Ghostly Guidance

This is a blog I wrote for a guest post at Roxanne’s Realm as a part of the Troubled Spirits Blog tour. You can read the original post here

casperBefore writing Troubled Spirits, I was a supernatural skeptic. Sure, I had watched Casper the Friendly Ghost as a kid and have seen all of the Ghostbuster movies, but I didn’t believe. Before I delved into a story involving the paranormal I did some research. Here’s what I uncovered:


  • Although throughout Troubled Spirits I interchanged the words ghost and spirit, there is a difference. Ghosts are the souls of people who are trapped here. As a result, they are often, but not always, angry. Most of the supernatural beings in Troubled Spirits are ghosts.  Spirits are beings who have the ability to move in and out of the spiritual realms. Annie’s grandmother would be considered a spirit. So why did I, knowing the difference, flip back and forth between ghosts and spirits?  First to avoid word repetition. And second, the ‘Spirits’ in the title is a reference to both definitions of spirit—attitude and soul.
  • When ghosts interact with the living, there is a significant temperature drop. Usually at least ten degrees. This is because ghosts draw energy from their surroundings. They’ll also pull energy from batteries and other electronic devices. As an absolute last resort, they will siphon energy from the people around them, leaving that person exhausted. Annie experiences this phenomenon in Troubled Spirits.
  • An entity’s touch feels like a small electric charge on the skin or it may cause goose bumps. During one of my interviews, I spoke with a security guard who had encountered a very old spirit. After hours one night, he investigated a report of a child sighted in one of the buildings. He and his partner arrived to find a young girl sitting in a chair. She wouldn’t speak to either of them. The security guard, who also happened to be a paramedic, checked her pulse. It felt strong and regular. But when the two guards turned away for a moment, the girl disappeared. A search of the building came up empty. There were no reports of any missing children. Later he met with a medium and spoke with her about his experience. She informed him that the entity he encountered was able to use her energy to allow him to feel a pulse. I was thankful for this interview, because it allowed me to give the ghosts in Troubled Spirits a little extra freedom.
  • I’ll end with sharing one of my own supernatural experiences. In addition to being an author, I’m also an ER nurse. Much of my job involves saving lives, but some people slip from our grasp as healthcare workers. When this happens, we move the patient to a more private room to allow the family to spend time with their loved one and say their goodbyes. We always use the same room.

One night, we brought a spirit box into ‘the room’.

We huddled together in the darkness listening to the fuzzy static of my coworker’s modified AM/FM radio.  “Has anyone died here?” he called out. The entity responded with two words that I can’t repeat. Because they were unkind. This was the inspiration for Annie’s first encounter with ghost of the Caldwell School.

Like Annie Waters, I began my journey into the paranormal world as a disbeliever, but before long I realized—my only choice was to believe.

I have purchase links for Troubled Spirits on my website.

Finding Inspirtation









