<< Cinematic Opening Scene: Blackthorn Bay >>
FADE IN:
EXT. BLACKTHORN BAY / DUSK
The Atlantic crashes against jagged cliffs. Fog creeps in like fingers reaching for the shore. A lighthouse flickers once... then goes dark.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
They say the fog never lifts in Blackthorn Bay. That it clings to the soul like wet wool... and if you listen, you can hear the town breathing through it.
EXT. KOSTIN MANOR / CONTINUOUS
Silhouetted against the bruised sky, the Gothic Revival mansion looms. A tower juts like a broken fang. Windows are dark—save for one glowing room near the top.
INT. KOSTIN MANOR / STUDY / NIGHT
A match strikes. A candle flares. AGNES KOSTIN, regal and ancient, lights another flame. Her face is all sharp lines and shadow.
She hums an old tune, French, maybe, possibly not... or older. Behind her, the mirror fogs over, though there is no breath.
CLOSE-UP — A MEDALLION on her desk. The symbol of Josiah Goodacre.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
In Blackthorn Bay, strangers are not welcome... they are remembered.
FLASH CUTS:
A child screaming in a cradle of seawater.
A painting that blinks.
A cellar door creaking open with no hand in sight.
A wedding dress soaked in blood, drifting out to sea.
EXT. BLACKTHORN BAY / OVERHEAD / NIGHT
The fog parts, just enough to reveal the full scope: the jagged cliffs, the dying town, and the house watching it all.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
You’ve come back. Or maybe… you never left.
TITLE CARD: BLACTHORN BAY
