What We Do in the Shadows, House of Spirits, and a Giveaway!
Every Day is Halloween #94: The Official Newsletter of Lisa Morton
Hi All!
First of all, welcome to those of you who are new here, and special thanks to those of you who are now paid subscribers! If you’re not sure what being a paid subscriber will get you, you can read a sample post here or see the section on “The Whole Haunted World” below for what’s coming up.
I hope you had a fantastic Halloween. Mine was typically exhausting although I tried to leave room this year to visit some local yard haunts. The month’s stress level - already high because of all the interviews and presentations I did - ratcheted up with three potential book deals in the works (one non-fiction, one revised edition, and one fiction). As soon as I can reveal more details, you’ll be among the first to hear!
In the meantime, if you’re reading this on November 1, Happy All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, Dia de los Muertos, and Spirit Halloween Sale!
Lisa
NEW STUFF I LIKE
I’m a longtime fan of What We Do in the Shadows (although I enjoyed the movie, I LOVE the series), but I’ve been so busy lately that I completely missed news about Season 6 starting up. Imagine my delight when, while wearily scrolling my Hulu service recently after a long day of Halloween interviews, I found the new season had started!
Fortunately, it’s as delightful as ever. I’m just bummed it’s the final season. If you’ve never seen it, start at the beginning and enjoy - you’re in for a (Halloween) treat!
THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT
(Scenes from House of Spirits)
I decided to treat myself to one big Halloween event this year, and I chose a touring attraction called House of Spirits.
It was a fine choice because I loved it! It’s been around for a few years, usually has shows being presented by different companies in various cities, and combines elements of pub crawl, burlesque show, circus, and haunted attraction.
Here in SoCal, it was held at a huge old theater in Glendale. Your ticket price got you admission and four mini craft cocktails (all delicious). Wandering the premises, you’ll come across costumed actors, magicians, a (hilarious) seance, huge Ouija board that answers questions, a spooky little scavenger hunt (which has a cool surprise pay-off!), and performers in the main theater area doing dances, drumming, rope acts and more.
The vibes are chill, the performers fantastic, the set design fabulous, and I look forward to attending again. If it hits your area, give it a try!
STRANGE DOINGS
I recently discovered one famous and incredibly haunted place I’d never talked about, even though it shows up in the top five of almost every list of the world’s most haunted places: Zvikov Castle in the Czech Republic. This gorgeous castle, built in the 13th century, sits on a high strip of land right where two rivers meet, and is known for its stunning early Gothic architecture…well, that and the demonic presence said to haunt it.
This entity is a kind of trickster imp out of Czech folklore called a rarášek, although the mischief it causes sounds like a classic poltergeist. There were a lot of reports of it until 1597, when the imp was said to cause workers in one of the towers to flee. That tower is the one filled with indecipherable runes, but I’m sure that’s just coincidence, right? The imp has never gone completely away, though: It’s said to push and poke visitors, move objects around, drain electronic devices, and blow out flames, although it has also manifested as a troll-sized apparition. It’s also said that the imp can cause death, and anyone who spends the night in one of the castle towers will die within the year. Final Destination, anyone?
The imp isn’t the only spooky thing inside Zvikov Castle, though: of course there has to be a Lady in White, often glimpsed on the stairs, but my favorite story is the demonic hounds with glowing red eyes that are believed to patrol the secret passages beneath the castle. If you are foolish enough to be within the Castle after dark, you may hear their ghostly howling coming up through the stones beneath you.
BEHIND THE SCREAMS
“Room B340: How the Queen Mary (and Disney) Created a (Real) Haunting”
From The Whole Haunted World #3
I’ve never written a “Behind the Screams” installment on a piece I’m still working on (!), so I thought this would be a fun experiment.
For the part of my newsletter (The Whole Haunted World) only available to paying subscribers, I’m preparing feature-length, detailed articles on paranormal or Halloween history. One of my favorite subjects to write about is the Queen Mary, which I live about an hour away from and try to visit once or twice a year.
The venerable old ship is one of the world’s most famous haunted venues, but I’m especially interested in Stateroom B340, which looms at the forefront of every haunt fan’s thoughts like a monster waiting in the shadows to pounce. If you take one of the paranormal investigation tours like The Grey Ghost Project, they’ll likely save B340 for the grand finale, and as your group enters it you’ll feel an anxious hush descend.
But here’s the thing: I’ve been going to the Queen Mary long enough to know that this was not always the case. I did an all-night investigation there in 2017, and although the guide took us to B340, he admitted that he didn’t believe anything had really happened there. At the time, it was completely empty; it had recently been rented out as an office.
Upon some quick googling about B340’s history, I stumbled across a few articles that suggested it might have gained its reputation entirely from…Disney! Yes, in 1988 Disney acquired the ship as part of a deal that was mainly intended to secure ownership of the Disneyland Hotel, which (amazingly) had been under the supervision of another company from its inception. At the time, the Queen Mary wasn’t turning much of a profit, so Disney looked for ways to change that.
I’ve spoken to one writer who was employed by Disney then to create ghost tours, and I’ve dug deep into the ship’s haunted history to unravel this mystery. Was B340 really a seriously haunted area prior to Disney? If not, why/how did they choose it, and how has its legend grown since then?
I’m still working through some of this myself, so if you want to know how it all turns out…you’ll have to subscribe!
THE WRITE STUFF
Continuing from the above…I thought I’d share one of my favorite research tips that a lot of writers might not think about:
ebay.
Yes, a completely commercial auction site has given me some of my best bits of useful information over the years.
Wha-HUH?
Let me give you a few examples.
Years ago, when I was researching one of my Halloween books, I was trying to figure out what a “ticktack” was; this was a commonly-referenced thing from the 1910s and 1920s, used by juvenile pranksters. From the text descriptions I knew only that it made some kind of awful noise. I’d looked everywhere for a better description, to no avail. Finally I tried ebay…and darned if someone wasn’t selling an old book on crafts that had a page on how to make a ticktack (which turned out to be a kind of notched wooden spool attached to a stick or string that was rolled over a window pane).
More recently, while researching my article on the Queen Mary’s B340, I’ve used ebay to look at old brochures from the ship to chart how the QM marketed its haunted side (and yes, I’ve bought a few of the brochures since they were cheap and would provide useful images to accompany the text in the article).
I also use ebay’s “Save Search” function to keep track of any new listings on ongoing research projects.
NEWS & WORKS IN PROGRESS
I’ve placed short stories in two upcoming anthologies that haven’t been announced yet so I can’t say much about them right now.
I have a story in the fine new anthology Bestiary of Blood.
Check out the excellent first installment in an eight-part podcast, “Inside McKamey Manor”; I’m in the first one to provide some haunted attraction background.
In October, I made it into the New York Times, the L.A. Times, USA Today, NPR, CBS, and others I’m forgetting about…yeah, I was busy.
I’m working on an essay for a forthcoming book centering on films featuring “Diabolical Mothers.” I was given a list of films to choose from; I asked for one not on the list, and the editor watched it, loved it, and wholeheartedly approved my choice.
And, mainly…I’m in that limbo peculiar to writers as they wait for agent/editor response to proposals.
UPCOMING APPEARANCES
(NOTE: The previously announced October 6 signing at Dark Delicacies for Videotapes From Hell has been postponed)
November 17 at 3 pm - I’ll be at Dark Delicacies with editor Jonathan Maberry and contributors Leslie S. Klinger, Lisa Kastner, Del Howison, Ray Porter, Duane Swierczynski, Scott Brick, John Palisano, Simon Vance, and Amber Benson signing Shadows & Verse: Classic Dark Poems with Celebrity Commentary
March 17, 2025 - I’ll be in Glendale signing at the Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show
June 12-15, 2025 - I’ll be in Stamford, CT for StokerCon
THE WHOLE HAUNTED WORLD
What’s coming up for my paid subscribers:
Issue #3: “Room B340: How the Queen Mary (and Disney) Created a (Real) Haunting” and a brand new matching “Spine Tingler” short story
Issue #4: “Did the Serial Killer Behind the Villisca Axe Murders Create Other Hauntings?” and the next installment of my serialized book The Skeptic’s Guide to Ghost Hunting
WHERE YOU CAN BUY MY BOOKS
GIVEAWAY
Who says Halloween is over? Let’s keep the spooky goodness going, shall we?
Everybody wins this time! Just click the link below for a free e-book with four of my Halloween tales. Stay spooky!
Thanks as always for reading this far!
Happy All Saints’ Day.