Style: Pulp magazine cover art typical of the mid-20th century.
Colors: Deep, moody tones of blue and gray dominate the cover, with shades of sickly green in the fog and a deep crimson that splashes across the knife and streaks of blood on the alley floor. The red contrasts sharply with the otherwise desaturated tones, drawing attention to the horrific violence at the heart of the story. The gas lamps cast faint yellowish light that flickers in the fog, while the crimson from the morgue's interior adds a sickly glow, making it feel as though the night itself is infected with blood. This eerie light serves as a beacon for death and the unknown.
Subject: In the foreground, slightly blurred but menacing, is the figure of the Phantom Butcher. His face is obscured by a bloodstained, cracked mask—a grotesque, carved visage with hollow eyes and a twisted grin. His ragged Victorian coat billows behind him, and his hand clutches a long, glistening butcher’s knife, its blade smeared with blood. His figure is partially concealed by the fog, giving him an ethereal, almost supernatural presence. Only the faintest outline of his silhouette is visible, but the sense of danger is unmistakable.
Composition: A silhouette of a lifeless figure, half-hidden under a bloodstained sheet, slowly dissolves into the mist or seems to vanish into thin air. This symbolizes the mysterious disappearance of bodies from the morgue, adding an element of the supernatural to the grisly murder mystery. The body is slightly translucent, as if being claimed by the dark forces at work.
Text Elements: the story title in bold artistic text that reads "The Phantom Butcher of Hollowgate" at the top