Goodreads asked Sherry Rentschler:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Sherry Rentschler When I was about 14 or 15, I was at my grandmother's house in the mountains of West Virginia. This was back in 1968/69. There were some very old houses that were empty, some of them vacant for a long time but not in disrepair. My summer gal pal and I snuck into one of those houses. It was elegant with rich wood flooring, wood paneling and old time light fixtures as if it still had gas lighting. We wandered around the house and were about to climb these gorgeous stairs when we heard a noise. When we turned around we saw something that could only be a ghost. Naturally we ran back the way we came in, down the back porch and out to the street. We so wanted to go back in but couldn't bring ourselves to do it. My friend's mom told her later that the house was empty because the last owner was found dead inside and no one knew why. It wasn't suicide. To this day I would like to know more about that house and who or what it was that we saw. My friend died when she was 16 and I was 17. I thought maybe we were cursed but I'm 63 now and still here.

flag