An Apology And A Hiatus

To all of my bloggy friends out there I would like to apologize for being a bad neighbor. I have failed to comment on any of your blogs for the past couple of weeks, although I've visited when I could.

Unfortunately, things going on in my life unrelated to writing/blogging have left me emotionally and physically drained. Almost as if my creative juices have been sucked out by some sparkly vampire.

For that reason, I'm taking a hiatus from blogging for the rest of November to recharge, which makes me feel a little guilty as I didn't even consider NaNo this year. I hope to be back to normal by December and ready to celebrate the season with all of my wonderful writing buddies.

I hope you all have a magnificent month and that those of you participating in NaNoWriMo reach your goals.

Spooktacular Hop Winners!

 

Congrats!

Angela D. - Dracula

Jennifer S. - The Haunting Of Hill House

Kristi H. - Signed ARC of The Replacement

All winners have been notified by email.

Thanks to everyone who entered and have a wonderful weekend!

YA SPOOKTACULAR - STORY 2 PRIZE PACK!

Welcome, ghosts and goblins, to the Story Two prize pack giveaway. I hope you've all enjoyed the YA Spooktacular this year as much as I have. Are these spooky tales great or what? And there's more to come!

If you missed the beginning of Story Two just click on the banner below to be magically transported.

And if you missed Story One click below to start from the beginning:

I'm really excited be part of the YA Spooktacular for a second year, hosted by Frenzy of Noise & Wicked Awesome Books.

Yesterday, you got to follow along with Story 2: PARTY TIME. Today, you can enter the Story 2 Prize Pack.

Let me remind you of the awesome stuff up for grabs:

•  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children book/poster
• Quirk Books Tote Bag
• Signed copy Swoon/Swear by Nina Malkin
  
• finished copy of Fury by Elizabeth Miles
  
• signed copy of Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
  
• After Obsession (ARC) by Carrie Jones
• signed copy of Ashes by Ilsa Bick 
• Entice/Need/Captivate by Carrie Jones
• signed copy of Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
• copy of Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
• finished copy of Darker Still by Leanna Renee Heiber
• SWAG

Told you it was awesome! All you have to do to enter is fill out the FORM.

Don't forget to check out Story Three: The Corn Stalker tomorrow at Page Turner's Blog and remember to enter for the grand prize drawing at either Frenzy Of Noise or Wicked Awesome Books starting October 31st.

And if you got lost anywhere along the way and don't want to miss out on all of the bonus "tricks and treats", just click on the YA Spooktacular banner at the top of this post for a summary of all the creeptastic fun. Good luck!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!

Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & The Diary Of A Bookworm for hosting

I've been discussing haunted places in my hometown all month long on the blog, so I thought it was about time for a "treat".

What better way to share my love of the Halloween season than by giving away some of my favorite creepy reads?

Here's what you can win:

THE classic vampire story

If you've only seen the movie, 
you don't know what you're missing

SIGNED ARC

There will be three winners and the only thing you're required to do for entry is to give me your name and email address on the FORM. If you would like extra entries for following and tweeting, just enter those in the appropriate fields as well.

Contest runs from now until midnight on Halloween. I will announce the winners on November 3rd. And please don't forget to visit the other fantastic blogs participating. Find the complete list HERE.

The Scariest Destination Of All

Thanks so much for visiting My Haunted Hometown with me this month. I've had a blast introducing you to all of these creepy places this Halloween season.

Unfortunately, my own home has turned out to be the scariest place of all this past week as my youngest is suffering from pink eye and bronchitis while my oldest is in bed with pneumonia. And that is the main reason for this succinct post.

I will be back next week with a couple of great giveaways. I wish you all a happy and healthy weekend.

My Haunted Hometown - Waverly Hills

'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.                                                                           

                                                                     ~William Shakespeare

In the early 1900's, Northern Kentucky was ravaged by an outbreak of the "White Plague" otherwise known as tuberculosis. This prompted the construction of a new state of the art TB hospital.

The building that still stands in Louisville, Kentucky, was opened in 1926 with 435 patient beds, but by 1932, patient numbers had increased to 480 with nearly 100 applicants on a waiting list.

The sprawling 160,000 square foot facility was comprised of five stories and a basement. Like other tuberculosis sanatoriums, it was situated on a hill because elevation to drier, purer air was thought beneficial to sufferers.

Nearly 8000 patients died there from 1926 to 1961 when the hospital was closed. In order to keep up patient morale, a body chute was constructed to dispose of the dead so they would not be visible to the remaining patients. This "death tunnel" stretched 525 feet underground to the bottom of the hill where the bodies of the deceased were collected by the family or cremated.

The sanatorium currently hosts tours with all proceeds going to restoration of the building. The current owners plan on turning it into a bed and breakfast for ghost lovers. If you visit Waverly Hills today, there is a good chance you might run into the spirit of a child that haunts the third floor and has been known to play with toys brought in by visitors. You might also hear the disembodied voices of children chanting "Ring Around The Rosy" up on the roof, encounter an apparition of one of the two nurses who died in room 502, or cross paths with the shadow people of the fourth floor.

The sanatorium has been featured on Ghost Hunters, Scariest Places On Earth, Most Haunted and The Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures.

Waverly is open to the public year around for tours and overnight stays. And don't expect to be able to go whenever the mood strikes because there's a waiting list.

Are you adventurous at heart? Would you spend the night at Waverly Hills?

My Haunted Hometown - Colville Covered Bridge

Gravedigger, when you dig my grave could you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain?

                                                           Dave Matthews, lyrics from "Gravedigger"

Just a short ride to the East brings us to the next location on My Haunted Hometown tour, The Colville Covered Bridge in Bourbon County, Kentucky.

Built in 1877, the bridge is 124 feet long, 18 feet wide and crosses over Hinkston Creek near the city of Paris. It is one of the few Kentucky covered bridges still passable by car.

Of course, traversing through this piece of history is not for the faint at heart.

In the past eighty years, at least three travelers who entered on one side, never emerged from the other, and it's said their spirits haunt the space in between.

All three deaths occurred in the 1930s. A young couple on their way home from prom lost control of their car and plunged into the water below. They were found the next morning drowned in the front seat.

Then there was the elderly Sarah Mitchell who headed out across the bridge by foot on the way to the doctor, but fell dead before she made it to the other end.

Even today, nighttime travelers make their way to the center of the bridge only to see light coming through the floor beneath them as if a car had gone into the creek and the headlights were shining up through the water. Or they hear an elderly woman coughing and crying out for help.

I doubt the living linger too long though. Would you?