Gray Harbor is, simply put, a place where weird shit happens. Gray Harbor sits on thin point of the Veil, the "curtain" that separates our world from whatever is on the other side of it - Heaven, Hell, the psychic plane. Some of the people that live in Gray Harbor have access to powers granted by the realm beyond the veil (known as Glimmer). Not all townspeople are special, of course, but even those that don't have access to psychic powers are aware that something is off in this town, no matter how readily they're able to rationalize what they encounter. Beneath it all, there are monsters - the Dark Men - lurking in the shadows, feeding off nightmare and dread.
Gray Harbor has no single source material. The game is not based on any particular IP, but is instead a general blend of stories and ideas. Overall, we would call ourselves a "supernatural sandbox": a place where we encourage players to explore the town and the supernatural that inhabits it.
We are drawing heavily from a few sources and mixing them together. Influences include:
- Stephen King's works in general, especially It, The Shining, Hearts in Atlantis, Firestarter, Pet Sematary
- Clive Barker's works
- Castle Rock, The X-Files, Tales from the Loop
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Sometimes called the 'Other Side', this place has no formal name, but those who've seen it liken it to a veil: translucent, easily parted. Where the Veil is thinnest, It draws people who Glimmer like a magnet.
It's someone else's voice whispering in your mind; a candle that lights itself; a chair that moves without being touched. It's the bone deep dread that there is something else in the room only you can see.
'Dolorphages', Them, the Unshaped, and a dozen other names besides, they're some of the deadliest apex predators in this place. Their prey: those who Glimmer.
The deepest reaches of the Veil contain raw, unformed psychic power that can be molded into pocket universes; constructs containing mere moments or whole realities. Dreams.
The Veil's thinning gives rise to increased psychic energy, and that in turn leads places and objects--or people, even--to become haunted.
Note: we're set 'one year in the future', aka Current Date +1 Year, to the primary world timeline, and don't tend to involve a lot of major world-events in a direct, specific sense unless specified in a forum post.