The Taking Tree is a horror/mystery informed by my experience in factory and construction work and my career in the international art business. The story follows a young factory worker and artist named Carl and his relationship with a mysterious tree and its murderous tenants.
As Carl struggles with a large decision – whether to stay in rural Wisconsin and take a promotion at his job or move to Schmortland, Oregon with a love interest to pursue his art, he splits into two people. Carl stays in Wisconsin to work at a window factory while Karl moves to the hip art scene of Schmortland to forge a career in art. Both versions become entwined with sinister forces in different ways - Carl intentionally aids the Taking Tree by way of his new position of authority at the factory, his participation in a backwoods motorcycle club and a dependence on the power he gets from feeding it, while Karl unwittingly becomes an agent of the tree through his creative success in Schmortland and throughout Europe.
The Tree and those who tend to it weave a long and dark history that is explored in a Twilight Zone-like tale with a cast of troubled and comical characters from the present and past. The Taking tree is ultimately about self-destructive tendencies and a culture of bullying that exist for people navigating both the art business and working class life.
