31 Days of Halloween with The Kelly Society Day 14 - Paranormal Author Robert Herold
31 Days of Halloween with
The Kelly Society
Day 14
About Robert Herold:
The supernatural always had the allure of forbidden fruit, ever since Robert Herold's mother refused to allow him, as a boy, to watch creature features on late night TV. She caved in. (Well, not literally.) As a child, fresh snow provided him the opportunity to walk out onto neighbors' lawns halfway and then make paw prints with his fingers as far as he could stretch. He would retrace the paw and boot prints, then fetch the neighbor kids and point out that someone turned into a werewolf on their front lawn. (They were skeptical.) He has pursued many interests over the years (among them being a history teacher and a musician), but the supernatural always called to him. You could say he was haunted. Finally, following the siren's call, he wrote The Eidola Project, based on a germ of an idea he had as a teenager. Ultimately, he hopes his books give you the creeps, and he means that in the best way possible.
Hi all! Roger here from your local metaphysical bookstore in Half Moon Bay, CA - Luna Books. I'm a friend of the Kelly Society paranormal cleansing team, and invited one of my favorite supernatural authors to the blog. I asked Robert a couple questions below about the mystical realm and Halloween itself. Enjoy!
Each day when you get up in the morning, what is it about the mystical, ghostly, and unexplained realm that keeps you riveted to write about it?
I find the supernatural a fascinating playground as a writer. Fear is a core emotion and tapping into it can help to make a story riveting—even haunting. Moreover, it can be a wonderful vehicle for dealing with thematic concepts. You see this in many classics in the field. For example, Frankenstein, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and countless other books, stories, and films in this genre are actually cautionary tales about science and hubris.
For my work, I have chosen to set my Eidola Project Series in the late 19th Century, the dawn of the modern age. Many of the social ills we currently struggle with were prevalent: racism, sexism, pollution, and drug abuse, to name only a few. This gives me a distant mirror through which to reflect on the concerns of today.
We all feel a little unnerved when the power goes out, when we are plunged into darkness, when we are booked a room on the 13th floor, when people we know pass away.. People have huddled around fires since ancient times to keep away the fears, both real and imagined. Today, when the power fails, we cluster around the scented candle on the coffee table, or that flashlight app on one’s cell phone (until the battery wears out). Are we really so different from people in the past?
Imagine it is 1885, the beginning of the modern era. Science is making new strides in hitherto unexplored areas: chemistry, physics, psychology, even applying the scientific method to the hereafter—exposing frauds and maybe, just maybe, proving the existence of life after death.
The Eidola Project Series follows an intrepid group of explorers of the supernatural who are trying to bring the light of science to that which has been feared, unknown, and often manipulated by charlatans. But in so doing, they enter the darkness, and encounter all sorts of things that go bump—or worse!.
Writing these exploits are a great way to greet the day!
What was your best Halloween ever?
My best Halloween was also one of my worse. To fully appreciate it, we have to go back to my childhood when I wanted nothing more than to become a werewolf. I practiced howling at full moons (something my wife still has to suffer through) and did what I could to call forth the beast within me. It didn’t work, but not for lack of trying.
Given this, imagine my joy when, as a teenager, I volunteered for a charity haunted house sponsored by a local radio station and was selected to be a werewolf on Halloween. The haunted house was a soon-to-be demolished home that was repurposed into chambers of horror. As a werewolf, I was tasked with scampering around Frankenstein’s laboratory while the creature lurched about, both of us doing our best to frighten our guests. I was in heaven.
Then came hell: Near the end of the evening, in a fit of werewolf abandon, I grabbed the bars to the window, put my feet on the wall, and howled at the moon. The dowls were made of wood and broke, causing me to fall onto my werewolf tailbone and howl with real pain. (The crowd loved it!) I finished my shift with a lot less enthusiasm. At the time, I didn’t own a car and often walked the two miles home. Given that each step was agony, I should have bummed a ride, but was too embarrassed about what happened to me. In the end, I limped home, realizing that sometimes one must suffer for their art.
I've also included Robert's books and his Amazon buy links below.,
Thank you, Robert!
Roger
The Kelly Society
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