Sharyn writes historical fiction that is generally more true than not. Her books are mostly set in the Appalachian mountains. She's written several New York Times best sellers including The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and Ghost Riders.
Her novel, Kings Mountain tells the story of the Battle of Kings Mountain, the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
That Battleground is considered by many locals to be haunted ground. Too many people died violent deaths there to believe otherwise.
I should know. Kings Mountain Battleground is located in my hometown of Blacksburg, SC. The town of Kings Mountain is in North Carolina, but the fighting happened in South Carolina near where I grew up.
Naturally, I read Kings Mountain as soon as it was published, but my favorite of Sharyn's books is The Rosewood Casket, a Ballad novel. I love Sharyn's "Ballad" novels best.
My very favorite of all Sharyn's characters appears in her "Ballad" novels, Nora Bonesteel. In the books, Nora Bonesteel has "The Sight" and I find that fascinating!
Nora is based on the real life person, Charlotte Ross, who is a wonderful storyteller! Earlier this week my purchase of Charlotte's storytelling CD arrived. There are four wonderful stories on the CD. One of them tells a true account of a ghost appearing to Charlotte when she was eight years old. You see, the real person, Charlotte, like the fictional character, Nora, has "The Sight."
This got me to remembering all the times strange unexplainable things have happened in my own life and the lives of many of my family members.
The Sight is strong in my family.
Back in the 1970s, when I was in my 20s, I woke up before daylight one morning with such a feeling of dread that it is hard for me to describe it to you.
Something horrible had happened to my brother, Gene, that night. I didn't know what; but I knew it had happened; and I knew it was horrific.
Gene, like many other Vietnam War veterans, came back from that war feeling lost and disillusioned with life. Those first few years after he left the Service, he spent wandering the country. He never felt right no matter where he was. He would hitch-hike and hobo from one place to another. We almost never knew where he was, but he would call once in awhile to let us know he was okay.
The last time he called, he was in Texas, so that's where I started looking for him. I called Directory Assistance and got the phone numbers for pretty much all the Veteran's Hospitals in Texas, and I started calling.
Now, back then making a long distance phone call was a big expensive thing, but I honestly didn't care. I kept dialing and dialing until I felt like the crazy lady the people who answered my calls found me. THEN...
Finally, MIRACULOUSLY I found a nurse in a Veteran's hospital in Texas who knew Gene. She said he had been in that hospital for a cut or something several weeks prior. She remembered him because he was a big strapping red-headed thing who flirted outrageously with her. When she said that, I knew it was the right Gene! She told me Gene was headed to Washington State, so...
I called Directory Assistance again and got the numbers for all the Veteran's Hospitals in Washington State.
It took several days, but I finally found him. He was in Spokane, WA in a Veteran's Hospital and he was alive!
The night I woke up frantic was the night my brother, Gene, was hit by a train in Spokane, WA. Gene had lost one of his legs and had been unable to call to let any of us know.
There were no cordless phones back then and no phones in the rooms at that VA Hospital. They said they tried to call a family member once for him, but there was no answer. No voicemail back then. No call waiting.
A few weeks after I found him, Gene was able to get to the nurse's desk to call me. I was so relieved! He told me all about the accident and how a buddy he was traveling with saved his life.
Gene spent about six months in that VA Hospital recovering and learning to walk on his artificial leg. By the time I saw him again in person, he was walking so well that you couldn't even tell one of his legs was missing. It was a miracle!
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| My red-headed brother, Gene, a couple of months after losing his leg, still in a VA Hospital in Spokane, WA. |
My mother was in an Upstate, SC hospital in Neuro-ICU at the time. They had just called in the family and told us that Mama was not going to wake up from her coma, and I had argued with the doctor about it. I was angry because the doctor had just written her off when I had a strong feeling that she was going to live.
Several family members including my older sons, Dave and Marcus, myself, one of my sisters, and a couple of cousins were standing around her bed, and I was talking to her. I said, "Marcus is here. Mama, did you hear me? I said, Marcus is here." Mama suddenly said, "He is?" and smiled.
We all looked at each other for a second, but then Mama started talking. Mama said, "There were two men."
I said, "There was?"
Mama shook her head yes and continued, "Those men wanted me to get down in that hole, but I didn't want to do it. Then this other man came and said, 'I'll go,' so he got down in the hole and I woke up!"
Several of us said at once, "Somebody died."
We were right. The next day he was found, dead in his bathroom with the water still running in the sink. My brother, Gene. Dead at 53 of a massive heart attack.
Mama walked out of that hospital very much alive. She lived another 3.5 years, but hers is a story for another day.
Please share your stories in the comments. Most families have such stories, and I find them fascinating!
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