Voices & Visionaries – Living Library

Black Cat

Discover Black Cat, the enchanting self-titled anthology from our new publishing house in Victoria, BC.

Black Cat is a collection of thirteen supernatural stories set in the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia, penned by a diverse group of Western Canadian writers. Black Cat‘s cover was illustrated and designed by Lydia Avsec. Its interior was designed by Derek von Essen.

From historic to futuristic, these tales of fiction are guaranteed to chill readers to the bone. With entities both monstrous and misunderstood, Black Cat is an anthology unlike any published before. Each story includes a cameo of a mysterious black cat. Continue reading “Black Cat”

Tzouhalem Movie

The Tzouhalem movie I was interviewed for in 2020 has been playing at festivals and theatres in BC. This Friday, it will be showing at Cinecenta at The University of Victoria at 3:00 and 7:00 pm.

This is an important film by Harold C. Joe and Leslie Bland. From what I have seen, they have been supported by a team of amazing people for the filming, editing, and promotional phases of the project.

Continue reading “Tzouhalem Movie”

The Haunting of Your Bedside Table

In this interview, Darby asks the hard questions – we talk about common ghost story themes, racism, and the library copies of my book going missing! Our interview follows Casey’s Halloween reads, starting around the 17:45 mark.

Meet Me in the Stacks is Vancouver Island Regional Library’s podcast. Each episode is unique, but almost always has a book recommendation segment. I’ve added Casey’s Halloween recommendations to my reading list for next year.

Here’s a synopsis of the episode! You can find Meet Me in the Stacks wherever you get your podcasts, or you can listen to the episode by clicking on the image below: Continue reading “The Haunting of Your Bedside Table”

The Missing and Unexplained Podcast with Tyler Hooper

The Haunting of Vancouver Island is four years old! It’s hard to believe. Interest in the book–as well as my perspective on local ghost lore–hasn’t waned as much as I thought it would. This Halloween, I was interviewed for two podcasts and will be doing a large Zoom presentation for kids for Vancouver Island Regional Library on October 26th.

The Missing and Unexplained interview with Tyler Hooper was a lot of fun. It was the first time I’ve spoken about the Valencia story almost exclusively. The Valenica is a legendary West Coast phantom ship. There’s a chapter about her in The Haunting of Vancouver Island. In the interview, I explain the difference between a ghost ship and phantom ship and talk about the haunted vessel the Melanope–as a teaser for the sequel I’m working on, The Haunting of British Columbia (working title). Continue reading “The Missing and Unexplained Podcast with Tyler Hooper”

Ghosts of Mount Tzouhalem and Stone Butter Church

On July 21st, I was in the Cowichan Valley for the filming of Harold Joe’s new documentary, Tzouhalem. Produced by Les Bland Productions and by Harold himself, the film will attempt to unpack the oral stories and urban legends surrounding the near-mythic figure of Chief Tzouhalem, who Mount Tzouhalem is named after.

What makes this project unique is that Harold is a Quamichan traditional Gravedigger. The Quamichan Nation acknowledges the existence of human and nonhuman spirit entities, so strict protocol is observed during funerals in order to avoid problems with either. Harold’s role often calls upon him to repatriate human remains and to help disembodied ancestors find peace.

Chief Tzouhalem had a complicated relationship with this same spirit world. So who better to investigate the legends surrounding him than someone familiar with his teachings? Tzouhalem was a member of the nation Harold is, as well, which means Harold has access to oral histories no other investigator would ever be able to acquire. Continue reading “Ghosts of Mount Tzouhalem and Stone Butter Church”