Welcome to my offering for The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018.
My theme this year is Ghostly Inspirations:
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)
Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).
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L is for Lightning
Inspiration:
A very lovely family friend once lent us her holiday cottage which was on the harbour at St Mawes in Cornwall. This was a quirky old, old house in a terrace only a couple of metres from the water, which, when the sun was out and the bay was calm, was absolutely fabulous. However, my sister, Tash and I were up in the very top of the house, and, when a storm blew in, the single-glazed windows looked out onto blackness and rattled very loudly. When lightning and the wind combined to rattle the windows and light up the sky at the same time, it was hide under the covers time.
Ghost:
A very lovely family friend once lent us her holiday cottage which was on the harbour at St Mawes in Cornwall. This was a quirky old, old house in a terrace only a couple of metres from the water, which, when the sun was out and the bay was calm, was absolutely fabulous. However, my sister, Tash and I were up in the very top of the house, and, when a storm blew in, the single-glazed windows looked out onto blackness and rattled very loudly. When lightning and the wind combined to rattle the windows and light up the sky at the same time, it was hide under the covers time.
Ghost:
Jowan Pendur was a fisherman in Mawland. He owned his own small boat and made his living bringing in fish rain or shine. He was known for his fearless challenge to the sea and he never failed to bring into his catch. Until his friend, Piran, joked that even Jowan could not beat the storm that was about to roll in.
Jowan, a little drunk on good beer, and full of his own importance, ignored all warnings and broke out of the physical restraint of his friend, put to sea as the wind began to blow. No-one dared stop him, and others could only watch as his boat, tiny against the growing waves, tossed around in the tumult.
Jowan fought the storm, holding his boat against the battering, but no man can beat nature, and suddenly a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck the foolish fisherman. The boat burst into flames and sunk quickly. Jowan’s burnt body was never found, but it is said he can be seen in the lightning when the storms batter Mawland.
Jowan, a little drunk on good beer, and full of his own importance, ignored all warnings and broke out of the physical restraint of his friend, put to sea as the wind began to blow. No-one dared stop him, and others could only watch as his boat, tiny against the growing waves, tossed around in the tumult.
Jowan fought the storm, holding his boat against the battering, but no man can beat nature, and suddenly a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck the foolish fisherman. The boat burst into flames and sunk quickly. Jowan’s burnt body was never found, but it is said he can be seen in the lightning when the storms batter Mawland.
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In The Storm
The rain hit the windows like small pebbles, scattering down the glass rattling in its frames. A loud crack, then a deep, dark rumble of thunder was too much for Jake, who ducked under his covers. He was supposed to be a big boy with his own room, but then he wished he was back sharing with Peter.
Suddenly his room lit up, even through the sheet. Jake jumped, sending the blanket flying. Zeroing in on the windows and the flashing sky, Jake saw him, mouth open, eyes staring, hair wild. Big boy no more, James scrabbled for the stairs.
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Suddenly his room lit up, even through the sheet. Jake jumped, sending the blanket flying. Zeroing in on the windows and the flashing sky, Jake saw him, mouth open, eyes staring, hair wild. Big boy no more, James scrabbled for the stairs.
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Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.
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Hi Sophie - I can relate to that ... though in two parts - by the sea in a dormer at the top of a boarding house, and then the lightning really rattling around in the house where I was born - not funny!! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWith old houses, the outside can feel closer than it does with modern double-glazing :)
DeleteEnjoyed both of those little stories. Great job.
ReplyDelete~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
My A to Z’s of Dining with IC
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
I'd have scrambled too!
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings - Movie Monsters