My first post!

Welcome to "Ghost Posting," a blog dedicated to the research and work I've begun as a brand-new paranormal researcher and author.

The topic of paranormal research is a hot one right now (just look at all the shows on TV--"Ghost Hunters," "Ghost Hunters International," "Most Haunted, " Monster Quest," UFO Hunters," etc.)--and I can pretty easily admit I'm one of thousands who have jumped on the bandwagon. (BTW, I enjoy ALL those shows...) But I can also admit it's something I've always been interested in--even before it was "cool!"--and I'm very glad now to have the chance to really indulge my interest and perhaps even do something constructive with it.

So I've recently signed on with Schiffer Publishing (http://www.schifferbooks.com/) as one of their paranormal authors, and have my first book--Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas--written and in to them. As a film and theatre professional, I've had the opportunity to work in a wide variety of historic theatrical houses, and it's very rare to find one that isn't haunted--or at least doesn't have a good ghost story attached to it. I've heard quite a few good stories from my fellow theatre professionals, and in many cases have even experienced them for myself. And regardless of whether or not one is a believer, so much of what we do in the theatre world is strongly influenced by tradition, superstition, and ghosts--so in that sense, it is very real indeed. The book tells, in addition to these ghost stories, why we do a lot of what we do in the theatrical realm (ever wonder why you tell someone to "break a leg?"), and I was even lucky enough to be able to catch a few interesting photos. I'm waiting for the galleys (or first draft) to come back from Schiffer for final editing, and with any luck the book will be out sometime later this spring.

Currently I'm knee-deep in my second book, Ghosts of Charlotte (at least, that's the working title--I hope to come up with something a little more snazzy down the road), and have been burying myself in research for that. Charlotte, North Carolina, is my hometown, and I've been glad to be able to stay in one place for the time being to do my research and photos! I've also been constantly surprised at the number of good ghost stories I've been turning up in my own backyard--every time I interview someone for their own story, I also get "Oh, and have you heard about so-and-so's ghost story? You should talk to them, too!" Considering that the Queen City of Charlotte is deep in the heart of the Old South and has a very colorful history, I really shouldn't be too surprised that there are so many interesting tales.

Next up, I plan to write a book about "weird creatures" in North and South Carolina--we do have a few, and not just the characters you might see wandering the streets after a crazy Saturday night. One called "The Lizard Man" is said to reside just a stone's throw from where my mom grew up in Lamar, SC, and is apparently quite well known in monster hunting circles. My interest in crypto-creatures actually has a lot to do with my work--as a professional "creature builder" myself, I'm always fascinated by a good Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster video, whether it is clearly fake or not. While I'm not a scientist or anthropologist, I've found that it does help to have a good strong working knowledge of how real animals look and behave in order to make a convincing fake one--and I find myself looking for tell-tale signs in any monster video to see if I can tell if it's real or not. (I hope in a future post to tell why the Patterson Bigfoot film looks fake to me, even before they admitted it...)

So all that keeps me productively busy, while allowing me to really enjoy one of my strongest interests. I've been very grateful to the folks at Schiffer for their patience with and understanding for a first time author, and am glad for the opportunity to do some interesting historical research. I'll be posting updates on (and hopefully even photos from) my research as I continue work on my next few projects.