Paranormal October: Halloween & Death and Days of Passing with Ingrid Hall

Paranormal October continues! 

Today I welcome to the blog writer Ingrid Hall. Today Ingrid shares with us some thoughts about the relationship between Halloween and death. What do you think? And please be sure to check out the free anthology (link below) and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway (link after the bio). 

Our Day of Passing

Ingrid Hall

In the same way that consumerism has taken over Christmas Day and millions of people now associate it with the giving and receiving of presents rather than the birth of Jesus Christ, Halloween, rather than just being an opportunity to don a silly mask, dress up in an outlandish costume and scare your neighbors into giving you loads of candy actually has a darker meaning. For All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day in which the dead are honored was once the night when people stuck two fingers up at death by ridiculing it.

Death has both scared and fascinated people in equal measure since the beginning of time.  Whether it scares you or fascinates you, it is not something that you can escape. Many face their fear of death  with with a gallows style sense of humor. Perhaps that it one way people wrap their heads around their own mortality.  I used to be terrified of dying until a near-death experience in my mid-twenties changed all that! The experience would later be the inspiration for my novella The Tunnel Betwixt… and it was also the main reason I was happy to agree to compile and edit Our Day of Passing – An Anthology of Short Stories, Poems and Essays with my co-conspirator Franco Esposito.

The Anthology, which includes work by an eclectic bunch of over thirty international authors and poets, tackles the subject of death and dying head on.  At times macabre, at times uplifting, one thing is certain it is guaranteed to get people thinking and talking about the subject.

Some people believe in ghosts. Some people do not. Others believe in God and Heaven, whereas for others death is quite literally the final curtain. Whatever your beliefs and no matter how comfortable (or uncomfortable) the prospect of your own mortality makes you feel, I hope that you will find something in this collection to make you sit up and think.

Our Day of Passing – An Anthology of Short Stories, Poems and Essays is PERMANENTLY free to download from Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/563817

Death is a topic that has the ability to stimulate the most creative and thought-provoking written pieces. Testament to this is Our Day of Passing which is formed from an eclectic mix of short stories, poems, fictions and essays. With contributions from more than 30 talented writers across the globe, this anthology provides a fascinating interpretation of an event that comes to us all...eventually.

The following authors and poets have all contributed their work to Our Day of Passing: Ingrid Hall, Franco Esposito, Dennis Higgins, Virginia Wright, Candida Spillard, Valeri Beers,Dada Vedaprajinananda, Strider Marcus Jones, Adam E. Morrison, Allyson Lima, D. B. Mauldin, David A. Slater, David King,  Dee Thompson, Don Illich, Edward Meiman, Eileen Hugo, Emily Olson, Joan McNerney, J.S. Little, Kin Asdi, Madison Meadows, Malobi Sinha, Marianne Szlyk, Mark Aspa, Mark David McClure, Megan Caito, Michael Brookes, Michael Burke, Pijush Kanti Deb, Prince Adewale Oreshade, Rafeeq O. McGiveron, Robin Reiss, Sasha Kasoff, Stephanie Buosi,  and Talia Haven.

BCDE

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A Ghostly Encounter at the Nootklatch Lodge by Leigh Shearin

Can you believe it's October already? The time of pumpkins and chilly nights. Of cider and costumes and ghost stories. It also happens to be my favorite month of the year.

This year I've invited authors to share their ghostly stories with us on my blog. When I sent the invite, I had no idea I'd have such an overwhelming response! And oh, the great stories that are pouring in. You're in for a treat this month!

Today I welcome author Leigh Shearin to the blog. She has a wonderful true story of her  ghostly encounter. And be sure to check out Leigh's most recent release, John Bloom and the Victory Garden.

"The Lodger"

by Leigh Shearin

Room #5 at the Nootklatch Lodge is haunted.

Awake at 2 am, despite a comfortable, clean room, I cursed menopause for the 689th time, and flipped over in a vain attempt to capture some Zs.

...and heard footsteps.

At first, I though my husband had slipped out of the massive king-sized bed and gone to the nearby bathroom. Made of some low-jiggle space-age foam, the bed was also so large, he would have had to telephone to let me know he was getting up. I turned my face over to look at the place he'd occupied, only to find him still wrapped in sheets.

It was then that my hackles rose.

Who's footsteps was I hearing? Ribbing myself, I started a mental checklist of possible non-paranormal sources for the noises I was hearing. We were in a first floor room; surely someone above us was just moving around, causing the floor to creak. The part of the Lodge we were staying in is constructed of enormous logs, so it made sense that some shifting and squeaking would happen. The sound wasn't really what I associate with creaky boards. It was more of a shuffle.

More desperate to sleep than I was to commune with the afterworld, I put the notion of wandering spirits out of my mind and began to doze off.

...and heard more footsteps.

Annoyed now, more than scared, I flipped over, slammed my arms down on the mattress and blew out an exasperated sigh.

"Cut it out, will you?" I said, feeling only mildly foolish for talking to an empty room. "I'm trying to sleep here. Can you please go away for a while and come back later?" I tried to be polite. I didn't want to irritate the specter, after all.

Nothing.

Growling with exasperation, I flopped down on the pillow and rolled away from the offending emptiness. Ridiculous, I scolded myself. Get to sleep. You've got a long day of driving tomorrow and if you...

    A push of energy stopped my self-lecture in it's tracks.

    That's the only way I can describe it. Almost a breeze, the sensation manifested itself between the nightstand and my head. Gooseflesh accompanied my now pounding heart as my eyes flew open, straining to pierce the darkness, trying to identify the cause of the feeling.

    Nothing.

I wouldn't say I was afraid. Alarmed, maybe, but fear wasn't a part of my emotions. Acquiescing to the presence,  and working to control my heart, which was going like a trip-hammer, I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Okay." I whispered, "I hear you. I sense and recognize you. I know I'm not dreaming. You're welcome to stay, but can you please settle down and stop making noise so I can sleep? I'm really tired."

I imagined the phantom moving away, toward the window at the back of the room. Utterly undone, it took me an hour to start feeling drowsy. Eventually, I fell soundly asleep and woke with no immediate memory of the experience. Later that day, on the drive home, I had a vivid flashback, but hesitated to relate the story to my just-the-facts-ma'am, hard-driving husband. Still, I wanted his take.

"Our hotel room was haunted." I blurted. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. Braced for ridicule, I grinned over at Jeff, who was tensely navigating construction traffic.

"Yes," he said. "I know. I thought I heard something. Footsteps, wasn't it?"

Settling back in my seat with a gasp, I realized it was true. I wasn't crazy, hallucinating, or unconsciously grinding out ghost stories to lull myself to dreamland. Room #5 at the Nootklatch Lodge was haunted.

I had felt it with my own two eyes.

Leigh Shearin, Author

Leigh Shearin is farmer, baker, teacher, and lifelong dreamer.

Leigh earned a B.A. degree in Studio Art at Maryville College and worked as a graphic artist before earning an ASS degree in Culinary Art.  She has worked as a chef, baker and culinary arts instructor.  Most recently, she and her husband bought rural land and are developing Winterrest, a small farm in central New York.  Through all this, Leigh wrote stories and poems…some published; some tucked away.  

She is happiest living off the land and developed a passion for local and sustainable farms, farmers and practices, spending hours researching farming and learning by trial and error.  She is an avid supporter of Farm-to-Fork and “locavore” restaurants and plans to supply these restaurants with her own farm’s products soon.

Leigh writes fiction stories for middle-grade readers. Along with illustrator Kate Shearin, Leigh spins tales of self-sufficiency and independence, along with gentle agriculture education. Since historical fiction is also a lifetime interest, Leigh uses true stories of the past to bring inspiration and joy to modern-day children.

Leigh lives with her husband and children in rural central NY.  You can check out Leigh’s blog at www.winterrestfarm.weebly.com, www.LeighShearin.weebly.com, www.farmeatlove.blogspot.com

Social media:

www.leighshearin.weebly.com

Twitter: @LeighShearin

FB: Leigh Shearin, Writer

Instagram: Winterrestfarm

Check out Leigh's book here: http://goo.gl/3tHqej

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Calling All Writers! An Invitation to Guest Post in October

I know. It's still July and months away from the season of All Hallow's Eve. But it's never too early to think of ways to celebrate my favorite time of year.

I was watching "Ghost Hunters" with my daughter the other day. My mind was wandering, as it often does, to all things writing and blogging (and writing ;-), and I had an idea. 

Why not devote my blog for the entire month of October to ghost stories? 

I have only a few ghost stories of my own and not nearly enough to fill a whole month. That's where you come in.

Calling all writers!

Do you have a story of a personal encounter with the paranormal? Or a time you were scared witless? A particularly spooky Halloween? Have you written a book, short story or poem about the macabre? Or would you like to share your love of a story written by someone else that fits with the spooky season?

If so, I invite you to write a blog post about it! Anything goes as long as it fits the theme of Halloween. 

My blog space in October (every Tues, Wed and Thurs) will be devoted to guest writers. Would you like to be one of them?

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A HORROR AUTHOR! I'm not. It doesn't matter what genre you write, all are welcome.*

If you have a post that fits the theme, I'd love to host you. Here are the details:

1. A guest post between 250-500 words with at least one photo or illustration (and you must have the rights to use said photo or illustration).

2. Your social media links and website link (and email if you'd like to share that on the blog).

3. If you'd like to promote a book, links to where readers can find your book (if it's available on Amazon, I will also put on an affiliate link). If you're promoting a book, a BRIEF description (i.e. one or two sentences).

4. IMPORTANT - an author photo and bio.

5. Last but not least, let's add a massive giveaway for readers. If you have a back list book that you'd like to add to the giveaway, let me know and send me a Smashwords coupon code (for a free copy) for the book when you send your materials. The grand prize winner of the October giveaway will receive all the coupons for all the books donated.*

*PLEASE NOTE that my blog is for ages 13 and up, so if you write erotica, I'm sorry but I won't be able to include your book in the giveaway. You can still write a post and promote your work so long as the post and any art/photos/covers are appropriate for all ages.

This is a great opportunity to cross-promote for all the authors participating.

I must receive all materials for your post AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE your scheduled time. This is very important as I have several travel dates in October so will need to have materials well in advance of posting date to ensure that they are up on time. 

Last caveat, I reserve the right not to post a submission if it does not meet the requirements or is, in my sole opinion, not of the calibre of post that I typically accept. If I get your submission and feel that it needs work AND you've sent it in a timely manner, I'll let you know that I can't post it as is and give you an opportunity to revise. ;-)

So what are you waiting for? Sign up Here!

P.S. If you think of a cool name for the month-long event, let me know :-)