After nearly two years and an untold number of heartbreaks i finally made myself finish the Kelly Jo Froggit Series. I am sorry to say that it is not the book i set out to write, but i just could not leave the series unfinished. However, i must admit that my heart just was not in the writing of this, the last of the MuddyFork Paranormal. I do believe that it is a decent book with the same cast of unconventional characters we all know and love. Hope you enjoy,
Once upon a time (I have always wanted to start a story that way) there was a young girl that would spend her summers with her grandmother in the country. Her grandparents owned and ran a small county bait – grocery store at the entrance of a state-run park. She had a blast. Listening to all the old men gather around the potbellied wood stove telling each other their latest “the one that got away” story. The girl would help in the store; by the age of six she could make change for a $100.00-dollar bill. She helped plant what to her was the world’s largest garden. Go fishing with her grandfather. And even helped draw water from the well. The only chore she ever complained about was counting worms. She didn’t mind the red worms so much but she absolutely hated the night crawlers; those nasty little wigglers spit at you! But for her the best thing ever was watching the trains. The tracks couldn’t have been more than 30 feet from her grand-mothers home. At night they would gently rock the house as they sped by. During the day she would wave and watch as the passenger cars flew by, and she wondered where they were all heading. She imagined the thrilling sights that those lucky, happy people would get to see from there windows as they traveled through the world’s most exotic places. (to a 6-year-old anyplace could be reached by train) But her favorite was the circus train. It came through late every spring. It had to travel slowly because of the animals it carried. Once she even got to see an elephant’s trunk as it reached for the heavens through a skylight in its car. If the girl was lucky her grand-mother would take her out and let her wave as the passengers slowly went by. They would all smile and wave back, some never took notice of the small girl standing in the dark imagining the exciting world of a circus performer.
In the summer the passenger trains would stop and the porters would come into the store for ice. They were always supervised by the trains conductor. That is how the girl met her friend and favorite story teller. He was a short portly man with a warm smile. He loved to sit and tell stories he had heard over his 40-year employment with the rail road. And the girl was a most eager audience. She would soak up every tale with great enthusiasm. And torment her grandparents for days with the whimsical animated retelling of his stories. Their friendship continued for four years. The girl now 10 became as familiar to the staff of the old train as she was to her family. But the old conductor held a special place in her heart. He was her window to the world. And she was an eager stand in for the grand-children he rarely got to see. They would spend an hour twice a week sitting behind the counter, but always under her grandmother’s watchful eyes, as he told her of the places he had seen and the sometimes-mysterious characters that rode his train. It was late in October, nearly Halloween, when the gently rocking as the train went by turned into what seemed a ground shaking explosion. A horrible squeal filled the air as the trains wheels skidded across the rails. Pictures fell off the walls. Windows rattled in their frames. And the house shook violently, until suddenly there was nothing but an eerie silence. Then she heard it, a faint whisper of a moan. Then another, and another, then screaming as the passengers of the train stumbled from the wreckage. The girls grandparents ran from their home and began to help pull victims from the twisted metal. But for every one person that they got out alive, they pulled out three more that had not made it through the wreck. The girl watched as police and emergency personnel arrived. The once quite little street was alive with lights and radio sounds. She was horrified as she watched the bodies were laid out in the front yard of her grand-parents’ home. She was mesmerized by all the twisted broken bodies. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn’t look away. Then she saw it, the one body she now realized that she had been looking for; the conductor. He had not made it, he was now just another nameless victim to those who were covering the dead with sheets. That’s when it hit her and she began to scream. But no one came to comfort her. She was but another scream in the night. Drowned out by those still trapped in the wreckage, or by those who had come to identify the bodies. The child slowly makes her way through the field of broken bodies and sits with her friend. Holding his hand and telling him stories until his family arrives to take him away. That was nearly thirty years ago. The girl now lives in the house her grand-parents left her. And the trains don’t run the rails beside the house anymore. At least none that are of this world. But if you should be going by the old road in late summer. You can still here the rumble of the train as it goes along. Sometimes stopping to pick up a lost soul that had not found its way those many years ago. Or had simply not been willing to go because they had unfinished business. But always the girl sits on the porch and watches as the conductor slowly waves his lantern back and forth in greeting as the train disappears once again. But she knows that he will always return to say hello.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween!
The railroad ran behind the home and a street car ran from it to downtown New Albany.
Behind the Mansion sits the two level carriage house. The lower level was for storage of the horse and buggy. the upper for the servants. And this is where the legends of the hauntings begin. In 1888 lightening struck the carriage House. The fire Killed all living within it's walls. From that date on no servant would live in the carriage house. Claiming the house was haunted by those that died there. It stood empty until the 1930's When it was turned into a rental property by the McDonalds. Dr. Harold Webb, a doctor and dentist with a well established reputation, looking to settle down in a small town rented the carriage house for his family and practice. Both his family and his practice was thriving when the children started to relate tails of a dark figure that would come into their rooms at night through the walls. Dr. Webb and his wife dismissed the children's claims but they could not ignore the sound of clanging chains, horrible smells and the terrifying screams that would come from beneath the floors. After a while the strange events took a toll on the good Doctor. His practice also began to suffer; especially after several of his patients disappeared. The police began an investigation of the office. On September 29, 1934 one of Doctor Webbs remaining patients arrived for her appointment only to find the doors locked. When no activity was observed around the house for several days the police obtained a warrant and entered the home. What they found inside shocked and horrified even seasoned officers. The entire Webb family had been murdered. In every room of the home they found a member of the family. All of them killed in a distinctly grisly fashion. The family had suffered indescribable horrors. The daughter had been stabbed again and again. Numerous wounds littered her small body. The son had been skinned. We can only hope that it had been done after his death. And their mother, Doctor Webb;s wife had been beaten to death. But what was found under the living quarters was perhaps the most shocking of all. When searched the basement of the home revealed secret rooms and passages. The bones and remains of Doctor Webb's missing patients were littered every where. The good doctor had been using them for his own deviously twisted experiment. For what purpose no one knows. Some remains were so mutilated that it was questioned as to whether or not they were even human. After the investigation the house was boarded up and remained vacant for nearly 30 years. From 1946 to 1964 the American legion bought the home and used the Carriage house for parties and special events. However this didn't last long. Staff and guest all reported missing items. strange sound and mysterious figures passing through the rooms. In 1987 the friends of the Culbertson Mansion started using the house as a haunted attraction with all the proceeds going toward the renovation of the grand old home. So do you dare enter? Check them out on Facebook... www.facebook.com/HauntedCulbertson/ Or check out the haunted theme for 2017. Find the time and dates for the haunted tours here. www.hauntedculbertson.org/ You can even volunteer to become part of the experience. They are open every Friday and Saturday night in October, starting at 7pm. Admission is $14 (no refunds). 2017 Dates: Sept 29th & 30th, Oct 6th & 7th, 13th & 14th, 20th & 21st, 27th & 28th. Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States, 25 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois.
According to the 2010 census Gary was the ninth largest city in Indiana. As of 2014, approximately 78,000 people live there this is a drastic drop from its peak in 1960 when it had over 178,000 residents. Today it is estimated that between 13,000 and 15,000 buildings have been left to rot. Many have become a haven for criminals. This was never more evident than October of 2004. Alleged serial killer Darren Vann led them to four abandoned homes where they found the bodies of six women. Even though there are still an estimated 80,000 people still living in Indiana I have no problem classifying this as a Ghost town. Take a few minutes to look over some of the following pictures and judge for yourself.
As promised here is this weeks audible ghost story. Hope you enjoy,
Yippeeeeeeee!!!
I am finally making progress. On the new book. Just finished chapter four. And and working on chapter 5. YYYAAAWWWHHHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Admit it, as soon as the weather turned crisp your thoughts turned to ideas of how to feed your Halloween guest. And how to treat your guest right by tricking out your home. I have added several pins that might help kick start your culinary imagination. Check them out at
https://www.pinterest.com/joritchiebooks/halloween-2017-treats/ Your will find everything from poison apples to zombie boogers. You should be able to find something for everyone on your spook list regardless of age. There is a little bit of everything from cute to right down grotesque. .. bon appetit.
You all know my love of fall. The falling leaves, the campfires, the chill in the wind, and of course the ghost stories!
While i was giving the website it's annual autumn remake i decided to add a new page. The title is simply Ghost Stories. On this page you will find a podcast of someone telling you a ghost story. Weather the stories are real or not you will have to be the judge... The first has already been posted so give it a listen and see what you think. There will be a new story posted every week so be sure to come back and check them out. Hey just wanted to stop and say hello. And to once again tell you how grateful I am to you all for sticking by me while I attempt to glue myself back together. I wont go into it all but as most of you know the last year and a half has been pure hell for me and my family. For those of you that haven't heard I have up dated the about the author page on the website. Here's the link:
http://josephinescorner.weebly.com/the-history-of-josephine-ritchie.html Again thank you. Josephine.
While working through my writers block, okay i was surfing youtube, I found a few spooky videos I thought you might get a kick out of. Of course a list of spooky places isn't complete without my favorite haunted location... Waverly Hills! (i just love that place)
You can find these new pages on the menu tabs of my website. I am also working on a few other pages for those of you that are local. The most haunted places of Indiana and Louisville. I hope to have them up and running soon. In the mean time I invite you to get your spook on. They would make great watching tonight with the thunderstorms headed our way!
For the last, wow i guess it's almost been a year, I have done nothing but wish i could get back to doing what i love to do. Writing. It is what i have always fallen back on when ever i was bored, depressed, lonely, etc. There was just something about creating my own worlds. Places i could go to escape my inner demons. It's really therapeutic, you should give it a try.
But for the last few days I have not been able to get even one word down on paper. I just keep staring at this blank screen. I have had writers block before; but never like this! And i have to tell you its a horrible feeling. I know I will get past it, I always do. But right now it feels awful. Well this is turning out to be a happy little post isn't it? Anyway, that's all the pity parting i will do for now. Got to get back to work. Or at least trying to work. Hope you all have a blessed day! Just wanted to take a few minutes to let all of you know that I am feeling more like myself with each passing day. And that i will be back online, and back to writing very soon.
I want to thank you all for your support through all of this, especially the loss of my grand-babies. Your well wishes meant more than i can tell you here. Thank You. Josephine I got up today and decided today was the day i was going to finish that chapter i have been struggling with; ended up cyber surfing. I came across this and thought that there way be other hopefuls out there that would enjoy reading these words of inspiration too. Just wanted to say howdy and let you know i'm still working on me - and the books! But wouldn't it be nice if people were like computers and when we weren't feeling good we could just reboot and start fresh! If you missed it last night you can still see the meteor shower tonight - best time 12pm - 4am. they are saying you could see as many as 200 per hour! photos from space.com
I woke up today; most FB post claim that is enough to make it a good day. Nope! For me waking is just the first step in a long battle just to get myself out of bed. First I have to convince myself not to roll over and force myself back to sleep. No not because I am lazy! Because sleep is the only freedom I get from the constant pain and fear that consumes my entire being. Most people do not understand just how hard everyday life is for someone suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and the host of other very real conditions. They drain your energy, your hope, your very essence, and even your will to live. But somehow millions of people suffering from these life pilfering conditions find a way to roll out of bed, paste on a fake smile, and pretend that they are okay. If you have never known the suffering you will never understand how much strength it takes to just make it out of bed every morning. Just being around other people is exhausting. You have to constantly remind yourself to breath, to put one foot in front of the other. You have to be your own cheerleader telling yourself that you can do this, that not every person you meet is out to get you, that hiding in a bathroom stall is not the answer to getting through the day. I get so tired of people telling that I just need to get out of the house more, do more with family and friends, be more active, etc. For God’s sake don’t you think I would if I could! I know that these people are trying to help me I really do; but sometimes I just want to smack them upside the head. They don’t seem to be able to understand that while going out if fun and relaxing to them; it’s pure hell for me. Hell one of my kids just recently moved back home with his family and it is all I can do to sit in my own living room with them. Every second of everyday I want to go hide in the bathroom. Not because they are doing anything wrong, it’s just that they are in my space. But I pull up my big girl panties and deal with it by counting down every second until I can crawl back into bed and wait for sleep to quiet the voice in my head that is constantly telling me “you can’t”, to calm my fears, and ease the pain.
As many of you already know i am in a constant battle with many health issues; one of the biggest is depression. I have tried for many years to find something(anything) that would help and not leave me feeling like a zombie. Recently a neighbor suggested aromatherapy and it is really starting to help. I came across this article and thought that maybe it would be useful to those of you out in cyber-land that are battling your own demons. Now i am not saying that you should stop seeing your doctor but if a little scented oil will aid in your treatment than what could it hurt to give it a try? But as always i suggest that you do a little research of your own first!
Hope it helps. Josephine
How Aromatherapy Can Improve Emotional Wellbeing by Mercedes Aspland
Aromatherapy is something that is used widely across the world for various different reasons but do we really know how much it can help us? In this article we will give a brief introduction to aromatherapy and look at ways in which it can help your emotional wellbeing. What is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is an alternative therapy that uses essential oils to treat a person who may be suffering from various different conditions including emotional, physical and psychological problems. Essential oils are usually extracted from plants and can be used in a variety of different ways. For example they can be used in a bath of diluted to use as massage oil. The idea is that the oil will penetrate into the body through the skin and/or be inhaled. Once this oil is in the body it can have a healing property often on a person’s state of mind. There are a wide variety of different oils and each will have a different use. For example lavender is widely used to aid sleep and eucalyptus may be very useful as clearing the nasal passage when a person has a cold. Aromatherapy for Emotional Wellbeing It is important to note that aromatherapy should not be viewed as a miracle cure and if you are suffering from severe emotional conditions you may need other help. However aromatherapy can be a useful compliment to conventional medicine. It is important to use essential oils safely and properly and they can then provide support and help a person to remain balanced emotionally throughout the day. Different oils can be used for different emotional problems and each will have different benefits. Below are a list of emotions and the oils that could help you with them: 1. Anger - this is something that many people can experience from time to time. However if you feel you are experiencing excessive anger then using essential oils could help to keep you calm. The oils that could be useful for this emotion are Bergamot, Jasmine, Neroli, Orange, Patchouli, Petitgrain, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang. 2. Anxiety - this can be an emotion that has a significant effect on your life and so help can often be greatly appreciated. Oils that are useful include Bergamot, Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Patchouli, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver. 3. Confidence - if you are lacking in confidence you may want a little boost to help you get through and essential oils could provide you with this. Oil that are useful for confidence are Bay Laurel, Bergamot, Cypress, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Orange, Rosemary. 4. Depression - if you are suffering from severe depression you need to seek medical advice, however if you may want to use oils as a compliment to your medical treatment and oils that could be of benefit to you are Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Orange, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang. 5. Fatigue - useful oils are Basil, Bergamot, Black Pepper, Clary Sage, Cypress, Frankincense, Ginger, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Lemon, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Vetiver. 6. Fear - oils that can be of help are Bergamot, Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lemon, Neroli, Orange, Roman Chamomile Sandalwood, Vetiver. 7. Grief - oils that could help get you through difficult times are Cypress, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Neroli, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver. 8. Happiness - if you want to feel happier then oils that could be of use are Bergamot, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Lemon, Neroli, Orange, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang. 9. Insecurity - useful oils are Bergamot, Cedarwood, Frankincense, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vetiver. 10. Irritability - oils that can be of help are Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Roman Chamomile, Sandalwood. 11. Loneliness - oils you can try are Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Roman Chamomile, Rose. 12. Panic Attacks - useful oils are Frankincense, Helichrysum, Lavender, Neroli, Rose. 13. Stress - oils that you could find helpful are Benzoin, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Patchouli, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang/ Conclusion It is important to say that not all oils will work for all people so it may need a bit of trial and error or a blend of a number of oils for you to find the ones that suit you. This article has been supplied by alternative therapies directory. You can also find more information on our Aromatherapy page. Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com Again, should you decide to give aromatherapy a try, do the research! |
Take a look inside the curious mind of Josephine Ritchie. Follow her on Pinterest now.
AuthorJosephine, a fifty year old woman with an uncertain future. Who just happens to love all things mystical & spooky. |