#378 Whispering Waters Retreat

Age: 150 Years

Hidden or Lost?: No

History: For over a century, writers and artists have been visiting the Whispering Waters Retreat to gain inspiration and discover new creative insights. The cold, glassy waters of Muse Lake have filled the heads of some of the world's greatest artisans with new ideas and penetrating observations. However, few know the true cost of the placid lake’s gift.

Located amid a breathtaking stretch of silent mountain forest, Muse Lake’s softly undulating waters were an attractive draw to early pioneers. But as encroaching explorers dipped their toes into the cool lake, eager to claim the surrounding land, they found that the water seemed completely devoid of life. They soon discovered that the mountain had been shunned by the surrounding settlements who saw the peaceful area as cursed, inhabited by foul spirits that sowed madness in people’s thoughts. As such, the picturesque location was barely marked on any map and all but forgotten. That was until a permanent homestead was established by the wilderness poet Macaulay Argot.

Hoping to be the first voice of a new frontier, Argot built a cabin on the lakeshore to take advantage of the solitude it provided him. Argot would bathe in the dark lake each day, and found that beneath the water he could hear voices like pagan prophets filling his mind with beautiful verse and natural insight. In no time he had finished his defining work, “A New Grass Turns the Soil Also.” As the years churned, Argot sought the secrets of the lake, diving as deep as he could and discovering only a strange variety of mussel growing along the lake bed.

As he grew older Argot became reclusive and mean, spending more and more time waiting in the lake until one day, he never returned. Argot’s cabin was preserved as a historic site, and enterprising developers built the Whispering Waters Retreat around it.

Each year a lottery is held for new artists to visit the retreat, and to a person, they have each found success and creativity from the voice of Muse Lake. However only one author is known to have spoken of the price of their genius.

As former Whispering Waters guest, Sheil Thomas wrote in her memoir, “From what afflatus does the voice of Muse Lake issue, howling out from beyond day’s borders and this immortal clay? What price has the mother of my legacy come to claim? As my once ripe skin hardens against the world and blackens to rival those sour mussels, do I shrink? Do I diminish in the eyes of the faithful and loved? It is no matter. As the waters call me once again, back to settle our toll.”