Thursday, June 22, 2017

Want to See A Ghost?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Look out  your window. Is it lovely and sunny and summery? Good thing. Because the amazing, talented and always hilarious Alice Loweecey is wondering today about something just a bit…darker. 
So let the sunshine in—then listen to this.

ALICE LOWEECEY: I have two questions for you this lovely summer day.
#1: Have you ever seen a ghost?
Not Charlie Brown in a sheet with eyeholes. The real thing.  The kind that breathes every so softly on the back of your neck and FREAKS YOU OUT.
The kind that likes to close doors in the house when there’s no one home but you.
 This is the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, taken in 1936. The photographer was under the cloth hood when his assistant told him to take a picture NOW. He thought she’d wasted a plate until he developed it.

This is the Hampton Court Ghost, taken with a surveillance camera in 2003. Apparently he doesn’t like open doors. He slammed these a few times before leaving them closed.
  

Freddy Jackson, a member of the RAF, was killed in 1919. But he didn’t want to miss the squadron group photo. So he showed up anyway.
      Confession time: I’ve never seen a ghost. Of the three, I think I’d freak out more if Freddy breathed down my neck. The door-slamming ghost is kind of fun. The wispy lady, eh. (That “eh” is subject to revision if said wispy lady floats over my bed one night in the manner of the angry wife in Ju-On.)
     I may have shot myself in the foot over the whole ghost thing. For the new direction my Giulia Driscoll series is taking, I interviewed Joe Nickell, the well-known debunker. He’s pretty much the Jim Cantore of hauntings. You know how if Cantore (from The Weather Channel) shows up in your town it’s time to head for the storm cellar? If Joe Nickell is investigating your haunting, you don’t have a ghost. You’ve got a bored teenager or a rattling windowpane. I’m pretty jaded after sitting at his feet for a single afternoon.
      But even though I haven’t seen a ghost, my mind is open to the possibility. What if that flash of something I see out of the corner of my eye isn’t one of the cats hunting a ladybug? What if that 2 am creaking isn’t the cats heading downstairs for overlooked kibble? (It seems I am haunted—by my cats!)
Which brings me to #2:
Do you want to see a ghost?
I’ll start: Yes, I think so. (I know—be careful what you wish for!) I think it’d be fascinating and frightening and what a story I could write!
What about you?
 HANK: Well, sure!  But:  Can we stipulate that it won’t hurt me? And that it could talk? And would go away if I wanted it to? And that I wouldn’t be the only one who could see it?

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How about you, Reds and readers?

Giulia has a new job: Hunting ghosts. Maybe. If ghosts are real:
When terrified Elaine Patrick knocks on Driscoll Investigations’ door and insists her house is haunted, Giulia Driscoll’s first response is “we don’t handle ghosts.” When Elaine’s housekeeper and crackpot filthy rich cousin descend on Giulia and demand she find out who’s trying to steal sweet, fragile Elaine’s family business out from under her, that’s a different story.
They want DI to provide Tarot readings, ghost hunting sessions, and even an exorcism. Ghost hunting? There are apps for that. Tarot readings? Experts in the skill are right across the street. Exorcisms? Having a priest for a brother-in-law comes in handy. Giulia plunges into a crash course in all things supernatural, convinced everything happening to Elaine is stagecraft. Except when it isn’t. Giulia’s about to discover a new dimension to sleuthing, if she can survive attempted murder long enough to see through the web of lies around her client.
Alice Loweecey is a former nun who went from the convent to playing prostitutes on stage to accepting her husband’s marriage proposal on the second date. Her mysteries feature an ex-nun PI in an on-again/off-again romance with her boss. She also writes horror, paranormal, and dystopian YA, and is very glad the Internet wasn’t around during her high-school years for her to inflict her angsty teenage poetry on the world. She promises that she no longer whacks errant knuckles with a ruler. Her mascot is a handmade nun doll that will only creep you out if you have a guilty conscience.

101 comments:

  1. What a coincidence. I just finished Alice's first mystery over the weekend.

    As to the questions, I haven't seen a ghost, and I don't want to see a ghost.

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    1. Really?I think it's such a funny question… Because it depends on so much, right?

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    2. I wonder if ghosts would merely laugh at our rules...

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    3. OK then, they can tell us what their rules are, right?

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  2. Ah, ghosts.
    I can’t say that I remember ever seeing one, but there was a time when my mom said that we shared our house with a ghost named Pearl. [And, before you ask, I have absolutely no idea how my mom knew her name was Pearl.] But all the grown-ups were certain that it was the ghostly Pearl wandering through our house, so it became one of those matter-of-fact things in our family. Sometimes, when we were all downstairs, we’d hear what sounded like footsteps moving around in all the bedrooms upstairs . . . Pearl was wandering, my mom would always say.

    Although I have no memory of it, my mom said a child used to come and play with us . . . but our ghostly playmate only came to visit the babies. When our younger sister was a baby, we’d often hear her laughing and playing [upstairs, of course] . . . but only when she was the alone. And as soon as we’d sneak up to the bedroom door, she’d stop giggling and playing, so I never glimpsed that ghost, either.

    We moved the summer I turned eleven and left our friendly ghosts behind . . . I imagine Pearl and the little child continue to haunt our once-upon-a-time home --- and I am off to check out Alice’s ghostly book . . . .

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    1. Oh gosh, what a great story! Was it scary? Or just ordinary…

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    2. I have no recollection of ever feeling intimidated or frightened, Hank, and my mom certainly wasn’t upset, so it wasn’t the least bit scary . . . .

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    3. What a great story! Thank you, Joan.

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  3. I haven't ever seen one and unlike what I'm sure will be others here, I have no interest in being haunted by one either. Not even Casper.

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    1. OK, but not haunted… Just, visiting.

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    2. Nah, not even then. If I was going to be receiving visitors at my house, I'd prefer that they be alive.

      As every horror movie with a ghost in it has shown, it never ends well for the living when the dead show up.

      I guess I'm just not a fun guy. LOL

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    3. Thank, Jay. I've been watching horror movies since I was five. Maybe I'm too jaded...

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    4. True! Don't go into the basement!

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  4. No and no, for ghosts. I doubt any would be friendly like Casper so I will pass!

    Looking forward to reading the latest Giulia mystery, Alice! I love this series.

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    1. That's so funny! You've decided they're not nice, but what if they're fine? Not spooky scary, just silent friends.. How about that?

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    2. Thanks, Grace! I keep hoping that if and when I see a ghost it will be kooky and friendly.

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    3. Exactly! Exactly. And really,why not?

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    4. Hank, I figure the ghost is still around since it is tormented and/or trapped, so I err on the side of not friendly, not happy ghost. I hope there are some kooky and friendly ghosts around for you, Alice!

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  5. I haven't seen a ghost, but Sam the Serial Killer Cat certainly used to do so. He'd sit and stare into a corner of the living room for ages. I suspect he was seeing the ghosts of all those chipmunks he slaughtered.

    Animals are odd that way.

    There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
    Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
    - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio

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    1. I so agree! I loved that Lola and Leon saw things that I couldn't see. And you have to wonder what they are. And I think about that "all the time, I really do.

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    2. Finta, I really, really want to meet a cat named "Sam the Serial Killer"--maybe even more than I want to meet a ghost.

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  6. Alice, the new book sounds wonderful. Congratulations!

    Ghosts...hmmm... do we get to choose WHO comes back? Did anyone else used to watch Topper? George & Marion Kirby helped/haunted Cosmo Topper (can't believe I remember all those names)? I loved that show. And I have a soft spot for GHOST (who wouldn't want Patrick Swayze to come back.) And The Sixth Sense.

    Hank, I like your 'rules.' Do ghosts follow rules?

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    1. LOVED Topper. And I thought about it all the time . And the Ghost and Mrs. Muir?

      And see, I'm so glad Hallie and I need RULES before we decide. Yes, my ghosts would follow the ghost rules. (Oh. I'm dibbing that title. The Ghost Rules. Seriously.) . No meanness, no scary. They can't make anything happen or hurt anyone. They give nice gentle advice and counsel. They are comforting and wise.

      Do they know the future? Do they know other ghosts? Can they answer questions about the past? We need to decide all this.

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    2. I loved Topper and the Ghost and Mrs Muir.

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    3. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was great fun. But I would not want to be in that situation.

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    4. Topper was so much fun! Also the Ghost and Mrs. Muir (IMO one of the few times the movie was better than the book).

      Hank, Giulia may need to set up some ghost rules...

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    5. She can consult all of us if she needs to... :-)

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  7. I have never seen a ghost, and I don't want to--but still I love this post!

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    1. Art, so great to see you! And don't you agree it'd be better if there were rules?

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    2. Art, I promise not to share any ghosts with you. Just my fascinators. :)

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    3. They're my favorite part of being old enough to dress the way I want.

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  8. What a great post!

    Alice, congratulations on your book - happy book birthday! Welcome to Jungle Reds!

    Ah ghosts! I do not think I have seen a ghost. I wonder if people are more likely to hear a ghost than to see a ghost? Since I lived with a significant hearing loss most of my life, I doubt I would have heard a ghost - LOL.

    Visited Winchester Mystery House with its ghosts. I watched Caspar the Friendly Ghost movies. Thinking of Beetlejuice movie where Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin's characters become ghosts and Winona Ryder's character is the only one who can see them.

    Wonder if belief in ghosts is a religious thing?

    Off topic - Alice, what was it like being a nun?

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    1. BEETLEJUICE! I love that movie so much, I could go watch it right now.

      And hmm...I guess it would depend on what you mean by "religious," right?

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    2. wonder if Ghosts is a Catholic thing? pagan thing?

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    3. Hi Bibliophile, just wanted to let you know you and I share a significant hearing loss. I do identify with you.

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    4. Thank you, Bibliophile! I want to visit the Winchester House. Someday... (Off topic answer: It was hellish, but it gave me great fodder for mysteries.)

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    5. Coralee, it's not a big deal, though it takes me a minute to recall that I do have a hearing loss. Learned how to compensate for it over the years. A friend once asked me what it's like to have a hearing loss and I asked her what it's like to be an African American. LOL .

      Alice,
      We met at Malice about two years ago and I loved your hats! The photo looks familiar - was that taken at Malice? How do you become a nun these days? I wonder if it is different from the medieval times when a family gave money to the church if their daughter wanted to become a nun?

      Reading your first Guilia book now. Reading them in order.

      Stay cool! We are having a heat wave in California.

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    6. Bibliophile, I'm glad we met in person. :) The pic was taken right before the Agatha banquet. These days to become a nun it's a long process of discernment and psych tests, plus you used to have to bring a dowry. (True!) Bride of Christ and all that.

      I hope you enjoy the books.

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  9. Since I have a friendly ghost who shows up out of the blue, yes I believe in ghosts. When I was at Long Beach Bouchercon and took a tour of Queen Mary ocean liner and we were at the pool area, yeah, there was a ghost standing in the corner looking up.

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  10. *waves* Im in all-day training at the day job, but I'll stop back this evening.

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  11. I've seen some weird stuff. Ghosts? Not sure. The one I'm remembering this morning is a little boy on a tricycle. He was maybe four years old, dressed in a tee-shirt and shorts. Nothing unusual about him at all. I met him one evening when I was out walking my dog. We talked about my dog, and he introduced himself to me as August Jody. He said he'd been sick, and was just getting out to play. He was a smart kid, and I enjoyed talking to him, so I kept an eye out for him the next night, and the next, when I walked the dog again. Never saw him, so I asked other kids on the street about him. They were a little older, but they would have known about a kid that age. They had no idea who I was talking about. I asked adults on that street. Nobody had a four-year-old named August Jody. Or any four-year-old who fit the description. To this day I have no idea who I was talking to that night. There hadn't been any adults out the evening when we talked. I am the only one who ever saw him, as far as I could find out.

    So maybe ghosts aren't scary, just strange. And maybe everyday encounters can turn into something that gives you a chill, if you have the imagination to play with it. Alice, your book sounds like fun. Hank, I loved "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I think Joan's ghosts are sweet, and I'm delighted by the idea that ghosts (or actors with a warped sense of humor and access to Elizabethan costumes) show up on security cameras. I'm willing to keep an open mind.

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    1. Gigi, what a great story. I've got chills. Was this in Missouri? Wonder if you could find a death record of the little boy...

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    2. wow, Gigi. What a chilling story. Of course it may have a perfectly logical explanation. Or--maybe not. xo

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    3. Gigi, what a fascinating story! Thank you. Have you ever looked up cemetery records for him?

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    4. Oh, good idea! Do you have to check each individual cemetery?

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    5. I had similar experiences once or twice. I remember meeting someone and having a conversation with that person in sign language. I ask around and no one seems to remember the person. Never occurred to me that the person could be a ghost. I thought it was because other people were not as observant as I am. LOL . It could have been a ghost or an angel. I

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    6. Yes, it was in Missouri, but there's no central cemetery registry. I'd have to go through records for each one. I don't recall a cemetery near there, although there might have been an old family farm cemetery. I also seem to recall, in asking around, that the people who lived in the house where I saw him--he was riding his trike in the driveway--didn't have children. I assumed, in talking to him, that August Jody was not his full name. He was probably August Jody Smith, or something like that. I suspect he will remain a mystery.

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  12. Like others never seen a ghost and don't really want to - but what a great post!

    Mary/Liz

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    1. Isn't it? That photos are amazing.

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    2. There are SO MANY photos, some less believable than others. Some are genuinely creepy.

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  13. I've never seen a ghost, as far as I know, but I've heard, smelled and been touched by one, within the space of a half hour. When I asked it to please leave me alone, it did.

    A high school classmate who has worked all his adult life as a Hollywood camera man, also had a show about ghost hunting. He has some wild stories to tell.

    Alice, I love your Giulia books, and look forward to this one!

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    1. At a motel in Thermopolis, Wyoming, about five years ago.

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    2. Karen, thank you! I would probably go into major freakout mode if a ghost touched me!

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    3. I'd been driving for ten hours, and was too exhausted to freak out!

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    4. Karen, I've done epic drives like that and you're 100% right.

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  14. My husband had a relative who lived in an grand old house in Rye, NY.

    She was quite an eccentric! She claimed that the house ghost used her phone and ran up the phone bill. (This was way before cell phones). Her solution was to put in a pay phone!

    There was a story about her husband, who wasn't convinced about the ghost, having to admit uncertainty when a large kitchen knife flew across the kitchen without anyone nearby.

    There was also this cubby in the attic where a family crazy had been kept. My husband spent the night in the attic and heard a screeching door in the middle of the night, twice. Around the same time his mother, who was on another floor, heard someone in the hall and saw a shadow outside her bedroom door. The steps went into the room next door, returned to her door, and then left. The timing of the attic door noise seemed to match the bedroom wanderer leaving the attic, wandering downstairs, and then returning to the attic.

    The door to the cubby was shown to produce the screech he had heard.
    Libby Dodd

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    1. Wow, Libby. Two people involved at the same time? Yeesh.

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    2. Libby, that is seriously spooky.

      In one of the old convents I lived in, one of the nuns said the crucifix on her wall detached itself and flew across the room at least once. A ghost would have to be pretty cranky to inhabit a convent.

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    3. Alice, it was probably a nun ghost!

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    4. Had to be, right? How else would she get in? (It's a rule.)

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  15. Alice, congratulations on your book!

    I'm not sure I've ever seen a ghost. Does it count that my grandmother visited me the morning of her funeral? I didn't "see" her, just felt an incredibly strong presence. While I don't believe in horror movie type ghosts, I'm definitely in the "more things in heaven and earth" camp.

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    1. That is DEFINITELY the same, Debs. A ghost doesn't have to look like a ghost"--humans just made that up.

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    2. Thank you, Deborah! And yes, that totally counts!

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  16. I've never seen a ghost, and the control enthusiast in me feels like seeing a ghost would add to my to-do list. Do I need to offer it refreshments? Make small talk?

    Congrats on the book, Alice! You have a fascinating background! How did the move from nun to writer happen?

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    1. I know, right? all the reds seem to be needing RULES. And what if the ghost doest speak english? Or speak? What happens to small talk then? The whole thing is fraught.

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    2. I think the control enthusiast personality is well represented in the Reds!

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    3. Thank you, Ingrid! Hmm... what refreshments would a ghost want? If I baked cookies, would inhaling the aroma be enough?

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    4. See? Gotta figure that out. Do they EAT? I think--I scream. Or Boston scream pie.

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  17. I've never seen a ghost but one of the things I loved about visiting England was that it seemed everyone had a ghost in their house - especially the older ones. It felt like all the best homes had one. Would I like to see one? Yes, definitely, yes. Do I believe in them? No, not really. Congrats on the release of your book, Alice! I loved the creepy pictures in this post - most definitely makes me want to read The Clock Strikes Nun!

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    1. So agree. Definitely like to see one. xo

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    2. Thank you, Jenn! I haven't traveled much at all, but I'd love to do a ghost tour. I wonder if there's a list of haunted B&Bs?

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    3. I don't know about B&Bs, but there are definitely lists of haunted historic hotels. It's a great excuse to stay in some lovely historic hotels.

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    4. So tempting! *adding to the bucket list*

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  18. I loved Topper and the hiccupping St Bernard! As to ghosts, I've never seen one but have felt spooked at one time. No pun intended. When we lived in Ohio we were out in the township on a few acres. There were times when I was outside at night hauling the trash down the lane I definitely felt uneasy. That lasted a couple of weeks. I heard later that our nearest neighbor had been fooling around with a Ouija board. I've been to a number of supposedly haunted places but the ghosts were on break. My sister and I are off on a road trip next week to Deadwood, S.D. I'm sure we'll indulge ourselves with some ghost tours but I'm not holding my breath that we'll see any. I think I have reverse magnetism when it comes to haunts, so if anyone needs my services....

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    1. Oh, PatD--I love that idea! You can offer your services as a ghost protector. Who's to say it doesn't work, right?

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    2. Pat D, I think you've mapped out a new career for yourself!

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  19. I haven't seen a ghost, but I have felt wrongness. Have you ever entered a empty room and felt that it had some thing off or wrong inside it? That happens frequently for me, spaces have energy. anyone else? anyone? Bueller? ..

    Alice! I get to meet you!. I have read about you for years..and read you, and here you are. Welcome to JRW.

    Finally.. Hank: Would you please thank your husband for all he has done for the country. I doubt that I will ever meet him in person so would you do this for me? I just learned his last name. He is one of my heroes. I was gobsmacked to discover your Jonathan was that Jonathan.

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    1. OH, my goodness, Coralee! Thank you! I will call him right now! Aw. He will be thrilled. Thank you!

      And yes, I completely agree wit the "Empty" room situation. More things on heaven and earth! xooo

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    2. Thank you, Coralee! I'm not sure if I've felt that kind of wrongness. I have felt the opposite--a definite sense of "rightness" in a room or an outdoor space.

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    3. Oh, Coralee, a man once came to my office on an errand for his mother, and I felt like I was in the presence of pure evil. I couldn't wait for him to leave.

      Deb Romano

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  20. And Alice will be here! She got snagged into a big meeting today..

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  21. *waves* I'm here and have thanked everyone so far. Your stories are great. (Much more interesting than all-day training.)

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    1. Yay! Welcome--and what a great blog! And may I ask--"the new direction my series is taking" you say..Hmm. May we ask what that is???

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    2. Hank, thank you again for having me here today! The "new direction" is ghost hunting all mixed up with murder and mysteries. Giulia's dealing with a major paradigm shift--and pregnancy--all at once. And people wonder why pregnant women have odd food cravings!

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    3. HANK here: Oh, so fabulous! And my pleasure! xooxo

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  22. I've never seen a ghost but there is a restaurant in town that used to be an inn built in 1802 that does claim a ghost. Many people have seen her!

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    1. Whoa. Does she come as the appetizer? Or does she bring the drinks..I mean, the booooooze.

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  23. Not interested in seeing ghosts, if they DO exist, but I do want to read Alice's book! I've read most of them and have enjoyed them.

    And I was also a Topper fan!

    Deb Romano

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    1. Wonder if they will make that again? I loved it! Marian was so droll.

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