Friday, October 1, 2010

Kiki’s October Haunted Places Contest


Burying Point – Salem, MA

It is funny, but even with Halloween being one of my favorite holidays and the fact that I write paranormal stories year round, those created Haunted Houses set up all over the place this time of year are just not my thing at all!  However, real haunted houses or places, I am not so sure about.  I recently went on a two and a half hour Haunted Footprints tour of Salem, MA one night this summer.  While I didn’t encounter any ghosts, my camera says other wise.  And, when I was young, there was this abandoned house in the woods behind my own home that I often explored during the day.  By the looks of the place, it could have easily been haunted.  I have often wondered if the house is still standing.  It would be cool to go back there now, and at night.  So, of course it is no surprise that I used it as a setting in one of my stories.

Excerpt from “The Stone Hex” in the Mystic Stones Anthology:

“Having come to the end of the trail she followed, Rachael paused where
the full green of the tree line gave way to an open expanse of land. The remains of a field, long unattended, rolled out before her until the sun-drenched colors of the landscape took on the blackness of shadow. From where she stood it seemed as if the long-abandoned house had burned the earth with its mere presence. The symmetry of the two-story square made it appear intimidating, despite it’s aged wood and cracking paint, as if the house was smirking at her in a domineering stance. Furthermore, the large fallen tree whose weight the house now sustained seemed an elaboration of contorted fingers grappling for possession of the sky itself. Dead twigs of brown held onto its foundation as if paying homage to their master.

Once she left the protection of the trees, the house, black with the soot of
neglect, chilled her even as the sun burned upon her shoulders. Nevertheless,
this was how the house had greeted her for years. As a few clouds rolled in
muting the sun, the light-play of shadows gave the illusion of specters in the
windows.

Alone with this house, Rachael always realized how far she had come
from civilization; nonetheless, she still reveled in her solitude. She had left far
behind the small fall of water in the woods just beyond her backyard that always enticed her to sit and the upward curve of the stream that always lured her up the hill. Pulling up onto the creaking porch from the bare ground where steps must have once been, she stepped gingerly.

She squeezed her body into the house beside the ancient heavy door with
rusted hinges and walked into the living room as if she owned the place. The
sun filtering through the filthy windows furthered the anomaly of the eerie feel of an aged room. It never ceased to amaze her how time took its toll. She started up the stairs walking with her hand on the wall never quite trusting the wobbly banister or the middle of the warped stairs. Her hand grazed over an upturned seam of the yellowing wallpaper right where an old red flower bled across it.”

So, in the spirit of Halloween and Haunted Places everywhere, I wanted to hold a contest during the month of Halloween.  All you have to do is send an email to howell [dot] kiki [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line “Haunted House Contest Entry” before midnight on Oct. 30th, 2010  In the body of the email  you can either (a) share a brief account of a time you visited a real haunted place (regardless of whether you encountered any paranormal activity or not), or (b) tell me whether you like those created haunted houses or not sharing where the scariest one is.  Easy!  If you are reading this on a blog, then share the same information in the comments section for an additional entry – just please include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

Then, Sunday Oct. 31, I will pick the winners.  One winner will be picked randomly just for emailing or commenting on a blog, One winner will be picked out of those who were brave enough to enter those created haunted houses this time of year, and one winner will be chosen for sharing a real haunted place story with me.  I am reserving the right to choose extra winners as well based upon my reactions to the emails and comments. I mean it is Halloween, one just never knows what will happen *laughs evilly*

Winners will be contacted by email and announced on various blogs, etc.

Winners will be able to chose one ebook in PDF format from my released stories.  Eligible book titles are listed below. For book blurbs, reviews, lists of paranormal creatures and erotic content warnings for each please visit my website, www.kikihowell.com

Mystic Stones Anthology
The Witches Beast Novella
The Healing Spell and Other Stories Anthology
Rituals Novella
A Modern Day Witch Hunt Short Novel
A Questionable Hero Novella
The Sorcerer’s Songs Novella



3 comments:

Lucy Beugeling-Ramos said...

I've never been at a haunted place but I like to watch programs about haunted places on tv!

lucybeugelingramos@gmail.com

D L Jackson said...

Hey, Kiki. I've got three pictures of three diffent places. The one that has stuck with me, however, doesn't show up on the flat screen the way it does on the old glass curved screen computers. Anyway, my brother has a creepy hobby, he goes out with the intent to photograph ghosts and he's gotten some pretty amazing images. Old cemetarys, ghost towns, and old smelting plant and sights of accidents and murders. Like an old saloon or the photo I want to talk about. One photo was taken from the front dash of his truck. At first he thought it was an old foundation, but once he got home and saw the picture, red fog with 13 faces in it. Wasn't there when he snapped. So, he went to the local library and found out it was an old mine, now a grave, sealed off in the 1800s when it collapsed.
When I saw it, the hair on my arms stood on end. He later to me to the spot after dark. I wouldn't get out of the truck. The bastard.
dlareejackson1@gmail.com

Kiki Howell - Author said...

Thanks for entering & sharing:)

Lucy, I love those shows too!

DL, your brothers hobby sounds cool and creepy! LOL I grew up around West Virginia and have been around lots of closed mines, but never at night. The picture sounds amazing.