Staying at the Thurber House has been very inspirational. Some of the stories James Thurber wrote were based on things that actually
happened in this house—including “The Night The Ghost Got In.” Many people who have worked here have
had their own ghost encounter. Since my second novel is about a haunted house,
I expected that I would too.
But I didn’t. I slept undisturbed. I heard no thumps. I felt no
brush of cobwebs. Now as a writer I've learned that you can’t always wait for inspiration
to pay you a visit. Sometimes you must be brave and go look for it. Especially
if it is something disturbing.
So one night, that’s what I did.
I waited until dark. I turned off all the lights. With only the faint glow of my cell
phone, I crept down the same stairs where James Thurber had heard the
thumps almost a hundred years ago. All my senses were alert. But I didn’t see or feel anything. And then, as I turned the corner and stood upon the bottom step, I saw something glowing
beneath the dining room floorboards.
I gasped and grabbed the newel post. I seemed to see the light pulse. Or maybe I was the one who was trembling.
When I leaned closer to take this photograph, I realized what it
was. Someone had left the light on in the basement.
There was a logical explanation. And yet nothing could have
persuaded me to go down there to turn off that light.
The real question is: who left the light on...
ReplyDeleteJane, so nice to meet you yesterday at Cover to Cover. Great discussion on writing and reading. And I am looking forward to dipping in to Nature Girl.
All best,
Jody