What Makes a Great Ghost Story? #Paranormal

It's October! Time to get your scare on...

There's something about a good ghost story that suckers me in. You're probably tired of hearing my account with an actual ghost... A black thing ran over my foot once and out the door. It was like a shadow, but not a shadow. My husband was there at the time and saw the same thing.

We believed it the spirit of Mr. Sox, who was killed by a car. After he died, I used to hear him scratching at the back screen. The sound was so distinct, I would often get up and go out on the patio looking for him, even though I knew it was impossible he was there.

That black shadow ran over my foot while I was serving dinner and raced out the sliding door into the backyard. I never heard the scratching at the back screen again.

It wasn't a frightening experience. It perplexed me. The shadow had form and was thicker than a shadow, more solid. Yet I could see through it. It was the size of a cat.

My husband and I have gone ghost hunting before, and I'd love to say I've had other encounters, but I haven't. I don't want to jump to conclusions that a sound is a spirit or an experience is a spirit. I want a real, solid encounter... like the one I had.

Recently, we went on a 'haunted' tour of our town. To me, it was a win-win... history and ghost stories. I love history and I love ghost stories. There were some good ones...

George at the Reid School, a builder who had died on the site, shows up quite frequently. It's now the local history museum.

A boy on a bicycle at the high school, which is now county offices. He likes to turn lights on during the night.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson of the Tower Theater are sometimes seen sitting in the audience.

Mrs. Smith can still be heard banging on the ceiling with a broom to call Mr. Smith to dinner.

There's a malevolent presence in the old hotel, who has attacked several people.

No one wants to own anything that was in the old nunnery. The buildings and contents were sold and transported far away. I wonder if the new owners have had anything odd happen.

Whether true or not, my favorite ghost stories are accounts related by family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. I don't want to run away, I want to investigate. I love talking over the mysteries that touch our lives and our world.

What's out there?

A to Z Challenge - G is for Gangsta Ghost.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge is underway!

If you haven't heard of it, check out the A to Z blog and join in the fun.

Here at Untethered Realms, we're taking on the Challenge as a group. Each day, one of us will be sharing with you a teaser from one of our books.

George "Haw Shot" Hawley is a ghost with a lot of attitude.

The Rifters by M. Pax

5 Star Review from CHOOSE YOUR OWN END: "The Wild West meets Ghostbusters with some Stargate and a bit of Steampunk thrown in. Even though everything seems a bit familiar, it’s not, which is what makes The Rifters compelling"

Join us for #SpecFicChat:

What happened to the future? The flying cars & time machines? Next #SpecFicChat Fri. April 17th, Noon EDT. Hosted by @UnRealms & @EllieMGarratt

Ghostly Gallows: Just Hanging Around

Ghostly Gallows is launched and now I'm just "hanging" around.

 

Hehe, just a bit of "gallows" humor.

 

Alrighty then. Moving on.

 

 

I luurve the Ghostly Gallows cover. Corona Zschusschen illustrates all my covers. The problem we had with this one is that the subject matter sounds darker than it really is. Although this series is darker than my other Indigo Eady series, it's still upper MG to YA. My original idea was to have a gallows from which three ghosts would be hanging. Corona pointed out that she'd have a difficult time illustrating what I wanted and still make it appropriate for the age group.

 

Such a good point!

 

Hannah, the ghostly seventeenth century serving-wench-turned-investigator, turned out to be an excellent alternative. In this scene on the cover, she is prowling through the archives of the old city hall records room. She's just floated through the wall and what do you see? A gallows poster for a witch hanging. A Tryal of Witches is how the poster reads. And that's how Corona cleverly tied the title of the novella to what was on the cover and still make it appropriate for the age group.

 

Check it out...

 



Ghostly Gallows

(Book II - Afterlife Series)

Cover by Corona Zschusschen

 

Here's an excerpt from the cover scene. To set it up, the ghostly records clerk, George Fielding, agrees to lead them to the documents they're looking for...

 

“Do pardon me,” he said, clearing his throat. “It has been a very long time since I have had dealings with the living.” He shivered, as if it had been a bad experience. He glanced up and down the aisle, as if getting his bearings. “This way.”

We wound through passage after passage. I knew I was hopelessly lost and a miracle would have to occur in order to find our way out again. The one bright spot was that the clerk, the living one, knew we were down there. He’d find us or send someone after us. Wouldn’t he? In any case, I found myself sticking close to the boys. Together, we were strong.

Finally, when I was sure we were about to reach a dead end, the clerk stopped. “The seventeenth century witch trial journals are here,” he said.

“Thank you, George!” said Hannah. “My friends and I, we appreciate it ever so much.” It was touching the way Hannah made sure he knew we were all friends, but I was feeling far from sentimental at the moment. I did not have a warm fuzzy feeling in my gut.

George nodded. “I must go now, Miss Hannah. There is much to do, erm, with filing and such, and, um…”

I frowned. Why did it seem as if George Fielding were prevaricating? Stuttering and lack of eye contact could only mean—

“George?” I said. Finally the ghostie looked at me and I knew he was lying about something. What’s more, he saw that I knew.

“Must go! Ta!” And just like that, he disappeared.

“Drat!” I shook my head, the thought at the back of my head that if I could only figure out how to contain ghosts, I’d finally get some answers.

“What is it, Indigo?” Badger was already looking for the journal, shining his torch as he walked along.

“The rotten little spook was hiding something,” said Simon. “He couldn’t wait to abandon us down here.”

 

Tweets from this scene if you feel like sharing: 
 

"I did not have a warm fuzzy feeling in my gut." Ghostly Gallows https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUKB498 #Supernatural #GhostStories #ebook @UnRealms

“The rotten little spook was hiding something,” said Simon. ~Ghostly Gallows #Supernatural #novella  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUKB498 @UnRealms

 

DESCRIPTION:

Ghostly Gallows:

The case of missing paranormals is far from solved.

Hundreds of Sabrina Shores’ spirits are still missing.

In Second Death, Indigo and her friends escape an eternity underground in evil clutches. Back aboveground with a few missing ghosties happily in tow, one truth is painfully clear: the size of their problem is bigger than the village cemetery itself.

Now in Ghostly Gallows, new information leads Indigo and her fellow investigators to the ruins of Gallowsgate Prison, long abandoned by everyone and everything except malevolent spirits. It’s not called Gallowsgate for nothing when the noose swings a little too close to home.

Indigo Eady:

Much to her chagrin, Indigo Eady is a celebrity among spirits. She’s the girl who can see and speak with them. She has a proven track record in helping spirits find their murderers, so it’s no surprise when she’s drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee. Who better to help them than the experienced teenage ghost whisperer- investigator and her friends?
 

 

Blog Tour Schedule:
(Come hang with me here!)

Monday October 6th - Double-Edged Spark - Susan Gourley

Monday October 6th - Indigo Children, the New Evolution - Susan Oloier

Tuesday October 7th - Author Interview - Catherine Stine
Tuesday October 7th - Untethered Realms

Wednesday October 8th - Sabrina Shores Fictional Setting - M. Pax

Friday October 10th - Danger and Romance - Elizabeth Seckman
 

 

 

 

 

Giveaways!

 

1. Everyone who comments here or at any of the stops during my Afterlife Blog Tour will be put into a drawing for FREE ebooks of Second Death, Ghostly Gallows and Secret Keepers. Five copies will be given away during the two week release period of each book.
2. Everyone who leaves a review of any book in the Afterlife series by October 31, 2014 will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.
3. Everyone who purchases the complete ebook set or boxed ebook collection set by the end of the Afterlife blog tour (by October 31, 2014) will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card (boxed ebook set available October).
4. A print book giveaway of the series will also be up for grabs - stay tuned for more details!

Send your purchase links with the heading "AFTERLIFE" in the subject line to GwenMGardner@cox.net to be entered into the drawings.

 

 

 

Available Here:

Amazon / B&N / Google Play / iTunes

 

Connect with Gwen here:

Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Amazon / B&N 

 

 

 

Ghost Writing 101: Rules of the Trade

Ghost writing should not be confused with ghostwriting, where a writer writes articles, novels and other texts which are written for and credited to someone else. No, ghost writing, or a ghost writer, is someone who writes about ghosts. If you want to use ghosts as characters in your stories, here are a few rules I've learned to follow.

No moaning. There's a pretty big difference between the classic ghost story of yesteryear, and modern day ghost stories. The classic moaning-ghost story, while chillingly and delightfully scary sitting around a campfire, is not nearly sophisticated enough in this day and age to satisfy a reader. But these days, even Moaning Myrtle is not just another 'moaning' ghost who hangs in the first floor girl’s bathroom at Hogwarts. She has a level of personality that makes her interesting. She’s in turn pouty, flirtatious, depressed and mischievous, especially when she joins Harry Potter in the prefects bathroom during his bubble bath and insists on trying to sneak a peek through the bubbles, saying, "Oh, hello Harry, long time - no - see, hmm."

I keep this in mind when writing about Franny Bishop, a regular secondary character in my Indigo Eady Paranormal “Cozy” Mystery series. Franny is a Victorian ghost and former madam. Her character is caring, forgetful and a bit funny as she tries to make sense of the modern world. For instance, when she strew marbles on the floor to trip up the 'coppers' to give the kids enough time to escape the 'raid.' As a former madam, she has a past and more secrets than the house, the senate and the oval office combined. But she’s clearly dead, so she has no worries, right? Wrong. She worries about the young investigators she’s taken under her wings, among other things. This causes her to interfere. I’ve been told by more than one person that Franny is their favorite character in the series.

No chain rattling. The classic ghost ‘haunts’ a house. It wanders down halls moaning, making lights flicker, rattling chains, knocking things from shelves and scaring the bejesus out of its residents. Again, good for campfires, but not very interesting to readers for the long term. Franny doesn’t ‘haunt’ the house where she resides. She lives there. It’s her home. If a chair is rocking seemingly on its own, it’s because she’s sitting in it knitting. She does normal things, just as a live person would. She has a life, so to speak.

Speak intelligently. The classic ghost who deigns to speak, tells you to get out or die. They don’t really have much to say. If they do appear, they’ll maybe just point, sort of like the ghost of Christmas yet to come in the classic Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol. Sure, it’s creepy and ominous, but creepy and ominous do not equal good plot. Classic ghosts are fine for snippets or parts of stories; they add intrigue and the chilling effect. But alone, they won’t carry a whole novel. A ghost character must have fully developed lives and personalities. The more intriguing, the better.

Plausibility. Don’t believe in ghosts? You don’t have to. But even with ghosts, the story has to be plausible. I write mysteries. When you’re solving mysteries, how you come by your clues still has to make sense. Ghosts know a lot about what’s going on in their worlds, but how they 'know' things still has to make sense, too. It’s called the suspension of disbelief. Ghosts can’t be omniscient and know everything. If they knew everything, there would be no mystery, no intrigue and no story. They have to come by their information the same way that the living do--through investigation. No cop-outs just because the character is a ghost.

Do you believe in ghosts?

 

Write about ghosts?

 

What are your hard and fast rules?

Encounters of the Ghostly Kind

Source: Wikimedia Commons

My upcoming novel The Ghosts of Aquinnah will be published in December, 2013 and, as you may have guessed from the title, the story includes ghosts. Both the literal and the metaphorical kind.

The possibility of the existence of ghosts is something that has always fascinated me. I've always loved ghost stories and I enjoy reading about haunted places and the strange tales that go along with them. But my interest in the possibility of spirits and ghosts went into overdrive after my experience working for hospice in the 1990s.

When working for hospice, the reality of death is obviously unavoidable. I was prepared for that, or at least I thought I was, but what I was totally unprepared for was the unexplained phenomena that sometimes accompany a death.

The majority of our patients were loving people who had lived full lives surrounded by family and friends. While their deaths were sad, they were also peaceful. I was fascinated by the frequency with which these patients told us about long-dead loved ones who came to visit them in their final days. It was as if these deceased family members were coming to comfort our patients and perhaps accompany them to some other plane.

Of course, the rational explanation was that these patients were having hallucinations which brought them comfort and peace.

By contrast, I remember one patient who was a bitter and hate-filled man and, for reasons unknown to me, his family wanted nothing to do with him. I visited him one day not long before he died and it was an experience I have never forgotten.

When I walked to the patient's bed, I found him anxious and downright terrified. He kept pointing at things I couldn't see and insisting that his bed was surrounded. He screamed in fright and grabbed my hand to keep me from leaving when I told him I needed to get back to the hospice office.  He kept asking me the same thing over and over again. "Can't you see them?"

I couldn't see anything, but I can't deny that I could feel something. And what I felt made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I was certain I had gone completely insane, but one of the hospice nurses told me she had heard of this type of experience many times in her years working for the agency. And a chaplain friend of mine later reported a very similar encounter.

What was it that the man I visited could see but I could not? Again, the obvious answer is that he was simply experiencing a terrifying hallucination. But after being there, I will always believe it was something more, just as I felt certain that the patients who reported friendly visitors were experiencing something more than hallucinations.

I believe there are things that simply can't be explained, and it's not inconceivable to me that there is a spiritual plane that sometimes crosses over into our world. I don't know how or why, but I can't discount the possibilities.

Have you ever had any encounters with ghosts or spirits? Do you believe in the possibility of their existence?

I'm starting a new series on my blog with stories of ghosts, hauntings, and mysterious happenings. Click here to read about the Martha's Vineyard Ghost Ship, which was found in 1804 on the shores of Aquinnah.

The Paranormal - To Believe Or Not To Believe...

What does paranormal mean to you? I am sure all of us have a different definition. To me, it means all things science can't explain. This is also close to the true definition of paranormal.

Paranormal: general experiences that lie outside the range of normal experiences or scientific explanation.

"General experiences."

Have you had one?

I write a lot of spec fic. Mostly, I love to write paranormal. I'm not sure why. I guess it's simply because I've always been fascinated with the darker side of our world. Spirits, demons, and magic all captivated me as a child. They still do. I can tell you this, growing up in a strict catholic home made my childish questions about unexplainable things very hard to answer. A majority of the time I was told to not think that way and go outside and play. Not having the answers to those questions only added fuel to the ever growing fire.

As I got older, I not only had more questions, I experienced more things that had no explanation. Now, I'm not saying that I saw ghosts and tapped into some magical power I didn't know existed within me. (I wish).  But, I did see and feel things other kids/teens my age didn't. 

For example…

Starting when I was in high school during the mid to late nineties every time I saw a picture of New York and the Twin Towers, I would get this odd feeling deep in my bones. I can't properly describe this feeling. All I know is that I'd shudder every time. Literally, I'd have the whole body covered in goose flesh and hard shivering experience. Then when tragedy struck on September 11^th, 2001, I was rocked to my core with the rest of America and the world.  Afterwards, the feeling was gone. It's never returned. What was it? Why did I have it in the first place? I'm not someone that can tell the future. 

Unexplainable. 

Since I've been writing paranormal novels I've often wondered if we can tap into some subconscious part in our minds. Half way through the second book in my Nether Trilogy, Nether Soul, I saw a ghost for the first time in my life. I'm not lying. I'd been rudely woken up by my allergies and after having a lovely allergy attack of wheezing, blowing my nose, and coughing I rolled over (fully awake) and saw a male apparition at the foot of my bed. I screamed like a little girl, grabbed my husband's arm, and pulled the covers up so far over my head that you could have considered me a snake tunneling underground. I was, quite literally, terrified. 

My husband said I must have still been half asleep. Well, anyone with asthma and bad allergies will tell you, when you have an allergy attack like that you are very wide awake afterwards. I know what I saw. It also made sense that several days before I'd get the odd sensation that someone was watching me. The feeling was so strong that I used to turn around half expecting my husband to be standing behind me even though he was supposed to be at work.  Each time I turned there was no one there. Not even my cats. The sensation went away after I had my ghost experience and I've never seen the ghost man again, thankfully, because I am a huge scaredy cat. I know and I write paranormal.

Do you believe in the paranormal? Do you think we can tap into that part of the world unknowingly? Have you had any unexplainable experiences? If so my UTR friends and I would love to know.

  

Bonnie Rae

Are you afraid of ghosts?

There are more terrifying things that go bump in the night than ghosts. One of those creatures has moved into Chiharo's building. She already has her hands full trying to deal with another phantom, but this monster could be the end of both of them. Can a sweet ghost like Chiharo banish a fiend that's out to eat her soul?

THE GHOST by Christine Rains is the final book in the 13th Floor series. The big release date is in four days. Please enjoy an excerpt and get hooked!

THE GHOST - Chapter 1

“Who's going to die?” Chiharo cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice, but it didn't make a difference.

Only a fool would try a thing a hundred times and expect a different response. Chiharo had been trying the past few years to get Harriet to notice her with no success. But Chiharo had to know who Harriet's foretelling was about. Besides, the circumstances were always different. Maybe a little more electricity in the air or an alignment of the planets. One day, Harriet might hear her.

Chiharo shouted her question again as Harriet got ready to go out. The only response was the tabby cat Elli's soft growl. “You know, if you were any kind of familiar, you'd tell Harriet I need to talk to her.”

Chiharo's mother had taught her to not take any guff from animals. They needed to know who was in charge. Her mother had been dead for twenty years, but Chiharo still heeded her wise words. Still, the cats ruled here.

Harriet tripped over the other cat as she walked down the hall. She didn't cry out or groan, but picked herself up and bid a fond good-bye to the felines as she slipped out the apartment door.

From the bedroom, Chiharo sighed and shook her head. “You know you're lucky to have her. She's too good to you.”

Elli hissed, and the big gray tom named Kerr turned his back to both of them. Chiharo rolled her eyes and walked through the wall and into the corridor. She didn't flinch as she had the first few years of ghostdom. Was that even a word? Ghosthood?

Her throat tightened. What she wouldn't give to hear her mom lecture her or just to have someone to talk to. Witches were supposed to see spirits. At least that's what her mother always said. Why couldn't Harriet see her?

Though, maybe Harriet wasn't the type of witch that could see spirits. Chiharo had never seen her preform any magic. Harriet made healing potions and soothing teas. Not exactly exciting witchcraft, but it was obvious Harriet loved what she did as much as she loved singing in the shower.

“Harriet!” Chiharo zipped in front of her, but Harriet didn't slow her steps. Chiharo had tried irritating the cats and moving things, and now it was time for the next trick.

Summoning up her energy, Chiharo pushed the stairwell door and held it open for Harriet. “Hello? I'm here. I know you know you didn't open the door. Why were you screaming in the hall last night? Whose death did you see?”

Chiharo nibbled her lower lip. Stefanie came back wet, muddy, and naked last night. Was the trouble she'd been hiding from going to find her? Xan did dangerous work. Maybe a dragon would finally get him. Or that pretty reporter he stashed away in his apartment.

A squeaky noise brought her attention back. She gasped as Kiral and Harriet stood face to face on the landing.

“Oh my god!” Chiharo's hands fluttered. “This is it, Harriet! He's finally seeing you. Say something!”

* * * * *

 

Please join Christine Rains on THE GHOST blog tour from July 13 - 18. There will be a HUGE giveaway where you can enter to win the entire 13th Floor series.

You can download the first book of the series, THE MARQUIS, free for the Kindle and for all formats on Smashwords.

Mark THE GHOST to read on Goodreads.