An audiobook club for readers drawn to eerie literature, gothic horror, and forgotten stories from the past and present. All readings are public domain.
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
Previously on Spook Lit…
We finished up The Bell in the FogPart I and II, and then we took a week off for an AMA episode. Thank you so much to those of you who contributed. There were a few questions I didn't get to, so I'll plan to do another one in the next few months.
This week’s story:
This week, we’re reading The Striding Place, and I couldn’t be more obsessed with the ending. I don’t want to spoil you, so we’ll jump right into the story and then come back at the end to discuss.
And as always, if you want to skip the reading and go straight to the commentary, I’ve added timestamps here in the show notes:
* 00:00 cold open / intro
* 1:27 reading
* 15:36 my thoughts and feelings
Thank you so much for listening.
The Striding Place
If you’d like to read along, the full text is included at the bottom of this post.
My thoughts and feelings:
Today we’re talking about faceless entities, and all the theories that surround them. Let me start by saying they creep me the fuck out. I’ve never seen one in real life. Normally I’ll take any ghost you give me, but with these I just don’t know if I can handle it.
There are lots of reasons a ghost might be faceless. It could be a physical characteristic of the person who died, or cause of death. I have heard of a child spirit in Pike Place Market who is missing eyes, because they were thought to be blind when they were alive. I talk more about this story in episode 8.
The podcast Ghost Story from Wondery is all about the case of Naomi Dancy, a woman who became a faceless spirit after being shot twice in the face.
In the Fort Mifflin episode of Haunted Road, Amy Bruni and guest Greg O’Brien discuss the faceless ghost of Union soldier Private William H. Howe. He was convicted of desertion and murder and was sentenced to death by hanging. He was put to death in a very public execution, wearing a bag over his face.
“Given that he fought so hard to escape and that his death was such a scene, it’s not all that surprising that Howe’s Ghost is one of the most frequently reported in the Fort. Visitors claim to see a man in Civil War garb roaming the ground, sometimes sitting quietly and sewing in one of the case mates. They believe it’s Howe because before he was hanged he had a bag placed over his face and when the apparition looks up from his sewing, he doesn’t have a face. Witnesses refer to Howe’s Ghost as the Faceless Man.” — Amy Bruni, Haunted Road with Amy Bruni: Faceless Entities Lurk in Darkened Corners
Several cultures have cryptid and spiritual folklore about a faceless entity that can mimic the features of others and most often appears without a face - such as the Caribbean Hupia from Taino folklore, or the Japanese story Mujina about an encounter with a faceless woman. More common in Japanese and Hawaiian folklore is the Noppera-bō, a figure that also makes a cameo in the Netflix series Wednesday.
In these stories, people encounter someone who may or may not be a stranger. They may or may not have a conversation. Then when the spirit turns around, their face is completely blank and wiped clean of all features - no eyes, nose, or mouth.
“Though their intentions are generally harmless, their expertise lies in instilling dread. These entities possess the uncanny ability to adopt the guise of ordinary individuals, and at times, even assume the identity of someone known to their unsuspecting victim. Yet their true power lies in their capacity to erase their facial features entirely, leaving nothing but an unsettling smooth expanse in the place where a face should be.” — The Whispering Woods: Real Life Ghost & Paranormal Stories: Noppera-Bo the Faceless People
Perhaps the most popular modern-day faceless entity is Slenderman, a fictional character created by Eric Knudsen for an internet Photoshop contest in 2009. It grew into arguably the most famous creepypasta on the internet, making international headlines when two teenage girls stabbed their friend as a means of gaining favor with Slenderman.
“Slenderman is the modern day boogeyman. Because it’s faceless, because it’s quiet, because it doesn’t speak words, it’s open to a lot of interpretation. And open to a lot of possibilities, a lot of projection. It varies from person to person as to what Slenderman actually is. He’s the creature that lives in my closet. He’s the guy in the windowless white van, the faceless stranger who kidnaps kids.” — Beware the Slenderman (HBO Documentary Films)
There are countless stories out there about mimics and doppelgängers. Spirits who take the form of a loved one and have full-on conversations with us until we realize later the person wasn’t actually there. There is something particularly terrifying (and fascinating) about this type of encounter.
And what do these entities look like when they’re not taking the form of someone else? Perhaps a blank face is their default state. The fear stems from the unknown and from being tricked. How they mold themselves into whatever you’re expecting. How maybe they are no one underneath it all. A shell of what could be.
I feel a sense of panic when I look at these creatures. Claustrophobia. Where did their face go? Are they in pain? How do they catch their breath?
When I look at them, I also feel a deep sense of familiarity and empathy. A kinship. The loneliness of seeing but feeling unseen. Is this what happens when we lose all connection with others? With ourselves?
What happened to them? Who erased their identity, and could it happen to me? Has it happened already?
*Note: I listened to several podcast episodes with stories about these faceless ghosts, and I will link them all in the show notes in case you want to dive in deeper or hear more spooky stories.
Shout-outs:
* First of all, the last few weeks have been huge for my family in terms of milestones. I had two nephews graduate high school, and I am so freaking proud of them! And this week is my sister’s birthday. Happy birthday, and thank you to all of my family for all of your support.
* Thank you so much to 6-Point Paranormal Society for your paid subscription! I cannot wait to investigate with you again. Also, congratulations on your recent anniversary!
* Signe from GhostORia is now offering Ghost Tours at Gulley’s Butcher Shop in Astoria, OR on Saturday nights. If you’re in the area, go check it out. Signe is the best!
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
Big changes are coming over the next few weeks. I’ll keep you posted.
I apologize in advance that some of these episodes are taking longer to publish. I recently started a new trauma therapy and am also smack dab in the middle of my seasonal depression (yes, summer seasonal depression is a thing). Thank you all for your patience with me. It is such a relief to get to talk to you about ghosts.
Speaking of summer, I hope you all have amazing plans and are staying safe and staying cool. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to Spook Lit. I hope you liked this episode, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
*If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe/follow, all the things.
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
First of all - wtf? We’re doing something a little different this week. Our next chapter led me down a serious rabbit hole of research, and I can’t wait to share it with you. I was stressing about getting it all done when a friend suggested this Q&A / AMA episode as a fun alternative. My initial reaction was huh? Q&A? Who do I think I am? Do I really think people give a shit about asking me questions and hearing my thoughts and feelings? Let’s not get a big head…
But I guess my rampant imposter syndrome is weaker than my love of talking about myself, so here we are. Thank you so much to everyone who sent me questions. If any others come up, feel free to hit me up in the comments.
Ask Me Anything:
Is it disrespectful to collect or preserve the remains of an animal?
(Question from a listener: “The whole skull preservation is also intriguing. I may not be able to retrieve it — and I know bird skulls are very delicate and fragile — but there is a crow body that has been decomposing for the last few months along one of the roads I walk every day. I could not bring myself to handle it when it was more... ‘fresh,’ but I’ve been thinking maybe once Nature has taken care of things a bit, I might see if there’s anything left worth salvaging. Though... I’m not sure. It feels disrespectful of a wild creature to want to ‘own’ a piece of its body.”)
**Disclaimer: Please check your local laws before obtaining any wild animal skulls, bones, or taxidermy.
First of all, it says a lot about your character that you’re even considering this so thoughtfully. Most people would think nothing of it - they’d either be totally down or totally disgusted. I too have mixed feelings about skulls, yet my day job as an animal mortician does include skull recovery and preservation, mostly of cats and dogs. And I love my work immensely.
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21 - The Bell in the Fog: Part II
Season 2 · Episode 21
Saturday, May 9, 2026 • Duration 47:48
I step into a small room, bracing myself for that familiar smell. Decomposition. The full moon is just beginning to rise on this late evening on May 1st, Beltane. They say we are midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. They say this midway point is similar to that of Halloween. They say the veil is equally thin now as it is then. Who knew?
I am taking advantage of the quiet to get caught up on skull cleaning. A line of skulls in labeled bins with metal coins, waiting for my attention. I couldn’t be happier. It is honestly a privilege to stay late on a Friday night, recovering these beloved skulls.
I put on music through my phone speakers, setting my phone face up on the cabinet behind me, under the paper towel dispenser. I settle in and pick up the first skull, bring it close to my face to inspect it for any lingering residue or grave wax. Gently scrubbing it clean with my brush, I sing along to the music.
Behind me, I hear a familiar noise and I jump. It’s the automatic paper towel dispenser. You have to place your hand under it to trigger the paper towel to emerge.
No one is there.
I look around uneasily, trying to explain it away. Sometimes I hang strainer bags around the key permanently lodged in the top of the dispenser. It’s a convenient place for them to dry out, but occasionally one will trigger the mechanism and a paper towel will roll out.
There aren’t any hanging bags today. There’s nothing anywhere near the automatic dispenser that would trigger it.
Hesitantly, I get back to my task. Gently scrubbing beneath the eye sockets, avoiding the fragile sinus cavity. The song continues, and I sing along.
After I finish the first skull, I move on to the second, but I realize I will need some tweezers for this one. I step out for a few minutes to grab them from the Aquatory next door.
When I return, the room is silent. The music has stopped. My phone is gone from the cabinet. Holy shit! It’s lying face down on the floor.
Hmmm. Maybe this job can wait ‘til tomorrow morning, I think. I grab my phone, turn the light off, and scamper full speed out of the room.
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20 - The Bell in the Fog: Part I
Season 2 · Episode 20
Friday, April 24, 2026 • Duration 30:43
A heavy hush falls over the house as we enter the ancient dining room, empty aside from a fireplace, a mirror, and a painting on the wall.
“This is the room where people report seeing shadow figures,” explains my guide. I light up instantly, turning in circles and snapping photos from every direction, while she searches through her phone. I am too transfixed by the mirror hanging slightly above my head to notice the distinctive painting hanging above the fireplace.
“Ugh, of course now I can’t find it,” she exclaims, disappointed. “Somebody took a picture with this mirror in it, and when you look at it, it looks like there’s a sort of dark figure in the mirror. It was a bit creepy when I saw it.”
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
Previously on Spook Lit…
We finished up Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine Crowe and voted on our next book - The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories by Gertrude Atherton.
This week, we are starting out strong with Part I of The Bell in the Fog, a story about a haunted painting. While I have heard a few stories about haunted paintings, I’ve never encountered one myself until I visited the Octagon Museum in Washington DC two months ago.
The Octagon Museum
was a house built for Colonel John Tayloe III in 1801, where he and his wife Ann Ogle Tayloe lived until their passing. They had 15 children, 13 of which survived to adulthood. The house is one of the oldest private residences in DC, and the architect Dr. William Thornton was an amateur who won a contest to be the first architect of the US Capitol. He was chosen to build the Tayloe home because of his ability to work with the oddly shaped triangular plot of land.
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19 - The Votes Are In: Our Next Spook Lit Read
Episode 19
Friday, March 13, 2026 • Duration 01:22
Hello everyone,
I’m just popping by for a minute to let you know the votes are in for our next Spook Lit read, and the winner is The Bell in the Fog by Gertrude Atherton. A humungous THANK YOU to everyone who voted! I really appreciate you all.
I’m really excited about this one. It’s creepy, delightfully dreary and overall just perfect for Season 2. We’ll officially begin the new season in April after the Oregon Ghost Conference.
For those who are local to the Pacific Northwest, I hope you can join me at the conference this year! I’ve been attending the past few years, and it is one of my favorite events. This year I will be hosting a vendor table for the first time - come by and say hi, and we can chat ghost stories and all things Spook Lit!
18 - Vote Now: Choose Our Next Spooky Audiobook for Season 2
Episode 18
Friday, February 13, 2026 • Duration 15:58
“The terror of that night was never spoken of again; but I have often thought that silence was worse than any confession.”
-Elizabeth Gaskell, Gothic Tales
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.
Previously on Spook Lit…
Last time, we read a stand-alone story called Death and the Woman, by Gertrude Atherton, originally published in Vanity Fair, London, in 1892.
We also released Season 1 of Spook Lit onto Apple Podcast and Spotify platforms. Feel free to go binge all the stories from Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine Crowe.
This week’s stor(ies)….
This week, we are voting on our next book for Spook Lit Season 2! I’ve searched far and wide for spooky stories that do not have much (if any) presence in the audiobook space. Below, I’ve curated a list of my favorites including their descriptions from Thriftbooks and Goodreads. I’m also including some general info about the authors.
Please let me know your top choice in the comments, and we’ll announce the winner in the dreary substack chat. Thank you so much for helping me choose! It’s a group effort.
*Note that regardless of page count, all stories will be broken into digestible episodes, typically 20-30 minutes each.
Gothic Tales — Elizabeth Gaskell
Stories: 9Page Count: 340
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17 - Death and the Woman
Episode 17
Saturday, January 17, 2026 • Duration 21:23
“Death —where was he? What a curious experience: to be sitting alone in a big house… waiting for Death to come and snatch her husband from her. No; he would not snatch, he would steal upon his prey as noiselessly as the approach of Sin to Innocence-an invisible, unfair, sneaking enemy, with whom no man’s strength could grapple. If he would only come like a man, and take his chances like a man! Women had been known to reach the hearts of giants with the dagger’s point. But he would creep upon her.”
- Gertrude Atherton, Death and the Woman
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.
Previously on Spook Lit…
Last time, we literally closed the chapter on our book Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine Crowe, the first recorded paranormal investigator in history.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing the entire first season of Spook Lit on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. I will also be knitting together a stand-alone audiobook in case you want to listen without all the podcast extras. More on that later.
A huge heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who engaged with our first book of Spook Lit! Thank you for listening and reading and interacting in the comments. Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. Your insight and your ghost stories. What more could I possibly ask from you except for more! Thank you for dipping your toes into this new obsession of mine. It has truly been a blast.
This week’s story…
I’m still cleaning up the first book and preparing some options for the second. In the meantime, I like the idea of popping in these bite-sized short stories to tie us over between books.
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16 - Ghosts and Family Legends: My Friend's Story
Season 1 · Episode 16
Saturday, December 13, 2025 • Duration 21:44
“We’ll never find a ghost in this bar - it’s too loud,” Marty whispers to me, not trying to attract the bartender. Our group has already drawn enough attention with our K2 EMF meters, flashing green-yellow-red in response to any enigmas.
“I know where we can find one!” I breathe excitedly. “Come with me!” We brush swiftly past the bustling bar and through the wooden door in the back of the pub.
We emerge into a dim hallway and the energy immediately shifts. It’s quiet back here. Liminal.
We creep slowly down the hallway, our anticipation building in tandem with the blinking lights on the K2’s. We reach the ancient bathrooms and peek our head in to make sure they aren’t occupied by the living.
Heaviness settles over the tiny room despite the cheerful glowing lights. We step into the darkest biggest stall and feel the unmistakable melancholy of another presence. We place our meters in between us as we take a seat on the somber floor.
“Is anybody here with us?”
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.
This week, in Ghosts and Family Legends, we’re reading “My Friend’s Story.” Our very last chapter of the book!
Our haunting heroine this week is a powerful manifestation of a woman spirit with her faithful greyhounds, loyal even in death. There are several reasons why a spirit might linger, but often heavy emotion seems to be a contributing factor. These could be negative or positive emotions. I believe that we ourselves can engage with the hauntings in times of overwhelming feelings and nostalgia.
On a cold, rainy weekend, I was invited to join a ghost hunting collaboration in Seaview, Washington, only 10 miles up the coast from Oregon. We rented out the Shelburne hotel, allegedly the oldest hotel in the state of Washington.
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15 - Ghosts and Family Legends: The Sheep Farmer's Story
Season 1 · Episode 15
Friday, October 10, 2025 • Duration 39:20
I hear a faint whimper as I start to run a bath for my dog’s swim therapy. I pause, listening, shutting off the water and holding my breath.
Silence.
I turn the handle once more. The water flows warm and steamy against the foggy rain spattering the windows. I fumble for a towel and shove it into the dryer to warm up. Just as I turn the knob, I hear it.
Loud, high-pitched moaning. A dog whimpering at the top of their lungs. It sounds just like Parker when he’s anxious for dinner. But when I came in here, he was snoring away.
I leave the water running as I race down the hall, alarmed, kicking myself for not rushing to his side the first time. He must be really upset.
I cross the threshold into my room and kneel on the bed beside him, worried and prepared to soothe him and pick him up. But he’s laying there safe and sound, snoozing away. No whining. No grunting. Not even those little playful yips he makes in his sleep sometimes, or the twitching of his massive eyebrows. He’s breathing heavy and deep, as if he hasn’t moved in hours.
I head back to the bathroom, flummoxed, and hear the crying once more. There are no other dogs in my apartment. No one else is here. Where is it coming from? Who could it be?
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.
This week, in Ghosts and Family Legends, we’re reading The Sheep-Farmer’s Story. After this, only one more chapter to go!!
You guys, I’ve been racking my brain since I read this story three weeks ago, and I am embarrassed to admit I have zero stories about pets seeing ghosts. I’ve got countless stories about ghost pets, or ghosts talking about living pets, but somehow, I do not recall any situation where a pet brought a ghost to my attention.
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14 - Ghosts and Family Legends: The Swiss Lady's Story
Season 1 · Episode 14
Friday, September 12, 2025 • Duration 48:24
I pause in the stony entrance of a casemate in arguably the most haunted military fort in the country. It holds rumors of hauntings dating back to the 1700s.
I step tentatively through the powder magazine room, searching for shadows. They say this is the most common place for apparitions to appear.
This chamber is cold and musty, its ancient walls swallowed by vines. Its crumbling hearth lies flooded by marsh. On my way inside, I counted eight bird houses seeping into the swamp, but their carefree songs won't reach me here.
Suddenly, something darts past the corner of my eye, at the same time I hear muffled voices. I whip around, heart pounding, but see no one. I call out timidly, voice shaking.
"Is somebody here?"
Hello and welcome to your weekend haunt
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.
This week in Ghosts and Family Legends, we're reading "The Swiss Lady's Story." In honor of our story's hero, the ghost soldier, let's talk about my favorite haunted military base: Fort Mifflin.
History Buffs: This one’s for you.
“Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is so historic that it even predates the Revolutionary War…
This makes the fort the oldest active military base in the U.S., and the only base on American soil to predate the Declaration of Independence.”
Discover shows related to Spook Lit: Audiobook Club, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
Is keeping a crow skull more disrespectful than leaving it on the side of the road? Regarding “owning” a piece of the crow, would you feel weird about the crow owning your bones or ashes? Would you feel disrespectful holding onto your pet’s skull or ashes?
I think the only way to answer this question is to better understand your own intentions. For me, it is always about having respect for the creature. A skull is a beautiful reminder of death—in some ways, it’s giving them another life. You’re keeping a piece of them, just like ashes or feathers, and paying homage to nature and to them as a sacred being. It can feel ceremonial. Bird skulls in particular can be symbolic of messengers flitting between the worlds, delivering spiritual guidance between the living and the dead.
I saw a really beautiful quote from Jade Adgate a few days ago that made me think of your question:
“For the Deathwalker archetype, life is a sacred endeavor, and altars are everywhere. To build an altar to death is to remind yourself to show up to this calling and dedicate a portion of your devotion to cultivating your own relationship with Death.”
If you decide you want to keep a skull or bones, the means of acquisition matters. Please don’t go on Amazon and buy a cat skull for $15 (yes, this is a thing) because Memento Mori. In my work, I often spend months on each individual skull, and I know just by looking at each one who the animal is and pieces of their story. I keep ID coins with each skull as part of protocol, but I don’t need them. I know each skull by name.
One night when I first started doing skull preservation, somebody brought me two dead pigeons and asked me to try macerating their skulls as a trial run for birds - something we don’t currently offer. I was in a massive hurry. I didn’t know how to remove the skull from the head of a bird, and I didn’t have time to research it.
Instead, I ended up prepping the pigeon heads by just cutting them off without ritual. It hit me deeply and immediately felt like the most terrible thing I’d ever done. I sobbed afterwards, and I still feel absolutely wretched when I think about it. I would never treat a beloved pet that way, and I will never do that again to any creature, no matter where it came from.
And there are ways to be more respectful. You can say thank you. You can honor the rest of the body by burying it or turning it in to your local pet funeral home. My company aquamates strays and roadkill when they are given to us, out of respect. Acknowledging the animal as a being is what separates reverence from a mere trophy.
Skulls are incredibly beautiful, and they deepen our relationship to nature, animals, and death. They are a visual reminder that life is precious and fleeting. Skulls aren’t for everyone, but if you decide to obtain one, I hope they add a sense of wonder to your life and your surroundings.
What’s your most strange paranormal encounter?
Sometime around 2018, I was at a live music show at J&M Cafe in Pioneer Square. Before closing in 2019, the J&M was competing with Central Saloon and Merchant’s Cafe for the title of oldest bar in Seattle.
After the show, I was sitting at the bar pounding rum and diets with my former husband and current bff Dave. There was no one else around us except the bartender on the other side of the bar. There was a giant mirror behind the bar, reflecting us and anyone who would have walked behind our barstools.
When we sat down, we noticed a perfectly good cigarette sitting at the end of the bar, to my left. We thought maybe it was saving someone’s place. We debated stealing it, but I was partial to menthols at the time. (I know, so trashy! I quit smoking four years ago.)
After chatting a few minutes, we noticed the cigarette had moved from the bar to the floor. Had we just not noticed it before? No - it was gone from the bar. Nobody had come or gone. And the bar top had a small upturned lip that would have prevented it from rolling off anyway. Even if it had, it started to my left and now landed on my right, closer to Dave’s barstool.
We assumed we just missed someone walking by. We picked it up and placed it back in its original spot, vowing to keep a closer eye on it.
A few more minutes went by. More rum and diets—just a typical Tuesday for me back then. I was a professional drinker, and I recall every detail of this encounter, so I certainly wasn’t sloshed.
We were bantering about the band, debating whether to order food, when we looked down and saw the cigarette back on the floor. Just sitting there between our stools, minding its own business, looking up at us as if it had been there the whole time. We were shocked. We definitely weren’t ghost hunters back then, so instead of embracing the experience, we hollered for our tab and got the hell out of dodge.
That was one of my very first paranormal encounters, and looking back it makes me so happy to think that some frisky old bar regular decided to mess with us that night.
Are you still giving tarot readings? How can I learn to read the cards?
Yes! Tarot readings are currently available in my Etsy shop, and paid subscribers are eligible for a free reading every year.
To learn tarot, I took an 8-week course with my amazing teacher Ken Boggle from Living for the Dead. You can sign up for classes on his website: kenboggle.com.
I also recommend listening to an episode of Ghosted! By Roz Hernandez where she interviews Rachel True from The Craft. They talk about getting to know the cards and deciding to read for yourself as a method of self-soothing. I really love this episode, as well as Rachel True’s book and tarot deck, True Heart Intuitive Tarot.
What first drew you to ghosts, and has that draw changed over time?
I used to be afraid of ghosts until I moved to Pike Place Market in 2015. That first summer living in the market, I visited Ghost Alley Espresso and heard about all the local stories. I bought a book written by the owner at the time, Mercedes Yaeger, titled Market Ghost Stories. On the cover is a map with a starred location - presumably pointing out where the ghosts live - and that star pretty much marked the spot where I lived at the time.
It’s impossible to avoid ghost stories when you live in the market, and I jumped right in with eagerness. I was still afraid, but I immediately started learning as much as I could. I read the book cover to cover in one sitting. I attended the market ghost tour run by Mercedes Yaeger several times, including on Halloween night, when they took us up to an abandoned section of Kell’s Irish Pub - the old funeral service area of the Butterworth Mortuary.
I roamed the streets every morning on our dog walks, searching for Princess Angeline (Chief Seattle’s daughter). I spoke to bar regulars who had lived and worked in the market their whole lives, drinking up their ghost stories just as enthusiastically as the gin and tonics I inhaled at the time. We held an Ouija session at The Tasting Room on Post Alley, which used to be a sort of horse stable parking lot located next to the mortuary. It was a creepy little place at night, and I always stayed late to help close up the winery so whoever was working wouldn’t have to be alone with the rats and ghosts. They paid me in wine.
Things really shifted in the spring and summer of 2019 with the Alaskan Way Viaduct coming down. So many paranormal things happened during that time, and for me, what started as harmless intrigue turned frightening and fatal. An active spirit at one of the produce stands got violent on the anniversary of his death. He changed the radio station and knocked kitchen utensils off the wall. Someone said “oh, that’s just the ghost,” and then a knife flew across the room. I heard about this story when literally all of the employees came sprinting into the bar, having closed the shop early. They were all terrified, and my buddy ran so fast he forgot his cigarettes.
Another friend was scared out of her espresso shop when the drying racks kept falling on their own while she was working. The activity kept escalating, and they performed two spiritual cleansings as a result.
Even worse, we had a series of suicides within a few weeks of each other, all in this same location. I came upon one of them on my walk home from the gym one morning. Things had gone from a fun curiosity to a serious heaviness that was affecting us all. So many of us were on edge during the deconstruction of the viaduct, and I stopped searching for spirits for a long time.
Mercedes forewarns about possible troubles with the viaduct in her book, written a decade prior:
“From a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article about the Duwamish grave-sites along the waterfront: ‘They were the ancient original inhabitants of what is now Seattle, and there is speculation that their remains are beneath the Jell-O-like soils that lie on top of Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle. This is the newest consideration to our ongoing “What to Do With the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Waterfront and Sea Wall” saga. Our history of disrupting sacred burial sites is well known.’” - Mercedes Yaeger, Market Ghost Stories
She also quotes a Washington Post article:
“In the religion of the tribe and those of many other Native Americans, disturbance of ancestral graves is a fearsome thing. It is believed that when ancestors’ spirits are disturbed and made restless, it may have serious consequences among the living, causing accidents, illness and death.” - Mercedes Yaeger, Market Ghost Stories, quoted from: Harden, Blaine, “Washington State Bridge Project Yields Long-Forgotten Graves,” The Washington Post, December 19, 2004.
I didn’t think much about ghosts again until I got sober in 2021. During those first few excruciating months, I would get off work and do literally anything not to drink - cross stitch, color, play games on my phone, anything to keep my hands busy. I started watching the show Kindred Spirits with Amy Bruni and Adam Berry as a distraction. They made me curious and fascinated again, and I couldn’t get enough.
Towards the end of 2022, I started experiencing some intense hauntings no matter where I went—it felt like an attachment. I was incredibly scared. I’ve written about this period several times, but it turned out to be what I believe might be a fragmented haunting of myself. It was baffling and tricky to diagnose, and I still get haunted in this way sometimes. I do believe you can be haunted by yourself, as scary as that sounds.
Throughout 2023, I continued to explore the supernatural and started learning more about ghost hunting and spirit communication, as well as taking classes on psychic development. Since then, I have only continued to learn and grow. My relationship with ghosts has become a lot more comfortable, but no less important.
I’ve heard it’s common to become more interested in ghosts and spirits after someone close to you dies, or after a near-death experience. I didn’t have anything like that, but I was suicidal in 2021 before getting sober, and I had occasional severe depressive episodes throughout 2022 and 2023. I think for me, it was my own close brush with death that made me more receptive. And developing relationships and connections with spirits has only helped me heal since then.
Thank you all again for sending me your questions! I'd love to continue the conversation in the comments. You guys are the greatest.
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
Next time, I promise we will get into the chapter called “The Striding Place,” and I have a whole spiel about faceless entities. I’ve been researching them to death (bad pun intended). I cannot wait to get into it with you.
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe. I appreciate you all so much.
Thank you and hauntingly yours, dreary dendrophile
Credits:
* Music: “Horror Spooky Piano” by Nikita Kondrashev on Pixabay
with Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophile
I’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
That ghost story I just told you honestly has nothing to do with what we're talking about today. I just wanted to tell you about it. I hope you don't mind.
Previously on Spook Lit…
Last time, we started The Bell in the Fog with Part I, about an author named Orth who becomes haunted by two paintings of children long deceased. He brings their ghosts to life by writing a story about them.
I also told you guys a personal story about my own experience with a painting at the Octagon House in Washington DC. Shout out again to the Octagon Museum and the Architects Foundation for a wonderful tour. If you’re in DC, t’s only $10 to go visit the house and hear about its history.
This week’s story:
We left off Part I with an excellent cliffhanger, and I had high hopes for Part II. I even talked about splitting this whole story into three episodes since Part II is very long. But after reading Part II, I was a little weirded out by it and decided to just get through it and move on.
I don’t want to spoil you, so we’ll jump right into the story and then come back at the end to discuss. I’ve never tried this format before, so let me know what you think.
Oh, and if you want to skip the reading and go straight to the commentary, I’ve added time stamps here in the show notes:
* 00:00 Cold open (personal ghost story)
* 03:20 Intro
* 04:53 Reading
* 39:25 Commentary (my thoughts and feelings)
The Bell in the Fog - Part II:
If you’d like to read along, the full text is included at the bottom of this post.
My thoughts and feelings:
You guys, it gets weird! (And a little predatory.) Is this how things were back then?
I’m so bummed because I thought Part I was sooo good. I mean, don’t get me wrong - our protagonist Orth was a little into himself, and he did have some odd commentary about children:
“Again he turned away impatiently. ‘I believe I am rather fond of children,’ he admitted. ‘I catch myself watching them on the street when they are pretty enough. Well, who does not like them,’ he added, with some defiance.”
Stranger danger aside, he seems to really love and grieve for the children in the paintings, so much so that he brings them to life again by writing their story. This was one of my favorite quotes from Part I:
“But the children were not statuettes. He had loved and brooded over them long ere he had thought to tuck them into his pen, and on its first stroke they danced out alive. The old mansion echoed with their laughter, with their delightful and original pranks.”
Once his book is written, Orth leaves the house and settles down. And we get a really good cliffhanger at the end of Part I:
“The ivy on his old gray towers had been young with his children. He spent a haunted night, but the next day stranger happenings began…”
Stranger happenings indeed. I personally hated Part II. First, Orth meets a little kid wandering around by herself in the woods. She takes him back to her place, where everyone basically slut-shames the girl in the painting, to the extent that her grandfather gets up and leaves when the author mentions her:
“[Blanche] did not die in childhood, but lived to be twenty-four. She was an angelic child, but little angels sometimes grow up into very naughty girls.”
The little girl in the woods — also Blanche — is clearly her descendant. She has her name and resemblance, because of course she does. I assume they are implying some past life connection, which is always fun. Orth says:
“’And I think she is Blanche Mortlake working out the last of her salvation,’”
Orth leans real hard into making his fantasy with the ghost painting a reality with her real-life doppelgänger, complete with an underlying savior complex for the little girl’s virtue and social status:
“He reformed Blanche’s accent and vocabulary, and read to her out of books which would have addled the brains of most little maids of six.”
He lures this kid into his home with dolls and money and basically kidnaps her until her mom realizes she has six other kids she needs to get home to, and she has to beg this guy to give her kid back. They argue over whether or not he can adopt her, settling on letting the six-year-old decide for herself because she is just sooo mature for her age. But not before they both manipulate her first:
“’I will be the one bereft, if you leave me. I am the only one who really needs you. I don’t say I will go to the bad, as you may have very foolishly persuaded yourself your family will do without you, but I trust your instincts to make you realize how unhappy, how inconsolable I shall be. I shall be the loneliest man on earth!’”
Dramatic much?
She decides to go back with her mom, which is obviously the wrong choice because she stops all correspondence with the writer a year later. Is she sick? Did she die? We’ll never know. My hope is that she realized she was a little kid and doesn’t owe this guy or anyone anything, and she was too busy playing with her new dolls to keep in touch.
Aside from the content, the story itself just didn’t feel very satisfying. Part I felt like a legit ghost story, but Part II got a little too real for me. It was giving Abducted in Plain Sight and Interview With the Vampire. I wasn’t into it, but maybe I’m overly sensitive to grooming.
It wasn’t all bad, ok? I do love the name Blanche - it’s my grandmother’s name. It’s not a name you hear very often. I love the idea of inheriting a haunted painting and solving the mystery of the girl in the painting. I love that it had a secret compartment.
I’m so curious to know what you guys think. Please let me know in the comments. I’m dying to talk to someone about this!
Shout-outs:
Since I had some complicated feelings about our story this week, I decided to share some other books and media that have been bringing me joy, in case you also need a palate cleanser:
* A Head Full of Ghosts, by Paul Tremblay. I was craving a good old-fashioned exorcism story, and this one did not disappoint. I love a book that plays with timelines and younger and older versions of the same POV. You know it’s good when Stephen King says a book “scared the living hell out of me, and I’m pretty hard to scare.”
* Trad Wife, by Saratoga Schaefer. This book was a recommendation from Haunted Burrow Books in Capitol Hill, Seattle. It’s the first book I’ve ever read about fallen angels and I am obsessed with the concept. It was so fun. I am a sucker for body horror and she did a phenomenal job. It’s the Antichrist meets Breaking Dawn from Twilight, and I’m here for it.
* Speaking of Twilight… Do yourself a favor and check out the Morbid podcast Twilight bonus episodes.
* Did you (like me) read Twilight at a formative age or just at a time when the world was different and we didn’t understand how toxic relationships worked? Did you (like me) think the Twilight books were the pinnacle of romance and what every healthy relationship should strive for?
* It’s not creepy at all that my crush has been sneaking in through my bedroom window and watching me sleep for weeks without my knowledge. It must be love!Did he make me go hiking so he could break up with me “for my own good,” sending me into a catatonic four-month dissociation complete with screaming night terrors every night? That’s how you know it’s love!Yes, it makes perfect sense that he would disconnect my starter cables making it literally impossible for me to leave. Relationship goals!
* Isn’t it fun (and triggering) to look back on our favorite media from the early aughts with a present day lens? If you ever enjoyed or hated Twilight at all, please listen to these episodes - you’re in for a treat. I have been absolutely savoring them.
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
Next week, we move on from The Bell in the Fog to a short story called The Striding Place.
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Credits:
* Audiobook: The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories by Gertrude Atherton
* Chapter: “The Bell in the Fog - Part II”
* Music: “Horror Spooky Piano” by Nikita Kondrashev on Pixabay
The architecture design was a neoclassical federal style, and the home was decorated by the same professionals who decorated Monticello and the White House. Many of the original features still exist today.
One of the most notorious details about the Octagon House is that it was home to James and Dolley Madison for 6 months after the British burned down the White House. Dolley Madison would throw huge parties and balls known as “Dolley’s squeezes” because she tried to squeeze so many people into the party room. An upstairs office now called the Treaty Room was used as a temporary Oval Office. It still contains the treaty table where James Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
After Mrs. Tayloe’s passing in 1858, the building was turned into a Catholic girl school, then later office buildings, before it was finally taken over by the American Institute of Architects, after which it became a museum.
The ghosts…
Perhaps most famously, Jackie Kennedy was visiting the Octagon House during her husband’s presidency in the 60s. She was standing on the spiral staircase looking out the window when she was overcome by the scent of lilacs. She believed she was experiencing the ghost of Dolley Madison.
After Colonel and Mrs. Tayloe passed away, there were reports of servant bells continuing to ring periodically on their own.
A staff member once saw a man in 18th century clothes sitting on the stairs. He smiled at her and raised his hat as she passed. She asked her fellow staff member if they were hosting a themed party in the museum that day. Not only was there no party, but nobody else was there at the time.
There have been paranormal stories from the basement, however the majority of activity seems to escalate in the dining room, with several reports of shadow people, including the shadow in the mirror I mentioned earlier.
My guide walks me over to the fireplace, acknowledging intricate details on the mantel stonework. She points to the hidden doorways, which she calls jib doors, that blend seamlessly into the walls and lead to servant areas behind the scenes.
She narrates the painting that hangs above the fireplace. It features a man named Archy Nash, John Tayloe’s valet and alleged half brother, an enslaved person who was freed after his death.
The painting was created by a contemporary artist named Peter Waddell. He is praised for his ability to depict realistic scenes based on his extensive research of American history and architecture. There are several of his paintings throughout the house, portraying scenes that would have taken place in each room during the Tayloes’ and Madisons’ residencies.
The lovely guide confides that the painting reminds her of a scene in Bridgerton, with women wearing empire dresses and Archy Nash sporting a beautiful collar in full livery, serving everyone at the party. The painting is striking, but for me it is more due to the format and less about the scene.
In reality, as we face the fireplace, the mirror is on the wall to my right towards the back of the room. It is interesting that dark figures are seen in the mirror, as it is too high up on the wall for most people to see their own reflections. It doesn’t reflect much except for the windows on the wall to my left.
In the painting, the artist has built an optical illusion in which the viewer themselves are looking at the room through a reflection in a mirror. We are looking at the mirror presumably through a mirror, and we can see the other mirror directly opposite us in the reflection of the room.
The view in the painting cannot exist in many ways. The mantel doesn’t have a mirror. The one true mirror in the room is on a different wall than is depicted. However, there is no question that the artist has portrayed this particular dining room because of the unique sculpting on the fireplace stonework. It’s unmistakable that he is painting the dining room. But his imagination is slightly off from reality.
It is a common paranormal belief that mirrors reflecting each other can cause an “infinity mirror” effect, which can act as a gateway or portal for spirits. I have seen this effect in several of the most active haunted locations I’ve visited, such as the Conjuring House, a haunted shop in Vancouver, and a haunted bar in Pike Place Market. It feels as though the artist has created this painting almost intentionally to build upon the mirrors, thereby creating his own infinite reflection tunnel.
Fireplaces are also considered to be portals in paranormal lore. The painting placed above the fireplace almost feels like a spiritual welcome mat. To top it all off, deep below our feet in the basement is a prominent room with a large bricked off well. Wells are also known to be portals or “energy vortexes.” I am certain that all of this somehow contributes to the energy of this space.
Later, as I listen to a recording taken in this room, I hear myself say “That is so cool!” And she responds “That’s great because now I can look at it in another way” and on my recording, I capture an EVP ghost voice say “yeah.” I did not get permission to share a recording from the museum, so I won’t share it at this time, but I was blown away when I heard that little whisper “yeah.” So incredibly cool.
We conclude our tour
by visiting the basement cellar, which contains one of the largest kitchens I’ve ever seen and servant quarters with handmade nails spiking through the lumber ceiling.
We make our way up to the Treaty Room, James Madison’s temporary Oval Office in 1814. I marvel at the curved walls and windows, the custom wooden blinds torn and hanging in slats in a few places. Everything bending together in a way I had never seen before.
“We have the original shutters,” my guide explains. “One of the things that we do when we come in the morning is we open up the shutters and then we close them again at night, which I love. It’s sort of like a ceremony. They just fold back into the wall.”
She looks out the curved windows that bend in sync with the stone walls, and she beams with pride. This house is brimming with history, much of it heavy. It was bought, paid for, and maintained by the free labor of enslaved people from Colonel Tayloe’s tobacco plantation. It was a refuge for the president, an Executive Mansion when the White House burned. It was a home for sixty years. A Catholic School. And now a deeply treasured artifact that is shared with all of us. Above all, it has been loved.
Shout-outs:
* A massive thank you to The Octagon and the Architects Foundation for the amazing private tour! Thank you for catering to my interests and including all the ghost stories for me.
* Also this week, I’d like to shout out my dear friend Robin Blackburn McBride, who is launching her new book River of Dreams in October. See her post on Substack for more information about the book as well as her gorgeous cover reveal:
I just read this description and am encouraging us to all go pre-order it now!
“River of Dreams is a captivating work of metaphysical fiction. If you like feminist themes, historical settings, and elements of the supernatural, then you’ll treasure Robin Blackburn McBride’s enchanting story.”
Next week, we get the rest of the story from The Bell in the Fog in Part II. It’s a little long, so I might split it up into two episodes. Meaning, The Bell in the Fog story has two parts but might have three Spook Lit episodes, if that makes sense.
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
“Gothic Tales is an anthology of all of Elizabeth Gaskell’s stories of mystery, gothic, and horror written between 1851 and 1861 — including old legends, ghastly ghostly tales, sympathetic takes on witchcraft, tragic novellas, and bizarre narratives.”— Goodreads
“Elizabeth Gaskell's chilling Gothic tales blend the real and the supernatural to eerie, compelling effect. 'Disappearances', inspired by local legends of mysterious vanishings, mixes gossip and fact; 'Lois the Witch', a novella based on an account of the Salem witch hunts, shows how sexual desire and jealousy lead to hysteria; while in 'The Old Nurse's Story' a mysterious child roams the freezing Northumberland moors. Whether darkly surreal, such as 'The Poor Clare', where an evil doppelgänger is formed by a woman's bitter curse, or mischievous like 'Curious, if True', a playful reworking of fairy tales, all the stories in this volume form a stark contrast to the social realism of Gaskell's novels, revealing a darker and more unsettling style of writing.”—Thriftbooks
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865)
Known for: Victorian realism, social novels, gothic short fiction
"Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.”—Goodreads
Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman — Washington Irving
Stories: 9Page Count: 112
“Years before Edgar Allan Poe began his literary career, Irving was already in the business of scaring readers silly. Read them... if you dare!”— Thriftbooks
“A collection of Gothic tales by Washington Irving that brings together a series of weird and thrilling narratives told by a retired traveler and his friends… Among the tales are eerie adventures such as the German Student, the Mysterious Picture and the Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger, which deliver suspense, supernatural moments, and outright strangeness.”— Goodreads (based on Tales of a Traveller, first published 1824)
Washington Irving (1783–1859)
Known for: Early American short fiction, gothic folklore, satire
“People remember American writer Washington Irving for the stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” contained in The Sketch Book(1820). This author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle to begin his literary career at the age of nineteen years. In 1809, he published The History of New Yorkunder his most popular public persona, Diedrich Knickerbocker.”— Goodreads
Night Shivers: The Ghost Stories of J.H. Riddell — J.H. Riddell
Stories: 15Page Count: 449
“Moving, his candle was instantly extinguished, and in the very moment of being left in the darkness he saw, standing in the doorway, a woman, resembling her who had haunted his dream overnight. He rushed with outstretched hands to seize her, but clutched only air. Night Shivers presents a treasure trove of the stories of Mrs J. H. Riddell, one of the greatest Victorian writers of ghost stories. These tales, many of which have been out of print for years, take the reader on fearful journeys into the gloomy haunts of old neglected houses, into a world of prophetic dreams, out onto the wild terrain of Ireland to encounter a frightful banshee and even down into Hell itself. In these fourteen short stories and one novella, The Uninhabited House, there is the distillation of the best and most effective of Riddell s spine-tingling supernatural fiction. This description may be from another edition of this product.”— Thriftbooks
J. H. Riddell (Charlotte Riddell) (1832–1906)
Known for: Victorian ghost stories, haunted houses, supernatural, economic stress
“Charlotte Riddell aka Mrs J.H. Riddell (30 September 1832 – 24 September 1906) was one of the most popular and influential writers of the Victorian period. The author of 56 books, novels and short stories, she was also part owner and editor of the St. James's Magazine, one of the most prestigious literary magazines of the 1860s….…She was the author of many ghost stories, six of which were published as Weird Stories in 1882.”— Goodreads
The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories — Gertrude Atherton
Stories: 10Page Count: 78
“The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories is a collection that includes tales of mystery and the supernatural by Gertrude Atherton… The title story features a haunted country estate and eerie paintings that begin to haunt the protagonist, alongside other chilling narratives.”— Goodreads
Gertrude Atherton (1857–1948)
Known for: Psychological fiction, supernatural tales, strong female characters
“Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial.She wrote using the pen names Asmodeus and Frank Lin, a play on her middle name.”—Goodreads
“Gertrude Atherton was born in San Francisco in 1857, and died in 1948. She eloped at the age of nineteen, took up writing against her husband's wishes, and after his death became a protegee of Ambrose Bierce, whose influence can be seen here in those stories, The Dead and the Countess, Death and the Woman and The Striding Place, which have an overtly supernatural element. The Striding Place was rejected by one editor as 'far too gruesome', but was in Atherton's view 'the best short story I ever wrote'. Elsewhere, The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number, The Tragedy of a Snob, and A Monarch of a Small Survey the psychological takes precedence over the supernatural. And in The Bell in the Fog (reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw, and dedicated to Henry James) the supernatural and psychological combine to brilliant effect: an angelic child bears a striking resemblance to an old portrait. Is she a reincarnation of her ancestor? And will she turn out as unangelic in adulthood as that distant ancestor turned out before her?”— Goodreads
Thank you for considering these options for our next book. Again, please let me know your preference in the comments, and I’ll send an update in the dreary dendrophile substack chat with our final choice.
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit?
I am still working on releasing Ghosts and Family Legends as a stand-alone audiobook. Stay tuned, I’ll let you know once it’s available.
Why is everything free now? Paid subscriber updates:
When I first launched Spook Lit, I only made full episodes available to paid subscribers. It was a way to honor the dedication of this community and the immense effort that goes into this project.
That said, I’ve done a lot of thinking on the old model, and I really don’t love it, for a variety of reasons:
* The whole purpose of this project is to bring forgotten stories into the spotlight. Gatekeeping them seems like the opposite of that objective.
* My personal anecdotes are always available for free on paid posts, but Substack forces me to paywall the comments regardless. I hate not being able to interact with all readers in the comments. It feels stuffy and gross.
* Keeping these episodes free and more widely available to the public makes me feel lighter and brings me more joy.
If you support my work as a paid subscriber, that support still means the world to me. I will never take it for granted. Please know that I’ll continue offering personal perks like free tarot readings, channeled poems, blackout poetry, merch discounts, and occasional collaborative features. Paid subscribers will receive these offers in their thank you email and occasionally at other times throughout the year.
Whether you are a free or paid subscriber, I love you all to the moon and appreciate your support.
Shout Outs
Speaking of paid subscribers, thank you so much to the following readers for your financial support:
I chose Death and the Woman, by Gertrude Atherton, originally published in Vanity Fair, London, in 1892.
In a raw twist of letting your imagination run away with you, Gertrude Atherton succeeded in keeping me glued to the page (a rare feat). Many of her stories have that in common.
This story is a mix of psychological and existential feminine Gothic horror. The way the author personifies death is extremely important to me. She boldly embraces a story about death and dying in a way that was presumably quite unremarkable in her time, regardless of how extraordinary it seems in ours. Indeed, I was on the fence about even choosing this story due to my fear of offending your sensibilities with my dreaded death talk. (I tend to do that.)
However, this week I am also listening to the audiobook Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty. One of the best (and surprisingly most relatable) books I’ve read in a long time. I was literally shoveling wet bones out of the aquamation chamber when I heard Caitlin Doughty explain:
“Prior to the Civil War, death and dying were strongly associated with the home… Since corpses were a domestic affair, the duty to care for them fell to women. Women baked the meat pies, did the laundry, washed the corpses. In many ways, women are death’s natural companions. Every time a woman gives birth, she is creating not only a life, but also a death.” - Caitlin Doughty, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Doughty posits that during and following the Civil War, the rise in practices of embalming (practical for masses of deaths on a battlefield) and cremation (more affordable), may have resulted in our culture being entirely resistant to death. We are terrified of decomposition and decay. And we have completely lost our relationship to death and dying, avoiding it at all costs.
“If decomposing bodies have disappeared from culture (which they have), but those same decomposing bodies are needed to alleviate the fear of death (which they are), what happens to a culture where all decomposition is removed? We don’t need to hypothesize: we live in just such a culture. A culture of death denial.
This denial takes many forms. Our obsession with youth, the creams and chemicals and detoxifying diets pushed by those who would sell the idea that the natural aging of our bodies is grotesque. Spending over $100 billion a year on anti-aging products as 3.1 million children under five starve to death.” - Caitlin Doughty, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
This blew my mind. The idea that our rituals surrounding and treatment of the dead could influence our society’s attitudes towards death, and vice versa. I truly believe, and aspire to validate, that the subject of death and dying was far less objectionable and wholly unremarkable in Gertrude Atherton’s time. At the very least, concepts such as dying in the home and characterizing Death as a monstrous entity are fascinating themes reminiscent of the time period. I’m officially intrigued.
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit?
In the next episode, I hope to provide you with a list of options for our next serialized book. A few of you have even sent me some of your favorites - please keep them coming!
My main criteria is that the book should match our vibes (I’ll leave that up to interpretation), and it must be public domain. I’m also prioritizing books and stories that do not yet have audiobook versions widely available, since we will be creating them. I have to admit, researching creepy historical books has been a cozy way to spend my free time this winter.
Along with the next book, there are some other changes and improvements in the works. I’ll save those for next time.
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this story, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Credits:
* Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty
* Audiobook: Death and the Woman by Gertrude Atherton
The group was led by Signe and Nat of Ghostoria. Ghostoria is a ghost hunting team in Astoria, Oregon who frequently lead public investigations. But this time, Signe was inviting ghost hunters from all over the PNW to investigate together, a savvy and generous way to build community and share the expense.
On several occasions throughout the night, we felt a heavy feminine presence throughout the hotel. I was certain someone was with us in the restroom each time we went back there. Dead bells chimed regularly, as did the standard concierge bell at the checkin desk. EMF readings skyrocketed in the antique phone booth, but I couldn’t locate any source of electricity.
The woman finally made herself known through spirit box sessions and through our medium as the entire group gathered in a circle around the massive dining room table. She was the prominent spirit of the house, rightfully insisting on patience and respect.
Flashlights blinked on and off as one by one additional spirits made themselves known. We ramped up additional spirit box sessions and at one point the spirits started talking to each other during an Estes method session, using our voices and the radio frequencies through noise cancelling headphones.
“Hold onto me,” our medium said, blindfolded and unable to hear anything but her headphones and static, repeating whatever voices she hears.
“I’ve got you,” I responded eerily, also oblivious to what she had said, also deprived of all ability to see or hear my surroundings.
Towards the end of the night, exhaustion led to emotions running high and the spirits running quiet. I went outside to the courtyard to get some air and a few moments of solitude. I sat down in one of the lawn chairs and looked up at the dark glossy magnolia leaves glinting in the sparkling patio lights. I marveled at the snowy white blossoms cascading over the porch, overflowing into the night.
I felt an inexplicable sense of pride wash over me, mixed with overwhelming tranquility. I knew I wasn’t alone under the stars. I sat in comfortable silence with my hidden companion, closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Right there, just for that moment, we were comrades. In that moment we were kindred.
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
When I started the first season of SpookLit, my objective was to read more books and establish audiobooks that don’t exist but are desperately needed, all while building community and telling ghost stories. I got to learn how to edit audio and more importantly, to choose books with shorter chapters and a little less French. Thank you for your patience during this craggy sharp learning curve. I’ve been having a blast exploring these new methods of media.
Over the next month, I’ll be releasing the episodes of Ghosts and Family Legends on Spotify and other podcast platforms. I may also release stand-alone recordings of the book for those who just want to read the audiobook without all the extras.
I’ll be reaching out sometime in January with options for book two. Feel free to send me any suggestions - the only requirement is public domain.
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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Can’t swing a paid subscription?Recommend dreary dendrophile on Substack or send a one-time donation to support the podcast and join the club!
Credits:
* Special thanks to the Shelburne Hotel for opening up your beautiful inn to a gaggle of ghost hunters. I will absolutely be back.
* As always, a gigantic thank you to Ghostoria for coordinating and hosting an awesome investigation and for always being so collaborative and supportive of fellow investigators in the PNW.
* To Ghostoria and 6Point Paranormal: I truly appreciate you inviting me to this event, and for always welcoming me into your investigations and treating me like a part of the team.
Audiobook:Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine CroweChapter: “My Friend’s Story”Music: “Horror Spooky Piano” by Nikita Kondrashev on PixabayArtwork: Jeff BentLinktree:https://linktr.ee/drearydendrophile
This seems ridiculous to me, as our pets’ odd behavior is usually the first clue that a haunting is afoot—dogs staring off into strange corners, avoiding certain areas of the house, or straight-up barking at the haunted doll you just brought home. (No? Just me?)
I literally just read this post by Chris Stanton about how his dog’s reaction was the only sign that indicated ghostly activity:
Alas, I have no such stories. Parker did used to stare up at nothing in my apartment, but it was easy to debunk as he was going deaf and blind. We just assumed he was confused about our exact location.
That said, even though this week’s story is about a living dog staying loyal to a human ghost, it reminded me of the ghost dog who lives in my apartment.
We found our apartment after putting down a security deposit somewhere else and then getting hit with a series of synchronicities that eventually led to our current home. It was special and magical. It was definitely haunted.
But the best part was our landlord’s dog, Rockie. Rockie was a pug who had spent most of his life in our apartment and had passed years ago. The landlord showed me pictures after we told him about Parker.
After moving in, I started hearing the phantom whimpers over and over, especially near the giant bathtub when the water was running. Every time without fail, I would rush to check on Parker only to find him peacefully fast asleep.
It happened to Dave once, too, when he raced out to check on Parker, only to find him snuggling with me on the couch. This led to the two of us comparing notes and finally coming to the same conclusion…
We had a ghost dog.
We suspected it might be Rockie. He typically only made himself known when one of us was in the bath or shower. We would hear lots of crying and whining from another room, just like Parker whined when he wanted something.
It was always the same story—constant whining and crying, one of us would check on him, he would be fine, we would go back to the bathroom, and the crying would stop.
We often wondered if it was an old habit, like maybe Rockie didn’t like to be left alone when someone took a shower. Or maybe he was worried about us leaving Parker alone.
Whatever the case, it happened very frequently during our time at this apartment, and it happened to both of us.
I think it had more to do with Parker than we realized, though. Perhaps Parker was the reason Rockie stuck around. As many of you know, Parker ended up passing a few months ago, and surprisingly, I haven’t heard any phantom crying since.
Even though I don’t remember any pets acting strangely around spirits, it’s pretty common for animals to sense things that we cannot. They say to trust your pets—your pets will always know. I’m super curious if any of you have any spooky stories about your pets. Please share in the comments!!
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
Send me your ghost stories!!
October is officially here, and it’s time to get creepy! Do you have a scary story? Let’s talk about it! Did you grow up in a haunted house? Maybe you had a monster under your bed, or a doll that liked to move around your room. Send me all your ghost encounters or scary stories, and I would love to share them on the podcast!
Email spooklitpodcast@gmail.com. I’ll keep them anonymous unless you tell me otherwise. Happy Halloween!!
Next week: We continue Ghosts and Family Legends with our final chapter! I can’t believe we’re about to finish the book!
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Want to join the book club?
Support Spook Lit for just $2.50/month
* Get full access to all audiobook chapters
* Receive new episodes with original text photos
* Help keep independent media haunting
Can’t swing a paid subscription?Recommend dreary dendrophile on Substack or send a one-time donation to support the podcast and join the club!
Credits:
Audiobook:Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine CroweChapter: “The Sheep Farmer’s Story”Music: “Horror Spooky Piano” by Nikita Kondrashev on PixabayArtwork: Jeff BentLinktree:https://linktr.ee/drearydendrophile
An extremely knowledgeable and helpful staff member, Alex, tells us that "the fort sustained the largest bombardment of the revolution, including five weeks of siege preceding it."
“In 1777, the British attacked the revolutionary troops garrisoned at the fort, pummeling its walls with more than 10,000 cannonballs, making it the greatest bombardment of the American revolution…..
After five intense days, the Continental army had no choice but to retreat, fleeing the fort on Nov 15, 1777. Though the soldiers never officially surrendered, and counterintuitively, their fight was a pivotal moment in the American success in the war.”
“The Siege of Fort Mifflin in 1777 has been called the forgotten battle of the American Revolution. Even the history books in Philadelphia schools contain no reference to the Fort or to its siege. Yet the stubborn defense of this hastily completed fortification, against hopeless odds, was one of the most courageous and inspiring actions of the entire Revolution-ary War.”
-How Fort Mifflin Saved America During the Revolutionary War,
“Moreover, the siege of Fort Mifflin, while an American defeat, was a significant event in America's War for Independence. In his effort to open the supply lines to Philadelphia, Howe spent considerable time, resources and materials trying to capture Fort Mifflin. This allowed Washington and the Continental Army sufficient time to withdraw to Valley Forge for the winter…
When battles resumed in 1778, the Americans engaged the British with renewed energy and discipline, a spirit that led to America's independence! In this way, Fort Mifflin was
‘The Fort that Saved America!’”
-How Fort Mifflin Saved America During the Revolutionary War
Definitely listen to Amy Bruni’s podcast Haunted Road for much more detailed information about the fort’s history plus additional stories about its hauntings as well.
When I visited, our skeptical staff member told us all about an endearing attention-seeking spirit named Edward. They believe his name is Edward because while another staff member was sleeping, he was briskly shaken awake by someone saying "my name is Edward!"
Edward likes to turn off electronics in the office. He also severed the cord of a pack hanging on a hook for several months before it fell while staff member Alex was falling asleep. Another time, during a heated argument between a staff member and a client who had rented the property for an event, a cannonball fell off a bookshelf and onto the floor.
My favorite story is about a revolutionary war spirit who tends to appear as a full-body apparition near powder magazine #12. During most weekdays, guests pay for their tickets in the office with instructions to explore on their own. There are no tour guides down in the fort, and the staff member stays up in the office selling tickets.
On several occasions, when visitors go to leave, they'll mention a very helpful and interactive tour guide they met during their self-guided tour. They say he is extremely knowledgeable and friendly, dressed in uniform, and has details that even the staff doesn't know about the Revolutionary War. The guests are confused, having been told that no tour guides are available on weekdays. And the staff member is always equally flummoxed, knowing that no other personnel are present at the fort.
There are a variety of spirits from several wars, and they all seem to be friendly and respectful. When I visited the grounds, the energy felt very relaxed and peaceful. I heard stories of spirits who only retaliate if a bully is trying to scare someone, and spirits who lovingly help people down the stairs near the officer's quarters.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet any veteran spirits during my visit. If you decide to tour the fort, be on the lookout for the revolutionary soldier who gives detailed tours of the casemates. Please tell him hello for me!
What’s Lurking on Spook Lit:
Next week: We continue Ghosts and Family Legends with “The Sheep-Farmer’s Story.” Only two chapters left!
Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Want to join the book club?
Support Spook Lit for just $2.50/month
* Get full access to all audiobook chapters
* Receive new episodes with original text photos
* Help keep independent media haunting
Can’t swing a paid subscription?Recommend dreary dendrophile on Substack or send a one-time donation to support the podcast and join the club!
Credits:
Special thanks to Fort Mifflin on the Delaware, especially Alex who generously shared tons of stories.
Audiobook:Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine CroweChapter: "The Swiss Lady’s Story"Music: "Horror Spooky Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev on PixabayArtwork: Jeff BentLinktree:https://linktr.ee/drearydendrophile
