Guest Post with author Scott Nicholson and a chance to win a Kindle DX

The Red Church: Just Wood And Nails

By Scott Nicholson
www.hauntedcomputer.com

My first exposure to ghost stories were at the feet of my grandmother’s rocker, as she spun those old Appalachian Mountain ghost stories on the front porch.
The mountains were already a magical place to me, with frost, fireflies, lush peaks and valleys, and massive stones poking up from the ground. Aside from a short vacation at a flatland college, I’ve spent most of my life in the mountains. I’ve always retained a love of legends, informally collecting bits of folklore and writing about it for newspapers.

My first novel The Red Church was inspired by a little country church in our community. Built more than 150 years ago, it was moved once and is now largely unused, except for the occasional wedding or summer sermon. But a reputation for paranormal activity clings to the church, and it’s become the subject of many myths that I was able to use in the book.

I produced a short documentary video on the church, with opinions ranging from the regional priest’s “The only ghost there is the Holy Ghost” to an octogenarian parishioner’s reflections of how everyone knew the church was haunted. The story that a disgraced preacher “hung hisself” there is not backed up by the historical record, but it makes a good story, anyway, and thus my novel was born.

But a legend by itself isn’t enough. Without interesting characters, a structure is just “wood and nails,” as one person put it (a line that appears in the book, too.) So I created Ronnie Day, a concoction of some of the things I remember going through at the age of 13–your body is exploding with strange hormones, you realize girls look different now, and, most importantly, that you can’t necessarily count on all the things adults have been telling you and you have to make your own sense of the world.

Ronnie’s mom is attending a local haunted church after a mysterious preacher returns to town. It’s put a strain on the family and is causing Ronnie to question his Baptist upbringing. Throw in the fact that people are dying in Whispering Pines, and the preachers is demanding sacrifices, and Ronnie has to grow up fast–and he can’t be sure if he’s praying in the right direction.

The actual church that inspired the legend sits on a peaceful knoll overlooking a river. The beautiful woodwork was crafted with obvious love by those people who are no longer here, many of whom reside in the graveyard outside, stone markers so worn their names are now lost.

The church itself is a little infamous, and some of the people in the valley are very protective of it, to the point they get upset if anyone publicizes its ghost stories. I can understand, since the church has been vandalized before, and local college kids like to play tricks there. Out of respect, I don’t share the formal name of the church, though it’s pretty easy to find.


The church elders sent me a threatening letter after my novel was published, accusing me of “slandering” the long-dead preacher and the church. I know slander and libel law pretty well, and a building can’t be slandered, and neither can a dead person (except maybe in California, where laws don’t make sense and Mickey Mouse has more rights than a living person). But secretly I was thinking, “Boy, I hope they take some kind of legal action. Fox News couldn’t resist the headline ‘Church Sues Horror Writer.’ And I’ll sell a million copies.”

Alas, it never came to pass. Neither did my threat to hold a book-burning to protest the publication of my own book. Life went on, and so did death, and the church is still there.

I don’t believe those spirits rise from their graves in the misty moonlight. But as the octogenarian said, “I always hurry on by there just in case.”

(The Red Church is 99 cents at Amazon and signed copies are available directly from the author for $8.95 plus shipping at http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/redchurch.htm)

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Photos compliments of Marie Freeman of Blue Ridge Blog. Scott Nicholson is author of 12 novels, including the paranormal thrillers Speed Dating with the Dead, Drummer Boy, and Creative Spirit. He’s also written four comic series, six screenplays, and more than 60 short stories. His web site is www.hauntedcomputer.com.

We want to thank Scott for including Paranormal Haven in his blog tour. To enter to win the Kindle DX, simply leave a post comment with contact email. Scott will return in seven days and collect the names and assign numbers. At the end of the tour, one number will be randomly selected by the staff of the Watauga County (NC) Public Library.

You can also enter to win a Kindle 3 by subscribing to the tour newsletter at scottsinnercircle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. A Pandora’s Box of e-books will be randomly given away through Scott’s Twitter (follow “hauntedcomputer”). No purchase necessary and the contest is international. Good luck!!