My Ghost Stories

Image courtesy of  Flickr/slworking2

Ghosties, and ghoulies and goblins galore,

Come All Hallows Eve to knock on your door.

Tricksters and treaters travel with care

For monsters abound so you better beware.

I love ghost stories. Let me rephrase that: I love "true" ghost stories. I love watching "Ghost Hunters," "Ghost Adventures," and "The Dead Files."  In fact, I'm watching an episode of "Ghost Hunters" as I am writing this. I don't know if I could go on a ghost hunt, but I have seen things that cannot be explained. Because of my interest in the paranormal, I am planning a series of books with a teenage heroine who investigates things that go bump in the night. I'm excited about that. So, I thought I would tell you my ghost stories on this Halloween. These stories are true.

 grew up in a  two story brick colonial house in a quiet neighborhood. It was a new subdivision, so our house was brand new. About two houses down on top of a hill was a family grave plot that dated back to the 1860's-1870's. The people who owned the property destroyed headstones and used the enclosed plot as a burn pit. We weren't allowed to play with their kids.

When I was young, I woke up in the middle of the night. My bed was facing my closet and the door was open. I saw a pair of eyes staring at me. I was old enough to know what was real and what wasn't. I closed my eyes, shook my head and opened my eyes again. They were still there. I closed my eyes again, shook my head and opened my eyes. The eyes were staring at me. I was terrified. I called out to my mom and dad. They came into my room and looked in the closet. Nothing was there - not even our cat. To this day, I will not sleep with my closet door open.

My sister has had a couple of experiences in that room as well. One of her stuffed animals rolled over by itself next to her. It creeped her out. Also, she had a dark figure bend over her. It was not a room we were comfortable staying in. Now, is this activity caused by the desecration of the grave plot by our neighbors? I don't know.

Some people say animals don't have souls, but I don't believe that to be true. I believe animals have souls and can love just like people. We had an old tom cat. His name was Frisky. He looked just like the cat on the old Frisky's commercial. He would go wandering for months at a time and my sisters and I would fantasize it was him on the commercials. We would wait for a while and we'd think Frisky wasn't coming back and we'd get a new cat. Not long after we would get that new cat, Frisky would come home. When I was a teenager,  Frisky stayed gone for a long time. He came back beaten up. Scratches, patchy places where fur was torn out, and a torn ear. Not knowing any better at the time, my mom gave him some aspirin. We're not sure whether or not it was his injuries or the aspirin, but Frisky died. He didn't leave right away. I was in my room, (the room with the eyes) sitting on my bed, and I felt something  jump on my bed and walk around. I knew it was Frisky. This happened several times. My mom would hear a meow at the back door, and there would be nothing there. He stayed around for a couple of months, and then he crossed over the rainbow bridge. We never heard from him again.

Creepy house near my in-laws. I'm sure it's probably haunted.

When my grandmother passed away, I was nervous about going to the funeral. My mother didn't want my sisters and I to go to my grandfather's funeral. We were young and my mother didn't think we could handle it. My grandfather had lost his leg in World War II and had a prosthetic leg. He never wore it and after he died my grandmother never got rid of it. My grandmother had two twin beds in her room and one of my sisters or I had to sleep in that room with her. We hated it because that leg was in the closet. We were afraid it would come and chase us around the house. It never did, thank God. It didn't stop us of from being afraid of it even as adults. 

When my grandmother died, I was getting ready for the funeral in that room. I was real nervous and sad. I had refused to go to the viewing.  I didn't want to see my grandmother dead in her coffin. While I was getting dressed, I saw a figure out of the corner of my eye. It was a white mist and I felt a sense peace come over me. I finished getting dressed and was fine for the funeral. She had an open casket and that didn't even bother me. Was that mist my grandmother coming to tell me everything was okay? Or maybe an angel watching over me. I don't know.

Kennesaw Mountain shortly after Civil War

Before I got married, my friend Lori and I would go to a club in Kennesaw, GA to see one of our favorite bands. She knew the band members. Her husband used to play bass guitar with some of them before he passed away from cancer. To get home, we would take a road that cut through Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park. There was something in those woods. You could feel it. It was a weird, uncomfortable energy. It made you want to get out of that area as soon as possible. We felt as though we were being watched as we drove through the park. Lori swore she saw a soldier in the road. I didn't see anything, for which I was grateful. because I probably would have wrecked my car. We didn't drink, so our senses weren't impaired.  Do the soldiers that fought that battle wander the woods at night? Are they reliving the battle? Who knows. All I know is I don't like that road at night.

Finally, my most recent occurrence happened shortly after I got married. My husband's uncle was very ill. We were basically waiting for his mom to call us and tell us he had passed away. One night, I woke up and looked out our window. Outside, near the cedar tree stood a figure in white. The next morning I got a call from his mother to say his uncle had passed away. To this day, I firmly believe that was an angel outside our house watching over us.

Those are my stories of the paranormal. They may not be very scary, but they are interesting occurrences in my life. They are inspiration for my stories. I am looking forward to getting to know G.W. Sanders, my new character, in my upcoming series.

I hope you enjoyed reading these tidbits and I hope you and your family have a safe and happy Halloween.

The Nomad Writer Finds a Home

(Kayelle, this is for you)

Yes, Loki, I should be writing. But where? Where is your writing space? I'm still working on mine. You would think I would have everything already setup, but nope. I've tried. I feel like a nomad in my own house. 

First, I decided to use the guest room for my "office." There is not enough room for a desk, so I bought a tray table for my laptop and tried to write while sitting on the bed. That didn't work. The summers are very uncomfortable on the second floor of my house. It can get to 80 degrees before the air turns on. We stay downstairs most of the time. Cooling a home in Georgia during the summer can be a pain. 

I couldn't seem to find my "groove" while sitting on the bed trying to write. The cats would jump on me wanting attention. Closing the door didn't help. They would scratch on it until I let them in. Then jump on the bed meowing at me, wanting more attention. Good grief! The funny thing is, when I told my children that I needed to work and don't call me unless someone was hurt, bleeding, or dead, they listened. My husband on the other hand.....(I love you honey!) The guest room was out.

From Wikimedia Commons

I thought about the basement. It is cool in the summer. Koko, our Himalayan, loves the basement. I didn't think he would bother me. O.C., short for Oatmeal Cookie, hates the basement and refuses to go there.  But I have two problems. Number one - it's not a finished basement. Number two - spiders (This probably should be the one and only). Yes, I said spiders. I hate spiders. My mother would always feel the need to show me the big web with that big spider right smack-dab in the middle of it. I'd jump, she'd laugh. I'd roll my eyes and walk away. Looking up spider pictures for this post freaked me out. Once, I was working in my basement and a spider crawled out from underneath a box. It was big. It was black. It had red spots. Spider - 1 Lisa - 0. I was done for the day. What if a spider crawled on my laptop while I was working? EEEEEKKKK! Not no, but hell no!

So now, I'm set up in my den. It used to be the dining room, but whoever designed this house must not have had a dining room table. I have put a small desk against the wall between the windows. I can close the door to the kitchen. I've moved some stuff around to create a more open space. I have a white board on the wall to help work out my plot problems. It's all good. I still need to do a little de-cluttering, but I can write here. I like it here. I can look out the window. Set up my speakers to listen to music if I choose. I don't have to untangle myself to get to the bathroom, or deal with spiders. I'm good here.

This is my area. Nothing fancy. The cats have played with the blinds way too often and I have to stop Koko from walking on my laptop. Sixteen pounds of cat is not good for it. But it's my space. And I like it a lot. 

So what does your space look like? What things do you have to have for a comfy cozy writing space? What makes it yours? 

Share your space and Happy Writing!