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Gotta
Write Network LitMag Interview (http://members.aol.com/gwnlitmag/)
When
New Hope Calls You Listen
An Interview with Horror Writer P.D. Cacek
GWN ONLINE (June 20, 2001) -- P.D. (Trish) Cacek is a winner of
both the Bram Stoker Award and World Fantasy Award for short fiction.
She recently edited "Bell, Book & Beyond," the first Affiliate Member
anthology for the international Horror Writers Association. Along with
nearly 100 short stories in various magazines and anthologies, Cacek has
also published "Leavings," a collection; "Night Prayers," a humorous vampire
novel and "Canyons," a modern fable of urban lycanthropy. She is currently
working on "New Hope," a neo-gothic ghost story, and "Night Prayers -
One-Fanged Bandits," the sequel to Night Prayers. She resides in Arvada,
Colorado…but left her heart (and spirit) back in New Hope, PA.
Have a seat and listen to what she has to say.
FYI: This interview was requested and arranged by GWN staff writer S.F.
Willems. She was feeling a bit under the weather and asked if I'd take
over and here it is. You can thank her for this interesting interview.
Denise: In Kenneth Robert's Biographical
Sketch of you for the MileHiCon 32 program book, he states that
"horror firmly rooted in historical facts is fast becoming one of your
trademarks. That you are determined to get the facts straight." Is
this what drives you to write?
PD: I honestly don't think I could point to any one thing and say,
"This is what drives me to write." As far back as I can remember, I've
always been a scribbler . . . always writing something. The fact that
I try to use historical facts and realistic settings, is to create a strong
sense of the tangible. In this way, I have an outlandish plot cocooned
within solid fact, so the reader, if he or she wants to, can actually
go to the place I describe and see it for themselves. That's always good
for a few self-induced shivers. I also think this is why I don't write
a lot of "off-world" science fiction stories. I personally feel that fantastic
setting can sometimes compete with whatever emotion or "got cha" twist
I'm trying to create.
Denise: The same year you were introduced to New Hope, Pennsylvania,
your ghost story, "Dust Motes," was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.
What turn of events lead you to develop scenes, dialog, a detailed outline
and endless questions about this town you were destined to write about?
What happened when you crossed Main Street in New Hope?
PD: "How" I came to New Hope, PA is almost a story in itself. A
ghost story, actually. In 1998, while I was visiting the east coast, a
friend of mine, another writer, suggested I might like to see a little
"artsy-fartsy" town on the Delaware River called New Hope. Being a lover
of all things "artsy-fartsy" I jumped at the chance.
The town of New Hope, nestled along the western banks of the Delaware
River in Central Bucks County, is beautiful and quaint and, literally,
bursting at the seams with art and antique stores. It also has some of
the best restaurants I've ever eaten at and has, for good or bad, been
"discovered" by the upwardly mobile. But, still, there was "something"
else about the town that felt almost . . . familiar to me. Now, keep in
mind, I'd never been to New Hope before and had, at that time, only visited
parts of Philadelphia and New York on my eastern sojourns.
The feeling continued getting stronger . . . and then, deciding I "needed"
to look at the river from the old ferry dock, I crossed Main Street. And
stopped dead in my tracks half way across . . . much to the dismay of
the driver of the fast-moving truck I stopped in front of. Fortunately,
my friend hauled me out of harms way and asked what the hell I was doing.
All I could do was tell him was that the reason I stopped was because
an idea of a novel had come to me -- fully formed; beginning, middle and
end with characters and plot twists. The thing was, I told my friend,
I'd have to come back to New Hope in order to write it. Which, at the
time, I thought would never happen. I live in Colorado, knew no one in
New Hope, and being a writer, really couldn't afford it. That was in May,
I believe. Two months later I was back in the east to attend a small convention
at a college in Providence, Rhode Island. One night, while walking across
campus, a man appeared, asked if I was P.D. Cacek and introduced himself
as Peter Schneider. He said he was one of the judges for that year's World
Fantasy Convention and that, having read "Dust Motes," just wanted to
come up and tell me how much he liked the story.
He
then asked me if I had any new projects. Generally, I don't every
"pitch" ideas or projects . . . but suddenly I was spouting out the idea
for the novel, NEW HOPE (yes, I even had the title). Peter got very excited
and said he knew all about New Hope, PA and that his brother, Chris, owned
a house there. And that was that . . . until October, when "Dust Motes"
won the World Fantasy Award for short fiction and Peter again asked if
I'd done anything with my New Hope novel. I told him no, that I really
needed to live there to write it and . . . the following February I got
an e-mail from Peter telling me his brother's tenant died and that I could
rent the apartment for as long as I needed in order to finish the book.
I moved in that March and it wasn't until I'd been there a few weeks that
I discovered New Hope is recognized as not only the most haunted township
on the Delaware . . . but possibly, the most haunted town in America.
Strange, don't you think?
Denise: You actually rented an apartment out there to research
New Hope's background. Did the first draft (some 550 pages) seem difficult
to write or did your fascination fire up your creative energies?
PD: Not at all. I wrote the first draft, all 500+ pages of it,
in seven months, and never once had a moment's difficulty or mental "mis-step."
It was almost as if I was just taking dictation for someone else. Given
the history of the place, maybe I was.
Denise: Something called out to you, made you look past the tourist
attractions along the Delaware River and the Delaware Canal. While others
took ferry rides, toured historic sites and visited quaint craft shops,
you checked into Pineapple Hill Inn. You also choose to stay in the most
haunted room there. Why?
PD: I can't really explain it, but I don't feel like a tourist
when I visit the town. New Hope feels like home. I'd seen the Pineapple
Hill Inn on previous visits, but only at a distance and only from a moving
car . . . but I do remember looking at one window - the attic window -
and wondering what it would be like to look down from there. Well, I got
my answer. The window was in the haunted room: My room for that dark and
stormy night.
I'd gone back to New Hope this past March to work on a documentary about
the town and its ghosts so, naturally, I suggested it might be "fun" if
I stayed in the most haunted room the Pineapple Inn had to offer. I already
had heard the story of the "haunted spinning wheel" and figured, since
I have spun wool, the ghost and I might have a lot in common. Besides,
what would be the fun of staying at the inn and not being in the most
haunted room? But I should add here, that from the first moment I stepped
into the room, felt completely at ease. And the same can be said of the
inn in general. There are no cold spots, no terrors lurking in the shadows
. . . the inn's haunted, but not in the usual Hollywood-movie sense, it's
occupied.
Denise: Can you provide us with a description of the Inn and some
background information about its history? Did anything unusual or unsettling
occur there in the past?
PD: The Pineapple Hill Inn (Bed and Breakfast) is a beautifully
restored 1790's colonial manor house, less than five miles from New Hope
and set on a small rise, surrounded by six acres of woods. According to
local legend there are two resident ghosts, John Scott and a nameless
man on horseback who seems to appear most often in dreams. Guests of the
inn have reported having identical dreams in which a man wearing black
boots and a black woolen coat adorn with gold buttons comes riding up
the tree-lined road right outside the inn. The horse then bolts and tries
to toss the man, but the man hangs on and struggles to regain control
of the animal. This is when the guests wake up. So far no one has stayed
asleep to find out the man's name.
John Scott, who owned the inn in the early 1800s, is the "Kissing Ghost."
Guests staying in his room have heard him "creeping" up the back steps
and then "feel" him standing next to their beds. A few women have even
felt lips graze their cheeks just before they woke up. He's also famous
for turning lights on and off.
These two, as I've said, are the most recognized and agreed on resident
spirits . . . but I know there's at least two. A child, perhaps an infant,
in the sitting area of John Scott's room and, of course, the Spinning
Ghost.
Denise: One dark, rainy night with a tempting glass of cream sherry
in your hand you met the Innkeepers of Pineapple Hill, Charles and Kathy.
When you were taken on a tour, what guest just happened to make an appearance?
PD: John Scott.
(Editorial note: At about the same time as John Scott's footsteps where
heard, Rob Child, the director of the New Hope "America's Most Haunted
Town" documentary entered the establishment to tape an interview with
the inn's owners.
Denise: What happened when the camera crew set up the lights?
PD: Kathy Triolo, Rob Child (the documentary's director) and I
were sitting in the bedroom section of Mr. Scott's room when we heard
footsteps out in the hall, coming toward the room. At first, Kathy thought
it might be her husband, "Cookie," since the steps were obviously those
of a man. There were no guests in that wing of the inn (in fact, I was
the only tenant in the older section that night), but we'd shut the door
to keep out the hall light. The footsteps continued down the hall until
they got to the door and stopped. When the door didn't open, Rob Child
asked Kathy and I if we'd both heard that and, after we confirmed that
we had, opened the door to - nothing. Kathy and I had heard these sorts
of things before, if you stay long enough in New Hope you almost can't
avoid them, but this was a whole new experience for our poor director.
I think the documentary took on a whole new meaning for him at that moment.
I have to add that neither Kathy nor I got a kiss.
Denise: Tell us about your experiences in the "Sitting Room." Will
you visit the Inn again in the future?
PD: It was about ten at night . . . still raining and stormy .
. . and I was totally alone in the Inn. There was another couple on the
second floor of the new section and a man on the ground floor, across
from the kitchen. I had the entire third floor to myself. Well, if you
don't count the ghosts.
Basic description first: From the kitchen you take the back stairs to
the second floor landing, make a sharp left, open the attic door and continue
up the stairs. My room, the spinning wheel room, is at the top of the
stairs and opens directly into the bedroom. Between the bedroom and sitting
room is a wide hall, closets to the right, bathroom to the left. The window
I so wondered about is directly opposite the bed. I left the shade up
all night.
Now, I'm alone but not the least bit frightened. In fact, I'm so relaxed
I decide to watch a little TV before turning in. About fifteen minutes
later I was having a hard time breathing and my heart was pounding as
though I'd just run a marathon. I wasn't frightened - I just couldn't
catch my breath. The air was "heavy." I remember that even as this was
going on, it felt as though it was happening to someone else. Fifteen
minutes later (I checked my watch) the feeling began to go away and by
eleven I was fine. Confused, but fine. Which was probably why I stayed
up until almost 1 a.m.
Before I went to bed I set up the night-scope video camera Rob Child had
left and aimed it at the spinning wheel . . . even though I had a feeling
the spinning wheel in the room wasn't the haunted one. Sometime later,
I was startled by a loud rattling sound and, yes, it did sound like someone
had spun a wheel fast so it would make a lot of noise. The sound became
a steady "thump thump thump" for the rest of the night. I didn't get up
to investigate because I couldn't move. My body had fallen asleep which
was a strange sensation but, again, I wasn't scared or worried. Everything
felt natural. So much so, that I thought the sounds must be the heater
coming on and fell back to sleep. I was very comfortable but, every now
and then, the loud spinning sound would wake me up. I decided to tell
Kathy and Cookie to check the vents. Of course, when morning came
and I was able to move I heard the heater come on . . . and it didn't
thump at all. The ghost kept me company all night and I thought she was
bad pipes. I will have to apologize when I go back again. And I plan to
go back as many times as I can - it's a wonderful place.
[SIDE NOTE: There are Guest Books in each of the rooms, in which
guests are asked to jot down comments. The book in the Spinning Wheel
Room has a number of comments about the "heavy air" in the sitting room.
I was discussing this with the director and suddenly got an image of the
woman in the attic. Although I may never be able to prove it, I strongly
feel that she died of consumption - she couldn't breath so naturally the
air would have felt "heavy" to her.]
Denise: Have you included this paranormal rising in your book?
PD: I include a bit. For instance, New Hope has a Ghost Tour and
I make use of that in the novel. New Hope has ghosts . . . and I definitely
use them. But I try to stay away from the real paranormal incidents and
focus more on my own "imagined" one. For instance, in my New Hope, the
living are given an opportunity to literally say goodbye to their loved
ones. I won't tell you how - that would ruin the surprise.
Denise: Has the manuscript been completed and does it have a publisher?
PD: I completed the second draft in January and it is currently
being looked at by TOR. Any and all fingers crossed now would be much
appreciated.
Denise: What books will follow this one?
PD: Funny you should ask. Actually, while I was back in New Hope
to film the documentary another novel did come to mind - again fully formed.
This time, however, inspiration struck while I was out of traffic. It's
called BEVELED GLASS and, again, is a ghost story set in New Hope.
I don't know who my "Ghost Writer" is . . . but I'm very happy with the
results.
©
2001 Denise
Fleischer, GWN Online Editor
F.S. Willems, GWN Staff Writer
6/20/2001
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