Newspaper article about us: Portland_Press_Herald
And a television interview
And a (glowing) review of 21st Century Ghost Stories: Volume II, in The Boston Globe.
And an interview in Duotrope about our competitions, and what we look for in a winning supernatural fiction piece.
Welcome to The Ghost Story. This is a website where we share ghost stories of all kinds—fictional, historical, cultural, psychological, and metaphorical. We also examine interesting cases of the paranormal in “real life” and try to determine how much credibility they deserve.
At this early point we should admit that we are healthily skeptical concerning the actual reality of disembodied spirits. We—I, the founder and editor of TGS—have never experienced a ghost firsthand. I never expect to. However, as you’ll see when you read a post called My Own Personal Ghost Story, I have witnessed the uncanny power that the belief in ghosts holds over people, and I respect that power as an integral part of something that is rooted deeply in the foundation of our very humanity. In fact I believe—as Sigmund Freud once hypothesized—that all spiritual and philosophical thought may have originated with the fearful speculations of early humans concerning what becomes of our individuality—and that of our enemies and family members—once we’re no longer alive.
All the above is a long way of saying that we believe in science, and we also believe that claims of “real” supernatural occurrences should be examined scientifically before they are accepted as fact. As far as we know, no one has yet proven that ghosts exist—at least, not in a way that would be acceptable to most scientists.
But we promise to keep an open mind. And when we’re critical of a “real” ghost story, we intend to maintain a measure of respect nonetheless. That’s not to say, however, that we won’t apply a healthy dose of good-natured humor. . . .
In my long career as a magazine, newspaper, internet, and international wire-service journalist, I’ve been fortunate to be able to investigate and write about a number topics that fascinated me, and which I felt passionate about. My recurring subjects have included South American politics and culture, international wildlife conservation, overseas travel, and the amazing sport of fly fishing. Nothing, however, has ever held more fascination for me than ghost stories and the ghost lore of cultures around the world. In fact, both of my first two published novels, Unhallowed Ground and Angel Falls, are full of supernatural elements. In addition, just the title of my third novel, American Ghost—published in 2017—pretty much says it all.
A couple of things about TGS that I am especially excited about include our biannual TGS Supernatural Fiction Award contest and our annual Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition. For the Supernatural Fiction Award, twice each year we select a winning full-length short story along with two honorable mentions, and give them cash awards of $1,500 (for the winner) and $300 (for each of the honorable mentions). We also publish those stories right here on The Ghost Story as well as in our 21st Century Ghost Stories print anthology. In the annual Screw Turn Flash contest (1,000 or fewer words) we award $1,000 to the winner and $200 to each of the honorable mentions, as well as both online and print publication. If you’re interested in sending us a story, have a look at our Supernatural Fiction Award guidelines as well as the separate guidelines for the Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition.
And if you’d like to contact us for any reason, you can do so via e-mail to editor@theghoststory.com or by snail-mail at:
Paul Guernsey—Editor
The Ghost Story
Lightning Tree Communications
PO Box 601
Union, ME 04862
Cheers—and please enjoy our website. —Paul Guernsey
