daughter from the cemetery, and after preparing the corpse for the ritual goes to the faerie mound with a black pig as a sacrifice.
Presenting the body of her dead daughter to the Faerie Folk, she calls upon the Daoine Sidhe to return her to life. The Faerie Folk agree to the bargain, asking for "A life for a life." Susan sacrifices the pig to the Faerie Folk, and to her amazement the Daoine Sidhe materialize and restore her daughter to life.
But there is something wrong with her daughter. Morgan remembers everything except her time in the hospital, but seems to know things no child her age should know. Strange and frightening accidents take place around her, and the bullies at school are often the victims. Her friends are terrified of her, and her Father--who suspected that Susan had brought back a child who looked like Morgan and bribed the child into acting like her--now adores Morgan and will do anything to please her. Susan soon discovers that what she brought back from the woods was not her daughter, but an Unseelie Faerie with her memories and physical form. To make matters worse, Morgan is growing stronger with each passing day, and Susan fears what will happen when the changeling child no longer has need of them.
But can Susan stop the Changeling before it is too late?
A freelance artist by the name of Susan Winters living in England in a converted farmhouse on the outskirts of Glastonbury is mourning the loss of Morgan, her nine-year-old daughter. A practicing Wiccan, she has sought solace within the Celtic religion, but to no avail. To make matters worse, she learns that the recessive genetic disorder which killed her daughter has a 50% chance of being inherited by any other children she has, and is incurable.
Although Paul, her husband suggests adopting a new child or having test tube babies, she refuses to do so; Susan wants a child of her own, and refuses to look to medical science for the answers. Desolate and inconsolable, Susan wanders the house in a daze, unable to sleep and dreaming of her lost daughter. Her husband worries about her mental state, but Susan refuses to see a therapist.
Out of desperation she turns to witchcraft and the occult, and searching for answers spends hundreds of pounds on rare volumes on necromancy and black magic. By chance she discovers a reference to a faerie mound in the forest not far from the town where Susan lives--a place never touched by axes or cold iron. Susan contacts the local witches to ask them questions, but is warned to stay away from the faerie mound--especially at the Solstices and Equinoxes, when the walls between worlds grow thin and the Faerie Folk may walk between the realms.
Ignoring the warnings, Susan makes preparations for the ritual on the Summer Solstice. She bribes a local gravedigger to steal the body of her dead daughter from the cemetery, and after preparing the corpse for the ritual goes to the faerie mound with a black pig as a sacrifice.
Presenting the body of her dead daughter to the Faerie Folk, she calls upon the Daoine Sidhe to return her to life. The Faerie Folk agree to the bargain, asking for "A life for a life." Susan sacrifices the pig to the Faerie Folk, and to her amazement the Daoine Sidhe materialize and restore her daughter to life.
But there is something wrong with her daughter. Morgan remembers everything except her time in the hospital, but seems to know things no child her age should know. Strange and frightening accidents take place around her, and the bullies at school are often the victims. Her friends are terrified of her, and her Father--who suspected that Susan had brought back a child who looked like Morgan and bribed the child into acting like her--now adores Morgan and will do anything to please her. Susan soon discovers that what she brought back from the woods was not her daughter, but an Unseelie Faerie with her memories and physical form. To make matters worse, Morgan is growing stronger with each passing day, and Susan fears what will happen when the changeling child no longer has need of them.
But can Susan stop the Changeling before it is too late?