We have a cute sign on the wall next to our front staircase. It reads, “Remember, as far as anyone knows, we are a nice normal family.” I’ve often thought that I ought to create a smaller sign and hang it right underneath that would say, “Just please ignore the ghosts.” However, quite frankly, some…
A Permanent Guest
There’s a hotel in downtown Freeport that has been around since 1928. It had a diverse past, from housing workers who were building the railroad to being used as a halfway house during the Great Depression, it’s halls and rooms have sheltered both the upscale and the downtrodden. It was even rumored to have been…
Haunted Inn
Clare (not her real name) grew up in a stone house that used to be an inn along an old stagecoach route. So the ghosts she lived with while growing up were just part of her family’s history. “My mother always talked about seeing the ghosts of a little boy with his governess or nanny,”…
Orbs
Last week I had the opportunity to speak with the Lake Carroll Women’s Club and tell some ghost stories. I had a great time, they were a wonderful audience. Afterwards, one of the women came up to me and asked me what I thought about orbs. She mentioned a friend who has taken photos of…
Say Cheese
On Wednesday, July 12, a trucker named Saul Vazquez encountered a traffic accident on the highway heading the opposite direction from where he was headed. On his Facebook page he wrote, “I took this picture just few minutes ago from the cab of my truck. It was an accident between Campton and Stanton on the…
This Stuff Smells
Scents. Smells. Fragrances. Olfactory sensations. Sniffs. From the buttery or chocolatey scent of homemade cookies baking in the oven when we step through the door after school, to the pungent fragrance of pine needles when we finally put up the live Christmas trees, we are much more connected to our sense of smell than we…
Oakdale Nature Preserves
Oakdale Nature Preserve is one of the most peaceful settings in the Freeport area. Once out amongst the trees and the birds, you really hate to leave. This is the story of someone who never did. Jim, the former supervisor at Oakdale, has had several experiences with this long time nature lover. “The first time…
Recipe for a Country
In July of 2009, I had the privilege of standing with the families of the men from the Delta Company of the Woodstock Illinois Army National Guard as we welcomed them back from their deployment in Afghanistan. I will never forget the emotions of that day – sorrow (we lost five young men during the…
Tales Around the Campfire
The sun has set, the moon is rising and the frogs have begun their starlight serenade. As the darkness rolls in, you move closer to the campfire, closer to that circle of light. You look over your shoulder, gazing into the woods that surround you. You jump when the fire pops and you laugh nervously…
Woo-Woo Writers
Did you ever hear the old joke about the Christopher Columbus method of typing – I put my fingers down and then discover what I’ve typed? As a writer, I’ve had that kind of experience more than once. And, no, I don’t mean my typing is terrible…although I would never make a great typist, probably…