For What It's Worth


Monday, April 26, 2010

A ghost story & CONTEST for Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready!

Shade

Since Shade is about ghosts I thought it would be fun to kick off the contest with my one (and only) ghost encounter story.

When I was very young I used to play out in my yard along a rose bush hedge that separated our yard from my neighbors. I knew them a little – they would let me play under their Weeping Willow tree and sometimes invited me in for lemonade.
One day while I was playing on my side of the rose bushes a much older woman in a long white dress came up to me and started talking. She asked me what game I was playing, talked about the roses and talked about the people who lived in the neighborhood. She said it was nice to meet me and left. I didn’t think too much about it (this was in the early 70’s by the way…no weirdo kidnappings and neighbors were still friendly – my mom watched me through the kitchen window) I told my mother about the woman but she said she hadn’t seen anything and she probably thought I was making it up. I was an only child so I did tend to have a bit of an imagination!
A few weeks had passed when my neighbor’s invited me in for a drink after a day of playing under the Willow tree. While in their house I saw a picture on the mantle of the woman I had talked to and told them about our conversation. Well – they completely freaked out! They kept asking if I was sure  it was her. I was positive because I didn’t know anyone else that old at the time other than my grandmother. It turned out the woman was their mother who had died the year before. The things the woman had told me were things that only she would know about their family. Not something a 12 year old would know on her own.
 My neighbor’s brought me home and had a heated discussion with my mother. I have no idea what they said……but they never talked to me again. They still let me play in their yard but they never offered me a drink or came out to talk to me again.

 I’m still not sure I actually saw a ghost and nothing like that ever happened to me again so you can interpret that story as you wish …but there it is!

OK - CONTEST TIME!!

*To win a copy of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready tell me if you believe in ghosts or not - have a story? Tell me that too!

 *Click HERE to find out more about Shade and Jeri!

Here are the rules!
•You must be 16 years or older to enter•International entries OK ( check this list ) if your country is on it - you can enter and I'll ship it!
•All entries must be received by Sunday 5/2//2010 11:59 pm EST
•Tell me: Do you believe in ghosts or have a ghost story?
•Winner will be posted on this blog Monday 5/3/2010 - it is your responsibility to check back to see if you won.
•The winner has 7 days to email me with their address or I will pick another winner.

 
*Extra entries:
+ 2 if you're a follower of my blog
+ 1 if you follow me on Twitter (@teamsheltie)
+1 if you post a link on your blog or tweet about contest (include links for me to check)

Good luck everyone!!

46 comments:

  1. omg, karen, that is an awesome ghost story!! The part that makes me sad though is that your neighbors were angry about it. i would think they would be happy-go figure. Yes, I definitely believe in ghosts!! I don't think they are creepy scary things, but exactly what you described in your story.

    Thanks for the contest!!

    +2 follower

    +1 twitter follower :)

    inthehammockblog (at) gmail (d0t) com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am not really sure what I believe, do think that some people are "sensitive" enough to be aware of "something out there" whatever that something is I am not sure... I do however love reading about experiences like this because it does make one think.
    My favorite YA series is The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong and my hope is that since I love to read Jeri's books that her new series that starts with "Shade" will trump and become my favorite!!
    Thanks for the contest and I am a New Follower on your blog and Twitter also (jacabur1 on both GFC and Twitter0
    I tweeted and here is the link: http://twitter.com/jacabur1/status/12913818685

    +4 total for entry

    Good Luck to us all!!!!

    jackie b central texas

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely believe in ghosts!! Although, my stories are much scarier than yours because they are usually surrounded by death, but hey...I still believe in them.

    Follower
    Twitter follower

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't enter me in the drawing (obviously ;-p), but I wanted to thank you for featuring SHADE this week. Your ghost story is amazing!

    I don't really have a confirmed ghost story of my own like yours, but I can think of a few times when I was scared out of my skin by things I couldn't explain.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not sure if I believe in ghosts or not. I've never seen any solid proof, but I'm not saying its not true.

    My favorite YA series is The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I can't wait for the first book in her Infernal Devices comes out.

    +2 I am a follower
    +1 I follow on twitter @ssalach21
    +1 I posted on twitter http://twitter.com/ssalach21/status/12914558110

    Thanks so much for the chance to win this!! :)

    Sherry
    ssalach88(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've gotten me so excited for this book!

    Ghost-belief? No. I believe in spirits, but of the angel & demon variety, so either good or evil, nothing in between.
    Fav YA series: at the moment, if the Hunger Games Trilogy counts as a series, then that, but I'd also say Vamp Academy by Richelle Mead, except bk four sucked a little bit, and I also love R. Vincent's Soul Screamers.

    +2 follow blog
    +1 follow Twitter
    +1 tweeted:
    http://twitter.com/TigerHolland/status/12915288316

    leighofthestone(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I definitely used to believe in ghosts. Once used a ouija board with some friends and believed that we contacted someone who'd been murdered in the house we were in. More than a little spooky!

    My favorite YA series right now is Sally Gardner's The Red Necklace / The Silver Blade series. Also have a soft spot for Narnia.

    +2 I'm a follower
    +1 I follow on twitter @YABookShelf
    +1 posted on Twitter http://twitter.com/YABookShelf/status/12915370148

    Thanks for the chance to win! :)

    Melissa
    melissa(at)yabookshelf(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I kind of believe in ghosts , only I've never had a personal encounter with one , my grandmother always talks about seeing her mother around her home.
    +2- I'm a follower
    +1- I follow (@TasciaD)
    +1- http://twitter.com/TasciaD/status/12916889186

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes I believe in ghosts. I was staying in a hotel room one night with my sister. We both saw a strange person walking around the room. We thought each of us was sleeping so we didn't talk about it until the next day. We both thought it was another person who was in the room with us getting up to go to the bathroom and not come out. Well that person had not gotten up all night. The only explanation we could think of was it must have been a ghost/spirit.
    +2 I am a blog follower
    +1 I follow on twitter @bangersis
    +1 I tweeted http://twitter.com/bangersis/status/12917853544
    Thanks!
    email bangersis(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I believe in Ghost, but more i believe that they stick around after they cross over but not that they stay forever and follow you. Though I believe in Guardian Angels! There too much that has happened for Chandra not to be looking out for all of us,

    +2 follower
    +1 follow on twitter (tegan19)
    +1 Tweeted

    https://twitter.com/Tegan19/status/12917809499

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not sure about ghosts..since I've never really had an experience with one I can't say that I absolutely believe though I can't discount other people's ghost stories...
    blog/twitter follower & tweeted here: http://twitter.com/DarklyReading/status/12913507454

    ReplyDelete
  12. I believe in ghosts. This isn't my story, it's actually my friend's but all the more reason to believe. She used to have these angel statues. Apparently someone in the complex died prior to her moving in. She said that one day, she came home and all the angels were facing the direction where the dead person lived. She turned them back to where they were facing. A week later, the angels were turned again. Creepy much? Yeah.

    +2 follower
    +1 following on twitter (@Lena1xoxo)
    +1 tweeted : http://twitter.com/Lena1xoxo/status/12919626813

    Thanks for hosting this.

    -Lena
    longhorn08fan(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm not saying I do or don't. :) I just haven't seen any proof yet.

    +2 follower
    +1 Twitter follower @dawnpnr
    +1 Tweet: http://twitter.com/dawnpnr/status/12921426216

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    dawnpnr at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I do believe in ghosts. I have several ghosts stories but the one that is the strongest in my head is when my friend died he came back to visit and check on me. I was in my car and suddenly he was there. I just knew it. He had helped me so much in an abusive relationship I was in and he helped me get away from the guy so when he died it's like he just had to come check and make sure I was okay. I made him knock on the glovebox like three times cause I was sure I was crazy. He was there, he did it each time. It couldn't have been a coincidence of any sort. He spent a few days with me and my dogs went crazy. When he left I felt him say goodbye and then he was gone. It felt very good to say goodbye and it was awesome when he was there with me. I'll miss him everyday for the rest of my life. I may have never made it out of that relationship without him and his amazing support.
    I really want to read Shade!
    I follow.
    I follow on twitter. candacemom2two
    tweet: http://twitter.com/candacemom2two/status/12925169422
    candace_redinger at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am not sure I believe in ghosts but my mom has seen my sister a few times since she died (30 years ago) and in my dreams I have had long involved conversations with her while sitting at a table. She just wanted to catch up on everything that happened after she died.


    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great ghost story Karen! :-)

    I've had some ghost experiences myself: some weird things happened in the house we previously lived in: the light switch would click off and the room would become dark, though not due to a blackout, as the light on hallway remained on. And then the biggest one: one night I woke up because of loud snoring at around 3:40 am, I looked around and saw my dad sleeping on the spare bed across mine, I wondered if maybe he had a fight with my moma nd that's why he crashed there, but next morning when I asked him, he told me that he slept in his own bed, but woke up at around 3:40 am too! I know what I saw and heard, the snoring was so loud it woke me! So that was the weirdest that happened.

    +2 I'm an old follower of your blog
    +2 follow you on Twitter (@Stella_ExLibris)
    +1 tweeted here: http://twitter.com/Stella_ExLibris/status/12934478181

    Thank you!

    stella.exlibris (at) gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Totally believe in ghosts. Haven't really had any encounters but sometimes when I'm alone, I get the distinct feeling I'm not. Done a few Psychic awareness classes. (I'll admit I was skeptical but wanted to believe) In one meditation I contacted my Grandad and to this day I believe it was him. I've heard some pretty freaky stuff from friends, especially when they've done seances. Stuff flying across the room, being knocked off the chair.. things like that, that even to this day give me the heebee jeebees. Won't be touching a ouija board again myself!!

    +2 Blog Follower
    +1 Twitter Follower (@Meeka_21)
    Retweeted but have no idea how to get the link sorry

    Thanks heaps

    spellboundbybooks@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I totally believe in ghosts! I love your story. One time when I was living in a rented house, and was there alone one night, I heard a sharp knock at my bedroom door. I was definitely in the house alone (I asked my housemates the next day - none of them were home). All the lights were off. I was freaked out by the knock at the door and didn't do anything until a few minutes later when I opened the door. There was nothing there, but I felt a presence. It was totally scary, and I moved out of the house not long after.

    I can't wait to read Shade. I've been counting down the days until it's released! My favourite YA series is still probably Twilight - it's what got me into reading YA. I also love The Immortals series by Alyson Noel.

    +2 Blog follower
    +1 Twitter follower @daisychainbooks

    daisychainbookreviews@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fantastic ghost stories everyone!! Some are sad & some are creeping me out :-)
    I forgot one ghosty type story - for 1 weeek after my cat died I heard him meowing in the kitchen! Can cat's be ghosts???

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh wow, that is very cool! :o I've never had any kind of a ghost encounter, but I'm one of those people who would love to and would probably wander around haunted places and actively search out a spirit, yet never come across one! Although, it's probably a lot scarier and far less mystical and awesome in reality.

    I'm a blog follower and a Twitter follower :)

    Tweet Tweet: http://twitter.com/izibellz/status/12942476627

    bella-on-toast@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. About your cat, now that's pretty creepy :S If that happened with mine, I'd be so sad at the fact that they were possible still around in spirit, but I wasn't able to see them :(

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great contest! I can't wait to read Shade, it sounds awesome!

    I do believe in ghosts. My mother was once known as the 'Seance Queen' when she was younger, so I grew up with a believer and heard some of her stories. She told me one about this seance where the glass literally flew out across the table from underneath their fingers. It then stopped in midair for a second before shattering everywhere. One of the old houses we used to live in had electrical appliances come on and off when no one was touching them, doors locking on their own and once we were all sitting just outside the backdoor, no one else was inside and we distinctly heard footsteps walking around the house. After we moved the landlord told us that a man had hanged himself in there a few years prior.

    In the past few years I've had different experiences with seeing and hearing things that have lead me to believe that ghosts/spirits definitely exist!

    I loved reading all the comments - fascinating! And Karen, I do believe animals can be spirits too! One time, years after my dog died, I had this strange feeling that he was sitting at my feet - I felt this cold spot around my ankle and this overwhelming dogish smell. I don't care what anyone tells me, it was my old doggy visiting! LOL

    + 2 following your blog
    + 1 Following on twitter
    +1 Tweeted - http://twitter.com/peacelovebooksx/status/12937401629

    Thanks!
    hanging.by.a.moment_@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love the stories here!

    I believe in ghosts. I have never run into one and take comfort in the fact that I live in my grandparents house where I know the history. The only deaths in the house have been the family pets. But just in case when I bought the place I smudged the whole thing...you can never be too careful.

    Please don't enter me in the contest. I ordered a copy of the book from the strore where Jeri is having her release party.

    Thanks!
    Katie

    ReplyDelete
  24. THanks for the giveaway!
    Well I have to admit I believe in ghosts. I don't have any specific stories, but I can't watch any shows with ghosts before I go to bed or I am all spooked and can't sleep lol

    +2 I follow your blog =)

    TyngaUF(a)gmail(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  25. I do believe in them...but I am not sure to what degree. I have never had an incident with one, but I don't doubt that they are out there!

    +2 follow blog
    +1 follow on twitter as @wicked_walker

    booknerdd(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  26. I haven't been able to decide whether or not I believe in ghosts. Since I've never had an experience, I have to rely on the stories of other people. Sometimes I freak myself out enough with horror movies that I'm DEFINITELY a believer, and other times, I'm more of a skeptic. At the same time, I'm not one to go to all those places that are rumored to be incredibly haunted either. I guess I kind of feel like I shouldn't antagonize them if they are real! Lol. But regardless, I love to read about them. Thanks for the contest!

    +2 Follow blog.
    +1 Follow on twitter (@mindfulmusings)

    ReplyDelete
  27. ...and e-mail, which I always seem to forget! Sorry about that!

    n_monzyk_27(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I do believe in ghost and I seriously don't think that I'd like to see proof of its existence.

    +2 Blog follower
    +1 Twitter follower (@shy8629)
    +1 Sidebar link (http://bibliophiles-journal.blogspot.com/)

    Thank you so much!

    Shy
    shy8629(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I have a borderline belief in spirits, but not so much "ghosts" that have coherent form since the physics of their visibility/appearance would hurt many brains =X

    +2 follower
    +1 sidebar http://angeltyuan.blogspot.com

    thanks!
    ninefly(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. I do believe in ghosts but as to their nature, whether a carbon imprint of life or a soul returned from the dead etc, I have an open mind.

    +2 Blog follower.

    mckelly74 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I believe in ghosts, but not the "wooo-wooo!" lost souls type. I think it's more of an overlap in space-time.

    +2 Follower
    +1 Twitter follower @whatinabox
    +1 Tweet: http://twitter.com/whatinabox/status/13023256307

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I do believe in ghosts and had a few wierd experiences in the house I grew up in.

    +2 blog follower
    +1 twitter follower
    +1 link - http://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/2010/04/contests-found-428.html

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete
  33. i wouldn't say i do or do not believe in ghosts, i haven't lived any "ghost" experience yet but i'm not against the idea that they exist.

    +2 blog follower
    +1 twitter follower
    +1 tweeted:http://twitter.com/sweethappyendin/status/13054145466
    +1 sidebar (don't know if it counts)http://sweethappyending.blogspot.com

    thanks a lot for this international contest i'm dying to read this book!

    sweethappyending@hotmail.fr

    ReplyDelete
  34. No ghost stories...or at least ones that I wanna relive lol...but thanks for the contest and YES I am definitely a believer in ghosts and spirits, etc...
    =2 blog follower

    ReplyDelete
  35. +2 blog follower
    I believe in ghosts for sure, but I can't think of any personal stories off the top of my head. Thanks for the contest!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I Do Believe In Ghosts. There Are Times When Things Just Can't Be Explained Away Like A Lone Cold Spot In A Room Or Something That Was Moved When No One Else Was There.

    + 2 I Am An Old Follower Of You Blog.
    + 1 I Am Following You On Twitter (@skyla11377).
    +1 I Tweeted About This Contest (@skyla11377).
    http://twitter.com/skyla11377/status/13101876469

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Karen, thank you for interviewing Jeri & having this contest!!!
    Yep, I do believe in ghost. We bought an antique wardrobe up in Ind., a couple years later I bought an antique buffet down in Ky. Two weeks after I brought the buffet home we started hearing strange noises in the house. One night when my husband was working out of town, after I went to bed I felt a light touch on my cheek, but no one was in the house except me (no pets at the time). When we move here there wasn't room for both pieces in the house so the buffet ended up out in the barn. All the noises stopped along with all the other strange things that had been happening after we moved here. We didn't know the barn leaked & the buffet was ruined. My husband burned it, I think he'd wanted to do that for a long time.
    I follow your blog & on Twitter. And tweeted the contest here http://twitter.com/samk52/status/13111965485

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi,I do believe in ghost but I don't have any book about it and I would move to read one ( sorry if there are mistakes but I'm French).
    I'm a blog follower

    vaness2826

    ReplyDelete
  39. awesome contest! and sorry, i don't believe in ghosts :P too logical of a brain, I think.

    and Im a follower :)

    mangoes_7@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thank you for this great contest!^O^
    I have never seen a ghost, but I think anything can happen in this world.
    I'm a blog follower.
    Thank you for this chance!

    Giada M.

    fabgiada @ gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  41. I can't say that I believe in ghosts, but I can say that ghost stories have often scared me. I couldn't be scared if I had an unwavering belief that ghost couldn't possibly exist, could I?

    I'm so looking forward to this one! Thanks for the giveaway.

    +2 Blog follower
    +1 Twitter follower

    ReplyDelete
  42. Do you believe in ghosts or have a ghost story?

    I believe in ghosts, but i'm very afraid of them. I prefer to ignore if something weird happens to me.

    + 2 if you're a follower of my blog

    + 1 if you follow me on Twitter (@magabygc)

    ReplyDelete
  43. I do believe in ghosts, i always think its good to have an open mind about pretty much everything!

    I dont have any ghost stories as such but around 15 years ago my mum was staying in a b&b before she moved into her flat.
    She was adamant that through the night while she was in bed she woke up to find the covers being pulled down from the bottom end! If that wasnt freaky enough, a couple of times when she was in the en suite bathroom, someone/thing knocked on the bathroom door, no one was there.
    When she told me about it i said i'd come and stay the night with her to see if anything else would happen, me being really brave and all! Well, as soon as she turned the lights out i s**t myself and hid under the covers all night without coming up for air! I was sooo brave. lol!
    Oh, and to add to the spooky-ness the room number was 13.

    +2 Blog follower
    +1 Twitter follower (emkatt77)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Hi Karen.
    sliding in under the wire. Yes I believe in "ghosts". I have no idea what the are but there is something, I've had too many experiences not to. The quickest to tell was when I got the news that my dog had a fatal condition. He was my constant companion, went everywhere with me, and I was devastated. The just crumble kind. Next thing I know the house is filled with the smell of fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies.. the kind of smell the calms you. I was by myself, and it wasn't me.. I was kinda freaked & yelled 'just leave me alone'.. the smell disappeared instantly..
    yes I later said I was sorry and appreciated the caring thought.. have no idea if was "received" ? but there you go.
    Thanks for the chance at one of Jeri's books.. love her writing.
    follow you here +2 and on twitter @iokijo +1
    tweet/retweet p://twitter.com/iokijo/status/13251160499
    http://twitter.com/iokijo/status/13101078631

    ReplyDelete
  45. I believe in ghosts. I was at my grandparent's 200 year old house when I saw what looked like a dark shadow run across the floor. I thought it was a rat or something so I went downstairs and got my dad to check but he couldn't find or see anything and the "rat" never showed up again. So I don't know if it was a rat or a mouse or something else but it did freak me out!

    +2 Follower of Blog via GFC (jmspettoli)
    +1 Follower on Twitter (@jmspettoli)
    +1 Twitter: http://twitter.com/jmspettoli/status/13284856803

    ReplyDelete
  46. The winner is Linda Kish!
    Congratulations Linda!!

    Karen

    ReplyDelete