The Crossroads Ghost

By Rob Shelsky

Madison's stay on the moors was an escape from hectic London, a chance to recover from a failed relationship. But one night, she spies a hooded figure kneeling over the lonely grave of a suicide, a young woman buried at a crossroads to protect her soul from the devil. But when love is involved, worse things than the devil can haunt someone, and this seems to be the case here.

With the help of an unlikely ally, a handsome young prankster coincidentally named "Addison," she must try to solve the mystery of the Crossroads Ghost. But to do this means venturing into the realm of the supernatural, to find out what really happened to the girl in the first place.

Then, against seemingly impossible odds, Madison, along with her new boyfriend, must somehow help the dead girl. Can Madison discover what the secret of the haunting is? Can she help the girl and herself in the process? And does she have the courage? Much hangs in the balance, including her own new relationship with Addison. But what Madison must face is daunting, for it may involve nothing less than altering events long passed, the lives of people long dead.

Based on true events, The Crossroads Ghost is a fictional story of the crossroads grave of Kitty Jay, a real suicide. Buried at the intersection of a country road and a cart lane on the moors, because she was denied internment in sanctified church ground, her grave stands as a lonely testament to lost love, a short life, and a real haunting. It is said by several witness that a hooded figure appears at night, seemingly mourning the dead girl. No one ever sees the face of this specter. This, according to reliable reports, has been going on for over two centuries now.

The Crossroads Ghost, a paranormal romance and ghost story of the first order!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob Shelsky
• Release date: Mar 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458032034

Rob Shelsky

Rob Shelsky is an avid and eclectic writer, and averages about 4,000 words a day. He has several novels to his credit and two anthologies, with two romances out now, a Regency romance, Verity, along with the sequel, Faith, and soon to come, a time-travel romance.Rob has written science fiction articles for such magazines as The Internet Review of Science Fiction, numerous articles for AlienSkin Magazine, Neometropolis, Midnight Street (UK), Doorways, and other publications. Rob has had short stories published with Jim Baen’s Universe, Aberrant Dreams, AlienSkin, Gateway SF, Fifth Dimension, Continuum SF, Sonar4, Uncial Press, Planetary Stories, Pulp Spirit Magazine, Sex & Murder, and many more. He has a novella coming out in early 2010 with Aberrant Dreams Magazine’s first hardcover edition anthology, The Awakening. Rob’s novella, Avenger Of The People, will appear there alongside the works of such sci-fi greats as Alastair Reynolds, Ian Watson, Jana Oliver, Robert Madle, and just so many others. There is even an introduction by Jack McDevitt.Rob has a short story, Green Waters, now out with Sonar4’s Phase Shift anthology, and a paranormal story, Light On The Moor, coming out with Smashwords and Amazon.com.Now, Rob Shelsky is not only a writer, but a contributing editor for Currate.com travel articles, as well as being a reviewer for Novelspot. He is also a resident science fiction columnist for AlienSkin Magazine.Although widely traveled and continuing to travel, Rob now lives in North Carolina. He enjoys contemplating ideas for new stories while watching the sunsets over the mountains and sipping a glass of red wine, preferably a decent Merlot.Oh and check out this site for my Smashword books:Ebookswelove.com

Book preview

THE CROSSROADS GHOST

A Paranormal Romance

By

R.R. Shelsky

SMASHWORDS EDITION

PUBLISHED BY:

R.R. Shelsky on Smashwords

The Crossroads Ghost

A Paranormal Romance

Copyright © 2011 by Rob Shelsky

Cover Illustrations Courtesy of:

Wikimidea Commons

Attributions: Fiona Davis, and Daniel Tibi I.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

* * * *

DEDICATION

There is one person I’d especially like to thank. I owe him so much. George Kempland

I wish to acknowledge you for your loyalty, dedication, mountains of help, and always just being there for me.

Again, thank you, so very much.

* * * *

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1—Madison’s Encounter

Chapter 2—A Practical Joke?

Chapter 3—Kitty Jay’s Tragedy

Chapter 4—The Haunting

Chapter 5—A Mystery

Chapter 6—The Mystery Deepens

Chapter 7—A Need For Answers

Chapter 8—An Intruder?

Chapter 9—Shades Of The Past Put To Rest

Author’s Note: This tale, although entirely fiction, is based on a real crossroads grave. The burial site is located on the moors at the junction of a lonely country lane and a cart track. The burial plot is that of a young woman, Kitty Jay. A suicide, she has lain there for just over two hundred years now. And according to numerous and reliable witnesses, a hooded figure sometimes haunts her grave at night. Nobody is sure who it is, or why it appears there, but this seems to be a true haunting by many reliable accounts. Burials at crossroads occurred because suicides were considered a mortal sin. As such, the person could not be buried in consecrated ground, as with churchyards. Legend said that those buried at crossroads were protected from the Devil, and this is why one finds such crossroads graves.

The Crossroads Ghost

By Rob Shelsky

Chapter 1—Madison’s Encounter

Dark, sinister, it flew at Madison from out of the blackness. The thing came swooping toward her from off the measureless moors. She gave one loud squeak of fear, barely had time to raise her arms to fend off whatever nightmarish creature had come for her.

With a shrill little cry and darting around her at the last second, the short-eared owl sailed on past her. It was still screeching its indignation as it glided away into the misty darkness. Judging by its behaviour, it had been as startled by her presence, as she had been by its sudden appearance.

Dropping her arms now, Madison just stood there a moment. She felt incredibly foolish. How embarrassing! An owl—that was it? In the seconds before it had materialized, the bird had sounded more like the Hound of the Baskervilles galloping full speed at her. How could a mere bird be so noisy? Or was it her being alone so late at night, in the midst of such a desolate place,