Thursday, October 27, 2011

Halloween Event: Ghosts - Darynda Jones (Guest Post & Giveaway)

ReadingBetweentheWinesBookClub
For the last ghostly post of the day I have the fabulous Darynda Jones joining us for a post about her very own haunting encounter. Darynda is the author of the Charley Davidson series, and features a part-time P.I. who also just happens to be the Grim Reaper. Hopefully by the end the chills won't be too bad and you can enter the giveaway! J



Hello Dear Readers,

Thank you for having me today! I’d like to talk about something near and dear to my heart. Will-o’-the-wisps. Apparitions. Ghosts.

Now not everyone believes in ghosts and that’s cool. I completely understand. I mean, yeah, you feel the occasional cold spot in an otherwise scorching room. A brush across your neck when no one is around. And let’s not forget the ever-popular levitating object. But absolutely, keep denying their existence. Ghosts? Really? Pffft. That’s just crazy talk.

Or is it? We all have ghost stories, right? How about that time you saw a stranger standing at the end of a dark hall. Or when you spent the weekend at your aunt’s house and she decided to spring the fact that her humble abode was haunted as you got ready for bed. (Thanks, Aunt Barb!) You can’t tell me you didn’t ‘see things’ that night. And possibly even needed therapy afterward.

Statistically speaking, 18% of Americans claim to have seen a ghost. Surely 18% of the population can’t be wrong, right? Well, okay, they can, but I am here to give you one more piece of fodder to add fuel to that already raging fire of curiosity.

When I was 12, my family moved into a very normal looking house. It had normal windows and normal carpet and a ghost. I didn’t know that at the time, so it was quite a surprise when I saw him. I know, I know, there is nothing more active than the imagination of a 12-year-old. But hear me out.

So, we move in and weird things start happening. You know, the usual stuff. All unexplained and eerie. Then one day a visiting friend said she saw a little boy in a yellow shirt run across the hall. Admittedly, that freaked me out. But weeks went by and nothing. Just when I’d almost forgotten about him, I was sitting at my dresser, getting ready for bed one night when I looked in the mirror and peeking out from under my bed was a little blond boy with a yellow shirt. He was just gazing up at me, his chin propped in his cupped hands, the expression on his face utterly endearing. I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t move.

Finally, I turned around to look at him, but he was gone. I looked back in the mirror. Nothing. I scrambled to search under the bed, in my closet, over the door-jam, just in case. He’d vanished. The most darling boy I’d ever seen was gone.

It took me a while to shake that experience. I didn’t know what to think, if I should even believe my own eyes. Sadly, I never saw him again. Then a few years later, I was hanging out with a friend from high school. We’d known each other a long time, but had never really spent time together. We started talking about where we lived and learned that our streets weren’t that far apart.

“But I used to live on your street, too,” she said. “What house number?”
I told her and she blinked in surprise a few times before saying, “That’s where I lived.”

“No kidding?” I said. “You used to live in my house?”

“Yep. When I was little. We moved when I was about seven. And I have to ask you since you’re in that house, have you seen the little boy, yet?”

While I am still iffy on the whole apparition thing myself, that is a true story. It shocked me to the core. And even though I never saw that boy again, a part of me wonders what happened to him. I would love to know that he is okay, his days spent playing with other children who have the inexplicable ability to vanish before one’s eyes. 




~*GIVEAWAY*~
Darynda is kindly offering one hardcover copy of Second Grave on the Left to one reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering this question: Do you believe in ghosts? Or have you ever had a ghostly encounter yourself? Then fill out the rafflecopter below! 








66 comments:

  1. Darynda, thanks for this post. I love hearing other people's ghost stories, I do have a few myself... and if they aren't ghost stories, they are creepy stories at least. I think that there are ghosts/spirits/ whatever...too many weird things happen without being able to attribute them to regular occurrences... Plus, it's almost halloween, perfect time for ghost stories! Thanks for the contest as well! Book Savvy Babe

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  2. yes i do beleive in ghosts and i would like to be able to see one

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  3. OMG that is awesome! I love ghost stories but they scare me to sh*ts!! Great post! I'm in love with Darynda's Charley Davidson series. I was fortunate to get an ARC of book 3 and it's just as amazing as the other! :D

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  4. OH, and yes I believe there are ghosts around. Too many unexplained sightings. But I've never encountered one, thank the gods!!

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  5. Yes, I believe in ghosts. I swear the house I lived in growing up had a few hanging around.

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  6. Not sure I believe in ghosts but for sure I get scared of them. As for encounter, when my nanny died, I think she visited us. I didn't see anything, but heard something in the dining room. I was scared out of my mind.

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  7. I do believe in ghosts although I have never encountered one. There are too many people who testify to this fact.

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  8. What a great, and might I add positive, ghostly experience. I don't believe or disbelieve to be honest. So many people I know have had experiences but I haven't. Kinda hard to scoff at someone else's experiences when so many are interesting and make ya wonder.

    Thanks for sharing your story Darynda!

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  9. I am a firm believer of ghosts since I had an experience with one as a child. My husband and I are always looking for haunted hotels to stay at to see if we experience anything as well. It is a fascinating subject.

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  10. I have a few ghost stories and they totally creep me out. I am huge wimp. I can not even watch scary movies anymore.lol. If anyone ever visits my grandmas house they would be a firm ghost believer. I refuse to go further then the living room now.

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  11. I love hearing about other people's ghost stories. I do believe in ghosts and think things are out there like that but I have never had an encounter myself.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

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  12. Yes I do believe in ghost but I've never seen one. There's been a few times I've felt like someone was here but never saw anyone.

    sstrode at scrtc dot com

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  13. I really want to believe in ghosts. My family has many ghost stories surrounding us, so I'd say I'm a believer. :)

    natashajennex(at)Gmail.com

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  14. I don't know if I believe...but I do love watching the Ghost Hunters show :)

    Eva
    evitap67(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. i believe in something.. had some odd occurances after my grampa died.. the funeral was pouring rain, windy.. when the preacher guy went up to say his words then my gramma.. the wind died down and the rain stopped.. as soon as they were done talking, rain and wind again.. some things like that

    love this book, would LOVE to win a copy!

    alainala AT hotmail DOT ca

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  16. Thank you so much Darynda for this giveaway! This book is on my "buy" list so it would be awesome to get a copy! Yes! I soooo believe in ghosts.
    -Dawn aka dawnmomoffour
    thedoyle6@rogers.com

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  17. No ghostly encounters, but I do belive in ghosts.

    Skk25@aol.com

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  18. Ooh that was a good story, it's stories like that are what make me believe. Too many accounts to be written off. Never had a ghost experience myself...hope it sticks to the books I read!

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  19. I do believe in ghosts. I think there is potential for anything in this world.

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  20. I believe in ghosts. I don't know if I have had an experience or if it is the cats messing with me. I've had lights turn on when no one was around and stuff is always misplaced.

    Thank you for the giveaway! jbronderblogs at aol dot com

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  21. I don't really know if I believe.

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  22. Yes I believe. The house my husband and I live in now is haunted. I've seen a man standing in my kitchen, my husband has seen what he describes as shadows or shadow people and we've both heard voices. We've had sensatives come through our house and they've told us that there are several things in our home. My husband actually investigates some with an amature paranormal investigation group. So I most definitely believe in ghosts.

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  23. I believe in ghosts. I don't remember having any ghost encounters myself but my late husband and many people in his family were sensitive to ghosts and had a number of ghost stories.

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  24. I have never had an encounter with a ghost but all the reality shows about them fascinate me!

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  25. I do believe in ghosts or just the unexplainable. I don't want to see, hear, or feel anything though, but I do believe.

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  26. Yes and Yes. A house I bought when I was 23 had weird things goin on in it. Terrible scratching from outside the house that moved from room to room where ever I went. That mess stopped after I bought a dog. I had my parents help me check outside the house for marks, and there were none. Then one night I saw this guy. I followed 'him' out of my room in the middle of the night after being woke up, all the way down the hall and to the front door. Then he 'left' and I went back to bed in this completely dazed state of mind. Never saw him again. Weird things continued to happen until I sold the place and moved out of state. So yeah, I'm a believer.
    Thanks for the chance at this giveaway!
    Sebrina_Cassity(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  27. Yes I believe in Ghosts. Tore923@aol.com

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  28. What an amazing response!!! Thank you guys so much! I love hearing your ghost stories, and if you don't quite believe, I understand. This actually happened and I'm still a little iffy. My logical mind keep saying, "No, there has to be an explanation." LOL.

    Thanks again! And keep those stories coming! ~D~

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  29. I don't disbelieve. Not the same thing, but still...

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  30. I believe in ghost but I think some are just our spiritual guides.

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  31. No, I don't believe in ghosts. I do love to read about them however. The idea of ghosts, is just way to creepy for me. When I think of ghosts, they are never nice ones!

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  32. I'm not really sure. I did have a feeling once after my grandmother died of someone sleeping behind me. I was so freaked out, that it took me forever to fall asleep.

    Christina
    shadowhunters_jace_clary@hotmail.com

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  33. I guess I believe in angels but things like spirits that just haunt random spaces I don't believe in that. LOVE Darynda!

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  34. No, I don't believe in ghosts, and yes, I've seen them. I grew up in an old house in New Orleans. Whenever I walked into the living room, I'd see a family standing in the dining room, posing as if for a family portrait. If I turned to look directly at them, they'd disappear. But I saw them for years. All wore white, and their clothing looked like something from the 1800's. Many years later, I saw a woman in a friend's house in NY, and found out the caretaker spoke to the female ghost on a regular basis. So, nope, not there. (Right there...)

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  35. I Believe!
    audie(at)wickerness(dot)com

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  36. Yes I believe in them but never have seen any.

    Thanks for this giveaway!

    redfirewood888(AT)yahoo(DOT)ca

    Ollie aka DarkBloodyVamp

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  37. Of course, I believe in ghosts. I have see one in shadow. But, the most convincing fact is...too many people have seen ghosts for them not to be real.
    mom1248(at)att(dot)net

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  38. I love hearing interesting ghost stories, thank you for the chance to win!

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  39. I would never admit to believing in ghosts out loud.(they might hear me & I want to be invisible to them) I'm a big fraidy cat. Inwardly, I say, yes....and cringe in my boots!

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  40. I was just reading through the comments and I kept hearing

    " I do believe in ghosts, I do believe in ghosts" From the Cowardly Lion in Wizard of Oz. lol!!

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  41. Yes, I believe in ghosts, but I'm usually in such a fog that one would literally have to tap my shoulder for me to notice it, so I don't have any real life stories to share.

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  42. No, I don't really believe in ghost, and I've never had such an encounter myself.

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  43. Hi
    Do I believe in spirits? Kinda yeah
    I went to a seance with my sister a few years ago. Now, I was sitting with my chair against the wall. No one behind me. There was room between my sister and I and on the other side of me sat a person I did not know.
    As we got into the seance, the medium started to go to different people with stuff. As I sat there soemthing was like stroking my head. It was strange. I did not get any messages that night. Actually I don't think I ever got a message for me. I got one for my sister when her father-in-law died.

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  44. Yes, I believe in ghosts, but have never actually encountered one or had any type of ghostly experience.

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  45. Yes, I completely and utterly believe in ghosts. Sadly, I haven't had any encounters with any. I don't think I pay attention enough, or I've killed off too many brain cells to process what I'm seeing!!!

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  46. Thanks for a great post and giveaway! I just got book one and can't wait to start reading !

    I don't believe in ghosts. Never have. But again, never have had any spooky experiences either.

    efender1@gmail.com

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  47. i would like to be able to see one

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  48. Yes I believe in ghosts and yes I've had a ghostly encounter.

    mljfoland AT hotmail DOT com

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  49. I don't believe in ghosts because I don't like scaring myself like that ;)

    lilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  50. I don't believe in ghosts and I never want to see any...
    I guess I´m afraid too much xD

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  51. Yes, I do. When I was 12 yrs old, I lost my very best friend...my Grandma. As you can imagine, I was very upset, crying so hard I could barely breathe. I went in to the bathroom to wash my face. When I look up into the mirror...it wasn't my face that was reflected there...it was Grandma's! She wasn't 'spooky', she just smiled at me and nodded her head...as if to tell me that everything was OK. I couldn't speak, but I nodded and tried to smile back...and a feeling of calmness quickly spread over me and I stopped crying. Then her image faded and I was left looking at myself in the mirror. It was a very profound moment. It didn't last very long...but it had a huge impact on my life. Forty years later and I still remember it as though it were yesterday! It still brings a tear to my eye and comfort to my heart to know that her love for me allowed her to stop her journey to the other side for a moment...just to comfort me.

    barbbattaglia@yahoo.com

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  52. Oh yes I believe in ghosts and yes I have had ghostly experiences- more than once.

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  53. My family has a history of spooky goings on. So I grew up seeing things and thinking it was fairly normal until I figured out through the kids at school, that it wasn't. Some things have happened that were very scarey and even required a blessing of my house...more then once. So yes, I definitely believe in ghosts and I have had a lot of encounters.

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

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  54. I believe in ghost. Well, I believe there another beings live together with us. As long we not bother them, they not bother us too. But sometimes they just want to have fun, which in my case , fun = spooky.

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  55. Yes, I believe. My mom had an encounter when she was little and it really scared her. She's told us the story several times and it still creeps me out. I had a weird experience a little while ago. I was in our bedroom on the computer when my pony tail was pulled with enough strength that it snapped my head back. I turned around mad and ready to yell at one of my kids just to see that my room was empty. My kids were all snuggled in a blanket on the couch in the other room engrossed in a movie and no one else was in the house. It creeped me out!!!

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  56. I do believe in ghosts. There are things that happen that just cant be explained.

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  57. I have never encountered a ghost but I do believe it's possible that they might exist.
    mce1011 AT aol DOT com

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  58. My mom swears that a ghost rearranged the furniture in my brother and my rooms when we were sleeping when I was about 5. I did wake up with my be onthe other side of teh room!

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  59. I've no reason to believe, but would be fascinated if something changed my mind.

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  60. With nothing to back it up, I do believe in the possibility.

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  61. I do believe in ghosts, but haven't seen any. Don't wish to.

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  62. Nope, I definitely don't and haven't had any remotely ghostly experiences.

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  63. I have never had a ghostly encounter but I do kind of believe in them a little.

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  64. I don't believe in ghosts, but I love reading anout them =) Thank you so much for the giveaway. I loved Darynda's first book. Reyes...sigh ;)
    Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  65. I do believe in ghosts but I have never encountered one.

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