PLEASE NOTE: This post portrays a fictional character and a
fictional ghost. All names, places, and events are purely the imagination of
the author and the post is meant for entertainment purposes only.
Author: Today, I want to welcome Lt. Mitchell Grayson to Suspense, She Writes. Lt. Grayson is not
only an investigator with the Sheriff’s department in Hill County, Arkansas,
but also one of the founders of the North Central Arkansas Paranormal Society.
Welcome, Lt. Grayson.
Grayson: Please, call me Gray.
Author: Okay, Gray. *author smiles because Gray is handsome* So
first tell us how you became a ghost hunter.
Gray: Please, don’t call us ghost hunters. *grins at author
despite rebuking her* We prefer the term paranormal
investigators. The group was organized when our three founders—Josh McCord,
Ashley Rivers, and I—first encountered paranormal activity on Halloween night
in an old house in Hill County.
Author: That was quite a few years ago now, wasn’t it?
Gray: Oh, yeah. We were young. Teenagers really, when the
incident occurred.
Author: Now, come on, Gray, confess. You were breaking and
entering, weren’t you?
Gray: *grins* Yes, we were. But...that was before I swore to
uphold the law.
Author: So...the interview you’re going to tell us about today
actually was recorded just a few months ago.
Gray: Just last spring, actually. I became...acquainted with
the new owner of an old house reputed to be haunted. The owner of Laurel Heights
asked for our help with her...paranormal problem.
Author: What kind of problems was she having?
Gray: It started with strange noises in the middle of the
night, progressed to cold spots and odd physical sensations, and ended up with unexplainable
environmental disturbances and finally...a manifestation of Celeste
Standridge’s ghost.
Author: *gets excited and doesn’t bother to hide it* Then you’ve
seen the ghost of Celeste Standridge?
Gray: No, I have not. However, the owner of the house has had a
close encounter with her.
Author: *author deflates a little* But you’ve had your own experience
at Laurel Heights, haven’t you?
*Gray nods*
Author: So tell us about what happened to you?
Gray: The owner had given us permission to do a night
investigation in her garage when she was out of town. Josh McCord and I entered
the building just after midnight and began calling out whatever presence might
be lingering in the garage.
Author: How did you do that?
Gray: We used a recording device that registers sounds at lower
or higher decibels than are usually heard by the average human ear and began asking
a predetermined set of questions designed to engage with whatever entities
might be present.
Author: You used a digital voice recorder?
Gray: Yes, for recording electronic voice phenomena. On that
night... Whatever was loose in the room lifted from the floor and swirled around
us. A piece of...something...I don’t know what...hit Josh in the back of the
head. He still has a scar from that. Everything started happening when I asked
a particular question. We couldn’t get out of there soon enough, but as I was
trying to leave it was as if I was stuck halfway in and halfway out of the
garage, and there was no reason for that. It should have been easy to get
away...but it wasn’t.
Author: What question started it all?
Gray: I asked if whoever was in the garage was angry that the
new owner had moved into Laurel Heights. Thanks when everything started
going...crazy.
Author: And did you capture the incident on the device?
Gray: *smiles* Wanna hear it?
Author: Yes, you know I do.
*Gray places recorder on tabletop and presses play button*
Gray’s voice on the recorder: “Is there anyone here?”
*loud static follows and Gray rushes to lower the volume*
Gray’s voice on the recorder: “What’s your name?”
*the pitch and rhythm of the static changes, a cadence that
sounds like a two-syllable word repeats over and over*
*Gray pauses the machine*
Gray: What does that sound like to you?
Author: I don’t know. It’s kind of indistinct. Might be a word
spoken over and over again. With an E
on the end.
Gray: That’s what Lau...the owner of the house thought.
*Gray pushes the play button.*
Gray’s voice on the recorder: Are you angry that...*skip in the
playback as if Gray has erased the owner’s name from the tape* ...has moved
into the house?
*chant changes, distinct and unmistakable.*
Disembodied voice: Tell Laurel... My baby. Tell Laurel... My
baby.
*Gray jabs play button, stopping the feedback.*
Gray: That was when everything went crazy. Whatever was in the
garage that wasn’t heavy or tied down lifted up and swirled around us. *Gray
clears his throat.* Freakiest thing I’ve ever lived through.
Author: Did the owner of the house understand the message
Celeste was trying to tell her?
Gray: Well...at first, we weren’t sure the message was from
Celeste or meant for...the owner, but...events since then have led us to
believe the disembodied voice on the recording is in fact Celeste Standridge.
Author: And what was she trying to communicate to...the owner
of Laurel Heights?
Gray: *shifting uncomfortably in his seat* I’m not at liberty
to divulge that information. Part of an on-going...um...criminal investigation.
Author: Ah, so that’s where you other role in this
investigation comes into play.
*Gray smiles*
*Author thinks Gray has a sexy smile*
Author: So would you go back to Laurel Heights and investigate
again?
Gray: *with a huge grin* You bet I would, and one day when
things...settle down a bit, Josh and I will go back.
Author: Will you let us know if you do and what you discover?
Gray: Of course.
Author: Thank you so much for joining us today on Suspense, She
Writes.
Gray: Thanks for having me.
*Author blushes because she wouldn’t mind having him...um...getting
to know him better*
READERS: If you enjoyed this bit of insight into the character
of Lt. Mitchell Grayson and would like to know more of the story of Laurel Heights, pre-orders of Book One
of the Haunted Hearts Series are now available on Amazon at this link.
