Biography

All-around spooky lady.
Photo by Purple Photo Group.

Amelia Cotter is an author, researcher, and storyteller with a special interest in the supernatural, history, and folklore. Her books include Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn, This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost, Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State, the children’s book Breakfast with Bigfoot, and the poetry collection apparitions.

Amelia’s award-winning poetry and best-selling short fiction include “The House of Mr. Cackle: A Rough Cut Short Story,” and her work has appeared in journals like Barren Magazine, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, tinywords, and many others. Amelia is a frequent research contributor to Haunted Magazine, The Feminine Macabre, and The Morbid Curious.

Amelia is the host of PARAFlixx’s Spooky Story Bootique and has appeared on various radio and television programs, including Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, PARAFlixx's History Alive, Travel Channel's Hometown Horror, Really Channel's The R.I.P. Files, and in the documentaries Scary Stories and Tinker’s Shadow: The Hidden History of Tinker Swiss Cottage.

Amelia lives and writes in Chicago but is originally from Maryland, where she earned a degree in German and History from Hood College. She regularly presents at conferences and events and is a member of The Society of Midland Authors.

With Jonathan at Whispers Estate in Mitchell, Indiana.

All this, and Amelia has a day job, too. She has more than 20 years of museum and nonprofit management experience and has volunteered for several animal welfare and wildlife conservation organizations and projects. Amelia loves animals and has four adopted pet snakes. Her beloved dog Oskar died, after 17 wonderful years together, in 2025. Amelia loves traveling and has lived abroad in Germany. Her other hobbies include hiking, horror movies, jigsaw puzzles, playing the banjo, and pole dance.

Amelia is a cancer survivor (Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma) who appreciates every minute of her “supernatural” career. She enjoys her adventures with her husband and best friend, as well as partner and producer on many of her projects, recording engineer and photographer Jonathan Montgomery Pollock.

You can find Amelia on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, as well as Amazon, IMDb, Poetry Foundation, Poets & Writers, The Haiku Foundation, and The Society of Midland Authors. Write to her any time at ameliamcotter@gmail.com.