Family Portrait Author:Graham Masterton Family Portrait - an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray. — Gory and descriptive multi-layered and extremely graphic...the story of a corrupt family who have achieved immortality via a magic ritual which allows their souls to remain trapped forever within an ancient painting. — A highly decadent family, completely without cons... more »cience, who, amongst their many misdemeanours, regularly flay their victims alive - to keep themselves fresh, they need the fresh skin of someone - they capture people, skin them alive, and then kill them. They are hunting to find the lost portrait so that is it returned to the family fold, so that it cannot be destroyed, therefore they will live forever.