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Ghost Story Competition - Writing the Supernatural

 I'm not the Crowvus writer who publishes horror. I've appreciated the brilliant books by Judith Crow, but I know it's not something I can write. The supernatural is different. People will - quite rightly - tell you that horror can encompass the supernatural, but the supernatural is not only confined to that genre. The supernatural, by definition, have their roots in the natural. In the case of ghosts, they were once alive, now having transcended from the natural (i.e. worldly) existence, into the supernatural on an unknown plain. The best ghost stories (my opinion only!) are the ones which unite the natural and the supernatural, looking at the shadows and imprints left on the natural world by those now occupying the supernatural one. In essence, when I read through the submissions for the Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story Competition , I'm looking for the human aspect of the story. I love the idea of ghosts trapped in time, I love the idea of ghosts trying to commune with ...
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#HistFicThursdays - Ancestors - Mariner Hawkes: Charity Boy

 I've just got back from a week away hunting for ancestors. Yes, this might not be everyone's idea of a fun holiday, but Judith and I adventured around many churchyards and churches, looking for any names on stones or monuments which matched those already in our family tree. As well as taking photos of graves and monumental inscriptions, we also took pictures of the fonts where our ancestors were baptised.

The font in Aldeburgh,
where countless members of our family were baptised

But one of my favourite discoveries was when we visited a library and raided their Local History section. In one of the books we found the most random section about Thomas Hudson, a local tailor, who used to work sitting cross-legged on the floor. It's a trivial thing but, at once, I felt I knew him better. These apparently throwaway facts take a name on the page - or stone - and turn them into a real character.

Ancestors are a great place to start with character-building. My most recent writing has been Mariner Hawkes: Charity Boy, built on a number of people from the Aldeburgh branch of my own family tree. From research we've done into our family, I had a pretty good idea of what had been expected from the young men of the family, most of whom were educated at the Greenwich Hospital School (where the title "charity boy" comes from), and then either into the navies, any branch of what later became the Coastguard Service, or as a Trinity Pilot.

This isn't the only ancestor-inspired character I've inserted into my writing. Everyone comes from a family of intriguing individuals. Have a go at uncovering your own family tree and find the ancestor whose story you'd most like to bring to life. They could go on to be the star of their own adventure, or remain as a peripheral character whose full significance only you will know.

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