The Ghost Diaries: Episode II

An original comedy horror serial

A ghost’s afterlife is turned upside down when an obnoxious family moves into his haunted house. Their presence quickly brings his worst nightmare to life — people who refused to be scared of ghosts.

The Ghost Diaries is a comedy horror story told through diary entries. It’s set in Deer Falls — the same small Colorado town featured in my stories Snow Dragon, Pandora Reborn, and The Crimson Reaper. This first episode of this serial is free to all Strange New Worlds subscribers. The entire eight-episode serial will be available exclusively to paid subscribers of Strange New Worlds and paid subscribers of my Patreon page.

I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII

---

---

May 15 —

This is too good. I’m still laughing well after midnight while thinking about what I learned today after snooping around.

A delivery truck left two packages on the front porch just before noon. Curiosity seized me and I headed outside to check the package labels. Charles still received junk mail from time to time since shuffling off the good ol’ mortal coil.

Shipping labels revealed a different name.

Both packages were addressed to Rusty Farmer. I snickered while my eyes lingered on the name. This had to be a joke, right? A fake name concocted as part of an elaborate prank or scam. No parents in their right mind would ever curse their kid to carry the name “Rusty Farmer” throughout his mortal life.

Nope. That’s his real name.

Talk about inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

I dropped by the kitchen at dinner time to eavesdrop on their conversations. While listening, I finally learned all their names.

Rusty is the father. If one word were invented solely to sum up his appearance, goofy would be that perfect descriptor. Where do I start? How about his ridiculous horseshoe mustache? It reminds me of a face mullet.

May is the mother. I’m convinced she originally inspired all those infamous yo mama jokes that multiply like rabbits. No better candidate exists. I dared not draw any closer to her than necessary for my observations. Those wide hips and big butt would trap me in an inescapable gravity well.

Rusty and May have a pair of daughters named Lacey and Daisy. Dainty and pretty names for decidedly ugly duckling type girls. Lacey is a teen and Daisy is a tween. Both give off loud and awkward vibes from the word go.

A son named Colby completes the Farmer clan. I laughed out loud when I heard his name for the first time. Colby? Is his middle name Jack? What a cheesy name! Colby is around the same age as Daisy. Wonderful. The only thing worse than one tween is a second tween.

All sorts of Farmer-related puns are still racing through my mind many hours later. Now whenever I see one of the parents or the kids, a certain annoying insurance commercial jingle immediately pops into my head.

Note to self: concoct some farming related pranks to pull on this family over the next few days.