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Demeter is a gothic horror larp set aboard the last voyage of the schooner Demeter from the Black Sea to London, inspired by chapter 7 of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and played on an actual traditional sailing ship, the three‑masted gaff schooner Pippilotta, on the Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark. The event tells “what really happened” during the journey, weaving together themes such as death and decay, madness, superstition, science versus religion, suppressed sexuality and unnatural hunger (blood, cannibalism) in a claustrophobic space roughly the size of a tennis court, where crew and passengers must truly sail the ship, facing cold, rough seas and physical work while the dark presence of evil permeates every character and story on board. No prior experience with sailing or larp is required, but all 26 participants (18+) become part of the working crew and co‑creators of the atmosphere; rules are light, design is highly transparent, and each player can calibrate how much to engage with the various horror themes, creating together an intense physical and psychological journey where the shared experience matters far more than any “correct” plot.