Happy Pre-Halloween From The Newbie

Hello Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writer Blog Readers! I'm the newbie on the block. I'm Cynthia D'Alba, sometimes known around the blog (and the internet) as Arkansas Cyndi. As you have figured out by now, I live in Arkansas. I won't fill up the blog with all my personal bio, but please visit my website (http://cynthiadalba.com). I have some wonderful pictures.

For my first blog post here, I grabbed the Halloween dates. I'll be here today and tomorrow sharing ghost and scary stories. Hopefully some of the backbloggers can add some of their own stories. I've heard from the regulars that this is one of our backbloggers. Wonder if he'll visit today? I asked friends and collegues to some good scary stories to get us all in the mood for Halloween and they came through! Hope you enjoy their stories.

The first story is from Keri Ford:

The other night I was alone with the baby because my hubby was having to work all night long. I did all the window and door lock checking and took my boy to bed. I thought I saw lights flash on the house (note, I live in the middle of nowhere, so if I see lights, someone's coming to my house), but when I peeked outside, nothing. Thought it must have been my parents getting home (they live a little past me). I put my little boy to bed like normal and was getting geared up for a late night writting session. I crossed back through the house and went in the bedroom and found a man standing in there! I shreiked and then cursed my husband for not calling to tell me he got off work!

I have so been in Keri's shoes! When I'm writing and am totally "into my scene" and he walks into the room, I'll scream! And I'm not writing scary stuff.


The next story comes from jj Keller:

My first encounter with a ghost/vision happened a little over three years ago. Brad, my son barely out of his teens, had been diagnosed with a cancer which attacks young people, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I had gotten to the point where I was working one-way deals with an entity beyond. Any super-being which had the ability to grant life and health I tried to reach.

Each time my son had chemo he had to be watched to make sure a temperature didn’t spike for the next 24 hours. I didn’t sleep. I don’t recall sleeping until my body on its own accord fell onto the bed, and then my mind continued to work.

At a space of time between the dark of night and early dawn I glanced at the paisley overstuffed chair beside my bed and I saw him. An instant calm overwhelmed me, and when he spoke in a softly melodic Scottish voice I experienced love. He only said a few words and I didn’t even center on them as I evaluated each piece of his body as it came into focus. He was gorgeous, light brown hair pulled back and tied with a band. A white flowing shirt like Seinfeld wore on his comedy show. Black tights highlighting strong well-defined thighs and boots cupping his knees.

He narrowed his blue eyes, a tick appeared on his jawline, and he disappeared.

I used my non-sleep time and wrote about my ghost/vision/guardian and titled it The Watcher.

I would not have been as calm as jj apparently was!

The next story comes from Judith Gilbert:

Do Ghosts Really Exist?

If someone had asked me that question before the age of ten, I would have laughed and said, "No."

What happened to make me a firm believer?

My fifty-three-year-old grandfather loved me more than anything in this world. My grandmother always described me as 'his heart". She often went to her kids' houses and babysat her grandchildren overnight, while her kids worked nightshifts.

If my grandmother had been home that particular night, she would have met the same fate as my grandfather.

He died in the hospital from injuries suffered when their home in Columbus, GA. exploded about 2:00 AM. A gas jet had been accidentally turned on and the concrete block house blew up after he walked into it, shut the door and struck a match to light a cigarette. A nine-inch-thick wall was buckled by the force of the blast. He suffered first, second and third degree burns over 85 percent of his body. The entire time he lay dying in the hospital, he asked for me. Because of my age and the nature of his injuries, I wasn't allowed to see him.

One night, the same day he was buried, I was trying to get my mind off everything. I was watching TV, completely alone, when I felt a hand on my right shoulder. The hand was firm, solid and large. I screamed and dove to the floor, hoping to escape whoever had ahold of my shoulder.

While I crouched there, I glanced up and recognized the person as my grandfather. He wasn't burned as they'd told me, but looked perfectly healthy.

Well, if you think I was glad to see him, think again. I was terrified.

He tried to speak, but I kept shaking my head and saying, "Go away. You can't be here. You're dead. They buried you today. You have to go to heaven." I even prayed for God to take him to heaven now.

My grandfather never said a word. He smiled, rose upwards and disappeared into the ceiling.

Since that experience, I've seen other ghosts, often when I least expect them, but, even though my grandmother and mother saw my grandfather a lot after he died, I never saw him again.

I wish I could say I'm receptive to ghosts, but I've never been able to shake that first experience as a child, one of utter fear. I know they won't hurt me, I sense that, but when telling them to go away or putting up mental shields to block them doesn't work, I run like hell, which is what I did when we visited the Alamo.

If you have any ideas on how to overcome that fear, I'd like to hear them. Thanks.

Judith writes contemporary romances as Judith Gilbert. Currently out is A PERFECT AFFAIR.

She also has a vampire/witch paranormal series started under J Gilbert. BLOOD HUNT THE LEGEND, the first book in her paranormal series is currently a bestseller for The Wild Rose Press.

Thank you to Keri, jj, and Judith for sharing their stories. Come back tomorrow for more tales sure to get your Halloween off to a scary start.

Until then, share your story with us.

Thanks for visiting. I look forward to hearing from you!

Cyndi
(You can also find me at CynthiaDAlba.com or Cynderella's Castle)