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Do you believe in ghosts? Read Gregg Olsen's story and you will...
Gregg Olsen is the go-to guy for ghost stories. As the author of both Envy and Betrayal—two titles that make up The Empty Coffin Series, inspired by tales of true crime—Gregg's a bit of an expert in the creepy department.
But Gregg's novels aren't just hair-rising, chill-inducing page turners. There's something a bit deeper to them: They explore some seriously relevant issues (like cyber bullying) and give a voice to victims everywhere. So when Gregg told us he's always been inspired by his own brush with a supernatural force, we weren't surprised.
And now, we're sharing Gregg's real-life ghost story. Read on for the first-person account that made Gregg a believer.
This is the supernatural that I know is real:
I’ve always loved the idea of the supernatural–that we are not alone, that ghosts still cling to their former lives, that people can bend a nail with their brain alone.
I've never been much into vampires or werewolves (though they scare me with their bloodiness and hairiness) or witches (though I can think of a teacher or two who might have had coven meetings afterschool).
Here’s the deal: I want to believe. I don’t want us to be alone. I don’t want to be turned to ash and then gone. None of us do, right? So let me tell you, GL girls, how I know we're not alone.
Over the years of my crime writing, I have had a few moments that moved the needle to the “something’s there” side. One time was when I was on a ranch in Colorado researching the life and death of a little Amish boy named Danny Stutzman. The house was abandoned, but locked up. I made my way from the barn to the field in front of the house. I had found nothing. I’d come a long way, and I wondered if any of it mattered. Was I on the right track?
Just then, the wind kicked up and blew across the dusty road in front of the house. It was like the air was running toward me. I stood there and these words just came to me:
T-E-L-L
M-Y
S-T-O-R-Y
I felt immediately that the little boy I was writing about WANTED me to carry on; he URGED me to do so. I think a lot of crime writers might feel that way--that we have a duty and a responsibility to write a tragic story in a respectful way. But on that ranch in Ignacio, Colorado, I was sure that Danny was behind the urgency.
I didn’t give up, of course.
The supernatural is all around us. We are getting messages every day. Sometimes the messages come in the form a breeze, almost a whisper. That’s the kind of supernatural that I choose to believe.
Keep on creepin' on...
- CLICK HERE to check out Envy.
- CLICK HERE to check out the new release Betrayal.
- Join GL as we chat live on Facebook with Gregg Olsen on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 6pm EST. Check back on October 18, 2012 for more details!
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