Ghostly and Supernatural Tales from Quebec Province

I do not enjoy scary books, ghost tales, or frightening movies. Maybe it’s the creepy music in the flick added to augment the buildup to a blood-curdling moment that sends my heart thumping to near lethal levels and my blood pressure rising. My husband and daughter love them. Even coming through a closed door, that sinister music has its desired effect on me.

Not to say I don’t believe in the unexplainable. Two days after our beloved springer spaniel Casey crossed over the Rainbow Bridge at the age of 14, I was watching TV. Something in the periphery of my vision caused me turn away from the Yankees game. Not trusting what I thought I saw, I did a double-take. To my astonishment, there was Casey standing in the open doorway, her head hanging, ears forward, attention focused on me—a familiar posture in life when she wanted something. We made eye contact for a long moment. And then she dissipated like smoke in the wind. Some have told me that Casey probably just wanted to say goodbye.

Years ago, when I was still living in my parents’ home during summer breaks from college, I was having trouble falling asleep one night. Maybe I was suspended on that fragile boundary between dreams and consciousness when something tangible brushed my cheek and rustled the hair falling over my ear. And then a woman’s whispered voice announced (to whom or what?), “She’s asleep now.” Shortly after, a deep, sonorous baritone from beyond my open window began intoning what sounded like “Pil…grim’s…Pri-i-ide.” If I wasn’t 20-something at the time, I probably would have high-tailed it into my parent’s room and begged to let me sleep with them.

OK. This is supposed to be about ghosts, ghoulies, and other bump-in-the-night stuff from

Mark Twain

Quebec Province. As a Connecticut Yankee, no one deserves a mention here more than Mark Twain. This is from a piece by Mark Abley in the Montreal Gazette (October 17, 2014)

In December 1881, one of the most celebrated writers in North America came to  Montreal on a lecture tour. Mark Twain … was then near the height of his fame. …

 “That afternoon, a reception had been held for him in a long drawing room of the Windsor Hotel on Peel — recently built, and at the time the most palatial hotel in Canada. There, Twain noticed a woman whom he had known more than 20 years earlier, in Carson City, Nevada. She had been a friend, but they had fallen out of touch. … She seemed to be approaching him at the reception, and he had ‘a full front view of her face’ but they didn’t meet.

“Before he gave his evening speech in a lecture hall, Twain noticed Mrs. R. again, wearing the same dress as in the afternoon. This time they were able to speak, and he told her that he’d seen her earlier in the day. She was astonished. ‘I was not at the reception,’ she told him. ‘I have just arrived from Quebec, and have not been in town an hour.’”

Baron Baumgarten

All right. I agree. This is kind of “woo-woo,” but hardly the stuff that inspires goose bumps. But both Quebec and Montreal, with their long and illustrious histories, are rife with tales of the mysterious and macabre. There are so many such stories that I’ll limit them both by time and necessity.

As a writer of historical fiction, I’m drawn to some of these older stories. For example, McGill University is Montreal’s oldest (founded in 1821) and also one of the most haunted in a city of multiple haunted places. Its Faculty Club was once the opulent mansion of the German-born sugar magnate, Baron Alfred Moritz Friedrich Baumgarten.

At the turn of the 19^th century, the Baumgarten house was a center of social activity, so much so that it became the favorite stopping place of Canada’s governor-general when in Montreal. The start of World War I ended all that when anti-German hysteria forced him to sell off his assets and lose his standing in society. He died in 1919, a broken man. In 1926, McGill University bought the mansion to house the school’s high chancellor, General Sir Arthur Currie. After Currie’s death in 1933, the building was repurposed for use as a faculty club.

From the beginning, faculty and staff at the club reported feelings of unease when in the building, while others experienced some truly strange happenings. A piano in the basement began playing itself and no manner of trying to stop it succeeded. Doors opened and closed of their own accord. Elevators ran between floors with no one inside to operate them. In the billiard room, balls moved on the table and into the pockets as if a game were being played, and portraits on the walls appeared to follow people with their eyes as they walked past them down the halls. Even its phones had a life of their own, calling college offices late at night when no one was in the building. And then there’s the fireplace, closed off for decades, still emitting the smell of ash and smoke. There are tales of murder, particularly that of a young servant girl whose untimely death had been covered up and whose spirit has been seen wandering aimlessly, apparently seeking justice. Some postulate that many of ghostly happenings are the work of Baumgarten himself, whose restless soul attempts to regain what had been lost.

The death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West

On the Plains of Abraham in Quebec on September 13, 1759, the battle between France and England for supremacy in the New World ended with the death of the charismatic British General James Wolfe and took his opponent, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, who died of his injuries the following day. Here some 258 years later, ghosts of the dead from both sides can be seen drifting across the battlefield, particularly one lone soldier at the entrance to Tunnel 1, accompanied by the acrid smell of sulfur smoke and the sound of cannons.

From Montmorency Falls in Quebec comes a sad story and one that seems to have many similarities to other tales of such nature. That of a beautiful young woman whose fiancé was called off to war and died in 1759 during the French and Indian War. Legend has it that the grief stricken maiden donned her wedding dress and went out in the evenings calling his name in hopes that he would return. The Lady in White has often been seen in the mist of the falls, tumbling to her death.

Of course there are more such stories, many more, but for now that’s all folks.

Wishing you all a ghoulishly Happy Halloween...but please keep the music down.

 

 ~*~

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Kathy Fischer Brown is a BWL author of historical novels, Winter Fire, "The Serpent’s Tooth" trilogy: Lord Esterleigh’s Daughter, Courting the Devil, The Partisan’s Wife, and The Return of Tachlanad, an epic fantasy adventure for young adult and adult readers. Check out her BWLAuthor page or visit her website. All of Kathy’s books are available in e-book and in paperback from a host of online and brick and mortar retailers. Look for Where the River Narrows, the 12^th and final novel in BWL’s Canadian Historical Brides series, coming in July 2018.

Magic in Deline, NWT

Our author posts this month, both for the  Books We Love Canadian Historical Brides’ blog and for this, are supposed to have a Halloween theme. I dug around and found ghost stories here and there in the NWT, but didn’t find them particularly interesting. I’ve had a few encounters with strangeness over the years myself, but thought that for this blog, too, I’d take a pass on the ghosts.

The 1^st Nation’s people of NWT/Nunavut have their own burial customs--from air burial to various strategies devised to handle permafrost—as well as tales of restless, unhappy dead. However, for me, the religious aspect of the old holiday is more  interesting. Now, in the NWT, the spirits of nature still manifest powerfully in the minds and hearts of the inhabitants, so here I’ll retell a pair of stories which are more spiritual rather than “ghostly.”

Some of the most inspirational and deeply moving stories I've encountered are told in Deline. Near a  town of about 600 souls, is Great Bear Lake, a body of water still so pure that you can drink straight from it. (That, to me, is MAGIC on our ever-more polluted planet!)

Deline has occasional UFOs, which were said to be buzzing around during the mid-1990’s, but I'd rather talk about a local hero/prophet. This man died in 1940, but left a monumental legacy behind. His name was Eht’se Ayah and he possessed traditional Shamanic powers. As one instance, he could “see” people coming to visit days before they arrived in town. He was, more importantly,  a brilliant religious teacher, affirming the generosity, charity and spiritual inter-connectedness with all life which abounds in the Athabascan belief system and marrying it to the best of the dominant culture's Christianity.  

Shrine to Prophet Ayah, Photo by Angela Gzowski for UpHere magazine

                              http://uphere.ca/articles/visions-deline


It is upon his alarming prophetic vision that  recent actions to preserve Great Bear Lake were founded. He dreamed that Great Bear would be the last source of freshwater in the world, and that "people from the south" would come in desperate hoards to fish and drink during the planetary destruction of the end times.  The power of this vision was the historic catalyst for the concerted action which culminated in the setting up of Tsá Tué Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO biosphere Reserve.

According to the New York Times writer,  PETER KUJAWINSK's FEB. 7, 2017 article:

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“It is the first time that an aboriginal government in Canada will represent everyone in the community, aboriginal and non-aboriginal alike. Taken together, the UNESCO and self-government announcements reinforce Deline’s ability to control what happens to Great Bear Lake.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/travel/great-bear-lake-arctic-unesco-biosphere-canada.html

Okay—but where’s the "magic" in conservation? Stay with me! The people of Deline are Sahtuto’ine, meaning Bear Lake People, or, commonly, North Slavey. They have a sacred story from the days long before Eht’se Ayah, told by the Sahtuto'ine forever, and one which the Prophet surely would have heard as a child.

 Once, very long ago, there was a fisherman who was also a shaman. One day, a fish bit a hook from his line but then broke free. In those days, each hook was very valuable, so he wanted to retrieve it. Because of his shamanic connection to the prey animal upon which his life depended, he was able to transform himself into a Burbot and swim down deep into the lake in order to search for the missing hook.

When he arrived at the bottom, he discovered a miraculous secret: a huge beating heart lay at the bottom of Great Bear Lake! Around the heart, a throng of fish of every kind--the Inconnu, Pike, Walleye, Lake Trout and Grayling--were gathered. The fish rejoiced and thanked this unsuspected, holy presence. 

This enormous heart, the fisherman realized, was the living source of all the freshwater in the world. And to this day, upon the continued beating of this heart, all life, everywhere on our planet, depends. 

~~Juliet Waldron

http://www.julietwaldron.com

See all my historical novels @

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/waldron-juliet/

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Halloween: More than a Sub-plot in your Novel by Connie Vines

Halloween, one of the world's oldest holidays, dating back to pagan times.  Halloween is still celebrated today in a number of countries around the globe.

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, Día de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—honors deceased loved ones and ancestors.

Although Europe doesn't celebrate Halloween with the same fanfare like the United States, England, France, and Germany have also seen increases in the popularity of celebrating Halloween, although the holiday is nowhere near as popular as it is in the United States and Canada. Many other countries around the world observe holidays that celebrate departed loved ones.

So where does Halloween have its roots?

In Ireland, which is considered to be where Halloween, the day is still celebrated much like it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were centuries ago, and all over the country, children get dressed up in costumes and spend the evening "trick-or-treating" in their neighborhoods. After trick-or-treating, most people attend parties with neighbors and friends. At the parties, many games are played, including "snap-apple," a game in which an apple on a string is tied to a doorframe or tree and players attempt to bite the hanging apple. In addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts, with candy or pastries as the "treasure." The Irish also play a card game where cards are laid face down on a table with candy or coins underneath them. When a child chooses a card, he receives whatever prize is found below it.

A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater's future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as "knock-a-dolly," a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened.

Yes, I write paranormal novellas and YA stories with quirky semi-goth girls (all of which possess a heavy dose of humor), you can add a sprinkle of Halloween into your romance, mystery, or historical novel too.

Let’s travel around the world.

Austria -  In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. It was once believed that these would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night that Austrians considered to be magical.

Belgium - The Belgians believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross one's path and also unlucky if it should enter a home or travel on a ship. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives.

Canada -Modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began with the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Jack O'Lanterns are carved and the festivities include parties, trick-or-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks. Halloween is celebrated in Canada on or around October 31. It is a day to mark the single night in the year when, according to old Celtic beliefs, spirits and the dead can cross over into the world of the living. Some people hold parties and children may trick-or-treat in their neighborhood.

China - In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Halloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples fashion "boats of the law" from paper, some of which are very large, which are then burned in the evening hours. The purpose of this custom is twofold: as a remembrance of the dead and in order to free the spirits of the "pretas" in order that they might ascend to heaven.

Czechoslovakia - In Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. There is one chair for each living family member and one for each family member's spirit.

England - While the Irish and Scots preferred turnips, English children made "punkies" out of large beets (which they call beetroots), upon which they carved a design of their choice. Then, they would carry their "punkies" through the streets while singing the "Punkie Night Song" as they knocked on doors and asked for money. Halloween became Guy Fawkes Night and moved a few days later, but recently it has been celebrated on October 31, in addition to Guy Fawkes Night. In some rural areas, turnip lanterns were placed on gateposts to protect homes from the spirits who roamed on Halloween night. Another custom was to toss objects such as stones, vegetables and nuts into a bonfire to frighten away the spirits. would not survive another year. For the most part however, the English ceased celebrating Halloween with the spread of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. Since followers of the new religion did not believe in Saints, they saw no reason to celebrate the Eve of All Saints' Day. However, in recent years, the American "trick or treating" custom, together with the donning of costumes for going door-to-door, has become a relatively popular pastime among English children at Halloween, although many of the adults (particularly the older generations) have little idea as to why they are being asked for sweets and are usually ill-prepared to accommodate their small and hopeful callers.

France – la Fête d’Halloween -Unlike most nations of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in order to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is regarded as an "American" holiday in France and was virtually unknown in the country until around 1996.

In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The reason for this is because they do not want to risk harm to (or from) the returning spirits.

Hong Kong -The Halloween celebration in Hong Kong is known as "Yue Lan" (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts) and is a time when it is believed that spirits roam the world for twenty-four hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money at this time, believing these images would reach the spirit world and bring comfort to the ghosts. Fires are lit and food and gifts are offered to placate potentially angry ghosts who might be looking for revenge.

Sweden -In Sweden, Halloween is known as "Alla Helgons Dag" and is celebrated from October 31 until November 6. As with many other holidays, "Alla Helgons Dag" has an eve which is either celebrated or becomes a shortened working day. The Friday prior to All Saint's Day is a short day for universities while school-age children are given a day of vacation.

In the United States, where lingering Puritan tradition restricted the observance of many holidays, Halloween did not become a holiday until the 19th century. The transatlantic migration of nearly two million Irish following the Irish Great Famine (1845–49) brought the holiday to the United States. Halloween is now the United States' second most popular holiday (after Christmas) for decorating; the sale of candy and costumes is also extremely common during the holiday.

What about your Halloween?

Personal experience is the easily want to write a scene, be it fright, fun, or a culinary adventure!

Bloody Fingers, Hot dog in wheat bun

I throw a family Spooktacular Dinner Celebration the weekend before Halloween.  Each year I change the theme:  Zombie, Eyeballs, Bats. . .last year it was Worms.  Of course, the appetizers (by popular demand) are ALWAYS, bloody fingers (recipes will follow, also found on Pinterest.  https://www.pinterest.com/novelsbyconniev   (boards:  Zombie Nite Café and Goth Dining).

Happy Writing, Reading, and, of course, Happy Halloween!

Connie 

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Is it Fantasy or Science Fiction? by Vijaya Schartz

Alien Lockdown is a sci-fi romance. Find it
with other titles by Vijaya at BWL Publishing
by clicking HERE

It's not always easy for a writer to figure out where what they write fits in the cookie cutter categories imposed by booksellers and promoters. Unfortunately, if the book doesn't fit perfectly anywhere, it might be featured on the wrong sites and blogs, displayed on the wrong shelf where it will not sell, or be ignored completely.

 This is especially true for writers like me, who like to mix genres. Since I'm rarely satisfied with one straight genre as a reader, the same is true when I write. I also like to write strong heroines, evil villains, a lot of action, and I enjoy portraying the fight between good and evil... where the margins are often blurred.

The Ancient Enemy series features the "Worst villain in Science Fiction... Captain Kavak" The heroines carry guns, like many of my heroines. They are the key to saving the human race. And romance is their reward.

So, where does my stories fit? It's not literary since I write to entertain. It's not mainstream since Science Fiction and Fantasy are small niche markets. So, what is it?

One thing I have going for me is my voice. Whether I write medieval romance, fantasy, action adventure, or science fiction, the professional reviewers recognize my unique style... and they usually like my brand of fiction.  "Phenomenal world building, characters the readers care about, and an intriguing mystery... all the elements one expects from a Vijaya Schartz story! Easily recommended!" CK2sKwipsandKritique.

Ashes for the Elephant God is a unique brand of reincarnation romance
set in India. This award-winning book doesn't fit any category.

Originality and quality are good, I guess, but it takes longer for readers to discover your particular brand when it is spread over several genres. And not all are willing to cross genre from medieval to science fiction to contemporary romance.

The solution? Write for the market? I would never do that. I am proud to write the books of my heart, and I will continue writing them. I may not have as many readers as other popular authors, but my readers are fiercely loyal. They love my stories, and I love them for it. Fortunately, my publishers stick with me because they like my books as well.

My latest series, just completed this year, is Fantasy (based on authentic legends) and medieval, as well as romance.

So expect more romance, action, adventure, science fiction, fantasy, or historical stories, with exotic settings, strong heroines and despicable villains, where the fight between good and evil is front and center.

Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz
Action, Romance, Mayhem
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night—Tricia McGill.

Buy Laurel's Gift here at BWL

My mind is currently dwelling in the world of superstition, ghosts and all things supernatural. This of course is down to my latest release, Laurel’s Gift, being a tale of a haunted house and the ghostly child who dwells there. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to write a story containing a ghost, as I’m probably considered strange by more than a few because of my belief in ghosts and other unworldly things. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have seen my share of ghostly figures. Some would try to explain it away as a vivid imagination. I can live with that, as part of being a writer is doubtless being able to imagine what some might think unimaginable.

I had my own fairy as a small child. Not a ghost for sure, but she was very real to me and would help me overcome my fear of the dark by visiting me at bedtime to keep me company. I loved holidaying in Cornwall and Devon, and perhaps part of that love was because of the Cornish folk’s strong belief in their legends, ghost stories and the many myths that abound there. I saw my first ghost while holidaying near Lynton in Devon. My husband slept soundly at my side when this sensation that someone else shared our room came over me. I think I was scared at that time, but since then have become used to it. It’s never bothered me when members of my family come to say their last goodbyes before moving on. In fact I was upset after my dear sister passed away in January as she was the only one who didn’t come visit straight away. But I’ve seen her twice since, where she was at peace, surrounded by all our loved ones who had gone before.

I’ve just been watching the latest season of Outlanders, Diana Gabaldon’s famous series adapted for TV, where Claire goes through standing stones to get back in time to meet up with her Scottish Jamie. Well Cornwall abounds with its own share of these standing stones, perhaps the most well-known (to me at least) being those on Bodmin Moor. The Hurlers derived their name from the group of men who were caught playing the Celtic sport of hurling on the Sabbath, and because of this sinful act were turned to stone where they stand petrified to this day.

Cornwall Myths and Legends: https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/myths-legends

Years ago I visited the ruins of Tintagel Castle where the legends of King Arthur abound: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/tintagel-castle/ and thus Tintagel features in my Time-Travel, A Call Through Time, where the travellers journey across ancient Britain to return to their home near Tintagel.

Another great Cornish story is about the ghost of a lady in white who is seen on Marazion Green jumping onto a horse behind the rider and then the pair gallop off, presumably into the sunset. 

https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/Marazion

I enjoyed telling the story of Laurel and her ghostly child so much. It was one of those tales that more or less told itself without a lot of help from me. I know little of psychics and their abilities, but can understand that some consider them charlatans. One of my nieces shares my affinity with ghosts and to my surprise at a recent family gathering my nephew, the last person I would have expected to do this, admitted that he’d been to see a psychic after my sister’s death and she told him a couple of things that made him sit up and take notice. Call it silly superstition and gobbledegook but we all have a right to our beliefs and fancies.

Another good site to visit if you share my interest in superstition and folklore:

https://sleeplessmusingsofawellgroomedmoustachedman.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/folklore-and-superstition-an-introduction-to-cornish-folklore/

Please visit my website to find excerpts and information on where to buy my books.

When will I wake up to winter

Coming soon. Click here to see my other novels.http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/sawka-randall-western-suspense-canada/

I wonder whether I can figure out the weather in Toronto.

As a Prairie boy the winter arrived early and stayed late. The parka and toque and mitts were in the closet. There was no debate about what I would wear between November and March. Those five months were cold with the odd few days where you could sneak outside wearing a sweater. Brrrrr.

In 1986 we moved to the wet and warmer Victoria, BC. This was a different world. It was November of that year and I was golfing in a long-sleeve tee shirt and jeans. As usual I hit the ball into the trees. The little rascal was only a few feet in this time. However, It knew where to hide. It was under a fern. A fern was something in a living room, not in the bush. As the three decades in Victoria passed, my “winter” clothes disappeared. Rainwear? That was kept handy.

Now settled in Ontario, we were preparing ourselves for the onslaught of winter. But wait, it turns out Toronto is not really Ontario. OK, it is in Ontario. Let’s get back to clothes. I asked six people what is required in winter in this big city. The answers varied. Those lacking my built-in insulation insisted on thick down jackets with zippers and buttons to keep out the wind off the lake. Most people suggested a “medium” weather jacket and an additional sweater if a cold front popped in for a visit.

I decided to check the temperature averages. It turns out that the average high is -1 in January. Not bad. Not good. But, not bad. So I decided to go with the good old pea coat. The next day I stopped in to the store and was told they had a few but the main stock would be arrive in late October. This is not prairie weather. In fact, we are still waiting to see our first Ontario fall colour show. Still not here.

Bottom line. Living in a big city in a microclimate means I won’t have to chill out. Now I will go for a long walk as it will be 21c today. October 21. Wow.

What is it about Unorthodox that makes it so special?

Special Note to YOU - Hello everyone: ) Thanks so much for stopping in and checking out the BWL Publishing Inc. author blog posts. I have a great appreciation for you, your time and support, and so does BWL Publishing Inc. and all of the authors here; )

~ Happy Halloween!! ~

Now on to the post; )

A couple weeks ago I was on a book blog tour for my newest release, Unorthodox, A Kendra Spark Novel. One of the blog hosts asked me, “What is it about Unorthodox that makes it so special?” Hmmm, after some reflective thought, here’s my “why” it’s so special to me:

Genre Mixture – Paranormal, suspense-thriller, romance, crime, mystery, plus supernatural. These genres are what I read, but this is the first book I’ve written that includes all of them. The opportunities for expanding on any of those genres within this series is endless: )

Characters – I wanted diversity, a blending of people that normally wouldn’t connect well to one another. I threw them together in a tension-filled life/death situation where each must play their precise role in combination with the others to restore balance and defeat evil. In other words, I wanted impossible relationships for the “foundation” first book in the series, story-stars with the ability to grow and evolve throughout the series, including their relationships.

Paranormal – Ghosts and Kendra’s ability to communicate with them rendered a specific “special,” like opening the door to a whole ghost world through Jenna.

Supernatural – Playtime! *grins* With a writer’s license to bring forth oddities/entities into present day situations, I couldn’t resist getting wild and crazy with it. So fun to brainstorm and write.

Romance – In this first book, a couple budding romantic connections took place (the tensions deepen in this book), leaving a lot of room for a blazing inferno in the next books.

Research – I enjoyed the time spent on accumulating information on forensics, FBI and Police procedures, settings/locations, and criminal analysts, through on-line courses, books, on-line search engines and specific sites, Sisters in Crime Organization, and workshops. This area of research was a first for me; )

All of these elements add into the specialness I feel for Unorthodox, and I hope you enjoy the story and the series future possibilities. 

All buy links listed here: https://books2read.com/u/me2j7Z

Praise for the Book

"Murder, ghosts, psychics, the writer's life - this story had everything I so enjoy in a good book. It's certainly an 'unorthodox' tale. Well-written and captivating, this gripping thriller entices the reader from beginning to end. I look forward to more Kendra Spark novels." ~ Sandra's Book Reviews

"This book has everything I love. Suspense and paranormal. I felt the character development was well done. The story was very well written. You follow Kendra, Jenna and Derek (ghost whisperer, ghost and FBI) thru a thrilling ride of mystery with a ghost to help along the way. [...] I am excited that this is only book 1 because I can see big things coming with this series and author." ~ angelique burns

"This is a thrilling, suspenseful read that combines ghosts and solving crimes, and does it quite well. The book is very interesting and keeps you hooked, from start to finish, really pulling you right into the crime scenes, and the sad, untimely death of the FBI analyst." ~ Naturalbri (Bri Wignall)

"This book was really good. The touch of spook factor along with the suspense, mystery and paranormal (which is always fun) all blended together making the perfect combination." ~ GothicMom'S Reviewers

"Unorthodox is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you engaged from the very beginning." ~ Sapphyria

  

S. Peters-Davis writes multi-genre stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller, especially when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren, or enjoying time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.

She also writes YA paranormal, supernatural novels as DK Davis

Website: http://suda788.wixsite.com/spetersdavis1  

Contact:  http://suda788.wixsite.com/spetersdavis1/contact

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/spdavis788  

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BWL Author Page: http://bookswelove.net/authors/davis-dk-ya-paranormal-davis-s-peters-paranormal-suspense/

Halloween Contest!!! Stop in at our home page and scroll to the bottom – there’s a contest entry there: ) http://bookswelove.net/  You have a chance to win either a Kobo or Kindle ebook reader or a delicious Godiva Ghost Candy basket (yum!!) or a choice of an ebook from the selection there. Hurry and enter, drawing is October 30^th: )

Don’t Disturb The Dead

Don’t Disturb The Dead, You’ll Be Sorry

Victoria has dozens of hauntings, some say because Ley Lines intersect in the city. Others claim of Satanic rituals. Others say it’s because the first European settlers simply covered over or destroyed thousands of native grave markers without any care.
This tale is of the later. Back in the early 1800’s what is known now as Laurel Point on the inner harbour of Victoria, was called Deadman’s Point. It was the burial place of the Lekwungen first nations peoples. They believed that the dead never truly leave us and had set up a whole village for them and considered the area as sacred. Like the Parsi of India, they don’t bury the dead. Instead they’d set them out in nature, where the elements would allow the bodies to break down and return to the environment. They’d gather up the remains and would place them in basket that they would mount in trees. Left alone the dead spirits had a place to be where they would not disturb the living.
In 1885, a European named Jacob Sehl arrived. He bought Deadman’s Point thinking it would be a great place for his furniture factory. He proceeded, ignoring any warnings from the First Nations peoples, to clear and take down all the trees, burn and destroy all the baskets and bones. Appalled and frightened the native chief moved all of his people inland, claiming the dead will be very angry. All went unnoticed until January of 1894, when a fire broke out in his factory and at his house over a kilometer away at the same time. His wife Elizabeth went mad after this, claiming she saw, ‘Firemen Spirits’, running around the house, rubbing their hands along everything, stoking the fires. She died six months later of insanity. After losing everything Jacob returned to Europe a broken and bankrupt man.
But the story doesn’t end there. William Pendray bought the point and again not concerned with native warnings, built his new factory there. He was worried about the fires though and installed some highly advanced sprinkler systems, for its time, to protect everything, in the advent of another fire. Proud of his new factory, he walked through the building as it was being finished. Strangely enough one of the large steel cylinders holding the water for his sprinklers, broke away and fell forty feet, crushing his head.
Wait, there’s more.
His only son Ernest was expected to take over and like many young males of the time enjoyed riding his horse and buggy at breakneck speeds through town. As he came up the factory gates, his horse came to a skidding halt. Ernest was thrown from the buggy, straight in front of the horse. The horse then bolted and one of the heavy carriage wheels ran over Ernest’s neck, decapitating the man.       
On Laurel Point now stands The Inn At Laurel Point. Many of the guests have complained about weird things happening to them, ghosts turning on and off lights, coldness, televisions turning channels. The restaurant, even on bright sunny days always appears gloomy and dark inside.
The Pendray house is now known as the Gatsby Mansion, located on the Huntingdon Hotel Property. In September, my wife and I stayed at the Huntingdon Hotel and we had high tea in the Pendray house. I asked the waitress about room #5, it is still haunted reportedly haunted by two male ghosts, the Pendray men. She said, “I shouldn’t tell you this, but just yesterday I came into the downstairs tea room and suddenly one of the pictures fell off the wall. There was no one in the room. Then I turned on the lights, which I assumed someone had turned off. I left the room and returned a minute later to find the other server turning on the lights again. I asked her why she turned them off, she said. ‘No, they were off and I turned them on.’ As I told her and we both turned pale. I had just turned them on.”

Here's the video I made of my last Blog, also about Victoria and Ghosts.

If that story and video didn’t grab you, maybe this will. The opening prologue to my next novel, The Joining. Book One in the Ainsworth Chronicles, set in Victoria.

Prologue

Somewhere in the darkness the course flax fibers of the Hangman’s noose sing.
Its hollow voice swinging to the hangman’s beckoning.
Waiting for the answers buried into the gurgle of time and the finality of voices ending.
From the stillness comes a subtle calling,
Echoing reminders of what remains…
Unsettled.

The Stillwaters Run Deep Series

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