Talking With Steve Niles About New Holiday Horror ‘Heartbreak Manor’ On Zoop

Launching today on Zoop, horror writer Steve Niles and artist Damien Worm — co-creators of October Faction and Monster & Madman — reunite for a new chilling seasonal horror story, Heartbreak Manor. Sally Madison has been rescued from a life as an orphan by wealthy new parents. First being well cared for, soon she realises she must follow strict rules and respect numerous locked doors she finds in the mansion she now calls home. And “as Christmas approaches, she realizes she must uncover the deadly secret of Heartbreak Manor before it’s too late”. I caught up with Steve Niles ahead of today’s launch to discuss this new graphic novel:

Olly MacNamee: Why is it, do you think, that ghost stories and Christmas go well together like mince pies and mulled wine? Those Victorians sure were onto something.

Steve Niles: They were! You know, ghost stories told during the Winter months was an activity many ages old, but I think the Victorians really got into the thick of that. Why, I’m not exactly sure. It was a seriously transitional era, the industrial revolution, high death rates, I think it all just perfectly meshed during that time…

MacNamee: Your entry into this seasonal-specific storytelling — Heartbreak Manor — is being described as “Crimson Peak meets The Orphanage … at Christmas”. How does that translate on the page? I do know this is a period drama, set in 1912, and has the feel of an old-fashioned ghost story. And we follow adopted orphan Sally Madison who moved in with her new family, and a haunted mansion!

Niles: It’s going to translate through Damien’s amazing artwork, who knows how to bring all of this to life, as it were.

MacNamee: What is it that draws you to this turn-of-the-century era as the setting for this particular? 

Niles: I really love telling a good scary story where the technology is not there to help out the characters.

MacNamee: Any particular inspirations for this creepy Christmas ghost story?

Niles: I love the ghost stories of M.R. James, also stories like A Christmas Carol. People forget how really scary that book was.

MacNamee: And you’re working with Damien Worm again and for a sixth on this new book. What made him the right fit for this story, other than him being a great, viscerous horror artist, of course, as his previous work attests?

Niles: Damien is great at the little details, he does a lot of research when he needs to draw a specific era. He’s got the perfect mix of horror with the childlike quality this book needs.

MacNamee: As well as this graphic novel, your editor and letterer on this project, Monica Richards, is also working on an original soundtrack album, amongst other things. I assume this will be offered up on Zoop? But what else can fans expect?

Niles: The soundtrack will be digital, but also available on CD. We have original sketches by Damien as rewards, prints from the book and we also plan to have signed editions. But the book itself will be an oversized hardcover, which will really make it special. I can’t wait till this all comes together!

Heartbreak Manor is crowdfunding now on Zoop. Check out the full campaign here.