I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I sure did. We actually had quite a few trick-or-treaters this year. It’s not like when I was a kid and every other kid was out walking around the magically decorated block. Hardly anyone decorates around here anymore, but there are still those houses that go all out to make up for the lack of fun elsewhere.
It’s no secret that I do enjoy paranormal stories. I enjoy the “what if” questions and trying to answer them, even though in many cases answers will never come. That includes ghosts. Stories about strange things are the types of stories I like—book, movie, whatever.
The week before Halloween, I went on a ghost tour in Galveston and thoroughly enjoyed it. I took a lot of pictures, but didn’t see any ghosts after reviewing them! The tour took us all through the historic Strand, with the guide telling us all about the history of the area along with stories of strange happenings. I knew Galveston had a rich history, but to hear stories of individuals and see where they took place really made a lot of it feel so real. Our guide was very good. She knew her stuff and was a good story-teller. For something like this, it really is important to be a good story-teller.
One weird thing happened when my dad and brother both stepped into the empty street for a better look at a building. They were the only two to step into the street and that was the only time anyone ever stepped into the street like that. The guide turned around while beginning a story about two gentlemen who were fighting for different sides of the Civil War during a battle for control of the large harbor of Galveston. As she turned, she saw them, stopped her story and asked if they were father and son, then said she was freaked out because the two gentlemen she was talking about had been father and son, fighting for different sides, and they had shot each other to death in that street. Kind of eerie, right?
Street where it happened.
The majority of the history and stories centered around the horrible Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which took more than 6,000 lives. Some records say that the death toll could be as high as 12,000, but we’ll never really know.
One thing that really caught my attention was the story of Jean Lafitte. Pirates have always fascinated me. The main reason? Treasure! I’ve always wanted to find treasure. Rumor has it, Lafitte left stashes of treasure when he was forced to leave Galveston. None have ever been found. Who wants to go on a treasure hunt?
Stories like these are good inspiration for writing and always get my creativity flowing. Even if I’m not writing about a hurricane or pirates right now, whenever I can let my mind wander and begin to picture certain stories clearly, that’s when I can sit down and start putting words to the paper. My next book is about half-way done, so I’m going to be working hard on that last half!