Monday, March 18, 2024

Explore More with Amelia #5: Spring 2024

Wishing you a joyful Spring Equinox and a prosperous Year of the (Wood) Dragon! Speaking of dragons, we just celebrated the third birthday of Amelia's DragonGoddess Boutique and we're so grateful for everyone's continued support! 

In personal news, I reached a professional milestone this winter as a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation. This has been on my career bucket list for a long time and fits neatly with all aspects of my work life, in both my day job and as a presenter and storyteller. I recommend this training to everyone out there working in informal education or any kind of cultural, historical, or natural interpretation!

In ongoing news, The R.I.P. Files is now available on Chicken Soup for the Soul TV. Indeed, there is truly a streaming service for everything. As a friendly reminder, if you love what you read here, you can support my free content and storytelling programs through my Virtual Tip Jar. Thank you and Happy Hauntings!
~Amelia

Explore More...

Soaking up the sun and spirits at the
Blue Anchor Pub in Delray Beach, Florida.
Haunted Florida! Florida is home to some heavyweight paranormal champions, including St. Augustine's Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Key West's Robert the Doll, and Bigfoot's smaller and even smellier cousin, the Skunk Ape. It's also home to a bevy of lesser known but just as cool haunted places and wandering spirits. I recently became a staff writer for the rapidly expanding Paranormality Magazine and was delighted to learn that their March issue is dedicated annually to the great state of Florida. My contribution was about the Blue Anchor Pub in Delray Beach and its beloved ghost, Bertha. Bertha was said to have been murdered by her jealous husband at the original Blue Anchor Pub in London in the mid-1800s, and her grieving ghost was transported to the U.S. with parts of the original bar's façade and wooden interior. Bertha makes herself known via candles lighting and extinguishing on their own, heavy items flying off the walls, loud footsteps after closing time, pots and pans banging around by themselves, and the eerie, mournful sound of her spirit wailing away into the night...

Amelia's Spooky Story BOOtique!

...While we're on the topic of booze and boos, I have a YouTube channel! Well, I've had a YouTube channel for quite a while, but it was primarily a loading dock for curated lists of videos featuring my appearances, events, and interviews from around Facebook and YouTube. Recently, I abandoned the hub of horrors that is Twitter/X and decided to focus more on meaningful (and fun) content for YouTube. The task is daunting, but the rewards are many! Please check out my YouTube channel, like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more uploads, which will primarily come in the form of "Amelia's Spooky Story BOOtique" Shorts!

Featured Book: This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost

10th anniversary edition from Haunted Road Media, 2020
$11.99 Paperback on Amazon
$4.99 Kindle

Amazon and Kindle Best Seller in: Children's, Children's Scary Stories, Ghost Stories, Ghosts & Hauntings, Horror, Supernaturalism, Teen & Young Adult Autobiography, Unexplained Mysteries, Young Adult Ghost Stories


Nora is a lonely fifteen year old who dreams of more adventure than life in suburban Maryland can offer. Fascinated by the supernatural, she begins exploring an allegedly haunted, abandoned house on the property where her father works. She soon finds herself tangled in the mysteries of the house as she uncovers its many secrets and meets a shy ghost called "Walter."

Including original documents with the author's notes, this book is based on real events and reveals how a girl, a house, and its ghost will become intertwined forever.

"Ms. Cotter's evocative writing deliciously transported me…A wonderfully engaging book which also sheds light on the complex impulses that make the paranormal so irresistible. Ghosts speak to us in so many ways. The author is a master listener."
–Ursula Bielski, author of the Chicago Haunts series

"Let This House take you back to a time when the barrier between the real and the imagined was mercurial, and all things seemed possible. Who knows, you just may discover something of yourself lurking in these pages."
–Michael Kleen, author of Haunting Illinois: A Tourist's Guide to the Weird and Wild Places of the Prairie State

Featured Item: Dragon Meditation Bundle


Each attractively packaged kit comes with a unique dragon figurine (blue/intuition, green/abundance, purple/joy, or red/action), a matching chime candle with black candleholder, a matching gemstone anointed with oils, and corresponding affirmation card.

About: Inspired by Amelia's lifelong love of dragons, each fun and friendly dragon kit is assembled with care and ideal for contemplation, journeying, meditation, other magickal workings, or just for fun!

Upcoming Appearances


Behind the Scenes: The Real in Paranormal Reality Television Presentation at Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum & Gardens in Rockford, Illinois
April 26, 2024 at 7 p.m.

May 2024

Chicago Paranormal Convention at Countryside Banquets & Conference Center in Countryside, Illinois
June 8, 2024

Old Baraboo Inn 160th Anniversary Celebration in Baraboo, Wisconsin
June 22, 2024

Spooky Story Spectacular
October 30, 2024 at 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. CST via Facebook Live

Days of the Dead Chicago at Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel & Conference Center
November 22-24, 2024

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Haiku #19: apparitions

The title haiku from apparitions was originally published on Soka City's website as part of their annual Soka Matsubara (Big Bonsai Road) International Haiku Competition. In honor of February being National Haiku Writing Month, or NaHaiWriMo, here it is again:

apparitions
before me
endless, sky of stars

"apparitions," copyright 2024 Amelia Cotter (Honorable Mention, Soka Matsubara International Haiku Competition, 2020)

Monday, January 1, 2024

Haiku #18: blue planet

Feeling blue? Welcome yourself to the new year with a reminder to dream big and dream beyond. Hope is an action:

blue planet
the depth
of our dream to fly

"blue planet," copyright 2024 Amelia Cotter (most recently published in Fractured by Cattails: The Haiku Society of America 2023 Members’ Anthology, 2023)