What is DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS?
The pitch...
DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS is a cozy horror story in the vein of WIDOW'S BAY; equal parts horror and humor.
When an only-child caregiver finds a backwoods genie in a bottle, he discovers why you can never wish for more wishes.
The plot...
Everyone in the backwoods town of Griffin, North Carolina receives a prophecy from the Oracle, except Danny Carswell. The Oracle is a retired elementary school principal, famous for spotting fatal flaws in youngsters with unsettling accuracy. She’s also Danny’s mother. When she crashes her car through a storefront, killing a man, Danny is forced to abandon college and return home to care for her failing memory. His mother’s celebrity helps her avoid prison, but when she humiliates the judge during her hearing, Danny becomes legally responsible for preventing his mother from harming anyone else.
Desperate for money and flexibility, Danny takes the only job he can manage: collecting roadkill with his slacker best friend. Mounting stress and sleepless nights pile up, until one night a dead deer speaks to Danny—offering Three Truths in exchange for being mounted on his wall. Danny knows nothing of taxidermy but agrees, suspecting the creature may be tied to his mother’s prophecies and possibly her car accident. Searching for answers, Danny tracks down more mystical deer—more Truths—filling his walls with shabby, amateur taxidermy and his head with an odd chorus of advisors. As Danny spirals into a world of lies, late night carving, and gambling, one wrong move could cost his mother her freedom or her life, but the dark secrets Danny uncovers may cost him his sanity.