Welcome to the last Phantasmic Friday of October. Halloween is less than a week away, and Iâm loving it! I love the Yuletide too, which is probably why my second medieval romance, Soul of the Wolf, is set in December of 1101. Itâs also the season in which todayâs true ghost story begins.

Christmas of 1992 found me packing for Sweden, where I would study for the next six months under a Swedish Institute scholarship. At the time, which was long before I met my husband, my Swedish-American boyfriend arranged for me to stay in his grandmotherâs empty house in Stockholm for the week leading up to nyĂ„rsafton (New Yearâs Eve). It was a small, quaint dwelling with numerous knick-knacks andâas I would soon discoverâa tragic past.
The bedroom where I slept opened onto an alcove, above which the trap door to the attic was poised. My first night, I woke with a startâŠto darkness and an acute sense of someone hovering in the alcove. The space was alive with creaking floorboards and a bluish light.
A flashlight? An intruder?
My heart pounded. I shifted in bed to gain a better view.
No one was there. Or so it seemed.
I slid out of bed and tiptoed around the house, just to be sure I was alone. The doors were locked, and by the time I climbed back into bed, the strange light was gone. I fluffed up my pillow and rearranged the bedcovers.
Then a scraping, scratching sound filled the alcove. Had rats infested the attic?
A sudden rush of emotions slammed into me. Despair. Dread. Distress. Not mine but anotherâs.
Every night brought the same experience: the light, the sounds, and the mood. When the phenomena ceased, I sought sleep again, but as you can imagine, it took a while before I drifted off.
Months later, I learned the truth. My boyfriendâs uncle had committed suicide years before. Heâd hung himself in the alcove, not ten feet from where I slept. If Iâd known that at the time, I wouldâve tried to help him move on. I hope he has since found peace.
Iâve enjoyed sharing some of my paranormal experiences with you this month. Believe it or not, theyâre just the tip of the iceberg! Not surprisingly, the supernatural finds its way into almost everything I write. Check out My Books for more information.
Wishing everyone a safe and fun Halloween!
