A Ghost of an Idea Leads to a Novel

 

Carolyn J. Rose

 

The Catskill Mountains, where I grew up, are rich in stories with a supernatural twist, some dating back centuries. When I was a kid, I scared myself silly reading some of those tales, like the story of the split elm grave in the Woodstock cemetery. I imagined spirits haunting the ruins of the Overlook Mountain House and lurking in abandoned barns. I made up stories of my own and told them to friends during sleepovers, thus guaranteeing not a lot of sleeping was done. 

I can’t recall if I believed what I read and heard, but I certainly believe in the possibility of ghosts. Over the years I’ve talked with people who claim to have seen at least one. I’ve watched TV shows featuring ghost hunters searching with high-tech equipment. I’ve read about mediums striving to make contact on the other side. My mental jury is still out.

 And I’ve had experiences of my own, like seeing the legendary light along the railroad tracks in Gurdon, Arkansas, and hearing footsteps crossing a room when no one else was home. There are explanations for both incidents—distant headlights, underground quartz crystals, wood creaking as an old house settles, an active imagination, etc. But my feeling about those experiences is that there was something more.

 But what?

 Musing about that led to more questions: Do ghosts have a say in where they appear and who they haunt? Is there a learning curve for mastering the art of haunting? Is there a school for spooks? How do they get the energy they need to manifest? Can they read minds? Are they stuck with wispy white sheet-like outfits or the clothing they wore in life? Or can they somehow keep up with fashion trends?

 All that musing, plus a conversation with Mike about our memories of the 1950s TV show Topper, spawned ideas for my latest novel, The Three Shades of Justice: Never Give Up the Ghost. Like the ghosts in many traditional stories, my three protagonists have a reason for returning. They have scores to settle. But unlike the ghosts in many traditional stories, they’re less into scaring and more into what they’re wearing. They’re more likely to head for a mall than walk through a well. And they’re more likely to taunt than haunt.

I’m hoping readers enjoy them as much as I do. And I’m really hoping they’ll like them enough to encourage me to write a sequel.