We’ve already spoken about Donovan’s character development in Absolution. He has to go through some difficult moments, and face some not so pleasant truths, before he can move forward with his relationship with Luis. There’s more to the story of Absolution than just Donovan needing to get through thirty-something years of insecurity, though. The story takes place in the Freetown State Forest, which is a real place in Massachusetts with a real reputation for hauntings and spirits.*
Freetown State Forest really is the home to Assonet Ledge, which does have the same notoriety in life as it does in the book. Well, maybe without the serial killer. And the rangers I met the first time I went there weren’t exactly hot California guys. (The senior ranger Donovan interacts with is actually based on my limited interaction with a ranger on my first trip.)
The Forest is a massive, spread-out place, encompassing the Assonet Ledge, several roads, a reservation for the Wampanoag Nation, and enough myths and legends to keep someone like me very busy for decades. If you use the GPS to get there, it will stop working not long after you turn off the highway and guide you toward an empty field. The last time I went there, I wound up leading a little caravan of lost people out, because they could follow my bright red car in the dust.
Serial killers operating in the area were known to use the Forest both as a playground and a dumping site. So were gangs working in Fall River, Boston, and Providence. There are multiple graveyards on the map. When I decided to write about Freetown, I didn’t have a problem figuring out what to write about. I had a problem narrowing my options!
The biggest problem I faced in narrowing down the “supernatural” aspect of the story was that of cultural appropriation. I knew I needed to have a malevolent figure who was capable of playing tricks. It needed to be something that wouldn’t necessarily intervene to help save anyone, but wouldn’t be on the side of the killer either. And Freetown – all of southeastern Mass, technically, but it’s complicated – comes equipped with the perfect mythological creature.
The Pukwudgie.
It’s fun to say. It’s fun to write. My Spawn used to be convinced there was one living under the back deck.** The Pukwudgie is also a Wampanoag legend. I am not Wampanoag. I’m not even Native. The Pukwudgie is not my story to tell, and certainly isn’t mine to profit from.
That’s why I created the spirit that ultimately did the deed. I decided it would be older than human habitation in Freetown. I made it purple, because that’s my Spawn’s favorite color. I did mention the Pukwudgie, but I wasn’t going to go messing with beliefs and a spiritual system that aren’t my own and that I cannot access. It makes me uncomfortable.
I had a blast doing the research, although my Spawn refused
to go hiking in the Forest. (I wasn’t taking her anywhere near the Ledge, but
once the GPS quit she was having no part of it and that’s fair.) If you have a chance to come to
Massachusetts, I highly recommend you check this beautiful spot out. Just, you
know, in a group.
* Please note I’m not making any judgements about whether the hauntings, etc. are real or not. I’m only reporting that the stories exist; I did not make them up for the purposes of this book.
** It was an opossum. According to the legend, pukwudgies loathe humanity and wouldn’t be caught dead in the suburbs. Then again, you could say the same thing about me and here I sit.