The Scary List

One of the things I have to do during the course of writing one of my Bridgeton Park Cemetery Books is figure out a bunch of scary things to include in each story. So I run down my running list of things that scare me:

A face behind me in the mirror.

Someone in my house looking out at me while I'm in the yard, even though I know the house is empty.

Any appliance or electrical gadget turning itself on, or off, without assistance. (Speaking of which, my washing machine turned itself on four times in a row the other morning. What's up with that???)

Disembodied voices.

Something moving that shouldn't be moving, while I watch it.

Or coming home and finding things in places they shouldn't be, and knowing no one was around to have moved them.

When I had a dog, having it bark at or react to something I couldn't see. Ditto for the cats.

The more subtle thing of feeling like someone is watching me, or that I'm not alone even though I know that physically I am.

And of course, the real corker: seeing an apparition.

Anyone who reads my books knows that Michael sees apparitions, and Cassie sometimes sees them. However, she is a sensitive and knows when someone dead is around, providing that dead person wants to make contact with her. The fact that both of these characters are psychic can make it tougher for me to write something scary, although at the moment, neither of them is entirely comfortable with what they can do, and that's fine. Actually, if I had any of their abilities, I don't know that I'd ever be entirely comfortable with it, either! 

Thus, I watch all the paranormal reality shows that I do, looking for inspiration and ideas. And even if I don't find either, I usually enjoy myself while I'm doing the research. But I do get ideas and I do learn a lot of things, watching those shows. The abilities some people have are mind-boggling. (I'm looking at you, Amy Allen.) And the things that have happened to some people are nearly unbelievable, except that I believe them, when those people tell their stories.

I hope that with all the research, all the shows, all the information I pick up here and there, that most of what I write is also believable, at least on some level. I know that what I write will be scoffed at and met with disbelief by many, so I am so grateful for those who read my work and buy into the premise, even if it's just for the duration of the story. Because that means that 1) I picked good items from my running list and 2), as a writer, I did my job.