Haunted Halloween 2012: Guest Post - Beautifully Broken author, Sherry Soule + A GIVEAWAY!!!

Happy Halloween! Thanks for having me as a guest today for this extra spooky event!

Okay, I’d like to share my strange experience, it’s my conceivably true tale of the paranormal with everyone, then you can tell me what you think…

During the first week of July, I had to take my mom to the hospital, and I ended up being there all day. I had to leave my kids at home because they were going to their dad’s house for the weekend. And I didn’t think I’d be gone that long, but I was there for eleven hours. Once my mom was finally admitted, I went home.

It was pretty late by the time I left the ER, (they were super busy) and I was exhausted. When I got home, the front door was wide open. This was the first time I’d ever been alone in the house. It gave me pause, but I figured the kids hadn’t shut the door all the way and it had sprung open sometime after they’d left with their dad.

Still, I checked the entire house. Just in case. I turned on every light and inspected every room and closet. The house was empty.

While I was going from room-to-room, my black cat was watching me. Closely. After my inspection, I was still feeling a little edgy, but glad to be home. Then the cat’s low menacing growl stopped me in my tracks. Her tail fluffed to about three times its normal size and her tiny fangs were bared.

Before I continue, I’ll give you some backstory...

My cat is normally very sweet and playful. She adores me. (Yeah, she’s super spoiled.) I’ve only heard her hiss once, and that was three years ago, when my daughter was pestering her while she was trying to take a catnap (pun intended). But she’s NEVER growled or scratched anyone. Ever. She’s super shy, too, and hides under my bed if we have company. We always know when someone’s about to knock on our front door, because she gets low to the ground and darts into my room to hide. Basically, she only really likes us. Which I secretly like.

Anyway, my normally, sweet-tempered cat starts growling, hissing, and spitting at me in an aggressive manner. I try to soothe her, but she won’t let me near her. I shrug and try to ignore her. I get myself a bottle of water and while I was chugging it down, I stared at her. I could tell she was still agitated over something. She crouched low to the carpet as if she were ready to pounce, her tail resembling a bottlebrush. She stayed a good five feet away from me, with her fur standing on end, and growling as if she’s getting ready to attack.

Okay, so this was getting REALLY weird.

And it was starting to unnerve me. So, I say, “What’s wrong with you, kitty?”

Just for the record, I don’t claim to understand her meows. Well, sometimes. But that’s just a little too “crazy cat lady” for me. I reached down to pet her, but she sidestepped me and continued to yowl and hiss, as if I was the devil himself.

Maybe I smell different, I thought, like the hospital or something. Although I’ve been going back and forth to hospitals for months with my daughter (who has a rare disease), the cat has never acted weird before. So, I get in the shower, hoping that once I put on some clean clothes, she’ll stop acting as if she wants to rip my throat out.

Guess what? No difference.

Clean and dressed in my PJs, I emerge from my bedroom to find the cat, crouched, ears flattened, whiskers back, and teeth bared. She growls and hisses loudly. I stalk past her and check my emails, then I turn on the TV. Every time I get up, she starts growling at me again. If I have to move past her, I make sure to stay away from her sharp little claws.

Now, it’s really bugging me. Maybe he was traumatized by being left alone in the house for hours. She a timid cat and doesn’t like to go outdoors. It’s so weird and out of character for her to act like this.

What the heck’s wrong with my cat?

I decide to give her some yummy kitty treats. I call her into the kitchen. This cat will sprint from anywhere in the damn house to gobble up her favorite delicacies. I wait. Five minutes go by, no cat. I shrug and sit on the couch to watch my recorded episode of “Lost Girl,” and then check Twitter. The cat stays crouched with big pupils, watching me. She snubs her treats. The cat who begs for treats every time anyone enters the kitchen will not go near the area now.

At this moment, this was getting super weird.

An hour later as I’m watching TV, something occurred to me. I remember going on this ghost tour of San Francisco last October (lame), and the tour guide claimed to be a part-time paranormal investigator. I’m not sure why I suddenly remembered this, but I recall him saying that hospitals were one of the most haunted places on earth. It makes sense if you think about it.

Everyone just assumes that cemeteries are haunted, but why would they be?

Nothing but dead people there. No living energy to feed off. Nowadays, more people die in hospitals than anywhere else. The morgue really just houses the body in which the “energy” was contained. And it’s a scientific fact that energy cannot die.

Abandoned hospitals always seem to have some type of haunting attached to them. It seems reasonable, because people die in hospitals every day. I think because there are so many emotions attached to them, like pain, fear, and pure joy (from child birth), and not to mention, the emotional baggage that the staff carries around from dealing with other people’s illnesses, that hospitals would become huge energy basins.

After giving this some deep thought, my theory is this...

Think about it, hospitals are places where people die and are born every day. It’s no wonder that some spirits might get lost, trapped or frustrated. There’s a lot of suffering and anguish in hospitals, too. Even negative entities might like that.

Anyway, to get back to the cat story, let’s just say, for arguments sake that something had followed me home. Although I was unaware of it, the cat could sense it.

Can animals sense paranormal activity?

I think they can. For example, if your beloved pet, or in my case, cat suddenly refuses to go into certain parts of the house. Honestly, there was nothing in the kitchen that I could see, sense, or feel, so to me everything seemed normal, well, besides the cat acting all growly and frightened.

I always wondered if cats and dogs could see and/or sense ghosts or demons. Obviously, we’ll never know because of the obvious communication barriers. But I believe that animals can sense paranormal activity or dark energy, and I’ve heard stories about how animals behave differently when they become aware of paranormal activity around them. Now in my own opinion, I would have to say it’s completely possible.

Animals are supposed to be more sensitive than we are, right?

Back to my cat, who was still growling. It was really bothering me now. Worried, I searched the Internet and found a few sites that said if an animal suddenly starts growling, it’s usually because they’ve been injured or they’re sick, and the animal doesn’t want to be touched. That made sense to me. So, I decided that if she were still acting all crazy by morning, I would take her to the vet.

Finally, I go to bed and shut my door on the growling, hissing, hating kitty, and lock it. Yeah, yeah, I know the cat can’t open the door, but she was freaking me out. LOL

In the morning, I ease open my bedroom door and look around. The cat seems totally back to normal. Happy, purring, and frisky. She follows me into the kitchen and I fed her. Then we play hide and seek, and afterwards, she lets me pet her. She likes me again. Whew!

So, I don’t call the vet either.

But the whole incident is still really troubling me, because it was so dang weird!

So, do you think it’s possible that our furry friends have a sixth sense that we don’t possess?

Any theories on why my cat was suddenly acting so freaky?

Title: Beautifully Broken (Spellbound series, #1)
Author: Sherry Soule
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing, (August 30th, 2011)
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse…

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. After she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan. But Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list, and Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him.

Complicated much?

After receiving cryptic messages from a creepy wraith, and then frightening threats from a demon, Shiloh finally begins to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist. Now Shiloh must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.

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Author Bio:

Sherry Soule is the bestselling author of the acclaimed YA Spellbound series. She writes urban fantasy, an odd hybrid of the horror genre that includes elements of mystery, fantasy, and suspense. Her stories are set in a modern location, which often include a hint of paranormal, and contain an added dash of romance. Right now, she’s working on a few different young adult series: Spellbound and Tales of a Teenage Succubus. Plus, she has written a stand-alone, adult UF novel, Immortal Eclipse. Sherry lives with her family, (ghost?), and black cat in the SF Bay Area. 

Places you can cyberstalk Sherry Soule:

Official Website: http://sherrysoule.com
Official Blog: http://www.sherrysoule.blogspot.com
Official Spellbound Series Universe: http://thespellboundseries.blogspot.com
Twitter @WriterSherry: http://twitter.com/writersherry
goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4925996.Sherry_Soule

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Sherry, thanks for participating in this years Haunted Halloween and for sharing your scary cat story. That had to have been eery to say the least. Also, thanks for donating the eBook copy of Beautifully Broken to giveaway.

Don't forget to stop by and check out who Jessica is featuring today for Haunted Halloween!

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