The Unreal screenwriter Rodney Lee tells us how one Irish legend, the Fetch, inspired him as he sat down to create Season 2 of the family ghost story - starting this Sunday on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 5.10pm.
Imagine being woken in the middle of the night by a strange noise in your bedroom. Sensing someone else is present, you turn on the light only to see a ghostly double of yourself standing by the foot of your bed! Congratulations, you're one of the rare people to have seen a Fetch. But unfortunately, your troubles are only just beginning, as seeing a Fetch is traditionally taken as an omen that you will soon die...
When setting out to write the script for the second series of The Unreal, one thing we wanted to continue was the idea of reinterpreting old Irish folklore and legends for a modern audience. Like the reimagining of the Pooka (or Púca) in the first series, we wanted to include another aspect of ancient Irish mythology. After doing some research, I realised there was an incredible array of fascinating, spooky, and downright weird Irish folklore which has barely been tapped in modern storytelling. One thing that jumped out was the legend of the Fetch.
Dating back to ancient Ireland, there are various interpretations of what a Fetch is. The main one we have used for our story is that of a ghostly apparition which appears as an exact double of a living person, foreshadowing their imminent doom. Some accounts say that if you see one in the morning, it means you will live a long life, whereas if you see one in the evening, it means you don’t have long left!
While Fetches are generally thought not to be malevolent or threatening in any way, they can provide clues to how one might die. For example, if a person’s Fetch appears to them soaking wet, the person may die from drowning. Or if the Fetch appears clutching their throat, the person may die from choking.
In other accounts, Fetches appear, not to the person who will die, but to someone close to them. There are many tales of people who met, and even talked to, friends or family members, only for the friend to vanish into thin air...Later, they discovered that the friend they had met had actually died elsewhere at the exact same time that the person had seen them.
In The Unreal, Kevin visits a hotel that is supposed to be haunted and catches glimpses of a ghostly boy on the grounds. When he comes face-to-face with this apparition, Kevin is shocked to discover it looks exactly like him. Could this be a Fetch, signalling that Kevin will soon meet his doom?!
It’s hugely rewarding to be able to reintroduce these ancient myths to a young audience, connecting viewers to their cultural heritage with a modern twist. I’d like to think that in some way, we’re continuing the tradition of ancient Irish storytellers throughout the ages, who would pass on these legends to the next generation by sharing spooky stories while gathered around the warm hearth on a dark Winter’s night.
In the first series, the Kelly family discovered they were actually fictional characters who had escaped from a 1980s TV sitcom called "The Kellys". Now they're trying to live a normal life. But when they visit a spooky, run-down hotel to attend an 80s TV convention, they get more than they bargained for.
While there, Kevin catches glimpses of a ghostly boy on his camera phone and the family decide to go ghost-hunting. Butwhen Kevin eventually comes face-to-face with the apparition, he makes a startling discovery; the ghost looks exactly like him!
In Irish folklore, a ghostly doppelganger is known as a Fetch and if you see one, it is supposed to foretell that you may soon meet a deadly fate. This is just the beginning of a supernatural adventure as the Kellys uncoverstrange secrets, confront their fears, and fight to survive in a world where the line between real and unreal becomes blurred.
Catch up on Season 1 of the Unreal on RTÉ Player, and tune in to RTÉ One on Sunday at 5.10pm to see another holiday from hell for the Kelly family.
