Page 44 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - November 2013 Edition

A Tale of Ghostly Proportions by William S Peckham 29 Livery Lane, a century house, once a house of some distinction and class now, fallen into disrepair, is purchased by Sean Kennedy. Sean, a contractor in Toronto, buys old houses, guts them and turns them into multi- family monstrosities... slums waiting to happen. When he starts work on his latest project, 29 Livery Lane, he encounters visions of former owners. At first, he is stunned by these apparitions, but as time moves on he welcomes them. Through these visions he learns about the house and some of the nine former owners. As a result of what he learns he decides to restore the old house not destroy it for profit. The apparitions come to him when he touches books, reads letters, rummages through old boxes, finds a locket or reads a manuscript of a murder mystery. Through his many visions Sean gradually learns about the house, the way it looked in grander days and the fate of nine former owners, who left their indelible marks upon the house. The Phillips family, the original owners, left a story of love, closeness of family and a sea voyage, also the story of Stanley Renton, best-selling author, arrested for a murder which took place in the old house. The story of the Kennedys, the present owners, is also one of love and family closeness and the deadly days of the terrorist's attacks on the Trade Centre Towers in New York, September 11, 2001. Sean, through his research, meets Stanley Renton the only living, former owner. Sean and his family become very close friends with Stanley, during the restoration period. When an apparition of a young mother and her daughter appears to Sean he figures that the daughter, Angelina Weston, could still be living and she might be able to shed some light upon the house and the way it looked. His meeting with Angelina turns into a warm friendship with this woman, now in her late Some Of William’s Many Reviews: eighties. The friendship blossoms and grows to include Stanley Renton as well. From Out of the Woodwork begins with a bang. The first line The tales of the former owners lead Sean down many is an attention getter. The story is lively with action and paths over a one-hundred-year period... from a trip on the St. colourful characters. One of the most tragic events of the Lawrence River in a small boat in the early 1900s to the 1900s is linked with one from the 2000s. It's a good read, recapture of a violent murderer in Niagara-on-the Lake, in 2001. with sprinkles of fun woven into some historic events that The closing chapter of the book connects the Kennedys, were not so fun. the new owners, to the Phillips, the first owners. Stephen Phillips - Dorothy Brotherton, Journalist, Kelowna BC. sends his wife and two children to Ireland to visit her mother and books their return on a cruise ship, April 10, 1912. Sean I enjoyed the original way the author wove history into the Kennedy also books a holiday for his wife and two children to story through the apparitions and his years in the home visit her mother and father in England and then meet him in improvement field lends an air of authenticity to the story. It's Boston, on September 10, 2001. Where they plan to continue on for anyone who enjoyes a story with a touch of the to Los Angeles and Disney Land the next day, September 11, paranormal and a mystery. 2001. Available on CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com. - Lisa Brandt, Broadcaster and Author of Venus Rising.