by Sarah Peterson-Camacho
As the fiery leaves of autumn give way to winter’s fog and frost, the colder seasons mingle in swirls of scarlet through icy tendrils of bone-white mist. An otherworldly haze of tule fog descends upon the Central Valley like a collective ghost, enveloping the vineyards in its numbing embrace.
Buy the Book bookshop in Quindicott, Rhode Island, is preparing for Pet Mystery Week, a promotional event celebrating humans’ worthy animal companions. For the seven days and nights of programming Penelope McClure has partnered with the Pawsome Pals reading group to feature a town pet-adoption day, discount vet care, Pet Blessing, competitive pet show, and even a Pet Parade. One of the highlights for the bookstore owner will be an event by bestselling mystery author Amber Breen, whose Kennel Club Mysteries have even been developed into a streaming series.
That first night opened the door … to what, exactly, she wasn’t quite sure. But that was the night it all began—the rappings on the walls, the floorboards that creaked under invisible feet.
Blood was not on the menu the night of Thursday, April 5, 1962, as far as Kings County Deputy Jailer Raymond Van Dyke was concerned. But the spray of crimson erupting in the steely wake of a razor could never have been mistaken for ketchup.
Heavy footsteps shook the hot, dusty air, jolting us out of our downstairs vigil; all eyes shot up to the Bastille’s second-floor VIP section — what had once been the women and children’s ward of the former Kings County Jail.
As frost and fog envelop the Central Valley in the ghostly shroud of winter, thoughts drift inward to the warmth of family, home, and the holidays. But as the Christmas tree is lit and the New Year rung in with loved ones, the season’s longest, darkest nights recall a time when ghost stories and spooky soirees were the otherworldly order of the day.
As Halloween approaches in a flurry of fiery leaves and gathering gloom, the cold air crackles in the shivery wake of Autumn and her restless spirits. The Season of the Ghost is upon us, and Central Valley podcast Ghosthropology, hosted by folklorist Matthew Armstrong and produced by his wife Kaylia Metcalfe, is here to tell you a ghost story.
It’s been several years since Penelope Thornton-McClure moved back to her hometown of Quindicott, Rhode Island, to help her Aunt Sadie run their Buy the Book shop, and with Pen’s publishing experience they have expanded the store physically while increasing their sales online. No small part of their success has been the seasonal Fall help of the nomadic Norma Stanton, who has a gift of being a book-whisperer able to find the perfect book for a customer’s needs.
I arrive at my usual time, my hand clasped around the stem a single lily. An offering, a tribute to her cherished life.
Carrie manages the special programs at the public library. In addition, only she and her young niece can see Evelyn, the resident ghost, a former librarian. She’s been caught up in a few murder investigations, but she’s done with that and focusing on newer, better programs for library patrons and her recent engagement to Dylan.
