Blog Archives
FEATURED GUEST ON THE GHOSTMAN & DEMON HUNTER SHOW MARCH 13!
So close to the Ides of March, is it really a good idea for me to be hanging around with those nutballs on The G&D Show? Time will tell! I had a blast in December, and now I’ll be the featured guest on the show Sunday, March 13, at 9:30 pm EST, discussing, of course, ghost stories and ghosts in Disney World. You’ll be able to listen live and get on the chatroom (no registration required) at this link: http://www.ghostanddemon.com/content/audio
Can’t listen in? I’ll be posting the episode here on my website and provide a link to the archived show once it’s up.
YES, CYNTHIA, THERE IS AN AFTERLIFE
Cyn arrives! I picked her up at Bradley Airport, and here we're toasting to a great week! July 13, 2010.
A friend and fellow writer Cynthia Wilson passed away in December.
To say that we were close would be an understatement; in a sense, I lost not just a friend, but a sister. We shared so many interests and passions that we were instantly drawn to each other: we were both witches. We were both writers. We both loved New Orleans jazz (and you can’t imagine how much time we burnt up the phone lines over every tiny development in HBO’s Tremé—I don’t know how I’m going to get through Season 2 without her!). We both loved good ghost stories, in print and in film. And we both spent a lot of time researching and discussing the paranormal—always wondering if there really was an afterlife. When I got the news of Cyn’s passing, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was like my soul had separated from my body, like I was looking down at myself. I had always thought I knew what heartbreak felt like until that moment.
I called Melissa, whom Cyn had met when she was up visiting us this past summer. Melissa had talked to Cyn just two days before she’d passed away, and Melissa said she “said something very strange to me. She said, ‘if I die, I will find a way to be in touch with you and Krissi. I will give you proof of the afterlife.’”
If there’s anyone in the world that would find a way to do it, it would be Cyn.
At first, what she’d said weighed on me. But then I got distracted. People were posting on her Facebook page and addressing her in the present tense. Her blog was still there for me to go back and read. There were e-mails she’d sent me I hadn’t opened yet. And there were photos and videos of her visit that I hadn’t had time to sit down and look at or watch.
She was proving to me there was an afterlife—in a technological sense.
A person can, nowadays, continue to live forever in social media, photos, videos. We are incredibly lucky. I think back to the Victorian era, when photography was young and expensive, and so few families had any photos of their loved ones, any photos of their everyday lives. In fact, so few families could afford it that when the person died the entire family would stand around and pose with the corpse, just so they’d have a visual record that person existed. We are blessed today that we do not ever have to recall a person that way. We can go back and read that person’s blog or post things on their Facebook pages. We have photos of us alive and well. And we have videos. We can pop that disc into our TV or that card into our computers and there that person is, alive and well, like she isn’t gone.
It isn’t that these things can replace this person; the person’s absence has created an enormous hole in our lives that can’t possibly be permanently filled by a bunch of Facebook posts and photos. But for a few moments, the hole can be temporarily filled. All we really have to do is dream; all we really have to do is pull out the old photos of something fun we did together, or retell a great story about some crazy adventure we had with that person, or replay a video.
There are so many things Cyn did not get to finish, and so many things she’ll never get to do. But in the last year of her life, there were things she did get to do that she’d never done before. She came up to visit me in July, and she spent her days, while I was at work, whipping up some wonderful southern cuisine. She loved to cook, and she especially loved to cook for large groups of people. She had the time of her life in my kitchen cooking for all my friends with the New Orleans Jazz blasting from the stereo. And she got to go to New York City, someplace she’d always wanted to go and had never been. She was like a kid in a candy store. And since I spend a lot of time in New York and have gotten blasé about it, how refreshing it was to see the city through a child’s eyes.
So, yes, Cynthia, there is an afterlife. There is one where you are, and there is one here. You will live on for as long as I hold you in my heart, and as long as I share evidence of your existence with others.
And so, here is Cynthia Wilson in living color. Enjoy.
Cyn is cookin' up her awesome Jambalaya. July 14, 2010.
Video: Cyn talks Hot Sauce with Charles.
Video: Cyn confesses she wants to be locked in my local Shop Rite.
Video: Cyn discusses the state of bread in TexArcana.
Video: Cyn shares a funny story about TK, his friend, and Wonder Bread.
Video: “Anything good is five hours from me…”
Video: Cyn talks with Julia Copeland, our buddy from Goddard.
Video: Cyn dreams about moving to Connecticut and shows off her favorite cookbook.
Video: Cyn discusses her favorite cookbook in detail.
Cyn listens in as Nathan interviews Mick Doyle, of East Coast Paranormal Investigations in Dublin, Ireland, for The Ghostman & Demon Hunter Show via SKYPE.
Video: Nathan interviews Mick Doyle while Cyn listens in.
In New York City, July 15, 2010: Cyn is THRILLED for her first Subway ride. You would have thought we were in Walt Disney World.
We took Cyn to the Carnegie Deli. Here she celebrates with a beer.
Cyn takes a bite of her pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli. She couldn't believe how enormous it was and insisted we take this picture to prove she could barely get her mouth around it (and, she said, "I always thought I had a big mouth. This just might prove me wrong!")
We were all hypnotized by this stupid giant billboard in Times Square. If you look to the lower left of the picture you'll see us.
There were NYPD officers in Times Square--just for the purpose of having their photos taken with tourists. Cynthia could not believe this. She took pictures of them so she could "prove to people back home that up in the North they have police officers whose whole job it is to just be nice." It was amusing. She didn't, curiously, want her photo taken WITH them.
I took Cyn to Newport, RI. Here we are clowning around in front of the building that was used as the house for the original Dark Shadows TV series -- it's now a dorm for Salve Regina. Photo courtesy Melissa Martin Ellis. July 17, 2010.
We walked into one of the Cliffwalk Mansions that was open. Cyn fell in love with this fireplace and wanted her photo taken with it.
Melissa and I take Cyn to experience a RI classic: Del's Lemonade.
July 18, 2010: Cyn made southern specialties for all of us -- Rob and Jen Mayette were coming over for dinner, and because Rob and Jen love NOLA food, well, Cyn just had to be all over that one. Here, we've set the table.
We're ready to sit down and eat! There was New Orleans Jazz blasting from the stereo.
Cyn brought some 'shine from Ireland. Here, she gets us all to try it. Rob pours the shots.
Rob does a shot!
Jen does a shot!
Cynthia, Rob, and me. Cyn was very excited to meet Rob--the editor of Read Short Fiction (which I work on, too). We published her story "Sunshine and Stones" as our March, 2010 feature. You can read that story, if you like, here: http://www.readshortfiction.com/2010/03/sunshine-and-stones-by-cynthia-wilson/
QUIET DAY AT HOME? LISTEN TO HAUNTED DISNEY TALES ON DARKNESS RADIO HERE!
Recently I had the pleasure of discussing Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Disney ghosts and legends, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole and more on The Darkness on the Edge of Town paranormal radio show! The episode’s hosts were Tim Dennis and Mallie Fox. I had a really great time, and their questions were nothing like I expected. It was fun!
If you’d like to give a listen, you can do it two ways. If you’d like to check it out and, in addition, have access to their pretty awesome past episodes that feature every paranormal topic you can imagine and more, visit the Darkness Radio archives on KTLK radio and scroll down to the 12/16 Haunted Disneyland show; you can click on ‘listen’ or download the MP3:
http://www.ktlkfm.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=darknessradio.xml
If you just want to hear the show that I was on, you can listen right from this post by clicking here:
Enjoy!
WRITERLY NOTES: MY INTERVIEW IN PARANORMAL, EH?
I was recently featured in the Canadian Facebook Group’s Paranormal, Eh? Interview series—Terry Konig interviews a paranormal celebrity or two every couple of weeks. In my interview, I discuss ghost stories (of course), what my fave paranormal shows are, and much more—including some writerly advice for those wanted to get published. You can join their group on FB and check it out here; once he gets a few more people after me, I’ll post the entire interview where everyone can read it for those of you who don’t wish to join his group. Here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=112364522135317&topic=707
WHY GHOST STORIES GRAB US—AND MORE—ON C.L. ROSS’ BLOG
Passionate about the paranormal? You can read about Ross Castle’s recent encounters, reality TV’s pitfalls, ghost stories’ grip and investigation’s how-to all in one place thanks to C.L. Ross, author of forthcoming paranormal thrillers The Llewelyn Legacy. She featured the paranormal on her blog for the month of August (and Nathan and I got to contribute)! You can click on each person’s name and it’ll take you right to the post. Enjoy!
This Lead Investigator for Ireland’s East Coast Paranormal Investigations got more than he bargained for while assisting the Killarney Paranormal Society at the 14th-Century Ross Castle. Here, he finally releases the details of his terrifying experiences. Exclusive.
Co-host of The Ghostman & Demon Hunter Show and A&E’s Extreme Paranormal shares how paranormal reality TV works—and why, when investigating, it’s imperative to think originally and go deeper.
Writer of award-winning ghost stories discusses why they’re still one of the most popular forms of entertainment, and why spooky story collections—fiction or non—always fly off the shelves.
The author of The Everything Ghost Hunting Book gives an overview on the state of the paranormal investigative scene—and why she wrote the volume that’s been consistently in Amazon’s top ten sellers in the subject.
This lead investigator for the Killarney Paranormal Society in the South of Ireland reports on her favorite investigation so far–and shows that shaking up your routine just might be a good thing.
COVER ART SNEAK PEEK: SKELETONS IN THE SWIMMIN’ HOLE
I’m pleased to announce that my book of ghost stories, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole—Tales from Haunted Disney World, has at last been slated for a September release date! Melissa Martin Ellis, of Millennial Concepts, finalized the cover art this weekend. Here’s the proof, below. Enjoy!
Watch this blog for release details!
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYTHING GHOST HUNTING!
Melissa Martin Ellis’ book, The Everything Ghost Hunting Book, which features Nathan Schoonover from Extreme Paranormal, hit NUMBER 2 yesterday (6/09/10) at Amazon.com in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult > Ghosts & Haunted Houses!
Congratulations!!
There is a FB page called Talking About The Everything Ghost Hunting Book where fans gather to put in their two cents on ALL kinds of paranormal topics. If you’re interested, just put that in the FB search engine [at the top left of your home or profile page] and you’ll find it. It’s a great place to air your opinions on just about everything.
You can also purchase the book on Amazon here.
Melissa Martin Ellis
Nathan Drake Schoonover
“DEAD LINE” NOW AVAILABLE IN DEATH HEAD GRIN
A couple of slightly off-kilter paranormal investigators may end up paying more than just the phone bill in my short story “Dead Line,” which is now available in Death Head Grin Issue #11, released May 1.
You can read it here.
NO VACANCY
The storm we’re having up here right now is nothing short of AWESOME. The wind is so strong the house creaks, groans, and thumps. Last night I could swear I felt my bed move. This must be, I thought, the type of weather ships sink in.
It’s one of the many magical things about Provincetown in January.
When friends first heard I would be here in the winter, several of them asked me, “wouldn’t you rather be there in the summer?” I’m sure it would be nice in the summer, but a Coastal New England winter does wonders for my work because of the types of stories I write. It is gray. It is windy. Everything has a sodden look to it. And the shrubs and trees are skeletal.
And there is something else.
When I first arrived here, the guy who lives next door noted “this place is a ghost-town in the winter.” The last couple of nights that I’ve had to walk two miles round-trip to events in town, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing this first hand. There are sections of streets where there isn’t even one light on in any of the homes, probably because they are summer places. There are also shops and restaurants that appear to only be open seasonally as well. They are closed down, their outdoor furniture stacked neatly in the corners of hibernating gardens and cobblestone patios.
But of all the shuttered houses and shops, the creepiest ones by far are the seasonal hotels and B&Bs. I passed three of them in a row the other night, and it happened to be on a portion of the street that wasn’t well lit. One building was a white, manicured Victorian, probably majestic and warm in the daylight. In the dark, though, its black windows seemed wickedly intelligent. The furniture stacks on its front porch seemed to mutate into huddled beings. As I passed, the inn’s sign swung slightly in the wind. NO VACANCY.
That, to me, is the most atmospheric part of these closed places; I’ve noticed this same phenomenon not only here in town, but on my drive in through Wellfleet and Truro. The owners of these places, instead of putting out CLOSED FOR SEASON signs, put out their NO VACANCY signs. It implies that the empty buildings are indeed not really empty at all. The people move out at the end of summer. And that is when the ghosts, or God knows what else, move in.
I didn’t grow up where there were sidewalks, and I don’t live where there are sidewalks now. I usually love a place where I can walk on a sidewalk. But here, I prefer walking in the street. These temporarily closed businesses are right on top of me. The tangles of dead vines and hedges look like they could reach out and seize me. It’s a bit claustrophobic.
I suppose I should consider myself lucky there’s NO VACANCY.
