Horror Aficionados discussion
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
>
November 2019 Group Read of MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD with 25 Guest Authors
To answer the ever seen a ghost question, no... but my daughter has. My brother passed away in 2010. Later that year, my wife went into my daughter's room (my daughter was 3, almost 4) my wife said Ruby had been talking to someone. When my wife asked who she'd been talking to, Ruby said, "Uncle Greg. He was just sitting there in his red sweatshirt." My brother died wearing a red sweatshirt. My wife asked her what he said. Ruby said, "he said everything is going to be okay. "
When my wife told me the story later in the day, I believed it 100%.
Mod
My brother passed away in 2010. Later that year, my wife went into my daughter's room (my daughter was 3, almost 4) my wife sai..."
THAT made a shiver go down my arm, Glenn!
The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"Not for lack of trying! When I was just starting out as an author 20 years ago, there was a group of writers who put on Twilight Tales in Chicago -- they met weekly in the Red Lion Pub to do live readings (a great way to test out and hone your stories, btw). The Red Lion was long reputed to be haunted. An ancient building across from the old Biograph Theater, they used to do ghost tours there. Supposedly there were cold spots on the stairs and in the women's bathroom upstairs. I don't know about the bathroom, but I went up and down those stairs a million times, and never felt the chill of spirits. The Red Lion is gone now, but I've been to other haunted places since...
Back in 2002, I drove P.D. Cacek out to Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago and Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in the south burbs -- where I grew up, because she was sensitive to ghosts and such. And those are two of the most notorious haunted places in this area. She could feel energy there. I... sadly... could not, though I've been there a few times since. I have based two short stories and a novel in Bachelor's Grove however... because it is a sad, forlorn place. Maybe the ghosts there do ultimately call to me....
Mod
Not for lack of trying! When I was just starting out as an author 20 years ago, the..."
Isn’t Bachelor’s Grove where your story, The House By The Cemetery took place?
Kenneth wrote: "Isn’t Bachelor’s Grove where your story, The House By The Cemetery took place? "Yes! I heard about Bachelors Grove a lot as a kid, growing up in the area, and then wrote a newspaper feature on "haunted places" in my first newspaper job -- which was the first time I actually physically went there. That visit inspired a story called "Remember Me, My Husband" that appeared in TERMINAL FRIGHTS magazine and many years later, for the CEMETERY RIOTS anthology, I wrote another one set there called "Driving Her Home." And after I finished that one, I thought... "you know, you could do a whole novel set in this creepy location..." So... a couple years later, I did!
The ghost question - my wife claims her parents' house is haunted. I spent a night there once, before we were married, and I did hear some things, but nothing that made me think, "Yes, this house is haunted." A lot of creaks on the steps and noises down the hall that sounded like footsteps. There was no one else in the house with us.
Mod
Yes! I heard about Bachelors Grove a lot as a kid, growing up in the area, and then wrote a newspap..."
I loved THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. For any of you that haven’t had the pleasure, you need to grab yourself a copy pronto!
I’ll have to check out those other stories.
Mod
Old houses can mess with you, especially if you’re not used to all the moans and groans.
Mod
When I was a teenager, I used to be a stomach sleeper. One night, I was dead asleep when all of a sudden my eyes popped open. I lied there blinking in the dark wondering why the hell I was awake. This was unusual because I never woke up in the middle of the night. I then noticed that the temperature of the room seemed to drop noticeably. Not meat locker temps like you see in the movies, but a definite chill in the summer air. Suddenly, I had this strange feeling come over me that someone was at the foot of my bed. I slowly turned my head and there was some shadowy outline. My heart was trip hammering in my chest as I squeezed my eyes as tight as I could get them. Not long went by before the room felt warm again, but I was too scared to open my eyes. I don’t know how much time elapsed. It felt like an eternity, but I finally mustered up the courage to open my eyes. When I did, there was nothing there. Everything was normal. I eventually fell asleep and when I woke in the morning, I had forgotten the whole incident. I went down stairs to find my mom sitting next to the phone crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that my great-grandmother, who I had never met before, had passed away in the night.
Kenneth wrote: "I might as well throw my only ghost story experience in the ring..."That is a fun story. I have had dreams of ghost, my father after he died, and one about my older sister who never was because my mother lost her in a miscarriage. In the dream, she was a dried little raisin of a thing who was very lonely because she had not been able to participate in the love of her family--we had not noticed her. I've seen my beloved but deceased pets in my peripheral vision. I tend to chalk all that up to fancy and wishful thinking.
Glenn wrote: "To answer the ever seen a ghost question, no... but my daughter has."My son had a similar experience shortly after my father-in-law passed. He said he kept seeing a ghost in a red sweatshirt. Then one night, I woke up prematurely and saw someone in a red sweatshirt walk into his bedroom.
We used to sing to our kids while sitting on the top step to the upstairs. One night, Heather was singing to the kids and she heard footsteps come up behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder. She said she felt as though it was her dad. And that was the end of it.
Also, right before my dad passed, he kept talking about all these people he saw standing in the doorway to his room, telling him to come with them. Over and over. Then again, he also said Heather looked plaid, so he might have been seeing things. Or, he maybe he wasn't imagining some of that.
Alan wrote: "Shannon wrote: "I was inspired by the actual Devil's Dip that my friends and I used to drive down..."I just finished "Devil's Dip." Very creepy tale. Well done!"
I just finished it myself. Great start to the book - very vivid imagery. I'm glad I didn't read it in bed :)
Mod
Kelli wrote: "Char wrote: "Kelli wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "Question for all of the authors:The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"
I have..."
Ok, thank you!
Glenn wrote: "To answer the ever seen a ghost question, no... but my daughter has. My brother passed away in 2010. Later that year, my wife went into my daughter's room (my daughter was 3, almost 4) my wife sai..."
Damn, Glenn. That's creepy, but in a GOOD way.
Kenneth wrote: "Question for all of the authors:The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"
Not sure if it's a ghost story, but when I woke up from a two-month-long coma when I was seventeen (car accident) and was in and out of consciousness, I kept seeing people outside my hospital window, filing by and staring in at me. I didn't recognize any of them, and they didn't seem ominous or scary. They seemed curious, maybe even eager to make eye contact with me. When I told my family and the nurse what I was seeing, they said that was impossible, we were on the third or fourth floor (can't remember which), no one was out there. They said I was hallucinating because of the brain bleed, or the morphine. I don't know. It's extremely possible. Maybe I was. But the experience felt real to me. Back then, I wondered if maybe I'd left my body and had been with those people for two months, and they were coming to watch me go back into my body, to say goodbye, to see if I'd remember them. I don't know what I believe now, but my memory of the experience is very vivid, hallucination or not.
I just started Midnight in the Graveyard and am going in reverse, reading Kealan's story, "Portrait," first. Beautifully written, this story of isolation and madness is dark, hypnotic, and almost claustrophobic in its point of view...with a most unique and chilling conclusion. Bravo, Kealan!
Mod
I've heard imprinted memories, assorted forms of ghosts, and demonic entities blamed when hauntings are discussed.
I've always been fascinated by an entity mentioned by such authors as Blackwood and Machen.....elementals. Some sort of ancient pseudo-life force associated with wild, uninhabited areas.
With mankind's uncontrolled expansion across the globe, and stories of "bad places", couldn't a building be erected on a spot already "occupied" by such a force.....and no doubt provoke it to react, no matter how old the building is?
My grandmother once told me a tale of a ghostly experience she had when she was a child (the early 1900s). My great-grandfather was an itinerant farmer and so he and his family never stayed in one place for very long. One frosty November morning, Grandmama and her brother were walking down a dirt road, heading to school, when they approached an abandoned house that was barely visible through a dense thicket. They were nearly past the house when they heard a woman's scream. Grandmama said it was a horrible, blood-curdling shriek; long and high-pitched. After the cry had faded, they heard the distinctive sound of something heavy falling upon floorboards with a hollow clunk. She and her brother were so frightened that they ran back home and fetched their father. My great-grandfather accompanied them back to the house and, leaving them outside, investigated. He found the house unoccupied, but with all the furniture sitting undisturbed, as though the owners had just up and left it. He was crossing the kitchen, heading to the back door, when he spotted a single stick of firewood laying on the floorboards in front of the potbelly stove. He knew that couldn't have made the second sound the children had heard, since it, and the floorboards around it, were covered with a thick coating of dust. He figured his young'uns' imaginations had just ran away with them, until he visited the local feed store a few days later. He mentioned what had happened and those at the store stared at him strangely. It seemed that forty years earlier, the owner of the house had come home late one night, drunk as skunk, and after arguing with his wife, bludgeoned her to death with a stick of firewood. The man had been arrested and sentenced to prison, leaving his poor wife in her grave and their home abandoned. The feed store owner and his patrons swore that on the anniversary of her death, you could hear the woman scream, followed by the clunk of the discarded firewood her husband had used to murder her with.
Mod
Are you kidding? That’s a great story!
Mod
Mod
I loved Devil’s Dip! Great ghost story. I loved Tug O War as well. It seems death & grief has been popping up a lot for me lately. So that one kinda hurt my heart. Wanting to tell a loved one how much you love them one last time. I try to honor my ancestors and the family and friends I’ve lost around this time and they have been on my mind a lot lately.
Jon Recluse wrote: "Question for everyone:I've heard imprinted memories, assorted forms of ghosts, and demonic entities blamed when hauntings are discussed.
I've always been fascinated by an entity mentioned by such..."
This is sort of what I think's happening with so-called "bad places," although I do also think it's possible for one's energy to become locked or trapped in a place, perhaps one of significance to the bearer of said energy,
That's how I tend to think of spirits and the like--trapped energy, unconscious of their constant repetition and reactions to the physical world.
Of course, this is all conjecture on my part. We can't really know until we pass on from this life.
Kenneth wrote: "Chad Lutzke, I felt your story, Tug ‘O War, had one of the most surprising endings in the collection. Can you give us a little background into how this tale came to be?"Sure, Ken! it came from a picture prompt, an illustration that was was probably created in the late 1800s/early 1900s. It showed a group of men sitting around a small table with a crystal ball in its center and a comet-like thing swooping in around them, which I assumed to be a spirit. I stared at the illustration for a bit and came up with the idea.
Initially the story was a period piece less than 500 words in length. A few years later I cleaned it up, added to it, and modernized it for MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD.
I grew up on Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Tales from the Darkside and old horror comics, which all had twist endings, so quite a few of my short stories tend to have them.
Mod
Started this one last night! Devil's Dip was fun and creepy! Great start. :D
Mod
Mod
Latasha wrote: "Euphemia Christie - that was a very good story! I really liked it. 👏🏻"Thank you, Latasha. I really enjoyed writing it!
Mod
I'm so glad you guys are liking "Devil's Dip". Thank you. Its nerve-wracking being included in an anthology with such incredible authors!Chad- "Tug O War" was amazing! You hit that note of dawning dread perfectly that I even said aloud *oh no* as I realized what was happening.
Catherine- Loved "Euphemia Christie". That name alone is creepy! (No offense to any Euphemia's out there.) It was so perfectly moody that I swear to you I smelled something burning as I read, and the ending was perfect.
Chad wrote: "it came from a picture prompt, an illustration that was was probably created in the late 1800s/early 1900s...."I have waited in a a hospital room for death to come for a loved one. It is a horrible experience, one that I wished would end to stop my suffering, but more than that, to end the suffering of the one I loved. I was very aware that I simultaneously didn't want it to end, because when it did I'd have lost that loved one. It is a terrible "Tug of War," and you captured that in the emotions of your characters very well. Great story. I must have brought a lot of my experience to the reading of it. That engagement is to your credit. Excruciating!
Corinne wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "Catherine, since I’m making the rounds with each author on how their story came about, can you give us some background on the genesis of yours?"She touched on it here: https://www..."
Kenneth wrote: "Catherine, since I’m making the rounds with each author on how their story came about, can you give us some background on the genesis of yours?"
It was that gravestone definitely. I came away with the germ of a story formulating in my mind and it grew from there.
Shannon wrote: "I'm so glad you guys are liking "Devil's Dip". Thank you. Its nerve-wracking being included in an anthology with such incredible authors!Chad- "Tug O War" was amazing! You hit that note of dawnin..."
Thank you so much, Shannon. I am anxious to catch up with everyone's stories over the next few days
Kenneth wrote: "Question for all of the authors:The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"
My family lived with the ghost of a small boy for 25 years. We recently moved and miss him terribly. There was nothing scary about his presence (well, there was one time when he appeared angry at my wife when she walked in on him in the kitchen). I fictionalized our experience with him in my novella, The Waiting.
Such a thrill to be reading this alongside everyone!I just finished Euphemia Christie last night and so far I've thoroughly enjoyed the first three stories! I am loving the variety of chills they have provided. I also relate to wanting to research random dead people, though perhaps not to the same extent.
It's also fantastic to be able to go from the stories to this thread and read about the inspiration behind each story. Thank you!
Mod
Mod
Mod
Kenneth wrote: "Since it’s unanimous, lets keep it going. Jeremy Hepler and Todd Keisling, you two are next. Would you care to share how your MIDNIGHT creations came to fruition?"Sure thing, Ken.
I've made it no secret that my contribution "Holes in the Fabric" ties in with a couple of my other stories--2017's The Final Reconciliation, and next year's Devil's Creek--but the idea for the story itself goes back a few years when I watched a documentary about the Jonestown massacre.
Pro-Tip: Don't watch a documentary about Jonestown first thing in the morning on a Saturday. It'll ruin your whole day.
Anyway, I started wondering about who cleans up mass suicides, and the toll it must take on those people. I mean, how does one process so much death at one time? The idea was intriguing to me, perfect fodder for a dark story, but it's something I wasn't ready to write at the time so I tucked it away for later.
Fast forward a couple of years. My novella The Final Reconciliation is about a prog metal band, The Yellow Kings, and their lead singer Johnny's mother is mentioned in passing. She's referenced as being in a psychiatric facility due to some unknown trauma.
My novel Devil's Creek takes place in the band's hometown, and Norma popped up again briefly in passing. So, when the opportunity to write for MIDNIGHT came up, Norma crossed my mind again. The result is a story which bridges Final Rec with Devil's Creek, telling the story of how Norma's psychiatric trouble began in 1983. She was on the cleanup crew for the aftermath of a cult suicide--which is how Devil's Creek begins.
The story came easily enough. I feel like I've spent the last two years living in the world of Devil's Creek, so I'm extremely familiar with the landscape, the atmosphere, and so on. It's like I never left. I suppose I never will.
Mod
Sure thing, Ken...."
That’s awesome! It sounds like you might have your Bible Belt Castle Rock.
Mod
Sure thing, Ken...."
so do we need to read all 3 books or can they stand alone?
Latasha wrote: "so do we need to read all 3 books or can they stand alone?Nope, they're all standalone stories. They happen to stand side by side, existing in the same universe.
Kenneth wrote: "That’s awesome! It sounds like you might have your Bible Belt Castle Rock."Hah, well, I don't know if Stauford, KY is my Castle Rock. More like my 'Salem's Lot. ;-)
Todd wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "Since it’s unanimous, lets keep it going. Jeremy Hepler and Todd Keisling, you two are next. Would you care to share how your MIDNIGHT creations came to fruition?"Sure thing, Ken...."
I like that you did that Todd. I haven't got to your story yet, but as a reader I always get a kick out of references to previous work, or references to other writer's work.
Still going backward! Just read Brian Moreland's "Swamp Vengeance." Can't go wrong with a new "Florida Man" tale featuring swamp critters and crazy swamp-ites. Very creepy and yes, good fun!
Hi everyone! Okay, it's November 2, 2019. Halloween is over. Whew, this year is going by so quickly. I just wanted to introduce myself - I'm Kathryn Meyer Griffith and my story "The Gravedigger's Story" is on page 344 of Midnight in the Graveyard ...ooh, all the other 24 stories in the collection are GREAT! - and let everyone know I'm here for questions about my story or any other of my 28 novels and 13 short stories. I started out a horror paperback writer over 48 years ago (Leisure and Zebra mass market paperbacks) and have been published since 1984. I'm a Goodreads author. I love writing horror but over the years have also written thrillers (my Dinosaur Lake Books), murder mysteries (my Spookie Town Murder Mysteries) as well as paranormal time-travel. But most of my books include a little mystery, a little supernatural or horror, and a little romance all blended in together. Also, I will offer free eBooks of any of my other 28 novels if someone would like a free mobi or an ePub; just ask and give me your email. So...ask me anything about my long career, about "The Gravedigger's Story", or any of my other books. I'll check in every day or so. I'm here.
Kenneth wrote: "Since it’s unanimous, lets keep it going. Jeremy Hepler and Todd Keisling, you two are next. Would you care to share how your MIDNIGHT creations came to fruition?"Sure, Ken. The inspiration for "Justin's Favorite" came from a picture I saw in Storyworks Magazine when I was at China Spring Middle School helping Tricia grade papers. The picture was a black and white sketch of a little girl standing in a kitchen doorway watching her mom (I assumed) do the dishes and her dad (again, I assumed) sit at a table reading a newspaper. They didn't seem to know or care that she was there, so I wondered if she really was there, or if she was a ghost. And if if she was a ghost, was she happy or sad, angry or content? Then I wondered if she preferred one adult over the other, and if she did, how her actions would reflect her feelings. From there, my imagination took off in a twisted direction, and within a couple of hours I had the rough draft of the story.
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Until Summer Comes Around (other topics)Witches with Bonus Witches II Apocalypse (other topics)
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women (other topics)
Sinister Entity (other topics)
Blood and Rain (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hunter Shea (other topics)Hunter Shea (other topics)
Hunter Shea (other topics)
Thanks, Alan! I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed it. I’m a sucker for period pieces myself.