Horror Book Alert! Ghost Writer Out Now!👻📚🎉

*Updated September 12, 2025*

Author Jennifer Brasington-Crowley got dragged from her comfort zone and dropped smack into the middle of my spooky world. The weavers of this wonderful novel, Brasington-Crowley and Brian Bateman (creator and contributor), have teased their Instagram followers for months, tantalizing readers with snippets and ghostly phenomenon. And because I can get behind anything ghoulish and all things that go bump in the night, I chatted with Jennifer about her new book back in March to get the inside scoop. Let’s dive in!

Q: What inspired you to write a haunted house story? Was there a real-life location or experience that influenced you?

JENNIFER: Brian and I have known each other for ages. We both worked at a market research company in the nineties, but hadn’t seen each other since.

Fast forward to 2024. Brian moved to Fort Worth, TX, with his wife, downsizing after the children grew. They purchased a home built in 1911 and began to experience strange things. The dog bowl would spin on the counter. Curtains pulled back on their own. Brian began to research his home and found out about its occupants. During his research, he uncovered at least 3 people had died in the house and many grisly things happened on his street, so much so, that it seemed cursed.

He knew he wanted to tell a story, so he contacted me and asked if I would write a ghost story based on his house and the horrible things that happened on the street. He had a shell of an outline, some scary scenes plotted out, and a hard rule about exact dates and the ending (no spoilers here). It was up to me to weave together a fictionalized story combining all of these elements while incorporating the real-life events.

Q: Can you give us a brief overview of the story without giving too much away?

JENNIFER: Ryan O’Connor, his wife Charlotte, daughter Amelia, and their dog Toby move to Fort Worth, Texas, for Charlotte’s job. It doesn’t take long before a series of strange events has Ryan questioning the home they moved into, and the surrounding neighborhood.

Not only is he experiencing strange phenomena, like the bathroom curtains being pulled back on their own, doors slamming and a child giggling in the night. A strange statue keeps appearing, and the home seems plagued by scorpions. Even his neighbors seem “off.”

After discovering a mysterious unfinished manuscript in his attic, Ryan, a failed comedy writer, decides he will be the one to finish it. But his hobby turns into obsession, and the more he researches for his book, the grislier the findings, and soon Ryan is having trouble treading the line between the past and the present, and those who live there.

Q: What themes or messages do you hope readers take away from this book?

JENNIFER: As a wise neighbor says in the book, “Don’t speak of the dead around here. That way, they stay buried.”

Q: Can you give us a sneak peek into the history of the haunted house in your book? What makes it so terrifying?

JENNIFER: The home is a Craftsman style built in 1911 and located not far from Hell’s Half Acre in Fort Worth, Texas. The first occupant was an Irish immigrant who died in the home on January 18. Cause of death was dropsy.

Many occupants followed – it seems the owners would rent out rooms or maybe rent the home – it is unclear to me but Brian has all of this documented. He has had psychics and ghost hunters visit the home who have discovered spirits, including a German shepherd, who still call the place home. He has set up ghost cams in several rooms that have recorded unusual activity.

He purchased a cat toy that lights up when it’s touched. Sometimes when it is on a chair (nowhere near a cat), it lights up on its own. I have seen videos where Brian asks questions into the nothingness, (“If you are here, touch the ball.” “If you are a woman, touch the ball.”) and the ball lights up in response.

As Brian researched more about his house, he found a number of disturbing things that happened on the street. Fires, suicides, unspeakable murders, and he recently uncovered (AFTER I wrote it) a Satanic gang that enjoys tormenting the locals.

What makes it terrifying is it’s all true.

Q: What kind of atmosphere were you aiming to create, and how did you go about building suspense and fear?

JENNIFER: Since this takes place in the present day in a regular house, I tried to emulate the atmosphere from the original Poltergeist movie. I love how it begins as a cheery house filled with a loving family, then strange things happen very subtly at first. I specifically remember the scene in the kitchen in broad daylight where the chair moves across the room on its own. At the time, this was so jarring because we all know scary things only happen at night.

That was my strategy.

Early on, Brian and I were comparing the plot to The Shining, but I really had Poltergeist in mind when plotting out the way the story would intensify to the climax.

Q: What was your writing process like for this book? Do you have any specific routines or habits?

JENNIFER: Oh my gosh, Shari, this was my most challenging writing process to date! I have collaborated on some stories (most notably “A Fuhrer-ious Raven” cowritten with Saffron Amatti [Instagram @saffron.amatti]) but never have I written someone else’s story for them with so little direction.

Brian isn’t a reader, and I am afraid of ghosts—what a dream team (haha)

Originally, he had asked another writer to author this book for him. I often wonder how they would have interpreted the idea. I would love to read their alternate take on this! Throughout the process, Brian was a great cheerleader and very open to my interpretations of his ideas.

We had all these puzzle pieces, and I had to use them to make the finished product, but neither of us knew what that looked like. It took a long time for us to form a cohesive plot out of the little pieces of info we knew we wanted included.

Toward the end, we shared some lightbulb experiences that let us know we’d done it right (finally!). Brian reached out to me not long ago with a message saying he believes fate brought us together on this.

Q: Did you research real haunted locations or paranormal phenomena to enhance the authenticity of your story?

JENNIFER: I did not because I am a scaredy-cat! But Brian has had ghost hunters in his house and spoken with paranormal podcast hosts and psychics. He set up ghost-cams and relayed his experiences with me. We have authenticity without me having to get scared in the process!

Q: What makes your book stand out from other haunted house stories in the horror genre?

JENNIFER: It is based on true events with Easter eggs hidden for anyone who wants to do their own research into the happenings within the story.

Q: Who are the main characters, and how do they react to the supernatural elements in the house?

JENNIFER: Ryan O’Connor is the main character and he is affected most by the paranormal. He sees ghosts and is heavily influenced by them.

His daughter Amelia is the second character to be affected by the paranormal elements in the house, but to a lesser degree. She does not fall prey to them as easily as Ryan.

Charlotte is Ryan’s wife and she thinks ghosts are a bunch of nonsense and she doesn’t have time for any of that BS.

The neighbor Dave is the voice of warning. He has seen this all before and wants to keep a cap on it.

Q: Were there any particular scenes that were especially difficult to write due to their intensity or horror elements?

JENNIFER: During the writing of this, Brian would send me messages with scenes he wanted incorporated. Some of those I had to edit based on what I thought was best for the book. Some he would read after and say, “Dude, you’re messed up,” and we had to come to some compromises 😊

One scene in particular, he originally wanted more gore, and I couldn’t do it. But after I wrote it even without the gore, he had second thoughts. When do you go too far in horror? But after a discussion, we left it in because it was an important plot device.

I am not a Terrifier fan. I am a Blair Witch fan. You don’t have to see what’s happening for it to make an impact!

Q: Did you base any of the supernatural occurrences on real myths, legends, or folklore?

JENNIFER: Some of these are based on real occurrences that Brian has experienced in his house, and many are based on real-life events, but we did not borrow anything from myth, legends or folklore.

Q: Who is your favorite character in the book, and why?

JENNIFER: I would say Ryan’s daughter, Amelia, is my favorite character. A lot of times children in horror are too scary for me, they are so often used as vessels for spirits. And while some of that may or may not happen in this book. I enjoyed writing her because she is probably the smartest, most in-tuned one in the cast. You can do a lot with that, and it was fun writing the way she develops throughout the story.

Q: Did you encounter any challenges while writing this novel? If so, how did you overcome them?

JENNIFER: I am afraid of ghosts, and I don’t do haunted houses. When Brian first approached me about writing this, it was a hard no. I think I hung up on him a couple times. So the premise was its own challenge. Once I made Brian swear not to share his ghost videos from inside his house with me, we could focus on the less scary things. Did I overcome my fears? Not really. When I wake up because I hear a bump in the night, my brain makes a beeline for the creepy stuff in this book.

Q: How does this book compare to your previous works, if any? Is it a departure from your usual style or themes?

JENNIFER: This is a complete departure from my books! Though Stillwaters touches on the paranormal and on ghosts, it is a romance at its core, and focuses on character development and relationships. This book was so action-driven, it was a challenge for me from the first page until the last.

What’s your personal take on ghosts and hauntings? Do you believe in the paranormal?

JENNIFER: Brian definitely believes in the paranormal. Now that the book is finished, I have fun taunting him that it’s all going to come true because we woke the dead.

I am a total scaredy cat and hope ghosts do not exist, and if they do, they can stay away from me! (I am glad this house is many states away!)

Q: If your book were turned into a horror movie, which director would you love to see bring it to life?

JENNIFER: Guillermo Del Toro. He makes the most beautiful horror settings!

Q: What’s next for you as an author? Are you already working on your next project?

JENNIFER: I have had a strange story sitting on the back burner for a while. I might come back to that one. My only other idea is one I don’t really want to write, as it involves the death of one of my most beloved characters. (You can guess, his favorite word starts with F.)

Book Blurb

My friend Brian wanted to be a comedy writer. His house had other plans.

Inspired by true events.

This is a recount of some of the occurrences within Brian’s Fort Worth home and surrounding street as described by the owner to the author. Some of the names and places have been changed to protect the innocent.

***

When Ryan O’Connor and his family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, they thought they found the home of their dreams.

A struggling comedy writer, Ryan finds new purpose in a mysterious unfinished manuscript discovered in the attic. But as he uncovers the dark history of his house, his street, and those who lived there, curiosity turns to obsession, and Ryan learns that on Henley Avenue, the dead don’t move on. They move in.

Reviews

This Should Be Your Next Read! Omg, there’s so much going on with this book and I lived every second of it! If you love history, horror, true crime, paranormal, or all of the above, this should be your next read!! Warning: there are parts that might be sensitive to some readers, but I think it just adds to the plot! I literally could not put this book down! Highly recommend!!

—Nicole Hobler, Amazon, 8/26/2025

A must read for supernatural horror lovers! ‘The Shining’ fans will love Ghost Writer! Inspired by events occuring within a friend’s haunted home, Brasington-Crowley has spun a hair raising tale which kept me asking just how far things would go. The short answer? Pretty darn far! A must read for supernatural horror lovers!

—Nannette Kreitzman, 6/15/2025

I spent two hours reading Ghost Writer last night and then proceeded to not be able to sleep and kept thinking our poltergeist was back. You have captured living in a haunted house so authentically that I’m gonna have to stop reading it at night because it freaked me out so much. I eventually slept but only with the light on!

—Jodi May, Author of the Hillside Academy series

This is exactly the kind of horror that terrifies the hell out of me (ghosts, cursed homes, spirits) and this is the reason I couldn’t finish it in one sitting.

—Elen Chase, author of Italian m/m romances series

“The scene with the old woman is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever read, which is wonderful.

—Horror microfiction author J. Marshall

Proof of Death

Visit the YouTube channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/@1911_haunts 👀

Links to Book

Ghost Writer by Jennifer Brasington-Crowley | Goodreads

Amazon.com: Ghost Writer eBook : Brasington-Crowley, Jennifer, Bateman, Brian : Kindle Store

IG: @brasingtonbooks

Goodreads: Jennifer Brasington-Crowley (Author of Raven Song) | Goodreads

Book Links

Amazon link to preorder: Amazon.com: Ghost Writer eBook : Brasington-Crowley, Jennifer, Bateman, Brian : Kindle Store

Website: http://sunnyvillezoo.com/novels.html

Pick up A Fuhrer-ious Raven for free here!

Author Bio

Jennifer Brasington-Crowley is an author, illustrator and Slytherin. She is a little obsessive about things like music and animals, and can’t help but sneak miniature biology lessons into all of her books.

Author of the Lyndsay and Lainey Lion children’s book series (www.sunnyvillezoo.com), as well as contemporary fiction Raven Song, BirdSong, Hell’s Bells, Stillwater, Cayman Island, Nightingale, Nightmare, and others.

Thanks so much for hanging out with Jennifer and me. I’ll be back soon.

Oh! Before I forget! Happy Ides of March. 😏 🥗🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

Take care and see you next time!👋