WitchHaus.

WitchHaus. Seven Gables

Stories can come from anywhere. A moment in time, a photograph we find from years ago. WitchHaus. has been percolating in my mind for a while now. The conservation area near my childhood home is rife with tales of mysterious hauntings, mythical creatures and urban legends. Of course, I realized at some point it would become a story that I would want to write, because even as a tiny human, I knew something happened there that tainted that place with darkness. You don't have to believe it or buy into it. If you know, you know.

Seven Gables

A few years ago I sent a version of this short story to a contest and it got an honorable mention, but didn't win any prizes and I took their feedback to heart and improved it. Writer's life is very much like this scenario. You edit and revise to within an inch of your life, and it doesn't always land. That's okay and I have learned that in order to be a writer, one who keeps going, you must take the flat-line with the good.

I have spent an extraordinary amount of time in the woods. I grew up on a small farm in Michigan and we were lucky to have nature all around us. I hardly recognize it now, as the developers have been busy since I left. The one thing I remember about this particular area is how odd, and eerie the spaces were. Silence so thick it felt like a ton of bricks trying to wall you in, almost as if even the insects knew that certain parts of the woods were off limits.

Is this a haunting? Is this something else?

When we're younger, we are closer to our intuition. We are instinctual, and notice everything. The imagery in this story paints a haunting picture, one that rolled around in my mind every time I was there. As a child I felt it get under my skin. As an adult I did as well, but it had changed, and so had I.

Imagine being out here by yourself.... I heard through the grapevine that part of this land might be turned into a subdivision. If you have not seen the 80s film Poltergeist, you might want to cue it up and take a walk with your shaman, or priest before you buy a house on land that feels like this does.

Perhaps it's all in my head and everything has changed? All I know is that memory, especially this kind is the best fuel for a fiction writer like me. You have to have experiences to draw on to tell rich and layered stories––no matter which genre you choose to deliver it.

Even if you don't believe in the supernatural or have ever noticed something strange that had no explanation (but it was still there) I would bet that you have had a powerful feeling that made you open your eyes and wonder WTF had the energy suddenly changed. Reading books helps us stay connected to each other, walk in each other's shoes and see the world through another person's eyes. It's crystal-clear from what's going on out there in the world that we all need to do that more. Sending love out in the universe. Our children deserve a safe and peaceful world.

Thank you for reading my work and for joining me on my creative journey. If you have not subscribed and any of this sounds like your jam, I would love to have you.

www.bibianakrall.com/freebook Witchhaus.

Until next time, find your Peace, Love, Hustle and then Read or Write.