Earlier today, Showtime revealed the first on-set footage from its eagerly anticipated forthcoming Twin Peaks revival. But, sorry to say, super fans looking for some real info won’t find it in the 1 minute, 40 second trailer, which mostly features Kyle MacLachlan and other veteran cast members (among them a silver-haired Bobby Briggs!) being interviewed in a studio, and overly ominous music that’s far more fitting of a true crime documentary. But fear not, Peaks Freaks: the supernatural series’s co-creator, Mark Frost, has today released his Secret History of Twin Peaks novel, an exhaustive record in the form of a secret dossier, dating back to Lewis and Clark’s diary entries. This secret history contains a wealth of information about Twin Peaks‘s bonkers finale, and provides thorough accounts of its characters’ backstories — perhaps the most touching of which belongs to the Log Lady.
In a spoiler-ridden selection of Secret History‘s most fascinating backstories, Vulture notes that the Log Lady was born Margaret Coulson (a tribute to the recently departed actress who played her). Frost outlines the supernatural experiences that formed her childhood — including an instance in which she and two male students became separated from their third grade class’s nature walk and were discovered the following day by a troop of Eagle Scouts. “As a youngster, she was described as fiercely intelligent, a little reserved, and an ‘early feminist,’ and studied forestry at Washington State University,” Vulture notes.
Frost’s text also fleshes out details that were touched upon in the series, like the Log Lady’s would-be husband and the tragedy that occurred on their wedding day, when a thunderstorm caused a lightning strike, which ignited a roaring forest fire. A volunteer fire chief, Margaret’s husband Sam lost his life attempting to stop the flames, and she buried him two days later behind the house they’d been building on the mountain. It was from this tragedy that Margaret discovered her cherished log, Frost writes:
“They say she went up to visit the Heart of the Forest again the next day. Although dozens of acres had burned around it, the small grove of sycamores there was still standing. Nearby, a magnificent old-growth Douglas fir had fallen during the conflagration. When Margaret came back down she carried a piece of that great tree with her, cradling it like a newborn babe. She knew exactly which part of the great creature to take — it told her as much, she said — and from that day on Margaret and her log were inseparable.”
To learn more about Dr. Jacoby’s Hawaiian childhood, Josie Packard’s Hong Kong fashion line, and Ed and Norma’s ill-fated love story, pick up a copy of Mark Frost’s The Secret History of Twin Peaks here.
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Text Emily Manning