The Splintering Boy

The Splintering BoyA folk horror reimagining of Pinocchio—haunted by grief, shaped from cursed wood, and hungry for truth it can devour.In a quiet village forgotten by time, Geppetto—a grieving father and master woodcarver—defies nature to carve a replica of the son he lost. But the wood he chooses is not ordinary. It’s cut from the Gallows Pine, a cursed tree that once hanged a sorcerer whose dying breath seeded it with a terrible promise: to give sorrow a shape.What rises from the carving bench is no innocent puppet. It moves on its own. It lies—and the world bends to believe it. As Geppetto’s creation explores the village, it begins to infect reality with its mimicry: reshaping memory, bending perception, and unraveling the fabric of truth itself.This is not the story you remember. This is the splintered, bone-deep nightmare beneath the fairy tale.Perfect for fans of atmospheric horror, folk curses, and psychological descent.