Page 54 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2015

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.