Monday, December 22, 2025

Explore More with Amelia #8: Winter 2025

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a peaceful Winter Solstice! I've been such a busy bee this season, and the latter half of this year has brought along some incredible personal and professional developments and opportunities that I'm so excited about and grateful for. As we wind down for another long winter here in Chicago, I'm looking forward to 2026 and all the future holds!

I'll be stepping back from this Newsletter format while continuing to share my writing, projects, and important announcements. As always, you can find my Contact and Subscribe form on my sidebar, so please subscribe by email and write to me any time! And if you love what you read here, you can support me and my free content and storytelling programs through my Virtual Tip Jar. Thank you and Happy Hauntings!
~Amelia

Explore More...

My Uncle Bernie has sent me more than 30 ghost stories
in the form of hand-written letters.
Family stories! In the process of collecting my family's true paranormal accounts for my second book, Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State, I discovered that my Uncle Bernie (my mom's older brother) has experienced paranormal activity all his life. I learned that he and my Aunt Patty (my mom's older sister), as well as my maternal grandmother, have all had UFO, or UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena), encounters. I also learned that my parents have both had paranormal encounters, including when I was a baby and present during those experiences.

One wonders if I got my interest in the supernatural, well, naturally, and if I share a common thread with family members who possess a notable openness to the spirit world. Researching their experiences has helped me learn a lot about their non-paranormal past—details about childhoods, homes, relationships, upbringings, hardships, and life experiences that I wouldn't have uncovered otherwise. I encourage you this winter to ask for a good ghost story around the proverbial fire or offer up some of your own.

Amelia's Spooky Story Bootique Comes to PARAFlixx!

Amelia's Spooky Story Bootique is coming to PARAFlixx in 2026! This storytelling podcast will be hosted by me, with cohost and special guest Ground Chuck, and feature an eclectic mix of my spooky books and writing, exploring ghost stories, history, mysteries, haunted places, and more. Produced by Jonathan Montgomery Pollock. Use promo code BOOTIQUE25 for 25% off your annual subscription to PARAFlixx and stay tuned for Season 1's audio book reading of This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost, coming this spring!

Featured Book: The House of Mr. Cackle: A Rough Cut Short Story

"The House of Mr. Cackle: A Rough Cut Short Story," 2025
$10.00 Paperback on Amazon
$5.00 Kindle

Kindle #1 Best Seller in: 45-Minute Teen & Young Adult Short Reads
Amazon and Kindle Best Seller in: Movie Adaptations; Science Fiction TV, Film & Video Game Adaptations; 45-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads; 45-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads; 45-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads

Rough Cut is a stylish, twisted, and deeply personal love letter to Halloween, horror fandom, and the slasher genre—told through a perspective horror fans haven't seen before. At its center are Tiffany, a one-of-a-kind final girl, and Mr. Cackle, a villain we believe is destined to become the next horror icon. This short story, "The House of Mr. Cackle," reveals how they first met on Halloween night many years ago, offering only a glimpse into their universe—a chilling taste of what's still to come in the feature film Rough Cut.

Based on the feature screenplay Rough Cut, written and directed by Mitchell V. Slan, this short story adaptation is written by Amelia Cotter, with illustrations by Nathan Morse.

"I am so happy to add this book to my collection! This original horror story introduces the shocking history between Tiff and Mr. Cackle. I can't wait to see the film Rough Cut."
Trent Hyche, horror influencer and reviewer

Featured Item: Pathways Notecards (Set of Five)


Each attractively packaged notecard set comes with five unique notecards, one of each design pictured. Notecards are blank inside.

About: Our beautiful Pathways Notecards feature the fine art photography of Jonathan Montgomery Pollock and highlight floral or plant portraits symbolic of life's journeys. Designs include: forgotten bouquet at Rosehill Cemetery Mausoleum in Chicago; autumn path at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois; white lily in Chinatown, Chicago; electric glow buds in Chicago; and prairie path near Horseshoe Mound Preserve in Galena, Illinois.

Upcoming Appearances

February 22, 2026 at 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. CST

Days of the Dead Chicago at Marriott Chicago O’Hare
March 6-8, 2026

Obscura Paracon 2026 at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois
March 21-22, 2026

Chicago Paranormal Convention at Countryside Banquets & Conference Center in Countryside, Illinois
June 13, 2026

MASS ParaCon at Taunton Conference Center in Taunton, Massachusetts
October 2-4, 2026

Days of the Dead Chicago at Marriott Chicago O’Hare
November 20-22, 2026

Coming to PARAFlixx in 2026!

Coming to PARAFlixx in 2026!

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