Page 54 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

54 From Out of the Woodwork
From Out of the Woodwork
A Tale of Ghostly Proportions
by
William S Peckham
Some Of William’s Many Reviews:
From Out of the Woodwork begins with a bang. The first line
is an attention getter. The story is lively with action and
colourful characters. One of the most tragic events of the
1900s is linked with one from the 2000s. It's a good read,
with sprinkles of fun woven into some historic events that
were not so fun.
- Dorothy Brotherton, Journalist, Kelowna BC.
I enjoyed the original way the author wove history into the
story through the apparitions and his years in the home
improvement field lends an air of authenticity to the story. It's
for anyone who enjoyes a story with a touch of the
paranormal and a mystery.
- Lisa Brandt, Broadcaster and Author of Venus Rising.
www.WilliamSPeckham.com
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
eighties. The friendship blossoms and grows to include Stanley
Renton as well.
The tales of the former owners lead Sean down many
paths over a one-hundred-year period... from a trip on the St.
Lawrence River in a small boat in the early 1900s to the
recapture of a violent murderer in Niagara-on-the Lake, in 2001.
The closing chapter of the book connects the Kennedys,
the new owners, to the Phillips, the first owners. Stephen Phillips
sends his wife and two children to Ireland to visit her mother and
books their return on a cruise ship, April 10, 1912. Sean
Kennedy also books a holiday for his wife and two children to
visit her mother and father in England and then meet him in
Boston, on September 10, 2001. Where they plan to continue on
to Los Angeles and Disney Land the next day, September 11,
2001. Available on CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com.