I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts...

I love October.  On the first day of the month, a friend’s daughter posted ‘Happy First Day of Halloween’ on her Facebook page, and I thought, yea, that works for me.  The trees put on their fall color costumes and the month ends with a holiday that celebrates candy.  What’s not to love?  Plus there are lots of scary activities to go explore.   

Which I did! 

Recently, I stepped out of my usual comfort zone and took in an evening ghost tour.  Pike Place Market is a famous spot that’s been around for over 100 years.  Though it is mostly a tourist attraction now, the Market has an rich old history, which was mostly what the tour was about.  Over the years, there have many interesting characters in and around the Market.  Apparently, quite a few have decided to stay in the form of spirits; just a little more color to add to Seattle’s tales.  

Fortunately, I did not come across any ghosts on my tour, at least to my knowledge.  Although I did enjoy hearing the rich stories of those who are supposedly around.  While I had been to Kells Irish Bar and Pub, I had no idea it was known to be haunted or that the building it is located in had been the Butterworth mortuary at one time.  Plenty of scary stories about Kells on my tour.  It makes me wonder how many people thought they had just had one too many when it was an actual ghost they had encountered. Would it make you stop drinking?  Or, would it be time to definitely order another?  Again, happy I haven’t come across any of these local legends yet. 

Kat Richardson is an author who delves into Seattle’s history when writing her paranormal mystery series set here.  Of course, she adds her own creativity and imagination but much of the basic underlying lore included in the books is based on real local history.  She adds the vampires, necromancers, witches and, especially in the most recent book, ghosts, but there are also some NSA/CIA spooks as well.  I’m not sure which is scarier…

The latest book in the Greywalker series, Possession, is a story based on the ghost tales of the Market area and our local waterfront.  Comatose patients around Seattle are being possessed by malevolent spirits.  They don’t seem to be related in any way other than the various weird behaviors each exhibits and the danger to their lives.  It is left to Harper Blaine, the Greywalker, to untangle this mystery before a lot of people die.  She has to this all while avoiding the evil government operatives before they discover what she is and how valuable her powers could be to them. 

A perfect book for anyone’s Halloween.  

Enjoy the candy and the costumes, along with a good book.  However, I would add that if you’re anywhere near Kells tonight, my advice would be to order a stiff drink with that side of ghost…

Ella