The Creepfest Blog Hop keeps rolling on!
Today I am excited to announce that Ruth Barrett is guest blogging! Please hang around and make her feel welcome!
Ah, Christmas! What child doesn’t remember rising before dawn and sneaking downstairs to open their stocking? At five, I was no exception to that rule. It was still the dead of night when I rose, tip-toed down to the fireplace and reached out for my stocking.
Before my hand could grasp the bulging red toe of the stocking, I thought I saw something move. I blinked and rubbed my eyes– peering closely by the muted colorful lighting of the Christmas tree.
The stocking rustled and jerked, swaying gently to and fro on its nail in the mantelpiece. I was more curious than alarmed. I slowly reached out with one finger and poked the bulge. The stocking jolted and bounced like a puppet on a string and I jerked back, my finger now sticky and wet.
This was not good.
Inspired, I checked out my little brother Billy’s twin stocking at the other end of the fireplace. My parents were always very democratic and gifted us with identical stocking treats every year. Cautiously, I prodded the toe of his stocking. Nothing moved and it felt dry to my touch.
Moments later, I carried both stockings– mine at arm’s length– up to my brother’s room. I set the damp, wriggling one beside Billy’s pillow then leaned over to whisper in his ear: “Merry Christmas, Billy- here’s your stocking.” As he stirred awake I hurried out and went back to my room down the hall. I flicked on my bedside light and dumped the stocking contents onto my bed, happily sorting through the windfall of candy, chocolates and tiny wind-up toys.
Seconds later, Billy’s shrieks of terror broke the silent night. My parents’ footsteps tore past my closed door in the hallway. Lazily, I unwrapped a candy cane and stuck the end in my mouth as I slowly followed out after them to see what all the fuss was about…
Check out her entry in my Creepiest Christmas Ornament contest:
Ruth Barrett is the author of Base Spirits: In 1605, Sir Walter Calverley’s murderous rampage leaves a family shattered. The killer suffers a torturous execution… but is it truly the end? A noble Yorkshire house stands forever tarnished by blood and possessed by anguished spirits.
Some crimes are so horrific, they reverberate through the centuries.
As an unhappy modern couple vacation in the guesthouse at Calverley Old Hall, playwright Clara, and her scholar husband, Scott, unwittingly awaken a dark history. Clara is trapped and forced back in time to bear witness to a family’s bloody saga. Overtaken by the malevolent echoes, Scott is pushed over the edge from possessive husband to wholly possessed…
Inspired by a true-life drama in Shakespeare’s day, this is itself a play within a play: a supernatural thriller with a historical core.
Only one player can survive.
Available on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1315163319&sr=1-1
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/84640
Paperbacks are available through Fanfare Books fanfare@cyg.net or Callan Books jcallan@orc.ca and can be personally inscribed before shipping.
Visit Ruth at her blog: http://ruth-barrett-spiritedwords.blogspot.com/
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LadyCalverley
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spirited-Words-Book-Co/101014656667433
There are more great writers schedule to appear on my blog so keep coming back for more!!