About Darkness Falls, Maine

Population: 1300. About 500-600 people in town, the rest out in the boonies, and at an average household size of 3 people, that’s less than 200 households in town.
Government: Darkness Falls is run by town meeting rather than a town council. There are three Selectmen, a constable, a town clerk, a school commissioner and a volunteer fire department.
Resources: Fish and seafood. Dairy products. Lumber. Granite. Sand and gravel, zinc, and peat are found in addition to stone.

The mysterious, poverty-stricken town of Darkness Falls lies like a decaying shipwreck on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. To the casual observer it appears to be nothing more than a derelict coastal town plagued by recession, but closer inspection reveals that something much more sinister casting a dark shadow over Darkness Falls.

Founded in 1710, Darkness Falls grew steadily into a prosperous fishing port through trade with the West Indies. Soon afterward it is believed that a new religious cult became the prominent source of control in Darkness Falls, ruling with a rod of iron and striking fear into the town’s inhabitants. However, the town’s history has been plagued with calamity and now the image of its former past has almost wasted away. The town itself is a half deserted, crumbling assortment of dilapidated buildings, narrow shabby streets, and cracked, cobbled pavements. The town is separated into two different areas by the Dead River, which runs through the middle of the town to the old harbor (Autumn Bay) — the main focal point. From here, an unmistakable fishy stench constantly emanates, adding to the unpleasantness of the surroundings.

The area around Darkness Falls consists mainly of vast uninhabitable marshlands and steep hills, isolating the town from outside influences. It is partly this seclusion that has stunted the town’s growth; meaning modern amenities such as internet, cable TV, cell phone service are not available to many residents, particularly those with fewer monetary resources.

Little is known of Darkness Falls’ past, or what caused it to fall into such economical decline. Around 1819, the town is resettled as a penal colony. Darkness Falls Prison and Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow Hospital are constructed in response to a great plague in the area. It was originally little more than a shack, but it gradually grew and grew. Back in the 1850′s there was a sudden unprecedented increase in the town’s affluence through the export of coal from a newly discovered field. However, this period of wealth seemed to lead to a much darker stage in the town’s history, during which is was struck by another plague seemingly brought by one of the trade ships. The town never quite recovered from this epidemic.

Since then, the town has become a foreboding place, desolate and unwelcoming to visitors. The people are notoriously inhospitable to outsiders, either ignoring them or questioning them aggressively. This attitude — in combination with its dark past and disturbing atmosphere — has resulted in Darkness Falls having very few visitors. If anyone does come to stay, they very rarely stop overnight.