Grafton County Series,  Research,  The life of a writer

Haunted House: Crime Writer’s Research Trip

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to a reported haunted house for research. I’m now racing toward the finish line for RACKED and edits come back for SILENT MAYHEM tomorrow (UPDATE: SILENT MAYHEM is now available in paperback and ebook HERE). Hence why I missed posting this last week. Plus, y’know, I took Sunday off to watch my team win the Super Bowl. 😀

Okay, ready? Let’s stroll through a haunted house.

In the 1900’s, the owner of this property sliced the house in half — horizontally, which is bizarre all on its own — and dumped the top two floors in a swamp. That’s where it remains today. Over time the swamp dried up, as you can see in the pic. Actually, this house stands on the main drag through downtown Bristol, New Hampshire.

Being an old, rundown house, I figured maybe that’s where the rumors stemmed from. But I was, oh, so, wrong.

When I first entered the house everything seemed okay. In general, abandoned properties don’t creep me out. After all, I’m a crime writer. We thrive on creepy. 🙂

Then I hit the stairwell, and my whole outlook changed.

No more jokes about poltergeist, no more idle chitchat. Jill (the homeowner) and I were no longer alone. And we both knew it.

“There’s something about these stairs that freak me out,” said Jill. “But the upstairs is where it really gets creepy.”

“Can’t wait,” I said, swallowing a hard lump in my throat.

Whatever possessed me to come here? Did I really need to include this particular house in RACKED? Maybe I could just invent an abandoned property on the same street.

As you can probably deduce from my thought process, unknown entities aren’t my favorite things to deal with, but that’s precisely why I trekked on. If I’m frightened, my readers will be too. At times, I can take that advice to an extreme level, like the time I locked myself inside a steel drum to experience Sage’s terror in CLEAVED, or the time I asked my husband to bury me in the backyard to test my research for How To Escape Your Grave. BTW, you may want to read that post. If you ever get buried alive, it could save your life. 😉

Anyway, back to my story. As I climbed the stairs, this writing quote kept repeating in my mind …

“Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little.” ~ Holley Gerth

Traipsing through a haunted house isn’t exactly what the author had in mind, but the scenes I’d soon write will be.

The top floor had a much heavier feel to the air. Something strange consumed this level, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Was it anger? Sadness? Grief? Whoever occupied this haunted house sure wasn’t happy, though. Was this the site of a murder? Or did the occupants die naturally, suffering, their bodies wasting away from disease?

 

Jill escorted me into the loft bedroom. When I scanned the room, I couldn’t get a bead on much. This view piqued my curiosity, though.

Why have a door to the outside, with no balcony? Maybe it fell off during the transition from homestead to swamp. Or maybe, at one time, it led to secret room.

 

And that’s when things a took a chilling turn.

If I hadn’t personally experienced what I’m about to tell you, even I would have doubts. Jill swung open the door to small room. The second I raised my camera, two entities zoomed straight at us. My frantic gaze shot to Jill.

“Yup.” Nodding, her eyes were as wide as they could open. “I saw it, too.”

Don’t believe me? Check out the photo …

 

See how the two orbs are in motion? They stopped inches from my face. Inches!

All the tiny hairs on my nape snapped to attention.

They know we’ve invaded their space, and they’re not happy about it.

 

 

 

The orbs followed us into every room. That’s why they’re always on the left. As soon as I raised my camera, they’d zoom into the frame. This next shot is looking up into the attic. No, I didn’t have the nerve to go up there. Jill didn’t either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we made the mistake of opening a trap door.

 

 

What’s that glowing white thing to the right of the orbs?

If you look closely, there’s a nose, eye indentation, and what looks like an ear.

 

 

 

We left the haunted house pretty quick after that. There’s research, and then there’s knowing when to get the hell outta Dodge. The worst part? I forgot to take pics of the back door — from inside and out — which is crucial to my story. It’s the main reason I went in the first place. So, guess who needs to go back to this creep-fest? <facepalm>

Let’s hope Orb 1 and Orb 2 don’t mind a return visit. Gulp.

Need some comic relief after this post? I’m also on the Kill Zone today: When Real Life Collides With Fiction.

UPDATE: RACKED releases on August 7, 2019. Pre-order for 99c! 

 

 

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.

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