The Easter Eggs of Hellbound
The Easter Eggs of Hellbound
What are Easter Eggs? I’m not talking chocolate wrapped in multi-coloured aluminium foil. I’m talking about treats hidden away within a story that you have to search out and find. The term has become fairly popular of late, with many companies hiding surprises in their products. However, artists have been doing it for hundreds of years to help provide a deeper interaction with their work.
I recently read a great article about the easter eggs in the Star Wars films. So, in the spirit of revelation, I thought I would share just a few of the sneaky references I have hidden within The Hellbound Trilogy…
1. Buried quotes from classic literature.
On the very first page of Hellbound there is a description which begins: “The fire shed no light itself but rather made the darkness more visible, creating doleful shades of grey throughout the room.” This is a direct reference to John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which had a great deal of influence on my conception of Hell. The real line from his epic poem reads:
Other examples are the desriptions of Phineus’ eyes as “vile jelly”, or Smithy saying “as flies to Wanton boys”. These come from Shakespeare’s King Lear. They are fairly subtle indications that just as in King Lear the story is likely to be a tragic one, with the innocent Lotte not necessarily being rescued at the end (I also originally called Lotte ‘Cordelia’ for this same reason).
2. The significance of names.
Names don’t just get picked out of a pile and assigned to a character. At least not for me. Nearly everyone’s name in The Hellbound Trilogy has significance. Here are just a few…
Michael: Michael is the name of the angel generally credited for casting Satan out of Heaven and down into Hell.
Smithy: This is reference to the great Australian pilot Charles Kingsford-Smith, who fought in World War I and eventually went missing on a flight between Australia and England. Hellbound’s Smithy also called his company ‘Kingsford Aviation’.
Dante and Virgil: The bum and his teddy bear. Probably the least subtle of name references. In Dante’s masterwork The Divine Comedy he is led through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven by the poet Virgil.
Clytemnestra: Is the name of a character in an ancient Greek play called The Oresteia. She is a symbol of revenge. You might also notice the nighclub in I Am Satan is called ‘Oresteia’.
3. Biblical References
Some of these are obviously spelled out in the books. However, some are not and the story behind them relates to what is happening at a deeper level within the scene. Here are just two in Hellbound.
1. Michael exclaims to Asmodeus after being told about the origins of the universe: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless!” — This comes from Ecclesiastes 1:2
2. Gideon tells Michael: “He has made me a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.” — This comes from The Book of Job 30:29
There are many, many more little eggs just waiting to be discovered in the series. If you ever think you’ve found one, send me an email or a tweet and I’ll tell you the story behind why I chose it. Or, maybe you can tell me?
