Our friends over at Flanker Press have announced that for this week (April 6 - 12), all e-book versions of Haunted Ground are just $4.99!
In this collection of ghostly tales, I will introduce you to old legends, including spectral Viking longships, encounters with ghostly ferrymen, and strange voices on the trapline, while exploring classic elements of local folklore such as tokens and premonitions, bad weather lights, and the Old Hag herself. In addition to historical tales, you will also come face to face with some of the province’s eeriest urban legends, from the mysterious Red Eyes of Glovertown, to the chilling west coast Webber, to the Phantom Drummer of Conception Bay North. With leaping witches, dancing devils, phantom locomotives, and even a ghostly kitten or two, there is no mistaking that you are exploring truly haunted ground.
I've been having a chat tonight with the October Witch about Newfoundland supernatural, dark folklore, and folk horror literature, and I've gone down a bit of an eerie rabbit hole. I've started to compile a list of all the published fictional work that I can think of with distinctly Newfoundland and Labrador paranormal/supernatural themes and motifs.
This is a work in progress, so if you can think of anything not here, leave a comment or email dale@dalejarvis.ca. I'm specifically including fictional work, so no non-fiction collections of ghost stories (that rules out most of my own stuff!), and I'm excluding things like science fiction, speculative fiction, books written by NL writers but set elsewhere, or straight up horror. To get on this list, the piece should be: published; based in Newfoundland and Labrador; have characters/themes/motifs that are clearly linked to "traditional" local folklore in some way. I have made a short list at the bottom of this list of works that are set in the province but which deal with more contemporary paranormal themes (vampires, werewolves, etc). I'm not sure if all of the stage plays have been published, so let me know that too.
Stage plays
Barry, Frank. Wreckhouse.
Chafe, Robert. Butler’s Marsh.
Chafe, Robert. Isle of Demons.
Pinsent, Gordon. Corner Green.
Pittman, Al. West Moon.
Stapleton, Berni. The Double Axe Murders.
Sullivan, Joan. Wolf in the Fold.
Books
Barbeau, Melissa. The Luminous Sea.
Butler Hallett, Michelle. Deluded Your Sailors.
Butler Hallett, Michelle. Double-blind.
Collins, Gerard. Finton Moon.
Cotter, Charis. The Ferryland Visitor.
Crummy, Michael. Galore.
Dawe, Tom. The Loon in the Dark Tide: Old Newfoundland Ghost Stories.
Dawe, Tom. An Old Man's Winter Night: Ghostly Tales.
Dawe, Tom. Spirited Away: Fairy stories of old Newfoundland.
Harvey, Kenneth. Town that Forgot How to Breathe.
Hynes, Joel Thomas. Say Nothing Saw Wood.
Kavanagh, Ed. The Confessions of Nipper Mooney.
Pilgrim, Earl. Curse of the Red Cross Ring.
Pilgrim, Earl. The Ghost of Ellen Dower.
Rowe, Bill. The Monster of Twenty Mile Pond.
Steffler, John. The Afterlife of George Cartwright.
Story, Kate. Blasted.
Tilley, Sara. Skin Room.
Abbott, L. M. The Riddle.
Baird, Alison. The Hidden World (The Tales of Annwn #1)
Baird, Alison. The Wolves of Woden (The Tales of Annwn #2)
Cotter, Charis. The Painting.
Cotter, Charis. The Ghost Road.
Davis, Harold. The Starrigans of Little Brook Bottom.
Dinn, Philip; Jones, Andy. Peg Bearskin.
Falcone, Lucy M. The Mysterious Mummer.
Jarvis, Dale. The Golden Leg.
Jones, Andy. The Jack Series (Running the Goat Press).
Kennedy, Patti. The Fairies of Billy's Gully.
McNaughton, Janet. Brave Jack and the Unicorn.
McNaughton, Janet. Catch Me Once Catch Me Twice
Obed, Ellen Bryan. Borrowed Black: A Labrador Fantasy.
Pierce, Nicola. Spirit of the Titanic.
Reed, Don C. The Kraken.
Story, Alice. Beneath the Barrens: A novel
Wallace, Ian. Hansel and Gretel.
Newfoundland-based contemporary horror/paranormal fantasy
Chillers from the Rock (Engen Books)
Fantasy from the Rock (Engen Books)
Great Big Sea. “French Perfume” on Sea of No Cares
Nelson, Kou K. “Safe Upon the Shore” in Specter Spectacular: 13 Ghostly Tales. Edited by Eileen Wiedbrauk.
Power, Colleen. “Taken Away By The Fairies” on Lucky You Are
Zombies on the Rock (Engen Books)
Last updated 30 January 2019
(see also Engen Books for additional straight-up horror titles)
Hello all! Things are moving along quickly now, and I'm pleased to announce the official book launch for "Haunted Ground - Ghost Stories from the Rock" will be Wednesday, September 27th, at Chapters in St. John's!
If you plan on coming, check in there, and invite a friend!
The book has already been made an Editor's Pick in the fall edition of Atlantic Books today! (p64) "This is one creepy book," it starts! You can read the full description online here.
About eleven years ago, I approached Garry Cranford of Flanker Press with an idea to write a book of true Newfoundland and Labrador ghost stories. Without seeing a manuscript, Garry said they would publish it. The book "Haunted Shores: True Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador" was published in May, 2004.
It was my first of several books for Flanker Press. My only previous work had been been the chapter on Newfoundland and Labrador in a compilation of Canadian ghost stories by Lone Pine Publishing. I had been writing stories of the unexplained for the local paper, but Haunted Shores was my first real collection of stories.
It sold well, right out of the gate, and before long was into its second printing. I got busy with other projects, wrote a few more books, and after a few years, rarely thought about Haunted Shores. But a strange thing happened. The book continued to sell, and sell, as the years rolled on by.
This month, I got one of my regular royalty notices from Flanker, and I saw that Haunted Shores, as it has for the past few years, continues to outsell my other books. In fact, it continues to outsell all my other Flanker titles combined!
To date, ten years after its launch, Haunted Shores has sold close to 18,000 copies, which is not bad for a little compilation of local ghost stories! And not only does it outsell print copies of my other books, it is now outselling them in digital sales as well.
As an author, you never know quite what will catch people's attention. But Haunted Shores has done that, for whatever reason, and I'm thankful!
Reviews:
"Drawn from both archival sources and first-hand accounts, these delightfully spooky stories promise to become a campfire essential." -- Luminus
"Well documented as to source and complete with vintage historical photographs, it is well worth reading and shivering over on a dark, rainy night." -- Fate magazine "Haunted Shores is a fascinating book that helps preserve many of the old supernatural tales from Newfoundland and Labrador." -- The Telegram
"It's a book worth picking up for a well-written, quick and easy pleasure read." -- The Compass
I had a fun day today at Sci-Fi On The Rock 7! The costumes were great, the crowd was impressive, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves tremendously.
I sold bunch of books, and had great feedback from people who have been on the St. John's Haunted Hike, or who've read my books, or my column in the newspaper. I had several people tell me how much they love the Hike, and had pictures taken with fans! Yay!
I've been letting people know that I'm running a contest this weekend. If you follow @dalejarvis on twitter or like my author facebook page, you will be entered to win a copy of "Haunted Waters". And if you follow @sjhauntedhike or like the Hike's facebook page, you might win some free passes! After the convention is over, I'll be taking all the new likes and follows and picking random winners. So start liking and following today!
I'll be back at SFOTR tomorrow, and will hosting the Paranormal Story Swap at 2pm. Hope to see some of you there, and I'll be signing books afterwards.
I've posted a bunch of pics into my "Pros, and Cons" facebook album, but one of the pics I like best is this one of steampunk aficionado Lilly Fisk, below! Great hat!
"In Canada, the ratio of moose to the number of Glasgow vets who are expert in moose is roughly 1,000,000:1. Roughly, because no one is sure exactly how many moose there are — there is no uncertainty about the number of Glasgow vets with moose experience. If you want to learn a lot about the 1,000,000, and meet the 1, this is the book for you."
- Jay Ingram, broadcaster and former host of Daily Planet.
Jerry Haigh is a veterinarian who has worked with numerous species, including elephants, wild dogs, polar bears, and, of interest to those of us in Newfoundland, moose. He is also a fine storyteller and raconteur, who I met several years ago at the annual Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada conference. Some of you may remember his great night of nature stories in the Newman Wine Vaults a few years back, or his visit to CBC's Radio Noon Crosstalk.
I got an email a little while ago from Jerry, telling me his latest book was out, entitled "Of Moose and Men: A Wildlife Vet's Pursuit of the World's Largest Deer," now available on Amazon.com.
I asked Jerry about about stories about the introduction of Newfoundland's moose population, and this is what he told me:
"The account [of moose introductions] mostly comes from the recollections of John Nowlan, who was raised by the nephew of the leader of the team that caught the moose. It begins when the Newfoundland government of the day, still a British colonial government, requested some moose. One John Connell, a well-known hunter, hunting guide, and fisherman in the Miramichi area of New Brunswick, who was also well known for his tame saddle-broke moose Tommy, persuaded some friends to get involved in the capture. John thought that the men who were involved were paid $50 for each moose. 'That was a lot of money in those days!'
The team set out on snowshoes in the winter of 1904 and surrounded a group of moose that were yarded up and more or less stranded in the deep snow in the vicinity of the Bartibogue River. According to Nowlan: “Then they lassoed them—just like cattle.” Six captured moose were tethered to sleds and taken to the town of Chatham where they were put on a train. Surprisingly four of the animals survived the trip all the way to their new home across the water."
