Rope and Railing

Lore is a well known, non-fiction podcast about the darker sides to human history and folklore. In each episode, they tell scary stories and examine their origins in a style reminiscent of sharing spooky tales over a campfire. This editorial illustration is based off of the episode of the same name: Rope and Railing.

In the episode, Aaron Mahnke (researcher, writer and producer for Lore), goes into the history of lighthouses, their usage and, most importantly, the keepers who stayed in them. Aaron goes on to explain how keepers would live, isolated, within their lighthouses for weeks and even sometimes months through long, lonely winters. The scary-story part of the episode delves into the tale of two lighthouse keepers, and how one dies in an accident and the surviving one has to live on alone over the winter season, without anyone to call for help.

When ideating, I made sketches that touched on the concepts of isolation and the trauma that comes with it. Some ideas are certainly darker than others, considering the subject material, but in the end I decided on more subtle symbolism and a rope over the railing to make reference to the scary-story told in the podcast.

Now that I had my final sketch, I inked the piece with my pens, in order to get the rough texture of traditional media. After drawing the lighthouse out, I scanned it and colored it digitally.

The color palette is cold blues, to call back on the loneliness of winters. The static texture in the background, goes hand in hand with this symbolism- creating a feeling on anxiety. Only the light of the lighthouse functions in a positive way, steering away the darkness, and reminding the keepers of their important jobs. The man inside the lighthouse’s cage-like top looks out towards the viewer, isolated but continuously doing his job of helping sailors find their way.