Prologue
Last autumn, I stumbled across an article that talked about an immersive horror experience that was being crowdfunded to happen on Flat Holm island. Intrigued by the idea, I found out more and contributed to help make it happen. All contributors would be entered into a lottery for one of three pairs of tickets to take part in the live event. In the lead up to the event, there would be pieces of the story released each week via a Discord server, with challenges to solve and messages to decode. Called The Static Sea, it would be the first story in a series called The Nightmare Market. Stormjar, the creators, describe the market as “a collection of stories about a mythological marketplace that can only be reached through your nightmares, where you can barter with monstrous vendors for elixirs, edibles, and objects that cannot be found in the mortal world.”
I got involved over the next few months, with my Discord profile, Sherlock Holm (solving puzzles about Flat Holm, get it..?), and pieced together the story. This lead to collating all the information on a virtual cork board.
The story centred around Sebastian, an ex officer in the Royal Signallers, he is now the Warden of Flat Holm island and has been experimenting with radio technology to communicate with the dead. He was in search of his secret love, Benjamin, who lost his life in a gas attack in the first world war. The online story took us up to 1924, the year that the live event was set.
In March, the draw to determine which contributors would get to go to the island, was streamed live on You Tube. After one of the winners surrendered his place to take a volunteering role on the island, I was drawn. I was going to the island.
The final transmission prior to the event, was a telegram informing the winners that they have been recruited to the island for work.
The Event
The day began by meeting the fellow recruits at the jetty near the Cardiff Barrage. We were aware that it would be the 6 winners, plus a photographer and 4 press/content creators. We all got to know each other and heard a bit about the work the various press do. We had Louis, the guy who wrote the original BBC article that introduced me to the project. There was Ash, an Instagram content creator and McKenna a TikToker. Then there was Lily who explained she was creating a new, as yet not released, podcast about spooky places, and that this project would form episode three.
We all boarded the boat, made our way through the Cardiff Barrage and out into the Severn. A short, fast boat trip in calm waters, lead us to the island.
We were greeted by Simon, the real Warden of Flat Holm, and given a safety briefing on how not to die IRL on the island. This mainly consisted of not eating anything from the island, as the high lead content made everything poisonous, and not to walk off a cliff in the dead of night. We (the 6 lottery winners) were escorted to our accommodation, Fog Horn Cottage, and told to sit tight, while the sun went down.
Around sunset, the experience began. The eleven of us were gathered in the dining room of Fog Horn Cottage as Sebastian bounded into the room. He welcomed us to the island and explained he would shortly be serving up a hearty broth, there was a lot of work to do and we would need our strength. We were provided with a map and a lantern each and he left us to eat.
The sun had fully set and we awaited Sebastian’s return. When he did, he instructed us to gather our things and follow him to “the ruins” (J-8). We trekked out across the island and arrived at an old structure, a long passageway flanked by doorways. We each took a doorway and Sebastian placed device 15 on the ground. It was dark, but I’m sure I saw markings on the back wall of a figure in a doorway. Sebastian told us he wanted to hear the voices in the static and hoped that we would be able to channel it using his device. He instructed us one by one to place a hand on the top of the skull, to see if we could get the device to evoke some kind of reaction. As each of us tried, nothing. Sebastian grew more and more agitated.
Lily was the last to try and as she touched the skull she became possessed by the ghost of Benjamin, calling out “Sebastian, what have you done?”, over and over again. It was not the reaction Sebastian was hoping for, he immediately slit Lilys throat and she fell to the floor. The podcast had been a lie, she was a plant, none of us had suspected a thing, we had been fooled! Sebastian frantically started explaining that all of our lives were on the line. He told us that there are many spirits tethered to the island, these ghosts had “poppets” of each of us (including each of the spirits). They were effectively our souls. If come the end of the night we were in possession of our own poppet, we would survive. Sebastian wanted us to bring him his and Benjamin’s poppets so they could be together again.
We were told that upon finding one of the Flat Holm ghosts, we could communicate with them (by touching an outstretched palm) or engage in a game of chance (by touching an outstretched fist). Sebastian gave each of us a die, mine was 4-sided. If we were to win against another spirit, they would be forced to give up a poppet. These trades could only happen while the Nightmare Market was open, we had limited time to save ourselves and the rest of the recruits. “Only the living can trade” we were told. Sebastian also told us that the device could be used to input morse code to be given clues as to the location of hidden poppets around the island. The device would be placed at the centre of the island (H-12).
We were sent off in pairs to different parts of the island. Me and Emma headed to Castle Rock (C-10). As we made our way disoriented by the darkness, we tried to make sense of what we had been told. When we arrived at Castle Rock there were several old Victorian gun emplacements, two of which contained spirits.
The first we encountered was Louhi (pr. L-ow-hee). It was a very tall beast with horns. It held out one hand in a fist. I tapped it and it dropped a die to the ground. Unsure of what to do, I rolled mine. Louhi’s dice was 20 sided, mine was a pyramid. I don’t remember the number rolled by either of us but in the dark and having never used a pyramid dice before, I didn’t know how to read it. There is no top side. It was evident though that we had not won and we were instructed to leave.
The next beast we encountered, in a neighbouring gun pit, was The Viking. A very tall ghost wearing a Viking helmet. This time we had a choice to hear from the ghost or to gamble.
We tapped the palm and were instructed to sit while the Viking performed some kind of ritual while chanting in Old Norse language. We then rolled the dice and lost again. The Viking held out his hand and wanted a poppet from us, we didn’t have any so made a swift exit much to the displeasure of the ghost.
At Castle Rock there was an underground bunker which appeared to be the doorway to the Nightmare Market. Inside we found the Holy Thief. She asked us our names and explained that she was very interested in acquiring the poppets of Sebastian, Benjamin and Louhi. It was clear from our conversation that she held both of our poppets, and the only way we would get them was to find what she wanted, and make a trade.
She suggested we go see the Fishmonger through a small hole in the wall. We could hear him through the wall, he didn’t sound like he wanted any guests. The Fishmonger traded in nightmares. He asked us what we wanted to trade, and fixated on poppets we didn’t stop to ask what he had to offer, this later proved to be a mistake. He wanted to hear about a recent nightmare we might have had to trade it for a poppet.
We made up a standard buried alive story which I think he found a bit boring. Still, he released a poppet to us. It was that of Lee, a fellow lottery winner and island recruit. As we exited his bunker room, he gave a loud high pitched scream. With the Holy Thief next door we tried to trade Lee’s poppet for one of our own, but she was not interested. Having tried our luck with each of the spirits at Castle Rock we decided to trek to another part of the island. Not knowing where to go we just headed for the lighthouse, in the hope we would find some ghouls.
All around the island, wherever we went, you could hear eery music and static, occasionally interspersed with morse code. With all the information Sebastian had told us we failed to connect the occasional morse code we were hearing with needing to input into the device.
We carried on towards the lighthouse and met two ghosts in a clearing (K-14). The first was Pagan with which we finally won a dice roll, but she was empty handed, no poppets. We then tried again with Adaryn. To our fortune, Adaryn did not know how to read pyramid dice either. She added up the numbers on the underside which gave us a much better chance. Sure enough, we won another poppet. This time it was James’ – another one of the recruits.
It was around this time that we had heard that one of the other recruits had stolen a dice from one of the ghosts by switching theirs out, we also learned that it was possible to trade dice with the Fishmonger. As we were far away over at the lighthouse, we decided to persevere and visited the Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife.
She was in a gun pit (O-16) with rope around her neck, she had once hanged from the lighthouse before her body mysteriously disappeared. Once again, we gambled and lost. We could see she held a poppet with a name beginning with “P”, maybe Paulina’s.
On the way to the next location we bump into Sebastian, he quizzes us on whether we have found his or Benjamin’s poppets, he urges us to find them. Next to another underground ammunitions bunker (N-14). There we found Gunner Edwards, a dead soldier. We lost again but he was not happy that we refused to give up a poppet. He advanced towards us and we made a quick exit with him letting out a deathly screaming behind us.
Out of the bunker room I went right and Emma went left, we had become separated with the soldier in the passageway between us. Exiting the bunker a different way to the way I had entered, I ended up face to face with the ghost of Benjamin. Stood there in a gas mask I decided to go alone and take a roll of the dice. Again I lost. This pyramid dice was simply no match for that of the ghosts.
Time was running out and we were making little progress. We decide to visit the Fishmonger again to see if we could get a better dice. On the way we see that Adaryn has another poppet. We challenge her for it and win 8-7 thanks to another misread of our dice! This time it is Louis’ poppet, a fellow recruit.
As we head back to Castle Rock with three poppets, we wonder if we could trade two of them for one of our own from the Holy Thief. As we get there Lee and Nick are with the Fishmonger, we make a trade with her, in exchange for Emma’s poppet we give her Louis and Lee’s. We feel guilty but at this point with the Nightmare Market soon to close, it was every person for themselves. We head straight to the Fishmonger with the hope of improving our dice. A quickly improvised drowning nightmare interests him and he allows us to swap our pyramid dice for a regular cube one. We were hoping for more but it was an improvement. As we leave we hear the piercing scream of the Fish monger once again.
We become aware that the morse code we need to enter into the device can be heard around the island. We make note of some morse and head to the device in the centre of the island. After an initial mistype I try again and receive a message from the ghost of Benjamin, directing us to the middle gun emplacement at Castle Rock. We hear that a poppet is hidden inside the gun.
We rush back down but Louis and James have beaten us to it. I Feel slightly less guilty for trading Louis soul for one of our own. We move to another part of the island to listen for morse code, eventually we hear some and enter it into the device. We are directed to the ammunition bunker near the lighthouse, the room next to the dead soldier. Time is almost up, mere minutes remain. With my life on the line I pick up pace and Emma loses me as I disappear into the bunker. I search but the poppet is nowhere to be found. I later discover that Nick and Lee had already discovered it.
Time was up.
I found Emma and we returned to Fog Horn Cottage with the rest of the recruits. The pair of us had just two poppets, Emma and James. I wondered if anyone had managed to get mine.
As we wait for Sebastian to return to the cottage it becomes clear no one has my poppet. After a while, Sebastian bursts into the dining room holding is arm which has a large bleeding wound. One of the recruits gives him his belt to act as a tourniquet. He tells us that he saw Ben in the static and reached out to him, but he was not fully formed. Sebastian asks if we have his poppet. We don’t. He devises a plan to try to trick the Holy Thief. He takes my pen and adjusts the name on one of the poppets. What is he doing?
Sebastian lead us to the beach (G-5) on the other side of the island. Three of the 10 recruits had not managed to get their poppets, Nick, Paulina and me. We were unsure of our fate as we arrived at the beach to find all 9 of the Flat Holm ghosts lined up next to a raging bonfire.
Sebastian approached The Holy Thief and appeared to trade with her, seemingly getting his poppet in exchange for one she wanted, perhaps the Louhi. Sebastian then begins the ritual by asking the recruits if there are any poppets of ghosts they would like to return to the static, freeing them from the island. Two spirits are freed. He then asks if the ghosts have any poppets that they would like to commit to the static. Along with the other fallen recruits, my poppet is added to the fire.
The ritual is over and the surviving recruits are told they are free to leave, whilst Nick, Paulina and I are condemned to remain on the island forevermore.
(fade to black)
The End (or is it?)
It was great to be part of this truly unique experience. You could see the amount of effort that has gone into creating the story and making the event happen. With around 20 volunteers, elaborate costumes, a working interactive device, all while working with multiple locations on a remote island in the middle of the Bristol Channel. The concept of the event worked well to make it dynamic. Our decisions and actions shaped the outcome, if we had made different decisions, we could have saved us all, and reunited Sebastian and Benjamin. The location was perfect with the islands’ size and wealth of historical monuments, and the weather was perfect with clear moonlit skies.
The Static Sea was just the first story in Stormjar’s Nightmare Market. Keep an eye on them for more information on what’s next. Congratulations and many thanks to Sophie, Jim and the rest of the team for pulling off an unusual and unique project, and thanks to Simon, the real warden of Flat Holm for accommodating us all.
p.s. Sophie and Jim, if you find a way of returning my soul to me, I would appreciate it.
Whilst a few of the images are my own, others are courtesy of Stormjar with photo credits given alongside.
Stormjar’s aftermovie is now also available, check it out below.
Ben Richardson 