Book Review: Ghostopolis

This is my second book review this week.   I suppose that probably says a lot about my week.   It is cold outside and there has been snow on the roads.  The children have been sick and a sense of Christmas quiet has taken hold of my house.  This has given me excessive amounts of time to read.  This is wonderful.

Ghostopolis is a graphic novel for younger readers, but I enjoyed this book as much as my children.  Its protagonist is a young boy, Garth, who is dying.  There is a secondary protagonist in the form of a burnt out detective.  In truth, the detective is really more of a ghost hunter with a detective feel.  This protagonist gives us some surprisingly adult glimpses into a man torn between two worlds.  The ghost hunter works for a government agency whose job it is to send ghosts back to the afterlife.  Most of the ghosts don't seem to happy about this and he has a very stressful job.   He is also tortured by his own love for a beautiful ghost woman who dwells in between worlds.  When the ghost hunter accidentally transports Garth to the afterlife with one of his ghosts, we are transported to a world of magic and wonder where the dead rule and the living are the ghosts.  As the detective tries to find a way to bring the young boy out of the afterlife,  the young boy travels the afterlife learning about the rules of his new world and discovering secrets about who he really is. 

I read a lot of books with my boys and mostly I just make my way through them.  I endure.  This book I loved.  Like Harry Potter or The Golden Compass, Ghostopolis had an appeal that stretched way beyond its intended reading level.  In fact,  after I put my son to bed the first night we read together,  I sat up late finishing the book.  The illustrations are beautiful and the story is intriguing.  My husband also finished this graphic novel on his own.  It was a great read.  John Hodan at graphic novel reviews said, "Immediately, it is clear this book is something special."   I couldn't agree more!  I've also heard that a movie version of Ghostopolis is going to be made with Hugh Jackman as our burnt out ghost hunting detective type.  That should defiantly be interesting. 

Book Review: The Dead Path

It took me quite a while to make it through this unusual book.  I've grown accustomed to reading books that are high on action and low on art.   Sometimes I find myself wondering if the art behind the written word is lost in horror and fantasy.  This book definitely rediscovers the art of words.  It slowly pulls you into a world of darkness and dread, a world where the dead talk and something infinitely evil lurks in the woods, killing you children and feeding on fear.

After Nicholas Close's wife dies tragically, his entire world begins to unravel.   His friends blame him for his wife's death and he blames himself.   To make matters worse, he can see the dead everywhere.   To escape his tragedy, he flees London and returns to he small town where he grew up.   He returns to his mother's home.  His mother believes Nicholas is cursed and fears his return.  Death has followed him his entire life and she is more afraid of him than ever.   After Nicholas's return, strange events remind him of the mysterious deaths of his childhood that were marked by dead birds with sticks where their heads should be.  The story steadily unwinds from here, bringing the dead of the woods and death closer and closer with each breath.

The Dead Path is Stephen M. Irwin's debut novel and isn't a light read, but it is a beautiful read and for lovers of things dealing with ghosts and darkness it is definitely worth the time.

The Ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come

Christmas is one of the most ironic holidays.   Although it has been embraced by Christians around the world as the celebration of the birth of Christ, its antecedents are murky and deeply embedded in pagan tradition.   Christmas isn't the day Christ was actually born.  In fact, most scholars believe he was born in the spring.  Christmas was chosen by the early Christians as a day to celebrate Christ's birth because the celebration could be easily hidden beneath the more common pagan holidays of the time, like the Roman Saturnalia which was celebrated on the 25th.  Early Christians were being hunted by the Romans and it was safer for them to celebrate their holidays when they could be hidden.  There were many pagan holidays around Christmas because they were solstice celebrations.   Over the centuries,  Christianity has taken many pagan traditions and integrated them into their celebration of the birth of Christ, so that Christmas as we know it today is a kind of conglomerate of many different early solstice traditions.  Despite this,  Christmas is a celebration of Christ and his birth, but it is not surprising that some of the most terrifying ghosts and horror stories also seem to spring from Christmas. 

One of the earliest and most famous of these Christmas ghosts comes from literary master Charles Dickens.   Charles Dickens a Christmas carol is possibly the most famous work of Christmas literature ever written.   It has been redone so many times that people hardly remember what the original ghosts that haunted Dickens story actually looked like.  Few know that the ghost of Christmas past was actually a creature in white with a flame on his head.  Dickens most famous ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

The Ghost of Christmas Future was and is one of the most terrifying ghosts ever imagined.  Time has eroded the edges of the famous haunt, but in his original form, the ghost was akin to death.   All of Dickens ghosts have been imagined and re imagined in many different forms.  They've become fairies and cab drivers and cartoon characters, but the ghost of Christmas Future has remained completely untouched.  He is always the same.  No matter how silly the depiction of a Christmas Carol he resides in,  The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is always a grim specter dressed in black.  He is speechless and shows the horrors of  what lies ahead. He is my favorite spirit because he represents all our worst fears.  He represents the unknowable and uncontrollable.  No matter how much money we save, the future is always unpredictable. 

Now for me to go watch my favorite adaptation of Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.  I am going to watch "Scrooged."

Winners and Other Announcements

My Anniversary has come and gone and the winners of my contest were Dave of the Dead and LaughtingWolf.  I'll be getting in touch with both of you to get your addresses etc. so I can mail your prizes.  I used the well tested inny minny miny moe technique to chose my winners.  I'm sure this was much better than the best random number generator.

Before I begin with another year of ghost stories,  I have a few other announcements to make.  Due to my growing pressures in life,  I will be changing my blog a little bit.  I won't be a daily blog any more.  If I were completely honest,  I was never a daily blog.  I missed 65ish days of blogging this year, but I tried to blog every day.  Now I will be cutting back to two or three times a week and I'm hoping that will give me an opportunity to increase the quality of my posts and finish Haunted Chatanooga.

Also, I also want to apologize in advance for any slowing in comments to all you wonderful bloggers out there.  I have a few big life changes that have slowed me down a bit, but I'm still reading and will be commenting as often as I can.   Thanks again to everyone and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

A Year of Blogging and Time for Me to Give Back

I have been blogging for one year now.  Today is my blogs birthday!  Last year,  the night before my birthday was the winter solstice and it felt like a night to make changes.  I was frustrated with my writing career and had just been moved by my publisher  from an 18 month contract to a 3 year contract meaning that they may not publish my book until 2014.  Part of me wanted to give up and another part of me just wanted to write about something I loved and enjoy it and not worry about publishing houses or agents or anything else.  So I picked something I loved, ghost stories, and began writing everyday, well, almost everyday.  I fell in love with writing all over again and fell even more in love with ghosts and hauntings and old buildings that creep and moan and speak of forgotten histories rich with tragedy.  Blogging was wonderful!

I was helped along the way by other bloggers who found my blog and encouraged me to keep writing.  Courtney Mroch from Haunt Jaunts was and is amazing.  Her blog inspires me every day.   Autumn Forest of Ghost Hunting Theories was also there with ideas and inspiration from the very beginning.  And what have I gained from my year in blogging?

*  I have posted 299 posts of ghosts, hauntings, and all things dark and beautiful
*   I have met numerous other bloggers, artists, and ghost hunters and found a world of wonder that I have    enjoyed exploring
*  I got to travel all over the country and go to some amazing places looking for wonderful stories.
*  I was invited by a publisher to write a book based on my blog and it was published this year
*  I am working on my second book that will come out next year
*  I have a column in the Valley Planet and I can write even more ghost stories there!
*  I have learned that sometimes if you just do what you love everything else will follow.

If you had told me a year ago that I would gain all these things just by sitting down almost every day and writing I wouldn't have believed you.  It has been a wonderful year filled with travel, hauntings, and fun and I accomplished all this in one year of blogging and I owe it to all of my readers and those other bloggers who have helped me on the way.   So,  in order to give back to my blogging friends,  I will be giving away 2 Barnes and Noble Gift Cards for $25 dollars  on my birthday, tomorrow.   Spread the word.  All you have to do is comment below and twitter or facebook about this post to enter to win!  Thank you all for a wonderful year of blogging, it has been an amazing year.

I also made a promise to the Mobile Rape Crisis Center 6 months ago that when by book came out I would give them  five cents for every follower I gained on twitter.   Well,  I am now on a three year contract with my publisher, but since I've had a wonderful year with blogging I'm celebrating by doing that now.   I have 2,800 followers on twitter today and I'm writing a check.   I learned from Courtney Mroch from Haunt Jaunts who gave to the Leukemia Society on her 1 year anniversary that the best way to celebrate is to give back.  So I'm giving back to victims and I'm giving back to my readers.

Phishers Move to Avvo for email Mining

I was getting a bit worried. Things were starting to slow down here. I had discontinued my listing with lawyers dot com and martindale dot com. That was where a bulk of my phishy emails were coming from. Lucky me! The phishermen (phisherpersons?) have moved past this old-school advertising model and onto the new kid on the block. And, of course, Avvo is a much better resource, given they have every lawyer listed, rather than only those that can afford the service.

I am still disappointed to see that the phishers have not taken the time to use some of Avvo tools to narrow searches and seek lawyers that are specific to the particular spam they wish to cast out for. For what they lack in talent, they make up for in tenacity. Here is the latest:


Attention; Counselor

We, the management of Youren Ceramic Co.Ltd,China require your legal representation for our American Customers. We are of the opinion that the ability to consolidate payments from North America will eradicate delays due to inter-continental monetary transaction between Asia and America. We understand that a proper Attorney Client Retainer will provide the necessary authorization and we are most inclined to commence talks as soon as possible. Your consideration of our request is highly anticipated and we look forward to your prompt response / request. Kindly reach me via mail on:yourenltd101@hotmail.com

Sincerely,

,
Youren Ceramic Co.Ltd
3rd floor, B block, YingKe
YiJia Mall of Ceramics & Sanitary wares JiHua No.4 Road.
Foshan,Guangdong china

The Lonely Bridge

Haunted Bridges are a common thing in ghost lore.  Throughout the South, stories of cry baby hollows and  bridges that lead to hell can be found in every other town.  As a collector of ghost stories, I've heard so many of these stories they begin to blend together in my head so I can't remember which town and which bridge held which story of ghostly sorrow.  It is rare for one of these stories to stand out to me, but the story of a bridge in Gadsden, Alabama that I heard recently left an impression.  

According to local legend, there is a bridge in Gadsden, Alabama that is haunted.  It is an old bridge with an old history.  According to the story, there was a young couple who lived near the bridge.  They had just had their first baby and times were hard for them.  They were pressed upon by economic concerns and the stress of their newborn baby.  Such stress is common in young parents and it is also common for these stresses to lead to fights.  The couple had been fighting often enough, but one night the fighting escalated to a fevered pitch and the young wife couldn't take it any longer.   She packed up her baby and walked out into the night.  She stepped out to get away from the tension and get away from the fighting.

After a while, her husband felt bad about the fight and about his wife and child walking alone in the dark night.  He grew concerned and took the carriage out to look for his family.  His wife and daughter were just crossing over the bridge when he caught up with them in the carriage.   It was dark and his wife was in black.   In the darkness, the poor young man didn't see his beloved and it was his carriage that pushed her and her baby over the edge into the dark waters below.  Both wife and baby died that night on the bridge.    Since that time,  people have described seeing a woman in black wandering the area around the bridge.  She wanders the bridge looking for the baby she dropped in the dark.   People have also described hearing the baby cry out.  People have also seen the husband wandering the bridge looking for something, heard carriage wheels, and heard the sound of a lonely woman screaming in the dark.  Many locals also say that the house near the bridge that is thought to belong to the young couple is also very haunted.