The Ghost Diaries: Meet The Farmers
Tormenting ghosts is a natural skill for this family.
Every ghost needs someone to haunt. Seeing a living person fall to pieces while in their otherworldly presence gives a ghost greater purpose and joy in their afterlife.
One family will challenge that dynamic with their persistent refusal to scream, hide, or run away when faced with a ghost. This family, the Farmers, function as the primary antagonists in my new comedy horror serial The Ghost Diaries that debuts Friday the 13th.
Told through a series of first-person diary entries, The Ghost Diaries chronicles the titular spirit’s efforts to drive out a slobby, obnoxious family after they move into his vacant haunted house in Deer Falls, Colorado. If you’re a fan of “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episodes from The Simpsons, you’ll thoroughly enjoy devouring this eight-episode serial that pokes fun at common ghost story and horror genre tropes.
Here’s a brief closer look at each member of the Farmer clan —
Rusty Farmer: Rusty is the father in this family. He is the epitome of a country-fried good ol’ boy, complete with a horseshoe mustache. He graduated from high school and skipped college, preferring to work odd jobs as a handyman. The problem is Rusty isn’t all that skilled at various trades. He takes short cuts and does shoddy work, leaving a trail of dissatisfied clients in his wake. Rusty has below average intelligence and is easily controlled by his overbearing wife and bratty children. His refusal to put his foot down makes him a classic enabler.
May Farmer: May is the mother and the true head of the house. She is moody and argumentative on her good days. Despite being a stay-at-home mom, May possesses an aversion to doing household chores. She prefers to spend her days couch surfing, streaming movies and tv shows while munching on snacks. There isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme she hasn’t tried, and her efforts always meets with disappointment. May was quite attractive in her youth, but her sedentary ways have caused her to pack on the pounds and lose those looks.
Lacey Farmer: A 17-year-old blonde girl who’s the oldest child in the family. Lacey is a wannabe influencer. She is constantly shooting videos. Some of them show off new outfits. Others mimic the latest social media trends. Her personality is defined by whatever social media tells her to be. Like a typical teen, she’s embarrassed by her parents and can’t stand her younger siblings. Lacey dreams of leaving Deer Falls and becoming a major celebrity who’s splashed across magazine covers worldwide.
Colby Farmer: A 12-year-old skinny brown-haired boy. If you looked up the word troublemaker in the dictionary, a photo of Colby with an exaggerated grin would be plastered right next to the entry. He has earned a reputation for pulling pranks on the rest of his family. Colby likes exploring the nearby woods, playing video games, and riding his bike. He loves being a smart aleck and talking back to his teachers when he’s at school.
Daisy Farmer: A 10-year-old skinny brunette girl who always finding new ways to get under your skin. She takes being annoying and whining to a whole new level, starting random arguments over stupid topics for the fun of it. Daisy is a bit of a tomboy who loves the outdoors. She also adores her family’s three cats Poe, Ginger, and Marbles and their dog Twinklebug. When Daisy is home, she likes to create games to play with the family pets.
New episodes will be sent out each week to Strange New Worlds subscribers starting on Friday the 13th and concluding on Halloween. You can also subscribe to my Patreon page for weekly episodes if you prefer.
The first episode on September 13th will be available to free and paid subscribers to Strange New Worlds. Subsequent episodes will be exclusive to paid subscribers.
(I’ll send out an additional weekly newsletter each week in September and October, that will have poems, stories or articles geared toward free subscribers. New episodes of The Ghost Diaries will generally drop on Fridays while newsletter content for free subscribers will typically go out on Tuesdays.)
Use promo code SP24 for 25% off the list price on any eBook direct from Samak Press.
This sounds like a mix of The Simpsons and Married with Children. This should be fun.