10 Things to Know
1. Horror Shop is our world, only stranger.
On its surface, it shares the same nations, the same politics, the same corporations, the same popular culture as our own. The world looks just like the one outside your window--at least until you start digging deeper. Horror Shop isn't about some fantastical universe, or some imagined future, it's about the Earth you know--or rather, the Earth you think you know.
2. All the myths are true.
In the world of Horror shop, all those urban legends, conspiracy theories, folk tales and ghost stories are genuine. Magic really does exist, Atlantis really did sink beneath the waves, Arthur really did rule over Camelot, aliens really did crash at Roswell, the Bermuda Triangle really does hide a hole in space and time, and bogeymen really do lurk in your closet. A world of magic, monsters and mysteries lies just beneath the surface of our own.
3. Truth is stranger than fiction.
The mysteries of the world don't reveal themselves in neat little packages. The pieces of the puzzle don't always fit together, and sometimes directly contradict what you'd expect. The explanations for the explainable just lead to further questions. Sometimes, things just defy explanation, and even the greatest scientists and mages of our day have to throw up their arms in frustration and admit defeat. From spontaneous human combustion to strange lights in the sky to relics from a civilization that couldn't have existed, there are things that leave researchers with more questions than answers.
4. The only thing harder than keeping a secret is learning the truth.
In a world filled with conspiracies, where knowledge in power, very few people are willing to share what they know. Over the millennia, people have elaborated on the truth, put their own twist on the stories, corroborated baseless theories with facts, and spread deliberate misinformation. The truth may be out there, but separating it from fiction can be difficult, even dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Who knows, maybe they added in that story that bogeymen were weak to Atlantean gold for good reason...
5. Everybody lies.
The supernatural world remains a secret because of the largest cover up in human history. Millions of people are aware of the occult truth of the world, and yet they have managed to keep it hidden from their peers, their coworkers, their friends and their families. Everyone who has awoken to the truth is part of this conspiracy, because, well, there are some truths our world is just not ready for. And so they lie, they concoct half-truths, and they keep secrets from those closest to them to protect them. And once you start keeping secrets, it can be hard to stop. The entire supernatural world is built upon a foundation of lies, and the truth becomes just another casualty in the ongoing battle to keep humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night.
6. The Veil covers all.
Earth wasn't always like it is today. During previous ages, magic was practised openly, and the supernatural lived among us, in our communities, as neighbours, friends, allies and kings. The Veil ended all that. A grand ritual, the Veil reached into the minds of mundane humanity, and caused them to forget. To forget the weird, the strange, the supernatural. It separating the world of man from the world of magic, and saved them from each other. For twelve hundred years, the Veil has been law of the land, and the supernatural world has adjusted to hiding in the shadows of the world, keeping the truth hidden from the billions of mundane humans they share the Earth with.
7. We are in the Fourth Age.
The Age of Magic ended with the rising of the Veil and the sundering of the worlds of magic and man. The Age of Myths ended with the Flood that destroyed the empires of the age and sunk the continent of Atlantis beneath the waves. We don't even have enough records of the Age Before to draw any kind of reasonable conclusions about what it was like, or what ended it. But each of these ages left a mark on the Earth, and our world still hides ruins and relics from these earlier eras, where magic flowed free.
8. There is a Secret War.
Ever since the rise of the Veil, various factions have been competing for control of the supernatural world. The secret war is fought between varied groups, including ancient cabals such as the Orders of Atlantis and the Seekers of Thoth, the supernatural nations such as the Summer Court of the fey and the horrors' Parliament of Shadows, as well as more contemporary societies such as the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, the Hashshashin and the Byfrost Group of Companies. This war is fought in shadows and secrets, its battlefields are boardrooms and parliaments, its soldiers scour the far corners of the globe for secrets and knowledge that will give their factions any kind of advantage. Though most of the supernatural world tries to remain above the conflict and just live their lives, the secret war has an annoying habit of drawing people in, entangling them in the plots and schemes of the feuding societies.
9. A dark tide is rising.
2012 didn't mark the end. It marked the beginning of the end. We live in the fading years of the Age of Man. Forces long dormant and stirring, sensing the turning of the Wheel of Ages. Plots that have been in the works for centuries are coming to fruition. The Veil is Crumbling. The Gates of Hell are opening. The gods of old walk the world of man once again. The deus ex machina rumbles to life. Dark days are coming. We live in interesting times.
10. Heroes are ordinary, and extraordinary.
They aren't chosen ones, or warriors who trained their whole lives to fight the forces of evil. They're normal people who were presented with an opportunity to stem the rising tide of evil, and rose to the occasion. They're reporters and teachers, cops and paramedics, soldiers and line cooks. They're the environmental scientist who discovers a Byfrost operation to harness the power of ley lines. They're the young wizard who uncovers the wicked cult that has seized control of their home town. They're the closet monster who decides to fight an alien horde to return a child to their parents. Heroes come from all walks of life, from all backgrounds and factions. The only thing that unites them is their willingness to stand between the darkness and the future of humanity and declare "no further."