Nocturne Society: First I’d like to start off with your
writing. The book was written in a way that I could only describe as being
“rich”. The details, smells, and even the air of the home are described so well
that I felt I was there. Where did you learn such great writing skill?
Annie Wilder: Thanks, Chad—I’m really glad
you liked House of Spirits and Whispers. I have always loved writing stories,
and even as a child, thought of myself as a writer. My first attempt at writing
and illustrating a book was when I was six or seven years old. It was a spooky
story. (Maybe a portent of things to come?) The opening lines were: “I went to
the well to get some water. What did I see? My dead daughter!”
I also read a lot, and I love writing that is descriptive and evocative
and rich. So that’s the way I try to write—I want to write stuff that I would
enjoy reading.
NS: You had mentioned that you always wanted to be an author. What type of stories did you want to write prior to buying the house?
AW: I’ve written short stories, essays,
film reviews, articles, profiles, and humor pieces. My first published piece
was a film review for a local alternative newspaper. I had given up on the idea
of ever writing a book, since I had unfinished short stories lying around that
I’d been working on for ten or fifteen years. A friend of mine, who was the
acquisitions manager at Llewellyn, asked me if I wanted to submit a book
proposal, which I did. She suggested a book on crystals, but since I don’t know
a lot about crystals, I said how about a book on my haunted house instead. And
that was that! I knew what a great opportunity I had been given and I am very
grateful. I also learned that having a contract and a deadline made all the
difference in the world as far as motivation and time management and I finished
my manuscript in three months.
NS: You said in your book that women in your family were usually
sensitive to the supernatural. Have you had many ghostly encounters prior to
the house?
AW: I saw a ghost one day when I was a
child living in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I wrote about it in my book
because it was the most dramatic psychic experience of my childhood. As a
child, I also saw yellow animal-like eyes looking at me at night quite often
(still do, but only occasionally) and I once saw a ghost farmhouse. (I wrote
about some of these experiences in an online article, Living with
Spirits)
I also saw a ghost girl at my Irish grandma’s house. I was alone upstairs
getting ready for bed and I saw a little girl in a white nightgown run past the
slightly open door. I thought it was my sister Betsy, so I called her name,
then got a weird scared feeling. I ran out after the nightgown girl, thinking
it was Betsy trying to scare me, but Betsy was downstairs with my grandparents,
in her regular clothes, watching TV.
Throughout my life, I’ve had lots of occasions of small psychic flashes,
such as dreaming about things that later come true, or getting a quick image in
my mind of something before it happens.
NS: In the story it seems there is a progression or spiritual
growth that you have. It seems you go from being typically scared in the
beginning to having almost a shamanistic acceptance of spirits around us
towards the end. Not that scary things didn’t happen but the spirits became an
accepted part of your daily life. Is that accurate and is that still the case?
AW: Yes, that is what happened and it’s
still true. I am very interested in shamanism and the shamanistic world view,
which is really about recognizing the reality and wisdom of the spirit world
and interacting with the spirit world in a respectful and practical way. I do
try to learn from my experiences, whether they’re mundane or freaky!
I had guests over one night to tour my house and the teenage daughter said
that when she was young, she could see energy too, in the form of blinking
lights and squiggles. (In my book, I talk about seeing geometric light figures,
balls of colored light, blinking dots and “squiggles” of energy.) Her grandma
had the same ability and told her to see if she could reach out and “touch” the
energy. The girl said she tried it, and was able to “pull” an energy squiggle
into a straight line! It had never occurred to me to try to touch the energy I
see, but now I want to try it. That’s the kind of cool learning experiences I
have living in my “energetically unusual” house. I believe my house has a lot
of spirit activity because its energetic environment is somehow conducive to
it. Leon (the main ghost in my house) told a psychic last year that this house
is like Grand Central Station for spirits and other entities.
NS: You house sounds very spiritually active so I assume all
your neighbors know about it being haunted. Has any of the energy affected the
homes around yours? Have your neighbors had any spirit activity that they
shared with you?
AW: Yes, one of the most fun things about
having my book out is that everyone tells me their ghost stories! I have found
out from neighbors about two more people that died in my house, bringing the
total, so far, to seven . Within one block of my house, I know of four houses
that have had some spirit activity. I live in a neighborhood of very old
houses, so it makes sense to me that a lot of my neighbors’ homes have had
ghost activity. I don’t know if my house has affected any neighboring houses or
not—that’s an interesting question. A few people who have visited me over the
years have had weird stuff happen to them after spending time at my house,
either on the way home or within a day or so afterward—such as their stereo
turning itself on, or lights turning off and on by themselves.
NS: I have often found that the more you focus on spirits, more
events seem to happen. It almost seems that they cling to those that are
listening. Do you think your experiences are actually because of the house’s
energy, or because of you and the fact that you’re more “aware”?
AW: I agree that giving something your
attention is a way to empower it. That’s why it’s so important to focus on the
positive aspect of things whenever possible. In my house, even people who don’t
believe in ghosts have had weird experiences—they’ve seen, heard, and felt
things that they can’t explain. Having said that, though, I also believe that
paying attention to spirit activity increases its frequency and intensity. In
an article I wrote for the Llewellyn Journal, I concluded by saying that I
believe my house wanted to share its forgotten stories and secrets, but had to
wait until someone was listening.
NS: You gave me some links to EVP recorded in your home. Have you joined any local ghost hunting groups or do you feel you get enough ghostly activity around the house?
AW: I definitely feel I get enough ghostly
activity around here! And I like knowing that Leon is a gatekeeper of sorts,
watching over this house. I’m not sure I’d have that protection elsewhere. Last
fall the Northern Minnesota Paranormal Investigators (NMPI) did an
investigation at my house (they are the ones who recorded the cool EVPs). They
put a lot of effort and work into the investigation. I don’t think I could fit
any more work into my life right now. They were professional and dedicated, and
did a fabulous job. I was really impressed. I’ll include NMPI’s paranormal
investigation results—they said my house had the most paranormal activity of
any private residence they had investigated. And of course, I’ll go over all
new spirit activity that has happened since my first book came out.
NS: I understand there may be a new book in the making about the
more recent experiences in the house. Is that going to happen?
NS: I’ll wrap it up with a bit of
a creepy question. You seem to be very passionate about the house. Past owners
of the house seem to be sticking around after their passing and also seem
passionate about it. Do you think perhaps you’ll stick around after as well?
AW: I actually get asked this quite a bit!
I love my house and fell very connected to it. Two psychics told me that I
lived here before and I was supposed to return, which is another topics I’ll be
exploring in my next book. I believe I was meant to find this house, discover
(or rediscover) its secrets, and tell its story. Yes, I do feel I’ll be a
spirit visitor here someday.
NS: Thank you so much for agreeing to answer my questions. I
don’t get through many books but yours really kept me turning the pages. I
definitely recommend buying a copy. I hope we get to hear more from you in the
future.
AW: Thank you, Chad. I’m very happy you
liked my book and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of your interview.
To purchase a copy of the book House of Spirits and Whispers you can easily find it at most book stores as well as Amazon.com.
To find more information you can also go to Annie's web site at http://anniewilder.com/wp/
You can also find more information at the book publisher Llewellyn
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