The Prince of Mist is a horror mystery Young Adult novel written in 1993 by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
In 1943 during the second World War, Max Carver's family moves from the city to a coastal village to get away from the chaos. But the minute they step into their new home, strange things begin to happen.
Max and Alicia Carver make friends with Roland, the son of lighthouse keeper Victor Kray, in which they hear about the tale of a boy who drowned and a story about a mysterious magician named Dr. Cain who can grant a person's deepest desire - but dealings with him always come with a price.
As many supernatural activities occur within the village that affect Max's family and Roland at once, it's a race against time to uncover the mystery of the ship where Dr. Cain had perished years ago.
This novel is the first of Zafon's works, starting off the Trilogy of Mist. The second book released is The Midnight Palace, followed by The Watcher in the Shadows.
The Prince of Mist offers these tropes...for a price.
- Baby as Payment: As payment for helping Richard Fleischmann win the heart of Eva Gray, Dr. Cain demanded he give him his firstborn child.
- Bittersweet Ending: Max and Alicia survived their ordeal with Dr. Cain and their family's life in the village has improved, but their friend Roland is lost forever as he exchanged his life to Dr. Cain in exchange for preserving Alicia's.
- Conscription: Discussed by Roland as he worries it would be his last summer in town before he'd be drafted for the war.
- Deal with the Devil: Anyone who makes a deal with Dr. Cain is given what they wanted from him. However, he always has something to demand from them in return, and he won't tolerate anyone trying to back out.
- Due to the Dead: In the town is a large mausoleum reported to have been dedicated to Jacob Fleischmann by his late father. Turns out, it was Dr. Cain who created the tomb as a warning that he will claim Dr. Fleischmann's son no matter what.
- From New York to Nowhere: The first two chapters begins with the Carver family moving from the city to the small coastal town.
- Ghost Ship: The Orpheus where Dr. Cain perished, and where he makes his home. The confrontation against him takes place aboard it during a storm.
- Hostile Weather: A storm stretches across the coast and around the Orpheus, which proved to be a challenge for Roland and Max to reach the ship to save Alicia.
- Identity Amnesia: After having revived from apparent death, Jacob lost all memory of his name and his family.
- Lighthouse Point: Victor Kray operates the lighthouse as his occupation.
- No More Lies: After a close encounter with Dr. Cain and uncovering more clues about Roland's origins, Max demands the truth from Victor Kray.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Dr. Cain is a particularly dangerous ghost, given he is the antagonist of the book, with ghostly powers under his belt.
- Ghostly Goals: The reason Dr. Cain haunts the coastal town is because he aims to collect what Richard Fleischmann owed him for his services - Richard's son, who happened to be Roland.
- Ghostly Chill: One of the ways Dr. Cain's presence can be felt is the sudden icy chill felt within his vicinity.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Dr. Cain can change his ghostly appearance at will to better mess with or outright harm his targets.
- Ominous Fog: Among the forms Dr. Cain takes, he can appear as fog, fitting for one who calls himself the Prince of Mist.
- Parental Abandonment: Roland's parents are nowhere to be found, having lived with his grandfather. His birth father died of an infection from a dog bite and his mother willingly gave up her child to Victor for his protection before leaving town herself.
- Passing the Torch: Before leaving town, Victor leaves the lighthouse keys to Max, passing responsibility of the lighthouse to him.
- Raised by Grandparents: Roland has been raised by his grandfather, Victor Kray, for as long as he could remember. Victor's actually not his grandfather.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Irina, after suffering an accident from an encounter with paranormal activity, lost her memory of the same event.
