Wednesday, September 9, 2015

The Gray Lady Ghost & More Realms Faire Games

Source (forgottenoh.com)
After I wrote about the Confederate cemetery in Johnson's Island, Ohio back in August I discovered there is actually another haunted Civil War POW cemetery right here in my home state. Camp Chase is in Columbus, where I lived for several years. Although the cemetery is not far from where I lived for a while. I had no idea it existed.

Now that I know, I'd like to visit sometime as I love the legend associated with it. According to the legend, the cemetery is haunted by the Gray Lady Ghost, who was known in life as Louisiana Rainsburgh Briggs, which is easily one of the best names I've ever read in my life. Supposedly, Ms. Briggs was the fiancee, or some say wife, of Tennessee Private Benjamin Allen, whose grave is shown above. She made the trip to Ohio to visit him and, finding him dead, died herself soon after.

Dressed in a gray traveling suit and wearing a gray veil over her face, Louisiana has often been heard weeping at the site of Allen's grave. During a Civil War re-enactment event in 1988, many participants reported hearing the sound of a woman crying and tried to find the source of the cries, but no weeping lady was every found.

In addition, cemetery visitors have regularly reported seeing fresh flowers on Allen's grave, although no one has claimed responsibility for placing them there. According to speculation, Louisiana herself visits the cemetery at night to place the flowers at her loved one's grave.

More than 2,000 prisoners died of disease and starvation at Camp Chase, so it's not hard to imagine there are other spirits haunting the area today. I wonder if Louisiana Briggs has any companions who join her when she makes her late night visits to the graves of the long dead.

All of this has provided lots of inspiration for my WIP, which includes my own Confederate ghost and a Civil War POW camp. I'm thrilled to be able to state that I'm FINALLY getting lots of writing done and making significant progress, so after months of being a slug I am getting closer to the finish line now. Maybe I just needed a little ghostly inspiration.



As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be spotlighting games from the upcoming Realms Faire periodically from now through November when the Faire will be held. First up is Beware the Vortex, hosted by River Fairchild. Here is the scoop:

Beware the Vortex
Evil is afoot. Chronos has accidentally created a vortex while cleaning his hourglass, plunging a few unfortunate souls into Lucien’s Bar, gateway to the Underworld. Now they are trapped. Lucien wants to keep them but will give each hapless victim one chance to earn their freedom. His condition? Enter a contest of skills with an Immortal opponent of his/her choosing.

Do you think you can survive a swordfight with War? How about wend your way through a carnivorous garden to get to Gaia’s treehouse? Or weave a portion of the Great Tapestry of Life while avoiding Atropos’ giant pair of life-ending scissors? Perhaps you’re brave enough to challenge Death to a peanut-eating contest? Or whip up a batch of punch with Jezebel, the Master Poisoner? Do you have what it takes to win your way out of Lucien’s grasp?

Your mission: on the day you appear in the contest you will post on your own blog, or gather together your Facebook and/or Twitter friends and provide a link to this blog, pleading (begging works too) with your loyal supporters to come to your aid at http://riverfairchild.blogspot.com/ , and cheer you on to victory. Their comments will decide your fate. I will provide you with a few magic words to bolster the power of your minions. Plead well, for you will need their strength to endure. Others might seek to cast their votes with the Immortals.

Rewards? Yes! Besides winning your freedom (hopefully), each volunteer (that would be you) who is locked in the struggle will receive an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. In addition, a few lucky commenters will be picked at random to receive a gift card at the end of the Faire. Four brave people have signed up so far. I need one more to fill the week.


There are a number of blogs participating in the Realms Faire and many prizes to be had, including a Grand Prize at the end of the Faire. If you’d like to run a game yourself and/or contribute a prize (ebook, gift card, artwork, swag, anything you can come up with), go here to sign up. http://mpaxauthor.com/realmsfaire/ 



Another game I want to spotlight is Dueling Bards, hosted by Cassandra Webb. This game is a chance for your character to duel another writer's creation. The audience will decide who emerges triumphant in the contest. I know Cassandra still needs a few duelers, so if you want to see more about the game and sign up to participate visit her site for all the info here

19 comments:

  1. It is amazing that you are finally writing again. Congratulations! The Grey Lady story is so sad, but creepy.

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  2. Quite the intriguing ghost story. When I hear stories like this, of a loved one eternally mourning a soulmate, I often wonder what the 'soulmate' is doing. Has his spirit moved on? Is he searching for her? Or is he running from her?

    Totally cool you're getting busying with all those notes! I'm sure it's inspiring.

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  3. I'm already signed up for the Vortex!
    You do need to visit that cemetery. And let us know if you hear the weeping lady.

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  4. Awesome! I need to go on a cemetery jaunt or three.
    Thanks so much for the Vortex mention!

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  5. That is such a great name! It would make a wonderful love story - this woman visiting the grave of her fiancee/husband, leading all the other ghosts of wives, girlfriends, etc. (Of course, I would probably turn it into a horror story....) :)

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  6. What a story! I can totally see where that's fodder for writing.

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  7. Sounds like it would be a good place to go ghost hunting! :)

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  8. I'd love to visit Louisiana and then take a tour of some of the cemeteries. Heck, I'd love to go and see some of the Civil War battlefields peppered throughout the south. I'm not a fan of the confederate flag though (and what it represents).

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  9. Sounds like you've got no shortage of inspiration around you!

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  10. Ms. Briggs does have one very cool name. That's really cool about the hauntings too. Realms Faire is going to be awesome this year.

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  11. Cool! My ghost hunting group would be all over that cemetery. If I lived closer, I'd go with you.

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  12. Looks like ghostly inspiration was needed. Congratulations on returning to the pen! Wishing you all the best!

    Lots of ghosts around the civil war sites. Gettysburg is just a few miles south, a haunted site for sure.

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  13. I get goose bumps visiting places like that. So much pain from the era.

    You guys are doing an awesome job with the faire. Where do you get the energy and the ideas?

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  14. Good to hear you're getting some writing done.

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  15. Oooh I love cemeteries! There is so much to look at..I know I am weird but just seeing the graves, what was written and sometimes a picture-it is just so very neat to see. I hope you can visit this grave and find out even more information. I love her name too> Congrats on getting so much done, I am very happy for you!

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  16. Oh, congrats on all the writing! That story about Louisiana Briggs is so eerie. No wonder it's been inspiring you!

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  17. Hi Julie - yes well done on getting on with your writing ... it filters away happily in your head - then materialises. The ghost sightings does sound a good place to visit - and well worth exploring for you to get the vibes.

    Realms Faire looks to be so interesting ... good luck with that too .. cheers Hilary

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  18. Love ghost stories, and the Weeping Lady - hope you hear if your go! Superb to hear you are back on the writing journey, too. X

    shahwharton.com

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  19. Julie, your website header is awesome. Also, congrats that you are getting so much writing done. That inspires me to get to it :)

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