I’ve been working on a horror concept and wanted some feedback.

The story takes place in the Glencoe valley in Scotland during a brutal snowstorm. A group of five friends go on a short camping trip, find an ancient crypt (early medieval), and accidentally awaken something tied to the place.

Inside the crypt there’s a staff. One of them picks it up, ignores a warning voice, and slowly transforms. That’s when things start to go wrong.

Core idea

It’s a psychological/supernatural survival horror.

• The storm isolates them completely
• Visibility drops to near zero
• The environment becomes as dangerous as the entity itself

The antagonist isn’t just a monster — it’s more like a territorial entity (called Sirius) tied to the land.

What makes it different

Instead of relying on pure violence, the horror comes from:

• manipulation
• confusion
• characters turning into shadow-like versions of themselves
• loss of identity

There’s also a recurring element:

A marionette ballerina controlled by an unseen force, used almost like a “toy” to mess with the characters psychologically (and sometimes physically).

Structure

The whole story happens in ~9 hours (evening to early morning):

1. Arrival

2. Discovery of the crypt

3. First transformation

4. Disappearances

5. Paranoia

6. Breakdown of the group

7. Final confrontation

8. One survivor escapes

Tone / vibe

Think:

• cold, minimalistic horror
• heavy atmosphere
• nature feeling “wrong”
• constant uncertainty

Less about gore, more about tension and dread.

Character angle

There’s a subtle emotional core:

Two characters (Tomāš and Lilly) grow closer as things fall apart, which makes the losses hit harder.

Inspiration vibe (not direct copies)

Feels somewhere between:

• atmospheric horror

• folk horror

• psychological survival stories

Goal

Not trying to make it overly extreme — more like:

something unsettling that sticks with you rather than shocks you.

Would this work as a novel (or even a film concept)?