Fablehaven Setting

Fablehaven: Gateway to Magic

The book is called Fablehaven, and it's set in a hidden preserve for magical creatures… that's also called Fablehaven. Sounds pretty simple, right? Actually, dear Watson, there are many levels to the setting, ranging from tame and mundane to freakily supernatural. We'll break 'em down for ya.

Normal Farmhouse in Connecticut… Or Is It?

Nestled in "the forested hills of Connecticut" (1.2), the Sorenson grandparents' farmhouse is pretty darn out of the way. It seems like they want to discourage visitors too, based on the signs Kendra observes: "Private Property and No trespassing gave way to Beware of .12 Gauge and Trespassers Will Be Persecuted" (1.53). The final sign on the gate takes the cake, though: "Certain Death Awaits" (1.57). That's cheery, right? Every kid wants to be greeted by such a warm welcome on their way to their grandparents' house.

The house itself is really nice. Kendra observes:

The house was big, but not enormous, with lots of gables and even a turret […] Constructed out of dark wood and stone, the house looked old but in good repair. The grounds were more impressive. A bright flower garden bloomed in front of the house. Manicured hedges and a fish pond added character to the yard. Behind the house loomed an immense brown barn, at least five stories tall, topped by a weather vane. (1.61)

So we get the sense that this is a pretty sweet little farmhouse, tucked away in rolling hills, and kinda hard to get to—and if anyone does happen upon it, the Sorensons to go out of their way to discourage visitors from popping in. More on that in a bit, though.

The kids get to spend their time there staying in the attic room, which is not as scary as it sounds:

Braced for cobwebs and torture devices, Kendra was relieved to find that the attic was a cheerful playroom. Spacious, clean, and bright, the long room had a pair of beds, shelves crowded with children's books, freestanding wardrobes, tidy dressers, a unicorn rocking horse, multiple toy chests, and a hen in a cage. (1.101)

This sounds like the perfect place to be a kid in summer, right? Even though Grandpa Sorenson claims to not know how to act around kids, he sure gives his grandkids a comfy place to bunk.

Which is good, since apparently the woods are full of ticks this time of year, so the kids are confined to the grounds around the house. That's not all bad, since there's a nice pool they can swim in (plus their sweet attic room). Soon though, things get a little strange. Kendra notices a "swarm of small winged creatures" crowding a mirror (2.69) which is kinda bizarre behavior for hummingbirds, butterflies, and dragonflies to engage in together. And Seth explores the woods and discovers a weird old woman living in a shack on the property. What's going on here?

We'll recap for ya: the farmhouse is comfy but not overly swank, the grounds are well-kept (yay for a swimming pool), and the kids feel more or less at home. But what's the deal with our feathered friends and the mirror, the old woman in the shack, and the "no trespassers" signs that border on the bizarre?

The Rules of Engagement

It all makes sense once we learn that the farmhouse is part of a larger chunk of land that's actually a preserve for magical creatures. The vain butterflies and birds are actually fairies; the old woman is actually a witch; and the Certain Death Awaits sign could very well be true if you take a wrong turn and bother the wrong monster.

Hang with us while we explain that the physical place of Fablehaven comes with its own set of rules and regulations governing how people should act. It's a lot like how being in an airport requires certain kinds of behavior in order to not have the TSA all up in your business. These rules relate to the physical boundaries of the setting, too.

Grandpa explains to the kids that Fablehaven is governed by a treaty that binds all the magical creatures there. He also tells them that the "specific details are complex" (5.150). The basic gist, though, is don't bother us and we won't bother you. In general, the magic critters "will not initiate trouble unless you break the rules" (5.152)—so, you know, don't break the rules.

What's an example of breaking the rules? Going where you're not supposed to. For example, according to Grandpa:

"The island at the center of the pond is a shrine to the Fairy Queen. No mortal is permitted to tread there. I know of a groundskeeper who broke that rule. The moment he set foot on the sacred island, he transformed into a cloud of dandelion fluff, clothes and all. He scattered on the breeze and was never seen again." (5.134)

Whoa, dude. We get it: going places that are off-bounds is a big no-no in Fablehaven. (The pond, by the way, is totally gorgeous and a must-see if you can manage to stay away from the water, since the naiads living there would find it hilarious to drown you.)

But this whole boundary thing goes both ways. Grandpa continues:

"There are geographic boundaries where certain creatures are allowed and certain creatures, including mortals, are not permitted. The boundaries function as a way to contain the darker creatures without causing an uproar." (5.156)

So the supernatural critters are bound by these rules just as much as humans are—it's just not a giant magic zoo full of off-limits places for humans.

Why are we putting so much emphasis on these rules and boundaries? Well, you gotta understand them in order to get why Midsummer Eve is such a big deal. And if you've read the book and don't know what we're talking about, go back and reread it (or just continue to explore our awesome Shmoop run-down of the book).

Out In the Wild

When everything goes down at Midsummer Eve, Kendra and Seth are left on their own. They decide to explore the preserve in order to look for Grandpa and Lena, on the assumption that they were kidnapped. What could possibly go wrong with this plan?

If a map exists of Fablehaven, the kids don't have access to it, so they're stuck wandering around on their own. They really get out into the wilderness, especially once they leave the path:

They walked in a straight line away from the path […] Before long they crossed a dry, rocky streambed. Not far beyond, they wandered into a little meadow. The brush and wildflowers in the meadow grew nearly waist high. (11.143)

Clearly they don't put a big emphasis on mowing the lawn in the far reaches of the preserve.

The kids encounter satyrs, an ogress, and later, a troll—and once they're reunited with Grandma, they get to visit the Forgotten Chapel too. We'll pass on that one, thanks, since it doesn't look too appealing:

It was a boxy structure with a row of large windows fanged with broken glass and a single cupola that probably contained a bell. The roof sagged. The wooden walls were grey and splintered. There was no guessing what the original color might have been. A short flight of warped steps led up to an empty doorway, where double doors had once granted access. It looked like a perfect lair for bats and zombies. (16.12)

Thanks but no thanks—that's sure one creepy, ominous-looking place. It doesn't outlast the showdown with Bahumat and Muriel, either—the fairies take the roof off the place, and then fold the basement into the ground. Check it out:

The walls of the basement crumbled. The surrounding area folded in and swallowed it up. The field heaved like a stormy sea. As the undulations subsided, the basement had been replaced by a low hill […] Wildflowers and fruit trees began sprouting throughout the clearing and on the hill, coming to full bloom in a matter of seconds. (18.109-110)

The bad scary ominous place has been replaced by a rather more cheerful and natural looking place—say what you will about fairies, but they sure know how to leave a place better than they found it. The wilds of Fablehaven contain a lot of different landscapes, and by the end of the book, some of them have been changed for better or for worse (though in this case, we'll go with better).

Location, Location, Location

One more note on the setting of Fablehaven: it doesn't exist. At least not on a map. When Grandma's pulling mystical weapons out of the attic, she shows the kids a map of the world: "Large dots and X's were located on diverse portions of the map, aside from the labeling of major cities" (15.114)— Kendra is the first to notice that Fablehaven isn't on the map. According to Grandma, it's one of five unmarked preserves in the world.

Let's get this straight: Fablehaven is super-special and hence its location is a secret. Or… it should be. Clearly Muriel's collaborators in the Society of the Evening Star know where it is, though, and that, amigos, does not bode well for the future of Fablehaven.