THE FOUNDING ERA (1930s - 1950s)
FINN JACKSON (b. 1909, d. 1956)
finn jackson was a former traveling preacher turned spiritual recluse during the great depression who found his way to eden, louisiana, sometime in the 1920s.
he began preaching in the swamps near eden, louisiana, where he claimed god had shown him a “gnawing truth”. that salvation came through suffering, and that the flesh was not to be wasted.
he introduced “ritual fasting” to his small congregation and believed eating the body of a willing martyr was divine reclamation, not sin.
GRACEEJO JACKSON (b. 1913, d. 1962)
finn’s wife and the true mind behind the doctrine’s theology.
she was quiet, meticulous, and believed that women carried the hunger deeper than men.
graceejo kept elaborate handwritten journals blending old testament scripture, folk medicine, and latin scripture, forming the first circle book.
some say she was the first to actually kill in the name of the circle. a young woman, she claimed, was “chosen” after fasting to death.
THE ERA OF THE PROPHET (1960s - 1990s)
SILAS JACKSON (b. 1930, d. 1998)
silas took over leadership in the 1960s after a seven-day self-imposed fast where he claimed he heard “the mother speak in the bayou.”
more public-facing than his parents. he built the church (later called the church of the returning hunger) and recruited dozens through spiritual retreats in eden.
he introduced the doctrine of “divine hunger”, where followers believed fasting purged unclean spirits and prepared the body for holy consumption.
he was first to be called devil man after an outsider accused him of ritual murder. he adopted the name to disarm fear with devotion.
NORA WILKES (b. 1922, d. unknown)
nora was one of the earliest converts to silas’ vision of the circle of ravenous hearts.
she joined the circle in her early 30s (which was while the circle was still in the early stages) after losing her entire family in a house fire.
nora is viewed as a matriarchal figure. to many followers, nora is seen as a spiritual mother. she offers guidance, comfort, and wisdom to new recruits while reinforcing their loyalty to silas and the circle's teachings.
she is a keeper of rituals and this means that nora oversees many of the group’s most sacred and secretive ceremonies, including the branding of loyal members and the cannibalistic rites. she views these practices as essential to the circle's spiritual journey.
LUKE ROANOKE (b. 1950, d. unknown)
luke was originally silas’s handpicked successor, known for his commanding voice, hunting skills, and theatrical preaching.
luke is charismatic but prideful. some say he wanted to replace silas, not inherit from him.
he fell out of favour when he questioned silas's increasing control over fasting practices and the introduction of blood rites.
emerson's quiet, obedient nature deeply threatened luke, who saw himself as the natural heir.
it is widely believed that luke vanished from the compound one night. silas claimed luke “fled from his hunger,” but some believe he was buried beneath the church, or left alive to rot somewhere deep in the woods.
DEAN SHAW (b. 1940, d. unknown)
unknown to the locals of eden, dean has been living a double life for the past 6 years as a member of eden’s community and the circle of ravenous hearts.
dean is the recruiter and public face: as a charismatic restaurant owner, dean uses his charm to draw people into the circle.
he’s particularly effective at targeting vulnerable individuals and those who need a softer father-like figure, which he embodies quite well.
THE ERA OF THE KEEPER (1988 - 1996)
EMERSON MYERS (b. 1962, d. 1996)
emerson was recruited by silas at age 14 after running from a broken home.
emerson became the keeper at the age of 21. he was also known as the guardian of doctrine, and the enforcer of fasting and punishment.
he quickly became known for extreme endurance, starvation trials, and leading “the narrowing”. where chosen initiates were hunted in the woods after being starved for 4 days.
CALEB WILLIAMS (b. 1868, d. unknown)
from the moment caleb started to consider joining the circle he found himself drawn to emerson.
unlike silas, the way emerson spoke to him seemed to pull at his deeper desires and made him feel like he was someone important and like he belonged with the circle.
sometime after emerson was arrested, caleb broke from emerson's example and founded “the red hunger”. it was a more violent splinter sect of the circle with fewer rules and more executions.
LETTIE JACKSON (b. 1962, d. 1998)
loretta jackson, called lettie by those who knew her before the circle swallowed her whole, grew up under silas’s shadow.
her mother, one of silas’s younger sisters, tried to keep her away from eden, but blood loyalty runs deeper than fear in families like the jacksons.
eventually, she is married to emerson as a gift to him from silas and a means of keeping the circle alive for generations to come.
AMOS REED (b. 1971, d. unknown)
amos is young, mute, and deeply faithful. he joined at 15 after his family died in a house fire.
he was chosen by emerson for several private rites and became one of the last inner-circle members before the compound fractured.
some say he tried to run after silas returned. others believe he became a vessel of silence, buried alive in the fasting vault.
