Victorian Ghost

It’s 1888, and the sordid Bowery District of New York City is a lonely and dangerous place for any young woman to live, especially one who can see ghosts. An impoverished Irish seamstress, Maggie O'Connor, wishes that the otherworldly entities would leave her alone to concentrate on her worldly ambitions: putting food on the table and buying her own dress shop one day, but the quirky ghosts have other plans.

Australia, 1857. Life is brutal on the goldfields of Castlemaine. With death around every corner, people are all too willing to believe in ghosts and embrace the spiritualism movement finding its way across the seas. For Lucy Earnshaw and her husband Tom, their arrival in Australia is marred by unimaginable grief. In the wake of her loss, and amid a failing marriage, Lucy is drawn into the world of spiritualism and theater—and into the path of dashing young playwright, Will Browning. Lucy’s new obsession leads her into the dark underbelly of the goldfields.

Mary hoping to leave the hardships and loneliness of her past behind embarks on a new life running a bar in a remote Australian town. The occupants are all driven by fear, striving to survive both mentally and physically in the harsh environment. She dreams of returning to England but that would require a small fortune. After a period of success, the news of a gold strike leaves the town and farms deserted except for old women and teetotallers. Mary’s business is in danger of collapse and what’s worse her son William has disappeared also overcome with gold fever.

This novel has been in the works since its beginning in 2005 when a century and half old colonial style home was restored by the author and his wife, Barbara. For over twelve months, the house did an amazing transformation, the third time since its original construction in 1845. The first time it was restored was 1861. The second time in 1932 and the last time in 2005.

'The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall' is taken from the Victorian Anthologies series featuring short stories by classic writers of the spooky, the scary and the supernatural. Guaranteed to give you the shivers, each collection includes familiar and loved creepy tales as well as those less well-known.

Maisie Thomas spends every summer at Grange House, a hotel on the coast of Maine ruled by the elegant Miss Grange. In 1896, when Maisie turns 17, her visit marks a turning point. On the morning after her arrival, local fishermen make a gruesome discovery: drowned lovers, found clasped in each other's arms. It's only the first in a series of events that casts a shadow over Maisie's summer. As she considers the attentions of two very different young men, Maisie also falls under the gaze of Miss Grange, who begins to tell her disturbing stories of her past.

For most of her life, Juliet Emerline has subsisted, isolated by deafness, making hats in the solitude of her home. Now she's at risk of losing her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name "Hawk" on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form.

An old man lives in a Victorian house alone. Or so he thinks. When he visits his basement, he is literally haunted by his past.

It was a ghastly horror of a house party. Miss Penelope Childe and all the others were awaiting the end of the wicked earl's rotten life. The disinherited son, the new heir, the illegitimate son - all of them are there. Murder is done. The centuries-old curse has struck again. Penelope alone heard the supernatural scream and sees the ghosts that no one else can. Penelope is a reluctant bride-to-be, contracted to wed a man she's never met before. She intensely dislikes her betrothed, the rakish Lord Taredell.