How Can a Christian Pastor Write a Ghost Story?

By Rebecca Reilly

I didn’t realize that as a writer of fiction I took a serious career risk when I shared the workings of my imagination for all to see and critique.   It’s not just my story structure, or characters and setting that my friends judged; it’s my mind (and for some my soul) that went under the microscope. I heard condemnations, I mean questions, like, “How can you, as a pastor write a story that delves into the supernatural the way that Haunting Megan does?” and, “How can you teach people about God for your job, and then in your writing expose others to the spiritual darkness of tales of ghosts?”

There was no doubt that some thought I’d cast my theology and my salvation out the window by exploring a genre of fiction that implies a ghostly spiritual realm surrounds and influences us.

My first arrogant reaction was to thumb my nose at my critical Christian brothers and sisters.  They’re taking life too seriously. They’re being too judgmental.  Fiction is supposed to be fun, entertaining escapism that makes a reader think and feel.  It is not intended to be life changing scriptural truth.  

I calmed down and realized that as a pastor, I had to stop, take a step back, and look at what I had written and why I had written it.  As a person of faith and a leader in that community, I understand why people might cringe when something dark and scary comes from my imagination.

Haunting Megan did not begin as a ghost story. At the core, Haunting Megan is about a young girl broken by horrific tragedy, who fights for healing, and whose decisions and character are rooted in the events of her early childhood. Does she see ghosts? Yes. Are the ghosts real, or are they, as her counselor claims, a manifestation of the guilt she feels? That is something the reader must decide.

Do I believe in ghosts?  Maybe.  I believe in a spiritual world that surrounds us and encompasses both good and evil. I believe our spirit lives when our body fails. I believe there is so much more to God than we know, and more to being in His presence after death than we can understand.

Though Haunting Megan is not Christian fiction (it neither mentions nor promotes Christian theology), several themes run through the novel that are consistent with my faith. First, we are all broken people, and that brokenness and deep hurt may not be visible to their closest friends.  Second, relationships matter and even shattered relationships can be restored. Third, our past helps to form us, but it does not define us. Finally and most importantly, love has power to heal.

So why should you read Haunting Megan (whether you are a person of faith or not)?  Haunting Megan is a fun, entertaining, and yes—a spooky read. At the heart, that’s what good fiction should be.

Haunting Megan is available at:

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Rebecca Reilly is a pastor and has worked in ministry for over thirty years. A passionate reader and writer, Rebecca took on four wildly different genres for her first five books – a murder mystery at sea (Into Dark Waters), a humorous look at sex and marriage (Diary of a Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey to Spice Up My Marriage), a children’s chapter book on bullying and self-esteem (The Geek Club under the name Becky Reilly), and two picture books (Jammers and His Flying Bed Adventure and Heart of a Kitty). She returned to the mystery/romantic suspense genre for her sixth book (Haunting Megan), and is currently working on a non-fiction manuscript, Christian Sex and Marriage—It’s Complicated!  Visit Rebecca’s Amazon Author Page at http://bit.ly/RReillyAmazonAuthor, and follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/RebeccaLynnReilly), Twitter (twitter.com/RebeccaReillyL), Goodreads, and at www.rebeccareilly.net.
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Haunting Megan

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Diary of A Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey To Spice Up My Marriage

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