Myth Remix: Building a Better Boggart for The Canon of Vangel

The real world mythology behind The Canon of Vangel

Heya!

I’ve been a lifelong fan of mythology, and one of my favorite parts of creating The Canon of Vangel is the opportunity to utilize some of that esoteric knowledge in my work. Not just incorporating it, but putting my own little spin on it.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of mythology, and one of my favorite parts of creating The Canon of Vangel is the opportunity to utilize some of that esoteric knowledge in my work. Not just incorporating it, but putting my own little spin on it.

Take the boggart from chapter 2 for instance.

One thing that’s a constant in myths, legends, and folklore is that you never hear a story the same way twice, so there are lots of different accounts of what a boggart looks like. Heck, before the 1900’s “boggart” was a general term for any kind of ghost or boogeyman. Some stories have boggarts looking like squat hairy little men, others have animal characteristics, some are completely disembodied spirits like poltergeists, but at their core they are malevolent creatures that cause chaos and misfortune. Over the last century or so they have drifted into the fairy/goblin family and can be thought of as the counter balance of brownies, the helpful little fairies that fix shoes and clean houses in the middle of the night. Or at least that’s how I envisioned my boggart, hence why one appears when Stef is trying to summon a brownie.

The boggart in the Canon of Vangel is a combination of all those ideas.

The long face (ha ha) came from  the boggart of Hackensall Hall, which is said to have taken the shape of a giant horse, the boggart of Longar Hede was described as having long shaggy hair and eyes like saucers, and the telekinetic abilities come from their pre-industrial similarities to poltergeists and other bad spirits.

Hackensall Hall by Karl and Ali, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Put them all together and you have a worthy first opponent for our heroine to take on.

If you enjoy these little nods to real world legends, then stay tuned! There’s a lot more where that came from and you are going to love what’s coming up in The Canon of Vangel!

There’s just a little more than ONE WEEK LEFT in the CoV4 Kickstarter so don’t miss out on this opportunity to acquire all 4 chapters so far, plus an awesome bundle of eComics, bonus bookmark, and more!

May your home remain boggart free.

Till next time, be good!

But not too good 😉