Graveyards and Ghouls

- Shannon Curtis

This month I'm celebrating the release of Witch Hunter, the last of the Shadow Breeds series, and it's made me just a little nostalgic.

We're coming up to that time of year again where our North American friends are breaking out the candy and carved pumpkins, and our Aussie friends are trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.
In the last few years, I've noticed Halloween is growing as a festival in Australia, but alas, we don't have the canon that goes with it, the spooky legends about the house down the street or the headless horseman riding through the town...

I will confess, though, that I'm quite partial to a graveyard. When I was very young, my father took a second job as a handyman at a retirement village. The weekends of my tender years were spent strolling through the village, and visiting the lovely elders there (and being fed biscuits, cakes, slices, jams, etc. that made my belly full so that it became a waddle more than a stroll). We got to know the residents quite well, and it wasn't unusual for us to call them Uncle or Auntie.

As is the cycle of life, though, there comes a time when those uncles and aunties must take the next journey on their own, and we went to quite a lot of funerals. Like, sooooo many funerals, and graveside services as we waved goodbye to our dear adopted uncles and aunts.

Then my mother started to investigate our family history, and we learned one of the best sources of information was ... the cemetery. On those gravestones you'll find the correctly spelled surnames, the names of parents,grandparents and children and beloved siblings, and DATES. Suffice it to say, we had a fairly large family and my mother was determined to track down every last branch, which meant LOTS of weekends tramping through graveyards.

As kids, you make the best of what you have, so graveyards became the playground of my childhood. I would play tag with my brother and sisters, hide-and-seek, cops and robbers, and then we'd start the more ghoulish games - but that's a whole other blog post. So I became very comfortable around cemeteries and graveyards, and every time I go overseas, I visit ... a graveyard. It never fails to fascinate me how different cultures honor their dead, and how atmospheric a graveyard can be. It's been my inspiration for many a story.

I get inspiration from a lot of different places, though. For example, the photo above is from one of the plantation homes in Louisiana, and it's also inspired daydreams and plot bunnies. I'm wondering, though, what these images make you think of? What spooky stuff comes to mind? Who knows, your comment might spark a plot bunny of its own, and you could see it in an upcoming story!

Celebrating with ghosts

“Were you scared?”

That’s the first thing people asked me when I told them where my husband and I spent our wedding anniversary night last week. (Twenty-seven years!)

At the last minute, we booked to stay the night at the hotel on the site of the old Quarantine Station North Head near Manly in Sydney. It’s a magnificent setting, right on the harbour in the middle of a National Park.

What was once a Quarantine Station is now a quirky, lovely hotel in Sydney

 The Quarantine Station was established in the 1830s to prevent diseases such as typhus, plague and smallpox from reaching the main settlement of Sydney. Immigrant ships were stopped and passengers kept in strict quarantine in what, in effect, was a prison. The idyllic setting would have been cold comfort to the internees, many of whom never left there as they died from the disease they had contracted on the long journey from the Northern Hemisphere.

Fabulous views from the old Quarantine Station - the Manly ferries
pass each other on their way between Sydney and Manly 

Over the years the Quarantine Station became like a town in itself—divided into first, second and third class accommodation to reflect the status of the ship’s passengers. It operated right up until the 1980s.

There are three cemeteries on the grounds. The buildings are reputed to be haunted by the ghosts of the poor souls who never left there to start their new lives in Sydney. Ghost tours have operated there for years.

Victorian splendour in the former First Class Passengers lounge - now a guest lounge

So were we scared? Not at all. The place has a sad history but is a beautiful part of Sydney’s heritage. The Q Station Hotel has taken over the historic buildings and everything has been done within strict heritage guidelines. Quirky and interesting it was a fabulous place to stay.

You don’t have to stay at the hotel to visit as it’s all part of a National Park. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Sydney. You can get there by road or by ferry.

In my March release Harlequin Romance Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride, Gemma and Tristan approach the area by boat and swim on the adjoining beach. It really is a gorgeous part of Sydney.

Have you ever stayed or visited anywhere with a creepy history? Or felt something scary in a historical place? Or like me, didn’t sense a thing! Please comment—I’d love to hear about it!