Lauren Smith | Endless Night- A Foray into the Dark and Mysterious

Halloween. My favorite holiday. If I had my say, my house would be decorated
with black and orange 365 days a year. It seems like there are some of us out
there with a bit of the need to believe in something magical, who are drawn to
this particular holiday. The thoughts of bats winging their way through twilight
skies, the rustle of owl feathers mixed with the whisper of leaves against wood
light a fire in my blood. When the air turns cool and crisp and the trees turn
red and gold, I can’t help but think of witches riding on their brooms, or smoke
bubbling over cauldrons.

I often think of William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence” Poem”:

“The bat that flits at close of eve Has left the brain that won’t believe. The owl that calls upon the night Speaks the unbeliever’s fright.”

This same love that draws me to books feeds the love of things that go bump in
the night. Whether it’s a Gothic romance with a dark hero in a forbidden castle
by the sea or a sensual vampire ready to sink his teeth into a sweet, innocent
heroine, I’m swooning as I read them all. I’ve been reading old vintage Gothic
romances this fall, relishing the faded covers with the worn spines and the
painted art depicting lovely heroines fleeing a haunted spectral estate behind
them. These vintage books are a rare art form, one lost to modern readers. These
authors set up a Gothic atmosphere and gave us chills and thrills. I read their
words and admire the way they leave me spooked and hungry for another delicious
scare!

Last year I came across an idea to write something I’d like to think of a modern
Gothic romance. I had a story in my head of a young woman, Jane, plagued by
nightmares of a castle an ocean away in England. This woman, naturally, was a
student of history and longed to solve the mystery of her dreams and find out
more about the tragic lives of the family that had lived in the castle,
Stormclyffe Hall. As all intrepid heroines learn, Jane cannot get into the
castle so easily. It just so happens that Bastian, the current earl of Weymouth,
has returned to Stormclyffe with a goal to restore the crumbling castle to its
former glory.

While writing Jane and Bastian’s love story, I wove in historical diary entries set in 1811 telling the story of Bastian’s ancestors and the events that led to the fateful night that doomed the castle and its inhabitants for the next two centuries. In order to give the story authentic appeal and incorporate real paranormal elements, I dug into true stories and accounts of actual hauntings in various English castles. The wealth of information was astounding and fascinating. It became clear after only a few days that I couldn’t continue to read the stories at night, because I had the sense of being watched. Characters were whispering to me, just out of the corner of my eye. I began to write what would become THE SHADOWS OF STORMCLYFFE HALL. It’s a book full of passion and ghosts. I leave more of Blake’s haunting words with you and wish you a Happy Halloween! May you read something spooky!

“Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to Endless night.”