Behind the Scenes: A Place to Be

Baxton County is based, loosely, off my experience from growing up in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

When people hear the word “Lowcountry”, they often think of Charleston and the little islands spread like fallen beads off the coast: Sullivan’s Island, John’s Island, Kiawah Island. But, the term is also be applied to surrounding counties a little further from the coast. What separates the Lowcountry from the rest of the state is the distinctive influence of the Gullah-Geechee culture.

The people I grew up around were characterized by a deep belief in God, a deep awareness of the supernatural, and the knowledge that you can’t survive without community. People who are loners are black sheep and “other”. They don’t fit into the quilt-work that forms the neighborhood, town, or nearest church. And below all of this lies the underlying theme of tragedy and decay, partially from our own history and partially from the fact that life is hard, especially in a place where, any year, another Hurrican Hugo could blow, and has blown, everything away.

Put all of this together and you can see why Southern Gothic is a literary genre. This is also my starting place for writing anything to do with Baxton County, even if what I write does not fall into the Southern Gothic genre itself.

A Place to Be

The inspiration for this story came one cold February evening. My husband and I were just beginning our nightly rosary when an almighty crash broke the night. Something heavy had hit the storm door on our front porch. Closer inspection (with my husband and his .38 Special) revealed that someone, for whatever reason, had thrown a large, heavy traffic cone at our front door.

We called the police but were informed that there was nothing they could do because nothing was damaged. If something had been damaged, a deputy sheriff could come out to write up a report for our insurance. That wasn’t necessary, though. Within a few days, we had camera doorbells installed on our front and back doors. In all honesty, it was probably the prank of bored kids or a drunk who had just conceived The Funniest Idea Ever.

But…what if this happened in my fictional Baxton County? And what if this was a newcomer to the strangest county in South Carolina? The themes of family heritage and community, as well as what it means to really belong to a place, appeared as I wrote about Ben Addams and his wise neighbor, Ms. Milly.

Tone

The slightly humorous tone also comes from the Lowcountry. We often use humor to deal with traumatic events or scary situations. There’s nothing funny about a three-foot-long alligator, but we laugh and call it baby because we know there’s a thirteen-foot big brother somewhere in the swamp, just beyond the lamplight.

The creep factor was also important to me because I didn’t want the humor to be overwhelming. I didn’t want the serious to get lost in the ridiculous. For me, the best way to do that was to never allow Chicken Leg to be seen. He was strong enough to throw a large tree branch and shatter a storm door, as well as smart enough to avoid camera detection. Like the shark in the first half of Jaws, it is completely up to your imagination what Chicken Leg looks like and why he has his name. The fact that no one knows the reason behind his name points to how old the legend is and underpins the primordial “vibe” that comes from living next to a swamp.

That’s the thing about living in the Lowcountry. We may have been here for a couple of centuries, fighting wars and having babies and building communities, but the swamp has been here longer. Much longer.

Fascinating Tidbits to Know

I have about six or seven movie references packed into “A Place to Be”. These references have nothing to do with the overall message. I did it purely to amuse myself.

Ms. Milly is partially based off the Wise Matriarch archetype that I saw played out for real in my childhood. I don’t know about the rest of the South but where I grew up, it was mostly a matriarchy with the men just thinking they were in charge.

The whole “you don’t talk to your neighbors?” bit came from a boss who was shocked I hadn’t spoken to my neighbors after someone had tried to break into my rental while I was home.

I have walked into houses where it looked like people left, sometimes even mid-meal, and took nothing with them. Like Ben, I found it incredibly creepy.

Questions

Do you have any questions about “A Place to Be”? Or any questions about my process? This is my first Behind the Scenes post and I wasn’t sure what all to include. Ask your questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer, provided they are polite, etc.