Spend
a night in the land of the dead with DEAD
‘TIL DAWN…
By
Kelli A. Wilkins
Happy Almost Halloween Everyone,
I hope you’re ready for the scariest night of the
year! To get you ready for the holiday, I’m sharing something spooky, and a
look at my Civil War horror novella…
DEAD ‘TIL DAWN
Disturbing
the dead doesn’t prove you’re brave – it proves you’re stupid.
After touring Gettysburg battlefield, Jessica, Tim,
and Steve decide to sneak out to the Devil’s Den for some late-night fun.
Jessica’s friend Kathy objects, and warns them about trespassing where they’re
not wanted.
Undaunted by ghost stories and fueled by his own
arrogance, Tim races toward the Devil’s Den. When the group drives through
mysterious battlefield fog, they find themselves surrounded by Civil War
soldiers looking for a little fun of their own.
Kathy leaves the others to fend for themselves and
flees to Little Round Top. Although she’s rescued by a kindhearted Union
solider named Charlie, she refuses to believe that what she’s experiencing is
real. As the nighttime battle rages on, Charlie introduces Kathy to other weary
soldiers, and she quickly realizes she’s trapped in the land of the dead until
dawn.
***
So how did this story come about? Well, if you know
me, you know I love writing psychological/creepy/spooky horror stories. And I
also love traveling to historic places–especially if they’re haunted.
This novella was inspired by actual events that
happened to me in Gettysburg, PA. My husband and I had a very unusual
experience with battlefield fog and I wanted to use it in a story. Here’s the
short version:
It was around 11:30 pm and we wanted to explore. Since
you can’t go onto the battlefield at
night, we decided to drive around it. As soon as we got outside of town we came
upon a wall of fog. You could literally see the line where it started. (I incorporated
this into the story.)
I thought that was strange–but what the heck–we’d
drive through it and come out the other side. Wrong. The thick, swirling fog
completely engulfed the car. We couldn’t see more than two feet in front of us,
and saw nothing but fog on all sides.
We figured the fog would dissipate or…something. Nope.
The further we drove, the thicker it got. From time to time I swore I saw
shadows in the fog, but I figured it was my imagination.
Robert was getting a little nervous because it was
pretty obvious this wasn’t normal. He was worried about another car coming down
the street (there weren’t any, who else would drive around in creepy fog?) and
hitting us. I told him I was more worried about what we’d do if a Civil War
soldier on a horse ran in front of us.
(You can read the full story here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/post/dead-til-dawn-a-paranormal-adventure-in-gettysburg)
Although I don’t consider myself a “paranormal investigator”
I love exploring haunted places and taking ghost tours. Historic houses and
basically “anything old and creepy” appeal to my imagination. Is it any
surprise that I love Halloween?
Here’s an excerpt from Dead’ Til Dawn, featuring
the infamous battlefield fog. I’m happy to say that the book got several great
reviews on Amazon!
***
Steve leaned forward in the back seat and tapped Tim
on the shoulder. “You think we can get to the Devil’s Den now? Won’t they have
security guards?”
“Who’d guard a battlefield at night? Ghosts?” Tim
chuckled.
“The ghost stories we heard today were cool,” Steve
replied. “I wanted to take that ghost tour at the orphanage. They let you
investigate and try to contact dead soldiers. Maybe tomorrow–”
“I told you, that was a rip off,” Tim interrupted.
“Who cares who died out here, anyway? It was over a hundred and fifty years
ago. I don’t know why you keep wasting your time and money on that paranormal
crap. There’s no such thing as ghosts. People in town made up those stories to
rake in tourist money and sell costumes to idiot reenactors. If playing
dress-up… Whoa!”
Tim stopped the car. A wall of white mist covered the
road ten feet ahead of them.
“Is that fog?” Jessica asked, brushing her long red
hair over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Steve answered. “But why is it there and not
anywhere else?”
Kathy peered out the side window. The two-lane road
was crystal clear on both sides of the car, but the line of fog blocked their
path. It’s waiting for us to advance. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Let’s
go back.”
Tim stomped on the gas and plowed into the fog.
“Check it out. We’re surrounded,” Steve exclaimed.
Fog engulfed the car, blocking out the fields, trees,
and fences along the road. Every so often Kathy thought she saw a glimpse of
movement in the misty darkness, but it was hard to tell with Tim speeding like
a maniac.
Steve pointed behind them. “Look back there. The
town’s gone, swallowed up,” he said.
Kathy gazed out the rear window. Steve was right.
Behind them, Gettysburg lay sleeping, wrapped in a blanket of milky whiteness.
***
Wanna
find out what happens when they get out of the car? Order your copy of Dead ‘Til Dawn here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4X9aLb
Want more horror stories for Halloween? Don’t miss Nightmare
in the North and Kropsy’s Curse. Read all about them
on my site: www.KelliWilkins.com
Happy Haunting!
Kelli
A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19
romance novels, 5 non-fiction books, and 2 online writing courses. Her romances
span many genres and heat levels, and she’s also been known to scare readers
with her horror stories.
She
released Extraterrestrial Encounters, a collection of
18 sci-fi stories, in August 2019. If you like horror fiction, don’t
miss her disturbing novella, Nightmare in the North.
Her latest historical romance, The
Viking’s Witch, was released in June 2019. This full-length novel takes
place in Celtic Scotland and blends a sensual romance with paranormal elements.
In March 2019, Kelli published Dangerous
Indenture, a historical mystery romance set in Colonial Pennsylvania.
She released the second half of her flash fiction series, Cupid’s Schemes, in early
2019. These two volumes of lighthearted mini-romances are perfect reads for a
quick lunchtime escape or an after-work indulgence.
Kelli released her
latest Teachable mini-course, Fiction Basics: Finding Ideas in
February 2019. She authored Fiction Writing for
Beginners through Teachable in 2018. These courses are
perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write. Visit: https://kelliwilkins.teachable.com/ for more details.
Not
just an author, Kelli is also an amateur photographer. Visit her pages on Shutterstock
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/kelli+wilkins and iStock https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/kelliwilkins to
view her photos.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website www.KelliWilkins.com or
blog http://kelliwilkinsauthor.blogspot.com/ to learn more
about all of her writings.
