Tonight I'll be doing an author reading at the Oregon Ghost Conference's Penning the Paranormal event. It's from 7-8:30pm Pacific Time (10-11:30 Eastern). It's a Zoom event hosted by Jeff Davis (one of the Weird Washington and Weird Oregon authors) and you can sign up here. It's free, and looks like it will be fun.
Weird
A return to ghosts
Not too long ago, I traveled with a friend of mine to the Strauss Mansion in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. It's a beautiful old place and allegedly haunted, which is what we were there for - a ghost tour. I'm currently writing up the experience, which was pretty positive. We got to play with different tools … Continue reading A return to ghosts
Rabbit Tree Redux
It's been 18 years since some photos I took of the Rabbit Tree in Vernon Township were published in the May 1998 issue of Weird N.J. These photos taken last weekend show that it hasn't changed that much, except that somebody unhelpfully decided to spray paint over the "eyes" and "nose" of the rabbit, in … Continue reading Rabbit Tree Redux
Katie in Death’s Garden
My story, Katie Likes Flowers, was recently published on the Cemetery Travel: Adventures in Graveyards Around the World website, as part of the Death's Garden project by Loren Rhoads. Check out the story and take the time to read the other posts on the website, which features stories about cemeteries, graveyards, and how death impacts … Continue reading Katie in Death’s Garden
Katie Likes Flowers
This short piece about an experience I had in a nearby abandoned cemetery was originally published in Weird Hauntings (Sterling, 2006). Many abandoned bits of civilization are found in the woods in the part of New Jersey where I live: Towns that simply disappeared off the map for one reason or another. Their remnants include … Continue reading Katie Likes Flowers
Me, Jeff and the Weird
Jeff Heimbuch of HorrorBuzz recently wrote a nice article about me and my Weird NJ affiliation. I've known Jeff since 2006, when I reached out to him about using one of the ghost stories he submitted to the magazine in Weird Hauntings. We've kept in touch since then, though we've never actually met in person. … Continue reading Me, Jeff and the Weird
A fear of clowns…
I was no more than two or two-and-a-half years old when I became very aware of the painting on my bedroom wall. It was a portrait of a clown that my dad had painted in 1971, presumably with the intent of using it to decorate my bedroom, because don't all kids like clowns? It hung … Continue reading A fear of clowns…
The Mother of Action Park Stories
In 2014 my local newspaper reported on two different television production companies approaching Action Park about doing a reality TV show. (Chances are this link will be dead or under a subscription wall.) Action Park, if you don't know, is a notorious water park located in the Northwestern NJ town in which I live. The … Continue reading The Mother of Action Park Stories
Lake Monsters of Northern New Jersey
I grew up in what is essentially the "lake district" of New Jersey. Located in the northwestern corner of the state, it consists of tiny lakes, medium-size lakes, and one large lake: Lake Hopatcong. I'm pretty sure that Lake Hopatcong was originally a smaller lake that was expanded at some point to make it the … Continue reading Lake Monsters of Northern New Jersey
Whimsical failure part 2
So this happened today. The interview I wrote about in my last blog post was published online. I don't know how well, if at all, the interview will be received by Lord Whimsy. And though I wish it had gone differently six (!!!) years ago, I do feel good that a long unpublished interview that … Continue reading Whimsical failure part 2
joanne m. austin 
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