Ghost stories have been around as long as man has been telling stories. There has always been a fascination with what happens after we die. Religious views aside, the existence of ghosts would prove to us that there is something after that ticker quits ticking, and I think that accounts for at least a part of the attraction to those kinds of tales. I’ve always enjoyed a good ghost story, from the ones my friends and I told each other around the bonfire, to the first spooky tale I picked up to read. In fact, paranormal anything is really high on my list of “must read” and “must watch.” While I enjoy a good bump-in-the-night, ghost as the bad guy kind of story, my favorites are usually those that include the ghost as a character that we can get to know. Even if the specter is the antagonist, I want to know what motivates and drives their actions.
When I started writing Haunting and Homicide, I wanted the reader to get to know the ghosts that populate Lou’s world. Lou Thatcher is a ghost tour guide in New Orleans who has the added ability of being able to actually see and hear the ghosts along her route. Each of the ghosts in the book are still unique people despite being stuck in the general area where they died. Many of them allow Lou to add a level of authenticity to her tours that leads her rival, Adam, to suspect she’s faking the encounters. It’s only when Adam ends up dead that he learns why Lou’s tours are extra ghostly.
Here are a few of my favorite titles that feature great spectral characters. If you enjoy ghost stories as much as I do, I hope you’ll find some to add to your shelf.
ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake
Anna Dressed in Blood is a dark, atmospheric YA horror novel about Cas, who has a unique talent for dispatching the dead. When Cas and his kitchen-witch mother move to Thunder Bay to eradicate a deadly local ghost he gets more than he bargained for in Anna. Still wearing the dress she was murdered in; Anna has killed everyone who entered her haunt… until Cas. And that’s just the beginning of their story. This is a completed duology and the second book in the series is Girl of Nightmares.
DEATH OVERDUE by Allison Brook
This great cozy mystery follows Carrie Singleton in the town of Clover Ridge, Connecticut. She’s just about ready to call it quits there until she accepts a new job heading up special programs at the local library, that just happens to have a resident ghost, Evelyn Havers. Evelyn is a former library employee who communicates with Carrie. The first big event for Carrie is hosted by a retired homicide detective, who drops dead at the event. Evelyn’s humorous antics and interactions with Carrie left me wanting more of her brand of haunting!
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving
Since it’s a classic, I’d wager that most of us know the basic premise, so I’ll skip that and tell you why it’s still one of my favorite ghost stories of all time. The headless horsemen is such an iconic character that he has become one of the most recognized ghosts in our culture. This was one of the first spooky stories I read as a kid, and I was instantly captivated by the Hessian ghost and the way the story was presented overall. At the end we’re left to wonder if true hauntings are the ones we visit upon ourselves.
THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold
While I love this book, I encourage everyone who wants to pick it up for the first time to check trigger warnings first. The main character is the ghost in this story and the manner in which she’s killed could be very difficult for some to read. Susie Salmon is the fourteen-year-old protagonist, and we learn of her life briefly before she’s murdered. The book then shifts to how she adjusts to being a spirit and having to watch the world go on without her. There are too many themes to explore in this abbreviated space, but one of the ones that resonated with me the most was grief and how sometimes we have to learn to live with it, rather than eradicate it.
FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson is a private investigator, which can be complicated enough. But she’s also a grim reaper which adds a whole new level of difficulty to her life. Her main job as a grim reaper is to help souls pass on, but when they find themselves disembodied in less-than-natural circumstances, they frequently want Charley to help them find justice. Add in an otherworldly love interest and this series is such a fun read! There isn’t just one ghost that’s my favorite, I enjoy them all.
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