Ghosts and ghoulies and... lamps?

A good friend of mine is currently writing a spooky Halloween story for her publisher. Together on IM, we started looking at "ghost pictures" just to get in the right frame of mind. You know, I've seen some really spooky pictures that claim to show ghosts or spirits, and while I'm not quite sure I believe, they're fun to look at. However, this one takes the cake.

Look carefully at the small, square window beside the scaffolding. What's that just visible there?


Yes, my friends, this is purported to be the ghost of a LAMP. Don't believe me? Here's another photo, showing a close-up view of this grisly, terrifying haunting:


I think the grainy quailty of the photo just adds to the terror, don't you?

So this started me thinking--well, after I stopped laughing. (C'mon, really, how does a lamp haunt you? Is it trapped in this realm because it's enraged at getting knocked out the window?) What's the strangest or silliest "true" ghost story you've ever heard? Before finding this particular one, it was the ghostly pair of pants that haunts a Cambridge shop that Cat Marsters and I were told about during a really great ghost tour there. Ghostly pants! I never thought that one would be topped.

Anyone have a fun ghost story to share?

Thursday Thirteen Lines from Amelia Elias's new release, CHOSEN

To celebrate my latest release from Samhain Publishing--CHOSEN, Book Three of the Guardians' League--I thought I'd do a different sort of excerpt. Here are thirteen of my favorite lines from the book. I hope you enjoy them! 1. “I know the whole Ambassador gig involves improving vampire-human relations, but damn, I didn't realize it meant that kind of relations." Sin, Cobra Clan Patriarch to Gareth after Alexa did a very hot body-shot with Gareth in a bar as a dare 2. “What the hell were you thinking?” Kim demanded, gaping at her. “The man is a walking god and he was looking at you like he’d like to cover you in chocolate and lick you clean." Alexa getting razzed after she refuses to dance with Gareth. 3. “Choose soon,” the man said in a voice like icy death. “Choose or die.” Alexa's nightmare 4. . “Help me out here,” he whispered to her. “My ego can’t take another no. You’re going to ruin my reputation if you’re not careful.” Gareth, asking Alexa out in front of her friends. 5. “Wow,” she said, staring at his gorgeous butt as he turned for her. Those tight leather pants were in serious contention for her favorite invention ever. Alexa... well, really, Gareth in tight leather is enough to rob any girl of speech. 6. “I promise I won’t bite tonight. Not even a nibble.” Gareth, reassuring Alexa. 7. “Let’s just say that I’ll start believing in vampires when I meet one,” she said as Jackson Square came into view. A skeptical Alexa at the start of Gareth's vampire tour. 8. "Only consensual biting between legal adults is allowed on this tour." Tour-guide Gareth laying down the rules. 9. “What are you going to do in front of your precious mortals, Gareth? You’re not going to get medieval on us in front of your girlfriend, are you? Whatever would she think?” Outcasts taunting Gareth 10. She had finally managed to find a great guy—handsome, charming, gainfully employed—and he was some psycho vampire-groupie. She felt like crying. It just wasn’t fair. Alexa reflecting that dating basically sucks when Gareth tells her the truth about vampires. 11. “Life needs a replay button.” Gareth reflecting that dating basically sucks when Alexa gets up and leaves. 12. “Let me try this again. Did you figure out why that guy broke my window or did you just stand there getting your butt kicked?” Nurse Alexa's bedside manner suffers a bit as she treats Gareth. 13. “Compensating for something?” His deep chuckle sent a shudder through her. “Wanna find out?” Alexa's reaction to Gareth's car, which she thinks of as a "penis on wheels." Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


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