The setting for most of THE GHOST CHRONICLES was inspired by The Angel of the Sea, an award-winning bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ that I visited several years ago. This spectacular inn has been featured on several television programs and in magazines throughout the world. Most notably, it was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as one of the “Best Vacations in the World” and included in her television talk show. The Angel of the Sea is one of the most recognized Victorian structures in the United States. Legend has it that in the late 1960’s, a girl fell to her death at the Angel of the Sea and did at one time, haunt the inn. The story of the girl has been included in several non-fiction books about ghosts in Cape May. My heroine in THE GHOST CHRONICLES, Sarah McConnell, was inspired by this legend.
I did extensive research on the legend surrounding Sarah and the haunting at The Angel of the Sea. News stories about the death say that the young girl, whose real name was Sarah Brown, was an Irish exchange student rooming at The Angel and working at the nearby Christian Admiral Hotel. The story goes that she returned to her room at The Angel to shower and change for church, but discovered she had left her keys at work. Since she didn’t have time to retrieve the keys and still get ready, she attempted to shinny along a ledge to get in through the window. But when she tried to pry the screen off it suddenly broke free, smacking her in the forehead and sending her tumbling to her death.
Over the years, guests at The Angel of the Sea have attributed a number of experiences to the girl’s playful spirit. It is said she has an affinity for electronic devices. Lamps, radios and televisions have all been known to turn on and off by themselves from time to time. Guests and staff have noticed items disappearing from one spot only to reappear mysteriously in another. Objects also fall from tables and dressers as if knocked off by unseen hands. Furniture and pictures have been seen wobbling or shaking for no explainable reason.
Most notably, the girl seems to have an aversion to locked doors. Given the fact that a locked door contributed to her death, it is not surprising that her ghost has been said to lock and unlock doors in certain parts of the inn, and in particular, the door to her own room has been found inexplicably unlocked.
Angel of the Sea B&B, Cape May, NJ
Title: The Ghost Chronicles
Author: Marlo Berliner
Genre: YA Paranormal
***FINALIST in the National Indie Excellence Awards for Young Adult Fiction 2016***
Can Michael get to heaven before the devil gets him first, and if it means leaving Sarah is he sure he still wants to go?
Michael Andrews had everything – a loving family, a great girlfriend and a promising basketball career. That was before the accident that took his life. Now, he’s a ghost, wandering among the living, struggling to understand why he’s stuck. All he wants is to move on.
That is until he meets Sarah, an attractive young girl who died just as tragically as he did. The only trouble is falling in love and binding oneself to another soul is forbidden, for it may keep one or both of the souls bound to earth for longer than they should be.
To make matters worse, there’s also a danger in going too far with Sarah, because the “joining” of two souls in the afterlife is also strictly forbidden and they don’t know what will happen if they do go that far. Each time they touch they can feel the boundaries of their energies slipping perilously into one another.
Things get even more complicated as Michael learns he’s being pursued. Demons are after him because he’s a marked soul, a soul the devil wants very badly for some unknown reason.
So, maybe falling in love in the afterlife isn’t such a good idea.
THE GHOST CHRONICLES by Marlo Berliner is a YA paranormal with romantic elements and adult crossover appeal, perfect for fans of If I Stay and the movie, Ghost. The book was inspired by the legend of a haunting at the Angel of the Sea bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ.
