Cravenwood - Animated Series Pilot

Hello All! My name's Rachel. I’m a graduate student at Lipscomb University who’s about to wrap up my MFA in Animation this spring. I have a passion for telling redemptive, thematically-rich stories with beautiful, stylized animation, and I'm so grateful to be pursuing my education here in Nashville, where the animation industry is thriving and growing at a rapid pace. For my thesis project, I’ve chosen to put my directorial skills to use by creating a pilot episode for an animated series. My team and I need your support to help bring this story to the screen!

About the Project

Written and Directed by Rachel White

Executive Producer: Mike Nawrocki (Veggie Tales, The Dead Sea Squirrels)

Head of Character Design: Jacob Birmingham

Production Designer: Kristen Breshears

Sound Design: Bradley Bowersox

Cravenwood is a 3D-animated gothic fantasy series, reminiscent of classic stop-motion Halloween films like Corpse Bride, ParaNorman, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. It follows the story of Silas Abernathy, a kind-hearted clergyman from London, as he takes up a new job in Cravenwood, a tiny colonial village nestled deep in the forests of 18th Century New England. Eager to build a new life for himself away from his English roots, Silas looks forward to settling down in Cravenwood and helping minister to its small church. However, things in Cravenwood are not entirely what they seem. Whispers around town tell stories of the nearby forests being haunted by all manner of dark creatures: ghosts, witches, werewolves, and of course, vampires.

On the day he is set to preach his first sermon in church, Silas finds a young boy, dressed in black with a very pale face, hiding outside the church window. Silas invites the boy inside for the service and thinks nothing of it. But when a mysterious murder occurs in the church later that night, the village is forced to consider a horrible possibility: the stories about the forest might actually be true.

Unbeknownst to Silas, the boy that he invited into the church was Bennet, a young vampire boy from the forest who doesn’t want to be a vampire any more. Longing to become human again, Bennet has run away from his coven in search of a way to break the ancient curse that was placed on him and the forest's inhabitants centuries ago. So far, the only solutions he’s found are the little slivers of the gospel he hears coming from the preacher's stand every Sunday. And since vampires are unable to enter buildings that they have not been invited into, Bennet has been listening intently outside the church window, unable to truly join the congregation… until now.

Before he knows it, Silas finds himself swept up in mystery and surrounded by dark, supernatural forces on all sides. Though the rest of the village believes Bennet to be a monster, Silas is touched with compassion for the boy who seems so eager to learn about the faith. Frightened by the situation, but convinced of Bennet’s innocence, Silas is faced with a choice. Will he stand with his village and protect them from the horrors that have found them out? Or will he take a risk and help Bennet in his quest to become human again? Deep in his soul, Silas knows that he has been uniquely equipped for the task at hand, and takes on a nearly impossible new mission: bringing light in the darkness to the monsters of Cravenwood forest.

The Heart of the Story

Cravenwood is my attempt to bring together two vastly different parts of my life: my Christian Faith, and my childhood love for all things spooky and gothic. Growing up, I was always enchanted by Halloween. Harvest parties, pumpkin patches, Tim Burton movies, and creepy stories around the campfire were all huge staples of my childhood. But as a Christian kid from a homeschooling family, I often felt like an oddball for being fascinated by things that many of my peers thought of as evil. Church and gothic culture tend to feel like two different worlds, but in reality, they are inseparably linked. For centuries, gothic stories have been used to explore the spiritual realities of our world, both the light and the dark.

My goal with Cravenwood is to create something that many people would think of as an oxymoron: a Christian Halloween series. A creepy gothic mystery with all the whimsical spooks of a classic Tim Burton or Henry Selick film, but with redemptive themes built into its core. It's a story about welcoming the outsider, shinning light to expose the darkness, and overcoming evil with good. My hope is that it will become something Christian families can watch together at Halloween without feeling weird about it, and share Christ's love with other oddball, goth-obsessed kids like me.

Goals

Our team is currently hard at work producing these assets for the series:

Your funds will provide compensation for hard-working students and freelancers who are giving their all to see this story brought to life. Donating to this project is also a great opportunity to support the growing animation industry here in Nashville, and to be a part of a story that will, Lord willing, share the gospel with a whole new audience.

The names of all donners will be listed in the credits of the animatic once it's complete. Any contribution you can make, no matter how big or small, will be incredibly helpful to us. We hope that this project will bring light and encouragement to many people, and we can't thank you enough for your support!