My last post gave the rundown of The Agency and I cut it short before I went into detail about the inspiration behind it because I draw inspiration from a lot of sources and knew that the inspiration section might get a little long. Still, I wanted to share the inspiration with you because I like to give credit where credit is due and possibly point other writers to sources of inspiration they might be able to use in their work to put their own spin on things.
The Agency Inspiration
The Agency draws inspiration from a variety of sources. The format for the stories were first and foremost inspired by The Magnus Archives, a podcast involving an archivist and the supernatural centered around the Magnus Institute. It's a great podcast so feel free to check it out here.
The Agency is also somewhat inspired by the SCP Foundation, at least as far as there is an agency that works to contain entities that cause unusual events. That's where the similarities end, however. Admittedly, I'm not that familiar with the SCP stories, though I do love that it's a collaborative effort. You can find them here.
When I joined Reddit, I found that there was a user who posted stories on r/nosleep that were in transcript format as well, though theirs involved more description. Their stories were weird, eerie, and sometimes scary enough that I thought twice about reading them at night. Their stories kept me hooked and even now I get excited every time I see they've posted a new one. If you're fond of the transcript-style of stories or just want to read something unsettling, you can find their work here.
"Location 078U", one of the stories in the collection, is inspired by the creepypasta story, "The Disappearance of Ashley, Kansas" (available here) and also the short story "The Night Wire" by H.F. Arnold, written in 1926 (found here). If you've got the time, you should consider giving these both a read. They have some similarities and contributed to the creation of "Location 078U."
Aside from things found on the internet, The Agency is also inspired by real world events. The lost colony of Roanoke, Centralia, the Dyatlov Pass Incident, the Salish Sea and the feet that wash up on shore, Chernobyl, the Bermuda Triangle, the RMS Titanic sinking, the destruction of the Essex, the Tunguska Event, and the Flannan Isles lighthouse with the vanished lighthouse keepers are all sources of inspiration for stories in The Agency. Currently, the only ones written inspired by real life events are the ones inspired by Centralia and the Tunguska Event.
Going on a different tract, I once read a post on a website that I can't remember the name of now given that it was several years ago, that had stories of real-life creepy events that effected one person. One of these stories was about a lighthouse statue, a wicker one, that this person saw at two different suicides and in photos of a couple others. The same lighthouse. This story in particular stuck with me, clearly, since I can remember details about it but not where I found it or whose story it was, and inspired the first story I wrote for The Agency.
In my spare time, I also enjoy listening to the YouTube channels "Top 5 Scary Videos" and "MostAmazingTop10," as well as "Buzzfeed Unsolved Network." I can't remember for sure which of the first two it was, but one of them mentioned a well that is supposedly cursed while there's been at least two mentions of a house being watched for its "second coming." Naturally, these three channels are full of inspiration. In the case of "Buzzfeed Unsolved Network," it's also good to watch if you're interested in cryptids, aliens, ghosts, demons, and unsolved disappearances and murders. This also inspired an entry based in part on the Cecil Hotel.
Another source of inspiration comes from my familiarity with role-playing books, specifically the World of Darkness game lines. In particular, the book Mysterious Places inspired two different entries, only one of which has been written ("Location 014Q").
I've also drawn inspiration from movies that I've watched. An artifact that the Agency will need to retrieve was inspired by the Syfy movie Snowmageddon while a location the Agency will likely quarantine (if they can figure out how) was inspired by the movie YellowBrickRoad. Snowmageddon is a good movie for a bit of holiday horror with a dash of action while YellowBrickRoad is more of the cerebral "what did I watch" kind of horror movie.
I'm also inspired by cryptids, folklore, and historical events. For example, Spring-Heeled Jack sightings from 1837, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and the Devil Whale are all sources of inspiration
I'll end this with one last source of inspiration. One as of yet unwritten story was something that happened to me when I still lived at home with my mother and her dog. She bought a long red coat that she loved, but she only kept it a few nights, then took it back because when she hung it in front of her closet (it wouldn't fit in her closet), her dog would sit on the bed and stare at it all night. The coat went back to the store and everything went back to normal. Naturally, that's inspired an artifact for the Agency to send collectors after.
