Monday 25 May 2009

Staffordshire 'Ghost Writer'..... Strikes Again!!!


Successful Rugeley author, Carol Arnall, admits that she has been interested in the paranormal since childhood. Her first ghostly experience - a run-in with the apparition of a young girl - occurred at the age of 10, while living in Northfield in Birmingham. In her younger days, she visited a psychic fair in the city centre and loved nothing more than to immerse herself in books about the supernatural. "I like real things and to me ghosts are real," she tells us. "It's just another universe.... we just need a key. You don't have to die first to be able to see it or acknowledge it...."

Some time later on and Carols daughter persuaded her to visit a clairvoyant. Greatly intrigued by the positive result that she received during the sitting, Carol found herself fascinated by the subject and, as a result, was determined to learn more. She began to practice with the Tarot and admits that she found it relatively easy: "Within six months of teaching myself, I started giving readings. Some of the people I saw said some of the things I told them came true...."

Within her success, she readily admits that her motivation was not - and never had been - fiscal. Her drive revolved solely around learning more on the subject and helping people.

By this point in time - outside of her paranormal related interests - Carol had set up a thriving business with her daughter in her home town of Rugeley. However, a serious road accident in 1987 left her with lasting injuries which, sadly, led to the decline of her work venture. Typically, Carol remained progressively minded about matters. "You have to focus" she says. "You have to be positive - and decide either to sink or swim. I decided I was going to swim... and this was an ideal opportunity for me to do something different".

It was now that she decided to turn her hand to writing and, given her life-long interest in the paranormal, finding suitable subject matter for the bulk of her literary projects was never really much of a question. "I'd started collecting ghost stories in the mid-80's", she explains."When people visited me for their card readings, they would tell me of their paranormal experiences ... and I'd make little notes about it". Not long after her accident, Carol wrote an article on ghosts for a magazine in Ireland and it's acceptance and subsequent publication was just the spur she needed on the road to a hobby of researching and writing-up accounts of supernatural events.

In just over the space of 20 years, Carol has written some 11 books, as well as numerous articles for different magazines and periodicals. The bulk of her paranormal related writing has, to her credit, stayed firmly within the Midlands area... and, in particular, her home county. Her popular booklets, 'Mystical Staffordshire', 'Haunted Staffordshire', 'Staffordshire Hauntings', 'Ghostly Staffordshire', 'Mysterious Occurrences' and 'Eerie Happenings' are collections of true life paranormal encounters and experiences which Carol has collected over the years. In 2005, a further hefty volume called 'Mystical Happenings' - a fusion of all of the aforementioned titles - was released.

Other titles released by Carol include 'Dream World' (a book on dream interpretation) and the non-paranormal related 'Memories of Rugeley' and 'Brummagem Girls'. Her most recent book, a fictional work entitled 'Dancing With Spirits' (in which the W.M.G.C. are featured!) has just been released within recent weeks. Never one for sitting back and letting the grass grow under her feet, Carol tells us that the follow up novel 'Spirits of the Lights' is planned for the end of this year..... A further ghost related publication 'Out Of Step' is currently in the planning stages.

Any visitors wishing to check out Carols work are advised to click on the following links (But please contact her directly at the email address at the end of this post for queries about book / booklet availability, etc):

http://www.carolarnall.co.uk/

Alternatively, Carol is always on the lookout for material for future publications and would love to hear from anyone who would like to share their stories and experiences with her. All mail should be sent directly to: cas.arnall@ntlworld.com

Here's to the next 20 years Carol!!!!

Regards,

The West Midlands Ghost Club

No comments: