Boy in Darkness is a haunting novella set within the world of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast saga, offering a dark, dreamlike glimpse into the early life of Titus Groan. Though still a young boy and heir to the ancient castle of Gormenghast, Titus longs to escape the suffocating rituals and rigid expectations that define his existence. Driven by curiosity and a desperate hunger for freedom, he slips away from the castle and wanders into a strange, shadowed realm far beyond its walls. What begins as a secret adventure quickly turns into a nightmarish journey. Titus finds himself captured by two grotesque and unsettling creatures—half-human, half-animal servants who obey a mysterious and malevolent master known only as the Lamb. Pale, powerful, and perverse, the Lamb seeks to steal Titus’s identity and will, making him a prisoner not only in body but in spirit. As Titus struggles to resist this sinister force, he is forced to confront the essence of who he is: a boy raised in ritual yet yearning for selfhood, a would-be ruler who craves independence. His escape and survival depend not on strength alone but on courage, quick thinking, and an unyielding refusal to surrender his name. Blending fantasy, horror, and psychological allegory, Boy in Darkness distills Peake’s signature atmosphere into a tense, unforgettable tale. It is a chilling exploration of fear, freedom, and the fragile boundaries between childhood imagination and real danger—an essential companion to the Gormenghast novels and a powerful standalone story in Peake’s mythic universe.