I love making these little videos, here's the one I did for Haunting Tales. This week I also ran a free book promotion on Kindle for Haunting Tales, it's great to see how many different countries it was downloaded in - the UK, Australia, America, Canada, Germany and India. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFK9dpDt500
Friday, 10 April 2015
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Haunting Tales - An Extract
A
wedding
There was a wedding in
County Clare one summers eve, before the year 1898 when this story
was printed. The celebrations were at their height and all were
wishing good luck to the bride and groom over full glasses. Then a
guest told the happy groom that someone wished to see him at the
gate. He stepped aside and found an old woman, in her hand a wreath
of gold.
“This” she said “is
for your bonny bride but first let me see it on yourself”
And with that she laid it
on his bare head.
“Now give me a kiss and
go back to the fun” she added.
He stopped and kissed her
and turned to the house but all was dark and silent. He knocked and
after a long wait a strange man opened the door.
“Where is my bride and
guests” exclaimed the dazed youth. He asked in vain. All he could
learn of the occupant of the cottage was that he had heard his
grandfather say that once there was a wedding in the house at
which the groom had suddenly disappeared and never returned.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Tales-carol-Ann-lewis/dp/1508819734/ref=sr_1_9_twi_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426610825&sr=1-9&keywords=haunting+tales
Monday, 16 March 2015
Haunting Tales
Haunting Tales is a collection of ghost stories from Wales and further afield. Most of them are from the 19th century, articles I've stumbled across while looking usually for something completely different. As with my other books, I've tried to delve into the history of the sightings to see if any actual events occurred to give rise to them. In many cases there were tragedies and deaths and reports of spooky activity carrying on for many years. Some of the places written about in this book are
Abernant - a haunting in the 1860's
Ebbw Vale - a tragic love story
Ghosts of the Maine - recorded in 1890
Margam Park - Murder of a gamekeeper
Llantarnam - Ghost in a bowler hat
Mumbles - the ghost that was caught
Ireland - wedding day timeslip
Haunted Tales can be purchased from Amazon or downloaded to Kindle
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Tales-carol-Ann-lewis/dp/1508819734/ref=sr_1_7_twi_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1426517670&sr=8-7&keywords=carol+ann+lewis
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Read Cwmbran History and Mystery Reviews
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cwmbran-History-Carol-Ann-Lewis/dp/1490351191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422224160&sr=8-1&keywords=cwmbran+history+and+mystery
"I've read both your books - fascinating" Facebook comment
"what a waste of life you dont relalize how many lost thear lives due to no health and safety back then 23 January 2015
Loved this book"
"Spookily amusing. 13 January 2015
Great read if you are from Cwmbran - never realised we had so many spooky goings-on! Thankfully I have never experienced anything ghostly myself - although I will be more watchful when I next visit the Tea Rooms at Llanyravon Farm!"
"interesting book 26 September 2013
plenty of interesting facts of Cwmbran, enjoyed reading it as it is my birthplace. brought back lovely memories, would recommend"
"Dad loved it 19 September 2013
Bought this for my dad who is 87 and he loved it, cant wait to get it off him and read it myself, we are a Cwmbran family and remember when it was only a tiny village."
"cwmbran 27 August 2013
Cwmbran - History and Mysteryi enjoyed the book very much there is never much written abought cwmbran at the moment i,am reading your other two books and enjoying them as much ihad a stroke and realy on things to get abought ie wheelchair so reading local authors and local areas makes me feel i,ve been out carry on writing i hope this makes sense as i can,t express myself the same as before my stroke anway going up the squrril now.
yours sincerly
lyndon cook"
yours sincerly
lyndon cook"
"It's Local! 1 August 2013
A very interesting book about our local area -a MUST HAVE for people who live in or come from Cwmbran"
"Cwmbran _ History and Mystery. 7 July 2013
Enjoyed this an easy read. A very well researched and written little book. Hope there will be others to follow "
Read reviews for Victorian Cwmbran
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Cwmbran-Carol-Ann-Lewis/dp/1490970177/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RW6PD7NMZE2B1AJBS0H
"very interesting book 23 January 2015
A lot of world.put into this book"
"Having lived in Cwmbran since I was a baby and only ever knowing it as a commercial New Town I found this little book quite fascinating. The focus of life AND death in those times seems to have been the canal, the railway and alcohol! You can see why Health &Safety regulations came into being. Some stories are tragic but many are an amusing insight into life in late 19th c Cwmbran"
"Really pleased, nice to read something that has grown from our little village of Cwmbran it is so different from Victorian Cwmbran now it is a 'New Town'"
"This is an excellent and very reasonable book, a fascinating glimpse of sad and amusing Victorian life, whether or not you know Cwmbran. You wonder how we can grumble about modern living when you read most of these stories."
"really good read ..fascinating" - facebook comment
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
When Christmas Was Banned!
Can you imagine the government of today suddenly announcing that Christmas is banned? This is what happened during the rule of Oliver Cromwell.
In the late 1500's Phillip
Stubbes, an English pamphleteer and Puritan wrote 'The Anatomie of
Abuses in England' and in it commented, amongst other subjects, on
Christmas.
“More mischief is then
committed than in all the year, what masking and mumming whereby
robbery, whoredom, murder and whatnot is committed. What dicing and
carding, what eating and drinking, what banqueting and feasting is
then used more than in all the year besides to the great dishonour of
God and impoverishing of the realm”
The 25th
December in the time of the Stuarts was a public holiday. All places
of work were closed, church services were held, presents were
exchanged and there was drinking, singing, eating, stage plays and
dancing. Afterwards for the next eleven days, masses were held, the
working day was shorter and festivities culminated on Twelfth Night
with a feast.
However by the mid 1500s
England had broken away from the Catholic Church and had become
Protestant. Christmas was a Catholic feast day and Protestant
leaders began to reject Catholic feast days and Saints days. Some,
such as John Calvin and John Knox preferred to only celebrate where
it specifically said so in the Bible. The views of those Protestant
leaders was that Christmas was a remnant of the Catholic Church and
not wanted anymore. There was no mention in the Bible to celebrate
on 25th December
and no mention at all of spending the day eating and drinking too
much. Their conclusion was there should be stricter observance of
Sunday and Easter, Christmas and the Saints days should be banned
When Oliver Cromwell came
to power in 1644 with his Puritan forces steps were taken to curb the
excesses of Christmas. In Scotland football, snowballing and carol
singing had already been banned in 1583 and so the same was tried in
England as it was thought the celebration of Christmas was
threatening core Christian beliefs. Any activity thought to be
associated with celebrating Christmas was against the law, even going
to church, though there is no sign Oliver Cromwell personally
enforced this.
A new Directory of Public
Worship was created by parliament with help from church ministers to
reorganise worship. It would be the only form of worship allowed in
England and Wales. Only if there was biblical justification could be
a festival be held and since, up until the reign of Henry VIII
England had been a Catholic country, to end all feast days and saints
days meant there probably wasn’t much left.
In 1649 Cromwell had King
Charles I executed and for the next four years England was ruled by
Parliament. Then on 20 April 1653 Oliver Cromwell expelled
Parliament and made himself Lord Protector.
Cromwell was a Puritan and
Puritans frowned upon pointless enjoyment. They lived their lives
according to the Bible and believed a person must work hard in order
to get into Heaven. As a result of beliefs Cromwell ordered all
playhouses to be shut, sport was banned, inns were closed and people
found working on the Sabbath were put into the stocks. No swearing
was allowed, colourful clothes were banned. Women wore long black
dresses with white aprons and head dresses. There was no make up.
Men also had to dress in black and have short hair.
By now Christmas was an
ordinary working day, shops and markets were open and people were
fined if they went to church. Soldiers even patrolled the streets in
London seizing any food deemed to be for Christmas.
In 1656 legislation was
passed that made Sunday a day of rest and also the Catholic element
of Christmas, 'Mass', was replaced with 'tide'.
The banning of Christmas
was incredibly unpopular with people who felt the government had no
right to be interfering with their beliefs. Riots took place and
lives were lost in places such as London and Norwich between those
who supported Christmas and those who didn’t.
In 1660 the monarchy was
restored and all legislation banning Christmas was
dropped and people were free to celebrate Christmas again.
However even though people
had secretly celebrated Christmas as best they could, or caused a
public disturbance by rioting, people did eventually stop celebrating
it altogether for fear of being fined. For around fifteen years
Christmas was not celebrated. As a result traditions began to die
out. There were no more Lords of Misrule, no singing in the streets,
no feasting, houses could not be publicly decorated. The inns and
theatres were closed so the mummers and carol singers had nowhere to
call. No gifts were exchanged, no nativities. Just another day.
Christmas really wouldn’t be celebrated again properly again until
Victorian times.
Thursday, 13 November 2014
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