I have a guest on my blog today. Pamela K. Kinney will tell us about her book Haunted Richmond, Virginia.
The back of the book reads as follows: Richmond, Virginia is chock-full of ghosts and haunted places. This city names Edgar Allan Poe as its native son, and it is rich in ghostly lore, legends, and tales. Join this tour to:
• Learn why Virginia's governor shares his mansion with ghosts;
• Dine with ghosts at Ruth's Chris Steak House and Crab Louie's Seafood Tavern;
• Discover that the Byrd Theatre has more than movies to offer customers;
• Visit the prison in Powhatan (it might not be safe, even for those working there);
• Call on the Lady in Red who roams the corridors at Wrexham Hall.
These and other interesting and scary stories will transport you beyond, to a Richmond that most mortals never see!
Pamela is on a Virtual Book Tour and we were lucky to be one of her stops this month. So, sit back, relax and prepare for a peek into the supernatural.
Take it away, Pamela!
Hi, I’m Pamela K. Kinney. I’m here to talk about the supernatural, especially as I have a nonfiction book out on the subject, Haunted Richmond, Virginia.
The supernatural and paranormal pertains to entities, forces or powers regarded as beyond nature, in that they cannot be explained from the laws of the natural world. Religious miracles are typical of such “supernatural” manifestations, as are spells, curses, divination, the notion that there is an afterlife for the dead, vampires, werewolves, spirits, and innumerable others. Supernatural themes are often associated with magical and occult ideas.
Let’s talk about one of those themes: ghosts or spirits. A ghost is usually defined as the apparition of a deceased person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and encountered in places he or she frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. The word "ghost" may also refer to the spirit or soul of a deceased person, or to any spirit or demon. Ghosts are often associated with haunting, "the more or less regular occurrence of paranormal phenomena associated with a particular locality (especially a building) and usually attributed to the activities of a discarnate entity; the phenomena may include apparitions, poltergeist disturbances, cold drafts, sounds of steps and voices, and various odors."
Ghosts are controversial phenomena. According to a poll conducted in 2005 by the Gallup Organization, about 32% of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts. The term ghost has been replaced by apparition in parapsychology, because the word ghost is deemed insufficiently precise. Another word used a lot these days with apparitions is paranormal, which means: beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation.
In historical accounts, ghosts were thought to be deceased persons looking for vengeance, or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. Most cultures have ghost stories in their mythologies. Many stories from the Middle Ages and the Romantic Era rely on the macabre and the fantastic—ghosts are a major theme in literature from those periods. But even though real ghost phenomena were still discussed by mid-twentieth century doubters would try to bring up reasons why this happened, by natural means.
Today, interest in the paranormal and supernatural is back in “vogue”. People want to know that there is more to death than just a big, black nothingness. Television shows like X-Files and Ghost Hunters have spiked this interest, along with many, many paranormal films on the movie screen. And so do books like my Haunted Richmond, Virginia. Especially those that are regional—like cities or states. Even if there are some stories that can be explained away, like the Richmond Vampire, still there are many more that can not. Like the Lady in Red at Wrexham Hall. Or the last chapter of my book, that happened to my husband and me—with proof being a cell phone number of mine on the caller ID the next morning.
Pamela K. Kinney has always loved making up stories since she was a child. At age 17, she submitted three poems to Hyacinths and Biscuits Magazine. She was surprised as all three were accepted and published, but she got paid for them too. Since then, over the years, she had poetry, an article in True Story Magazine and stories published in both print and electronic form. Besides writing as Pamela K. Kinney (horror, fantasy and sci-fi), she has published erotic and non-erotic paranormal/fantasy/sci-fi romances as Sapphire Phelan.
Works include Beyond the Four Walls, Crimson Promise, Wedded Magic, Iridescent Invasion, "Azathoth is Here" in Cthulhu Express Anthology, "Werewolf for Hire" online at ScienceFictionFantasyHorror.com, "Cold Blood, Warm Flesh" in Dark Gothic: Resurrected, "Dangerous City" in Werewolf Magazine, and "Soul Seduction" in Forbidden Love: Bad Boys, “Being a Predator is a Bitch” in Forbidden Love: Wicked Women, both published by Under the Moon, His Girl and The Curse published by Twilight Fantasies Publications, an super hero romance Amazon Short called To Save the Day, and her first nonfiction book on the paranormal occurrences of Richmond, Virginia, Haunted Richmond, Virginia, from Schiffer Books.
She is happily married and is owned by a cat.
She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house and the husband sometimes suffers for it!
Find out more about her at her website: http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com . Also check out her MySpaces at http://www.myspace.com/PamelaKKinney
Thank you, Pamela. You've definitely got me spooked. If anyone has any questions or comments, leave them here and Pamela will get back to you as soon as she can.
2 comments:
Hi Vicki and Pamela, I love to read about the paranormal and supernatural. Pamela your fiction book Haunted Richmond, Virginia is definitely interesting. On myspace profile I use the pic of a lady in red. And yes I believe in ghosts, haven't seen one but my mother use to see them. They were mostly relatives.
Believe it or not, Haunted Richmond is nonfiction, but still interesting to read. I've always loved reading true paranormal occurences in books over the years, since I was young. :D
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