Have you ever had a ghostly encounter? Tell me about it and be eligible to win a Kindle edition of one of the books in The Finger Lakes Mysteries.
Who doesn’t love a ghost story on a dark October night when Halloween is near? The chills up your spine at every creaky noise? The blanket up around your face as you turn the page to the next scary scene? And what if some of those stories are true?
How ghosts inspired my books
The Finger Lakes Mysteries ghost mysteries were inspired by both true stories and legends.
Helen Cavanaugh, the ghost in The Cavanaugh House, was inspired during a wine tasting at Belhurst Castle, now a B&B in upstate New York. My husband, Rich, told the woman serving us wine that I was going to set my upcoming mystery in the Finger Lakes region.
She said, “Set it here at Belhurst. It’s haunted.”
My eyes grew wide, and I leaned forward. “Haunted? Tell me more.” She told me the story and I bought the book The Belhurst Story written by David Sakmyster. On an overnight stay, David’s wife saw the ghost of Isabella.
The Rochester, NY legend of the White Lady also inspired my ghosts. When I was a teen, Durand Eastman Park on Lake Ontario was the popular spot to watch the “submarine races.” There’s nothing better than the idea of a ghost appearing in your windshield to encourage holding on to each other. And that’s where the White Lady lived. And we were terrified by her.
Timmy, the ghost in the third book of The Finger Lakes Mysteries, started to haunt me after a ghost tour in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. I spent a week there researching Love’s Courage, book three in the historical romance series, The Brentwood Saga.
While I gathered copious notes for my American historical romance, I also brought home the memory of standing outside the Peyton Randolph House during a ghost tour on a dark night. By lantern light, the actor interpreter related the story of the Randolph House hauntings. For all my bravado in writing ghosts into my story, during his presentation, I didn’t look at the windows of the Randolph House for fear of actually seeing a ghostly face in the window.
How ghosts visited my family
My own family has stories of encounters with those who have passed. My sister, Judy, saw my father standing at the foot of the stairs after he died. My mom and several nieces tell of sitting in the living room and hearing Dad in the bedroom above them. He dropped his shoeson the floor, first one, then the other, as he always did, when he took them off to go to bed. Mom would just look at the ceiling and say, “Good night, Frank.”
Once I had an encounter with Mom three months after she died. For a couple of weeks, I had been searching for permission slips from my students and their parents so I could use their writing in my master’s thesis. I was certain I had filed them with all my other paperwork, but they were not there. Panic set in because I needed them for approval to go forward with my research and I was meeting with my advisor in a week.
I stood in the middle of my room and said, “Mom, I’ve prayed to St. Anthony, patron saint of lost items. He didn’t help me. I prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of impossible tasks. He didn’t help me. Please, Mom, can you help me find those permission slips?”
I felt a gentle touch on my shoulders that nudged me to turn around. Then a little push toward my desk. On the far corner of my desk sat an oversized National Geographic book that Mom had given the kids for Christmas a few years earlier. WhenI opened the cover and there sat all the permissions slips. I never would have put them there.
Thanks, Mom.
Have you ever had a ghostly encounter? Tell me about it in the comments and you’ll be eligible to win a Kindle copy of one of The Finger Lakes mysteries.
Got a ghost story? Bring it. I’ll keep the blanket up around my face.
I have more experiences than I can write about. I started having a spirit that sat on my bed when I was a child. She would pat my face and smooth my hair. I always looked forward to her telling me goodnight. As I grew older, I encountered a dark spirit the size of a small dog, we believed it to be a shapeshifter. It would follow me up and down the stairs of a rental property. It was terrifying. When my dad passed away suddenly, he let us know he was an unhappy soul. He died at the age of 51. Mom decorated the hallway with all of this memorabilia. He wouldn’t have liked it. One night shortly after he passed away, all of us kids stayed up with mom. She was experiencing terrible insomnia and nightmares when she did sleep. The telephone rang and she said it was dad. He told her to take the “s**t off the hallway hall. Then he hung up on her. While we waited for her to come back, all of the stuff hanging just dropped off of the wall in its upright position. Nothing fell over. We came running. Mom was standing at the end of the hall holding the phone. She dropped like a sack of potatoes. Since then I have had many experiences with ghosts and or spirits. I read Tarot cards and always carry my crystals! I don’t question the “other side.” I loved The Cavanaugh House. I will have to see if I have read the others.
Wow! Deb, you have had some fascinating experiences! Karen White’s character Melanie gets phone calls from her deceased grandmother in the Tradd Street Series. Thanks for sharing. Your stories have the blanket right up against my face LOL I’ve got you entered in the contest.