A Ring of Frost on the Mantel
A terse conversation about a past Christmas hints at a family secret and a missing person, driving a teen protagonist to uncover a cryptic clue within the dusty, forgotten corners of an old family home.
# A Ring of Frost on the Mantel
## Logline
Haunted by the memory of a cousin's mysterious disappearance on a long-ago Christmas Eve, a young man returns to his ancestral home to shatter his family's wall of silence and unearth the dark truth they have kept buried for years.
## Synopsis
LEO, a man in his late twenties, is consumed by a memory no one else in his family will acknowledge: the night his distant cousin vanished from a Christmas gathering when he was thirteen. He returns to the decaying family home to confront his AUNT, the formidable matriarch who maintains the official story that the cousin simply left. The confrontation is tense; the Aunt dismisses Leo's recollections as twisted childhood fantasies, urging him to "move on" like everyone else.
Unconvinced, Leo is assailed by vivid sense-memories of that night—the furious arguments he overheard, the sudden, unnatural quiet that followed, and the gaping hole left by the cousin's absence the next morning. Frustrated by his aunt's unyielding denial, Leo decides he needs tangible proof to validate his own sanity and expose the lie. He makes his way to the old guest room where the cousin stayed, now a dusty storage space filled with the detritus of forgotten lives.
He methodically searches the room, the stale air thick with neglect. Under the mattress of the bed, his fingers brush against something cold and metallic. It’s not the silver ring he remembers the cousin wearing, but a cheap, tarnished earring—an object completely out of place. This small, concrete piece of evidence shatters the family's convenient narrative and ignites Leo's resolve.
Armed with this first clue, he realizes the story is far more complex than he imagined. He descends the stairs, the earring a heavy secret in his pocket, and faces his aunt again. This time, his questions are more pointed, his demeanor more resolute. He understands this is not just about finding a missing person; it's about a slow, painful excavation of his family's history, a journey that will force him to sift through old photographs, forgotten names, and the deep-seated denial that has held them captive for years.
## Character Breakdown
* **LEO:** Late 20s/Early 30s. Intense, persistent, and isolated by a truth only he seems to remember. He is driven by a deep-seated need for closure and a sense of justice for his missing cousin. His frustration with his family's gaslighting is beginning to harden into a cold, investigative resolve.
* **THE AUNT:** 60s/70s. The family matriarch. Brittle, sharp, and fiercely protective of the family's constructed reality. She wields denial like a weapon, rewriting history to maintain a fragile, suffocating peace. Her motivations are ambiguous—is she protecting a guilty party, the family's reputation, or a lie she herself has come to believe?
* **THE MISSING COUSIN (Seen in flashback/photos):** A young woman whose vibrant presence is now a ghost that haunts the family. Her sudden disappearance is the central mystery and the catalyst for the story's conflict.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE WALL OF SILENCE:** In the pale morning light of a decaying living room, Leo confronts his Aunt about the night his cousin disappeared. She dismisses his memories as childish fantasies, her voice thin and brittle. The house itself feels oppressive, heavy with unspoken secrets.
2. **THE UNYIELDING MEMORY:** Leo pushes back, insisting he was old enough to remember clearly. He recalls the arguments, the unnatural quiet, and the visceral feeling that something was wrong. His desperation and frustration grow with every denial from his aunt.
3. **THE DECREE:** The Aunt shuts down the conversation, stating that the police found nothing and that the cousin simply "left." She commands Leo to move on, framing his persistence as a morbid refusal to let go of the past.
4. **THE SEARCH FOR PROOF:** Defeated but not broken, Leo retreats from the argument. He announces he is going upstairs to the old guest room, the place where the cousin last slept. He ignores his aunt's sigh of weary irritation, his focus now shifted from persuasion to investigation.
5. **THE FORGOTTEN ROOM:** Leo enters the guest room, a tomb of forgotten furniture and stale air. He methodically clears the old bed, peeling back layers of dusty blankets and coats that feel heavy with time and neglect.
6. **THE ANOMALY:** Beneath the mattress, his fingers find a small, cold object: a cheap, tarnished silver earring. It's a jarring, out-of-place clue that instantly contradicts the family's narrative and proves something is being hidden.
7. **THE NEW BEGINNING:** Clutching the earring, Leo feels a surge of dark purpose. He descends the stairs, no longer the desperate nephew but a determined investigator. He faces his aunt with a new, steady resolve, asking a pointed question that marks the true beginning of his excavation into the family's buried crime.
## Visual Style
The film will have a muted, desaturated color palette dominated by cool greys, dusty browns, and pale, weak light, reflecting the emotional coldness and decay of the family. The setting—a once-grand house now sagging with age and neglect—is a central character. The cinematography will favor static, observant shots that trap the characters in cluttered frames, emphasizing their psychological confinement.
During Leo's recollections, the camera will become more subjective and handheld, with shallow depth of field and sensory close-ups on textures: the gritty carpet, frayed fabric, dust motes in the air. Sound design will be crucial, contrasting the oppressive, creaking silence of the present with the chaotic, muffled sounds of the remembered Christmas party. The score will be minimalist and atmospheric, using sparse piano notes and low, ambient drones to build a pervasive sense of dread.
## Logline
Haunted by the memory of a cousin's mysterious disappearance on a long-ago Christmas Eve, a young man returns to his ancestral home to shatter his family's wall of silence and unearth the dark truth they have kept buried for years.
## Synopsis
LEO, a man in his late twenties, is consumed by a memory no one else in his family will acknowledge: the night his distant cousin vanished from a Christmas gathering when he was thirteen. He returns to the decaying family home to confront his AUNT, the formidable matriarch who maintains the official story that the cousin simply left. The confrontation is tense; the Aunt dismisses Leo's recollections as twisted childhood fantasies, urging him to "move on" like everyone else.
Unconvinced, Leo is assailed by vivid sense-memories of that night—the furious arguments he overheard, the sudden, unnatural quiet that followed, and the gaping hole left by the cousin's absence the next morning. Frustrated by his aunt's unyielding denial, Leo decides he needs tangible proof to validate his own sanity and expose the lie. He makes his way to the old guest room where the cousin stayed, now a dusty storage space filled with the detritus of forgotten lives.
He methodically searches the room, the stale air thick with neglect. Under the mattress of the bed, his fingers brush against something cold and metallic. It’s not the silver ring he remembers the cousin wearing, but a cheap, tarnished earring—an object completely out of place. This small, concrete piece of evidence shatters the family's convenient narrative and ignites Leo's resolve.
Armed with this first clue, he realizes the story is far more complex than he imagined. He descends the stairs, the earring a heavy secret in his pocket, and faces his aunt again. This time, his questions are more pointed, his demeanor more resolute. He understands this is not just about finding a missing person; it's about a slow, painful excavation of his family's history, a journey that will force him to sift through old photographs, forgotten names, and the deep-seated denial that has held them captive for years.
## Character Breakdown
* **LEO:** Late 20s/Early 30s. Intense, persistent, and isolated by a truth only he seems to remember. He is driven by a deep-seated need for closure and a sense of justice for his missing cousin. His frustration with his family's gaslighting is beginning to harden into a cold, investigative resolve.
* **THE AUNT:** 60s/70s. The family matriarch. Brittle, sharp, and fiercely protective of the family's constructed reality. She wields denial like a weapon, rewriting history to maintain a fragile, suffocating peace. Her motivations are ambiguous—is she protecting a guilty party, the family's reputation, or a lie she herself has come to believe?
* **THE MISSING COUSIN (Seen in flashback/photos):** A young woman whose vibrant presence is now a ghost that haunts the family. Her sudden disappearance is the central mystery and the catalyst for the story's conflict.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE WALL OF SILENCE:** In the pale morning light of a decaying living room, Leo confronts his Aunt about the night his cousin disappeared. She dismisses his memories as childish fantasies, her voice thin and brittle. The house itself feels oppressive, heavy with unspoken secrets.
2. **THE UNYIELDING MEMORY:** Leo pushes back, insisting he was old enough to remember clearly. He recalls the arguments, the unnatural quiet, and the visceral feeling that something was wrong. His desperation and frustration grow with every denial from his aunt.
3. **THE DECREE:** The Aunt shuts down the conversation, stating that the police found nothing and that the cousin simply "left." She commands Leo to move on, framing his persistence as a morbid refusal to let go of the past.
4. **THE SEARCH FOR PROOF:** Defeated but not broken, Leo retreats from the argument. He announces he is going upstairs to the old guest room, the place where the cousin last slept. He ignores his aunt's sigh of weary irritation, his focus now shifted from persuasion to investigation.
5. **THE FORGOTTEN ROOM:** Leo enters the guest room, a tomb of forgotten furniture and stale air. He methodically clears the old bed, peeling back layers of dusty blankets and coats that feel heavy with time and neglect.
6. **THE ANOMALY:** Beneath the mattress, his fingers find a small, cold object: a cheap, tarnished silver earring. It's a jarring, out-of-place clue that instantly contradicts the family's narrative and proves something is being hidden.
7. **THE NEW BEGINNING:** Clutching the earring, Leo feels a surge of dark purpose. He descends the stairs, no longer the desperate nephew but a determined investigator. He faces his aunt with a new, steady resolve, asking a pointed question that marks the true beginning of his excavation into the family's buried crime.
## Visual Style
The film will have a muted, desaturated color palette dominated by cool greys, dusty browns, and pale, weak light, reflecting the emotional coldness and decay of the family. The setting—a once-grand house now sagging with age and neglect—is a central character. The cinematography will favor static, observant shots that trap the characters in cluttered frames, emphasizing their psychological confinement.
During Leo's recollections, the camera will become more subjective and handheld, with shallow depth of field and sensory close-ups on textures: the gritty carpet, frayed fabric, dust motes in the air. Sound design will be crucial, contrasting the oppressive, creaking silence of the present with the chaotic, muffled sounds of the remembered Christmas party. The score will be minimalist and atmospheric, using sparse piano notes and low, ambient drones to build a pervasive sense of dread.