What is under the shroud?

Answered by Writer Ian Humphrey

The Shroud is an overarching term for an Urban Fantasy (modern day magic) world I’ve built over several years. Instead of borrowing from Lord of the Rings and other wholly respectable Sword and Sorcery worlds, I filch my creatures and motifs from folk tales, mythology and twist them to the Shroud’s needs.

I always thought that if the arcane lived on in today’s world, the folks who’d bear witness would be the freaks, the degenerates. Kids on acid, homeless folks on hard times or hard dope. The people who live between the cracks who no one gives their attention.

Building the Shroud has taken a lifetime of failed projects. I’ve written untold summaries and at least four novels to discover this line I could hide heroes and villains behind. More importantly, it took watching morality develop and change. Experiencing shame. Winning fights, and sobbing because it was my friend I beat down. Didn’t matter he was wrong. There aren’t many absolute heroes and villains, and not many more absolute values.

Pulling back the Shroud is my constant joy and constant labor. Every day I struggle with where the line lies between the real world and one I’ve built. That struggle mirrors in what my characters tackle, and what everyone faces in conflict.

Fantasy, like science fiction, takes the context of life and twists, giving us a new vantage point to understand our lives. That’s the Shroud.

Behind the shroud - our team

Ian Humphrey - Writer, Creator, Voice of Corin Black

Ian grew up in Baltimore City, and attended an inner city magnet high school, learning classical theater technique. He worked in a homeless shelter as a teenager. He saw first hand what it takes to turn nothing into a life worth leading, the extent of ingenuity, and the determination required. He’s wholly dedicated to not only constructing his own worlds, to redeeming his own characters, but bringing writers who lack the brute force into the limelight. He brings theatrical training, the experience of producing his own audio drama, and the DIY savvy to make your story a legend.

Edward Kohler - Sound Designer, Audio Engineer, composer

Edward Kohler is a born and raised Austinite working in theater as a technical director, scenic carpenter, and welder. He attended McCallum Fine Arts Academy where he studied technical theater and holds a B.A. from St. Edward’s University in Theater Arts Design & Technology with an emphasis in Technical Direction. Completely self-taught, he serves as the sole sound designer and audio engineer for the horror-noir audio drama podcast Under the Shroud. He also produces the all original soundtrack for the series.