I don't know if you've noticed, but there seems to be a lot of this about at the moment, several in the form of podcasts that have morphed and expanded.
The Battersea Poltergeist began that way and a play (event?) asking Do You Believe in Ghosts? has been visiting theatres for several months.
The idea attracted my attention as there are no less that three spooky presentations listed in the current programme for the New Theatre in Cardiff. Uncanny - I Know What I Saw, which is a live version of Danny Robins podcast of the same name, Most Haunted Live ditto for the TV series. A play 2.22, which is Danny Robins again, was on last week. He seems to be a thing at the moment as The Battersea Poltergeist was down to him too.
People seem to enjoy being scared. You note I say people. Not me. When The Uncanny shows up on my radio late on Saturday nights I have to turn it off, or sleep with the light on. Just the theme tune, from Lanterns on the Lake, creeps me out!
There have always been plays with creepy themes - The Woman in Black is a classic and there are a couple of thrillers doing the rounds And Then There Were None and Murder in the Dark, both also coming to Cardiff, that will probably chill a few spines. The exploration of 'real life' spooky stuff is new though.
And it has made me wonder - as you do. Traditionally publishers are said to dislike supernatural elements in books - although it never did any harm to the likes of Shakespeare - I'm not sure why this is. Maybe because it's not 'real' or not supposed to be?
As there seems to be more interest, I'm wondering what I can do with this. It won't be really scary stuff - but I would like to include some Welsh folklore in future books, and some of that can be classed as supernatural. Then there are things like Tarot Cards, Standing Stones, Hedge Witchery that might also find their way in.
I can only see where the thought takes me.
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