Jessie: In New Hampshire, tucking the last bulbs into the ground before it freezes!
During October we are discussing The Unexplained. So, Wickeds, have you ever had an experience you just couldn’t explain?
Edith/Maddie: It happens occasionally right here at my desk. Seriously, how is it that I can write characters doing things that surprise me – and the words came through my own fingertips? It feels so much like the characters really are alive and are guiding what I write. And I don’t know how that comes about. I love it and am delighted by it, but it mystifies me every time.
Sherry: Edith, I agree that writing often seems mystical. I met some friends in my hometown of Davenport, Iowa a few years ago. We stayed in this beautiful, old art deco hotel in the downtown area. Cary Grant was staying there when he died so it’s rumored that he haunts the hotel. A friend and I were in her room when there was a knock on the door. She answered but no one was there. We both looked up and down the hall. No one was in it and because it’s an older hotel, there weren’t any hiding places in the hall. We closed the door, went to sit down, and both felt this light breeze brush by. We looked at each other and said, “Hi, Cary.” I’ve always thought it might make a fun premise for a paranormal cozy–a hotel manager who can see Cary Grant.
Liz: I’ve always wanted to have a haunted hotel experience, Sherry! At a former job I used to have to travel to Dubuque, IA every so often. There was this amazing hotel there called the Julien where I absolutely loved to stay. Al Capone allegedly owned the hotel while he was a mob boss in Chicago and used to escape there for quiet time pretty often. I always hoped he was there haunting the place and awaited evidence, but alas never saw anything spooky.
Julie: Edith, I agree about the magic of ideas. And Sherry, if you’re going to be haunted, Cary Grant is a good way to go. Many years ago, I lived in an apartment that had a poltergeist. I’d noticed things, but didn’t say anything to my roommate. I’d not be able to find a strand of pearls, then I’d find them in the living room under a cushion. Unexplained noises. That sort of thing. She’d apparently had the same issue–flashing lights in mirrors. One day we were both standing in the living room arguing, and a can of roach spray that was on top of the refrigerator (it was that kind of apartment) flew between us and hit the wall. I was never able to explain that.
Barb: The B&B my mother-in-law ran in Boothbay Harbor, Maine (and that my husband and I later owned) was rumored to be haunted by the sister of Captain Murray, the original owner of the house. Some people believed this, I emphasize. Miss Murray haunted Room 2, which, given the layout of the bedrooms, logically could have been hers. My husband and I almost never slept there, but one weekend we had a family gathering and every other room was full, so we stayed in Room 2. Our cocker spaniel MacKenzie was with us. He whined, paced around on his toenails, and panted all night. None of us were getting any sleep. We didn’t want to let him out of the room because we were afraid he would bark at a guest who got up in the night or went down early to breakfast. But finally, at dawn, we could stand it no longer. As soon as we opened the door, MacKenzie ran out, flung himself down in the hall and immediately fell into a deep sleep. I still say there were squirrels in the walls, but other people insist…
Jessie: I love all your stories! And I agree with magically inexplicable ideas and writing flow. I always feel so blessed when it happens to me. Some of my most intriguing experiences have been auditory. I have had two times in my life where a voice in my left ear has kept me from real harm in a vehicular accident. I cannot explain it in the least but I believe, in the first case at leasr, that I owe it my life.
Readers, have you ever had an experience you could not explain?