Every week we post six lines from a work of ours, a work-in-progress or published or a recommendation of someone else’s work with at least one LGBT character. Posted at Rainbow Snippets here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/963484217054974

“The Three Phases of Ghost-Hunting” is Alex Brown’s contribution to the YA Halloween anthology we sampled last week where all the stories involve YA POC and the writers are also POC. Me? I’m incredibly white-bread. (My middle name is “Skip,” you don’t get whiter than that!)

Here are some snippets as two friends investigate a haunting in the mall after-hours.

The ghost of a pirate haunts the Golden City Mall Food Court.

Well, okay, the pirate doesn’t haunt the food court because it’s a food court…According to local legend, Terrifying Bob allegedly buried his forbidden treasure one thousand paces inland from Angler Rock. And yes, Angler Rock was responsible for his ship wrecking. Or that’s how the story goes, anyway. Nowadays, that would put Terrifying Bob’s treasure right under the middle of the food court.

Hungry for more about this supposed mall ghost who floats napkins and makes food vanish?

So that’s why I’m spending Halloween in the Golden City Mall food court—dressed as a fashionable witch—with my best friend, a microphone, a few tea candles and a to-go box of Sbarro pizza. Sure, we could be going to a cool party, or getting jump-scared in our town’s haunted corn maze, but instead we’re doing a public service. We’re going to accomplish the impossible; contact Terrifying Bob and ask him to leave the napkins and Sbarro in peace.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the book! “Night Of the Living Queers.” Here’s a link. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61775756-night-of-the-living-queers?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=csD0VtUI8o&rank=1

Next week, mall spookiness of my own. —–jeff