The One We Tell Bad Children is an [[Antiquity]] story that first appeared in the horror anthology [Final Cuts](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50165159-final-cuts). The story features a family of nine siblings who stay home at a remote cottage for an extended period of time while their parents make their annual trip to the city. The story features some heavy references to [[Old Leech]], and His [[Children of Old Leech|Children]] make an appearance as well. Just in case we wouldn't be entirely sure, [Barron confirmed as much](https://twitter.com/LairdBarron/status/1268210979759890432) on Twitter. --- ### __Time & Place__ Placing an Antiquity story in a certain time period can be hard, and this time it's no different. The main characters live a rural life and forage for food. The modes of transportation mentioned in the story are donkeys and carriages. The most advanced weapons mentioned are a flintlock rifle and a (admittedly, antique) blunderbuss. At the same time, the family owns some (magical or simply technologically advanced?) film projector that enables them to watch movies at home. The mother of the family is a former actress who starred in movies with (actual, modern) actors Clint Eastwood and Gregory Hines, and John Wayne is mentioned as well. This, to me, points towards the theory that Antiquity is a dream world, perhaps birthed by someone's subconsciousness. The story is set in America but describes a monarchy and a Westward Expansion of their kingdom: "Dad, as a beardless youth, soldiered in the king’s army and received a dire, nonspecific injury while campaigning against the hostile western realms." (Final Cuts, p. ) Seeing as most Barron's Antiquity stories take place somewhere along the East Coast, and seeing as a Westward Expansion is mentioned, we can assume that The One We Tell Bad Children is set somewhere along the East Coast (perhaps New York State) as well, in a country led by a King Dick. --- ### __Characters & Other Mentions__ The story features a family of nine children. One of the children, Flynn, claims to have lived a previous life in what seems like (a perhaps alternative version of) the world as described in [[Ears Prick Up]]: "[...] he regaled us with tales of a previous life wherein civilization fell into ruin and he’d roamed a postapocalyptic landscape accompanied by a vicious clockwork dog." (Final Cuts, p. ) Flynn even had his own version of the recurring cyborg dog [[Rex]]. Who's down for some Antiquity steampunk Rex? The story's protagonist welcomes even further speculation. It's perhaps a far-fetched idea, but the eldest son of the family might be the Antiquity [[Alter Ego]] of [[Isaiah Coleridge]] who is later featured in [[Uncoiling]]. The son runs away from his home, taking with him only some food and an old family heirloom: a boar spear. This spear could be Pith, Coleridge's weapon in Uncoiling. After leaving home, he describes his life as follows: "Years passed. I sought my fortune as a remarkably well-read soldier (later, a mercenary freebooter) and so doing, endured violence, privation, and suffering for coppers on the pound." (Final Cuts, p. ) We know from Uncoiling that Antiquity Coleridge is a mercenary and ex-soldier, and Coleridge is of course a notably well-read person across all dimensions. In the story, the Children of Old Leech take on the forms of famous actors, most notably Gregory Peck. This is not unlike the events of the story [[Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees]]. The famous [[Photography|photographer]] [[Eadweard Muybridge]] is mentioned in the story. His Antiquity alter ego doesn't seem to differ much from his regular character: "[Mom's] great-grandmother starred for Muybridge the Crazed Photographer as a model in his groundbreaking stop-motion sequences that segued into the first moving pictures. In the story, the children watch a scary and banned (and perhaps supernatural or cursed) film called 'Ardor of the Damned' or 'Ardor' for short. In a previous Barron story called [[Ardor]], some horrible/cursed/banned film with the name 'Ardor' also appears. One of the characters starring in the film is called Lady Carling. Barron's stories [[Six Six Six]], [[Hand of Glory (Story)]] and [[A Clutch]] all feature women named Carling as well. The film is also features a character named Baron Need - the main antagonist of [[Oblivion Mode]]. [[The Great Dark]] is mentioned in the story. The father of the family is in possession of _a_ black guide to banned films. This might have nothing to do with _The_ recurring [[The Black Guide|Black Guide]]. But also, it probably does because word choices matter. #Antiquity #Story