Sinful Rewards – Haunted Chicago
Sinful Rewards is set in Chicago which makes this Halloween even more exciting for me. Chicago, with its deadly history (The Great Fire, Al Capone), is one of the most haunted cities in America.
The Congress Plaza Hotel is a must-visit for ghost hunters. It was built to host visitors during Chicago’s World Fair and was a hangout for Al Capone and other gangsters.
Some of the ghosts include a little boy in the north tower. His mother threw him off the roof before she took her own life. There’s a female ghost in the banquet room. She whispers in the ear of any visitor who enters the space alone. The most haunted room in the hotel is 441. A shadowy outline of a woman frequently appears there.
Another must-see is the Inez Clark Statue in Graceland Cemetery. Inez was a 6 year old girl who was struck by lightning and killed in 1880. Inez’s parents commissioned a statue in the likeness of their beloved daughter. This was placed on her grave, in a glass box to protect it from the elements (apt, considering how she died). Cemetery employees and visitors have often found the box empty or the statue moved, especially during thunderstorms. Yes. I felt chills also.
The Lady In Red haunting the Drake Hotel is one of the most famous Chicago ghosts. When the Drake Hotel opened on New Year’s Eve in 1920, a wealthy venture capitalist and his fiancé attended the gala held in the Gold Coast Room. The venture capitalist excused himself, leaving his fiancé in the ballroom, and didn’t return for hours. The green-eyed, black-haired beauty dressed in crimson went looking for him. She found the love of her life in the arms of another woman. Devastated, she climbed to the roof and jumped. She has been seen searching the ballroom, standing in the room where she found him cheating and on the roof.
Have you ever seen a ghost or been in a haunted house?
Subscribe To My Release Day Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Four years ago, Bee Carter left her tiny hometown, escaping her tormenters. She concealed her tarnished reputation under a good-girl persona, hiding her history from Nicolas, her strong and silent billionaire; Hawke, her tattooed bad-boy biker; and Cyndi, her man-crazy best friend.
Today, she’s returning home … and she’s not alone. Some of her deepest, darkest secrets will be revealed. Trust will be tested. Clothing and inhibitions will be discarded. Bee and her hometown will never be the same.
When her past and her present collide, will any of Bee’s relationships survive?
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sinful-Rewards-Billionaires-Bikers-Novella-ebook/dp/B00I7V89N4
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sinfulrewards4-1645053-149.html
Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sinful-rewards-4-cynthia-sax/1119919839
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Cynthia_Sax_Sinful_Rewards_4?id=PvxzAwAAQBAJ
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sinful-rewards-4/id814148698
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Sinful Rewards – Haunted Chicago
One Last Bus Ride
As Avon writers are sharing Halloween stories this week, I thought I’d share one of my true life ghost stories. Having spent years volunteering in senior citizen residences, I’ve seen more than my fair share of unusual circumstances and coincidences. Elba’s story is my favorite. I often dream of her sitting on that bus, her face radiant with happiness.
One of my favorite bingo partners was Elba. Elba wouldn’t tell me her age but, as she teased her ninety-year-old friend about being “just a youngster”, she must have been close to one hundred years old.
My buddy, Elba, was fascinated with my weekend bus ride to and from my hometown. She wanted to know everything – when the bus left, what the fare was, what the bus driver said, who stopped at which towns. I spent hours with her every Monday, recapping my trip from start to finish, relating every little detail.
At the end of my Monday visits, she’d sigh and tell me how she always wanted to take a bus ride across the country. She would stay in the tiny little towns along the way, meet different people, eat different food. “It would be the grandest thing”, Elba would say. “Once.” She slapped the armrest of her wheelchair. “I get out of here, I’ll go.”
She said this every time, sounding quite determined, but I knew it wouldn’t ever happen. Elba was very sick. She had some complicated illness I had never heard of and I was told she hadn’t long to live.
One Friday, the boss kept me at work later than usual and I had to run to catch the six o’clock bus. As I hustled to the back of the vehicle, I looked up. My Lord. I stopped in the aisle. There, sitting in a seat, was a woman who could have been Elba’s twin. This woman was wearing an old fashioned white wool coat. Her gray hair was perfectly curled in that 1960’s Jackie Kennedy style. A tiny white pillbox hat was balanced on top of her head. The light above her made her skin glow.
As I stood there, gawking at Elba’s twin, another passenger bumped into my back. “Excuse me,” she snapped. When I didn’t respond, she pushed her carryon luggage against me.
I ignored her, my gaze fixed on Elba’s twin. Should I ask her who she was? No. If she wasn’t related to my friend, I’d die of embarrassment. I’d ask Elba next week. This would give us something to talk about.
The bag dug into my spine and the lady behind me huffed impatiently. I moved to an unoccupied seat and sat down. When I exited the bus at my stop, Elba’s twin was gone, her seat empty.
On Monday, I rushed into the senior citizens’ residence, eager to talk to Elba. I poked my head into her room. There was a new lady sitting primly in Elba’s bed. I double checked the door number. Yes, it was the correct room but where were all of Elba’s things?
“Where’s Elba?” I asked a nurse.
That was when I found out.
She had died.
On Friday at exactly six o’clock.
Just in time to make the bus.
Topics: Guest Post | 1 Comment »
