As days darken, leaves fall, and plastic gravestones sprout up in front lawns, I find myself seeking books to help me embody the haunting spirit of Halloween.
For as any book-lover will agree, reading about the supernatural and inexplicable can be more terrifying and adrenaline-inducing than even watching a horror film. That internal isolation of reading combined with the interplay of the author’s imagination and one’s own creates a quiet, anticipatory sort of fear that can linger long after the book snaps shut.
To help our readers and put some added flesh to my own Halloween-inspired books for this season, I’ve therefore collected the opinions of authors on AuthorPods who speak to the spirit of the holiday through their work.
Whether seeking fantasy, the occult, ghost guides, or charming children’s books, these writers’ reflections on finding otherworldly inspiration in the subject matter of their work is sure to send a thrill down the spine.
What draws you to writing about fantastical and supernatural subjects?
Joseph Citro, Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls & Unsolved Mysteries, The Vermont Ghost Guide, & The Vermont Ghost Experience
Essentially, I think supernatural stories are mysteries and when confronted with a mystery, the mind goes to work. My passion for collecting such stories is also fueled by the reaction I get when passing them along. People like and respond to them. They don’t simply inspire fantasy. They inspire investigation and problem solving too.
*Check out Joe’s “Local Haunts” event happening on Halloween night.
Mary Wilcox, We’re Going On A Pumpkin Hunt
I chose Halloween as the setting for my book because it was inspired by walking the neighborhood with my own children and enjoying the carved pumpkins on display…some silly, some spooky. The Halloween season and its stories can be a place for kids to explore their own feelings about the unexpected. I hope with my story kids can see that even if you feel scared sometimes, it doesn’t mean you won’t get the last laugh…or the first slice of pumpkin pie!
Nancy Kilgore, Bitter Magic & Wild Mountain
The story in Bitter Magic began from a visit to a haunted graveyard. I was looking up some of my Scottish ancestors and discovered that a lot of them were “Covenanters” during the 1600s Scottish Reformation. In the end these earnest reformers were defeated by the English and spent their last days in an open-air prison that became their graveyard. When I visited this site in Edinburgh, I discovered that the prison/graveyard was locked by the city due to all manner of strange and supernatural assaults, which elicited in me an experience of dread scarier than anything I’d ever felt. Then I found that where these zealous reformers, Covenanters, were most populous was also where the most witch trials occurred. In one of those communities was the famous trial and witch confession of Isobel Gowdie. It was supernatural on supernatural and in a country full of legend and lore–an irresistible combination for any writer!
Laurie Forest, The Black Witch Chronicles
I have four daughters who prodded me to read the YA fantasy books they were reading when they were in junior high. I was surprised by how much I loved them – how fantasy allows authors to really stretch their imagination and talk about serious issues in metaphorical ways. I also learned how an author can work any detail they want into a fantasy story as they build their own world from scratch.
Thea Lewis, Haunted Inns and Ghostly Getaways of Vermont
I was the kid getting out of bed at 3 a.m. to watch black and white vampire movies and other “creature features” on TV. Sometime later, I learned that I actually come from a family that is decently spooky: An aunt who always saw a particular apparition before the death of family members, a grandmother who had an uncanny ability to know when something out of the ordinary would occur or when money would come via messenger or mail (which has also happened to me. Yeek!)
*For any Vermont-dwellers, Thea’s renowned Queen City Ghostwalk haunted tours are a must.
What about Vermont lends itself to these sorts of hauntings and stories?
Joseph Citro
Historically, Vermont has been a real melting pot of supernatural lore, from Native American stories to those that were imported as other communities settled here. The result is a supernatural smörgåsbord of stories with so many questions at their base. What is just beyond the next hill? What is in the attic? What hides in the dark shadows of the forest? What happens after we die? The supernatural stories don’t provide the answers. Their value is that they can lead to answers and, of course, entertain us while they do.
Nancy Kilgore
I like to explore the places where the lines between spirituality and the supernatural are blurred. Vermont, with its mountains and woods, is a place where we can get in touch with nature and our own spirituality; it lends itself to ghost stories and haunted histories. My last novel Wild Mountain is set in Vermont, and 0ne of the characters, a lone mountain man, discovers a stone circle and communes with the ghost of a hanged woman. The book delves into the supernatural.
Laurie Forest
Vermont has been a huge inspiration for me – and the Western Realm of the Black Witch Chronicles is very much Vermont (I’ve even used a few Vermont place names). Dryads and tree magic figure heavily in my story and the Vermont forest I’m surrounded by has been my muse for the tale – I’ve even written a few chapters deep in the forest!
Thea Lewis
New England history runs deep. New England places seem straightforward on the surface, but can be so mysterious. Vermont’s history is filled with strivers who battled isolation, frigid temperatures, and biases. Combine indigenous history, settlers, trade, diseases…and the fact we seem to be a target for other phenomena like UFOs…and Vermont becomes like a big paranormal layer cake.
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