Lockwood & Co

What is Lockwood & Co?

Lockwood & Co is originally a book series by author Jonathan Stroud. It tells the stories of a psychic detective agency that fights ghosts in London. There are currently five official books with a few short stories released throughout the years. In early 2023 a television series based on the series was released on Netflix but cancelled barely 4 months later. It contained eight episodes following the events of the first two books, "The Screaming Staircase" and "The Whispering Skull."

Throughout the series, there is an event known as "The Problem." In the last 50 years, ghosts have become a widespread phenomenon. The touch of a ghost is considered fatal, leaving its victim in a seemingly catatonic state. Agencies begin to become a key part of society, they employ children and teens with sensitivities to the paranormal to combat and dispose of lingering spirits. As we progress through the investigations of Lockwood & Co, we learn more about our characters and more about the problem; when it started, what's worsened it, and who knows the truth behind it.

Who are Lockwood & Co?

In the series, Lockwood & Co has three main characters, each being a key part of their agency and the success of their investigations.

Anthony Lockwood

Anthony, more commonly referred to as Lockwood, is the leader of Lockwood & Co. Although very charismatic and quick-witted, he can be a tad reckless. Lockwood has the gift of "sharp sight", giving him the ability to see ghosts and residue left behind during death, known as deathglows. Despite his charm, he has many secrets, one such secret being what's hidden in a room in the house his parents left him.

Lucy Carlyle

Lucy is the narrator for the series and can be considered out absolute "main" character. She is a listener, someone that can sense and communicate with ghosts through touch and hearing. She is one of two people that has been documented to be able to communicate with a type-three ghost. She ends up joining Lockwood & Co after a tragic accident with her former agency which she was wrongfully blamed for.

George Karim

George Karim, also known as George Cubbins in the novels, can be considered the brain of Lockwood & Co. He heavily investigates the history of haunting sites and its ghosts and ensures the success of investigations through his preparations. He previously trained at a prestigious agency known as Fittes, where he also obtained "the whispering skull". Although very direct and at times a bit cynical, he shares a strong bond with both Lockwood and Lucy. He's also my favorite character.

As stated previously, the series follows the first two novels in the book series. The first half of the series involves the case of Annabel "Annie" Ward, a famous actress that suddenly disappeared but whose ghost and body was discovered during an investigation. Throughout the case, we discover how strong Lucy's abilities are and get some of the first introduction to a common theme of beings in power having heavy connections to DEPRAC, The Problem, and responsibility for many hauntings.

The second half of the series involves the grave of Edmund Bickerstaff, an infamous man in London history, whose coffin was unsealed by an agency tasked with preventing spirit risings. The job is relatively successful until someone falls into the the grave, releasing the horrid spirit of Bickerstaff and discovering an object known as the Bone Glass.

DEPRAC is the official Depart of Psychical Research and Control, a government agency tasked with combating The Problem. Most certified agencies are sponsored by DEPRAC. They also are typically contacted after investigations to remove ghost sources, bodies, and to ensure investigations are completed.

There are currently three types of ghosts throughout the series.

Type-one primarily contains shades, stalkers lurkers, floating brides, cold maidens, glimmers, pale stenches, and stone knockers. They are considered the weakest and most common type of ghost. They aren't aware of much and often have repetitive behavior, although they may mutter, they cannot actually communicate.

Type-two primarily contain spectres, phantasms, dark spectres, wraiths, fetches, limbless, poltergeists, raw-bones, revenants, and shining boys. Although also common, they are a more dangerous type of ghost as the have some level of intelligence and awareness of humans. They are also almost guaranteed to return after experiencing an unjust death or injustice.

Type-three ghosts are the most heavily debated ghosts as they are the only type able to communicate with powerful listeners. They are ghosts that outright refuse to move on and have extreme strength and intelligence. Due to their rarity, the existence of them is heavily questioned as only Lucy and one other person have been said to speak one of them.

I personally really loved this series. It was incredibly reminiscent to another series I love, Dead Boy Detectives, that was similarly cancelled. They both have incredibly lovable and intriguing characters while also being ghost related agencies. Similar to other series that have fallen victim to Netflix cancellations, Lockwood & Co left on a massive cliffhanger. Given how short the series is and that there's still three other books in the series left air, there's still a lot unsolved and unexplained. It's to the point where I've decided to purchase the first book and will slowly get the rest of the series as I finish them. Given how much I like both Lockwood & Co and Dead Boy Detectives, I was also hoping to obtain these series physically but due to recent tariffs I don't think I'll be able to at this time unfortunately.

0 Kudos

Comments

Displaying 0 of 0 comments ( View all | Add Comment )