The Prince of Mist (Spanish: El Príncipe de la Niebla) is a 1993 mystery and horror young adult novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

It was initially published in Spanish by Editorial Planeta and later in an English translation by Lucia Graves by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in 2010.

The cat befriends Irina, who takes an immediate liking to the creature; she begs her parents to let her bring it with them, and they eventually concede.

When they arrive, the porters leave quickly, and before they have even taken their first steps into the house, the cat leaps from Irina's arms, letting out a satisfied meow as it is the first to touch down in the foyer.

The wall enclosure is secured with spearhead points along its edge, each embossed with a symbol of a six-pointed star enclosed in a circle.

At the clown's feet, Max sees another small paving stone with the same six-pointed star inside of a circle inscribed on its surface.

Finding his family now awake and preparing breakfast, Max decides not to tell them what he has seen because he knows they will be skeptical, and he doesn’t want to crush his father's excitement about their new home.

The sole survivor of the shipwreck was an engineer who, as a way of thanking providence for saving his life, settled in the town and built a lighthouse on the cliffs overlooking where the ship had sunk.

After dinner, Maximilian sets up the old projector he had salvaged that morning, and the family settles in to watch one of the unmarked films from the box.

The camera operator enters the garden, revealing the mysterious statues, which look new, unlike the weathered state Max had observed them in.

Knowing there is an extra bike in the garage, Max enjoys the flirtatious scene, and tells Alicia she will have to balance on Roland's handlebars down to the beach.

Max is mesmerized by the experience of the cool water, and the serene silence beneath the surface of the ocean, but he leaves the deep diving to his friend.

Roland discovers some new treasures, while Max observes from a distance, noticing the ship's name inscribed on the bow, the Orpheus.

He lost a big card game to a man named Mr. Cain, who owned a travelling circus, known for employing shady criminals.

Knowing the police were closing in on he and his group's criminal activities, Mr. Cain charged The Dutchman with transporting his evil posse across the Channel on his ship, and the man agreed.

Max and Alicia point out that something seemed to be missing from Victor Kray's story, and Roland agrees... Back at the Carver house, Irina feels her hands go numb, and she continues to fumble with the door, and she watches in horror as the key turns in the lock, finally stops moving, and is then pushed out of the keyhole, falling to the floor.

The cat opens its jaws and hisses at her, then retreats back into the wardrobe, and a giant smile filled with light appears in the darkness with two glowing golden eyes, and all of the voices she has been hearing say “Irina” in unison.

Downstairs, Andrea Carver has heard her daughter's scream, and runs to the base of the stairs just in time to see her child tumbling down to the bottom, a tear of blood escaping from her forehead.

He was a notorious cheat at dice and cards in the town where Victor grew up, and the neighbourhood boys referred to him as the Prince of Mist because, rumour had it, he appeared out of a haze in dark alleyways at night and disappeared again before dawn.

Richard looked terrible, and began to cry as he recounted his memories from the night at the fair, finally revealing what he had promised the magician in exchange for his wish for Eva's love: his first-born son.

Richard described to Victor how he’d been trying desperately to keep Eva from becoming pregnant, but that she wanted a child so badly that their lack of one was driving her into depression.

Seeing his sister is safe, Max impulsively dives in after his friend, and is able to rescue him from the frightening creature, even as it transforms into the face of an evil clown.

A flash of lightning catches Max's eye outside and when he looks out the window, he sees a dark figure there: Victor Kray.

The old man explains that when Richard had thought Cain had drowned and built the house on the beach, things had been fine for a long time, until Jacob went missing one day when he was five.

The creature began dragging the boy into the sea, but Victor chased it, and rescued Jacob from its clenches, taking him back to the surface.

Victor explains that the tomb at the local cemetery was built by Cain, who is reserving it for the day he recovers Jacob's body...

Roland hears maniacal laughter, and sees Dr. Cain standing on the ship, grinning as the tentacle of mist drops Alicia at his feet.

He waits for the ship to touch the bottom of the sea so that the pressure will not pull them back down; when the impact came, the ceiling above began collapsing on top of them, and Roland's leg was pinned beneath the woody debris.

Maximilian's watchmaking business is booming, and Max cycles to the lighthouse every day to ensure the lantern is lit to help guide ships safely to shore.

[7] Mexican heavy metal band Velvet Darkness published a song titled "The Prince of Mist" on their debut EP Delusion based on Ruiz Zafon's novel.