A Ghost Story Novels & Stories

He stood straight with a serious face as he began his explanation. "Ghosts are the souls of dead humans who... well, aren't ready to rest in peace. They don't have powers. All they can do is move from one place to another without being seen. Well, not by everyone though." "But... if you're a demon, why then are you in this form?" She couldn't help but ask.

"You’ve cleared the site. You’ve removed the threats. Why are you still looking for ghosts?" He gripped my waist, his fingers digging into the fabric of my dress. "Because ghosts are the only things that can walk through walls, Eden. And Silas Vane is the best ghost in the business." "I haven't seen him; I doubt I'll see him while I'm indoors," I said, the lie tasting like copper in my mouth. "He’s just a name in a file to me now."

Ghost could not vanish forever because of her. When she saw the priest standing downstairs, reading from the Bible, Elowen screamed at the top of her lungs. "Stop right now! You cannot keep reading!" She rushed down the stairs, trying to knock the Bible out of the priest’s hands, but two tall, powerfully built bodyguards blocked her at once. She struggled and fought with everything she had, but it was useless. All she could do was watch helplessly as the priest continued chanting, driving the spirit away. "No! Ms. Ghost, run!"

Silas whispered to the empty room. He lay back, the cold stone against his skin, and listened to the distant, rhythmic thrumming of the Shadow Claws setting up their new empire. He was the Ghost of the North Tower, a man who had everything to say and no one who wanted to listen.

The Galantes were powerful, but Camilla’s mother had been something else entirely in that moment—just a woman refusing to let her daughter be found. I understood his walls now, understood why they existed at all, but understanding didn’t stop the dread crawling up my spine. A ghost is a closed ending. A ghost can be mourned, processed, laid to rest. But a living woman… gone, hidden, still existing somewhere in the world—that wasn’t grief. That was an interruption. A story that could restart at any second. She could walk into his clinic tomorrow, she could say his name like nothing had ended, and everything I had built beside him would collapse without even asking permission.

When I turned back around, I noticed a new note pinned to the table. It was the same familiar handwriting, but the strokes seemed to carry a hint of chill this time. "Squanderer." I froze, then started laughing out loud. So this ghost couldn't just cook—she was also a thrifty, budget-conscious woman. I liked that. I immediately grabbed a pen and wrote back, "Sorry, Ivy. I was just joking. From now on, let's stick to regular dishes. I won't bring up such ridiculous things anymore." I made sure to apologize sincerely.

​The Ghost-Archive ​"They’re ghosts, Aara," I realized, touching the flickering wall. The static reacted to my "Presence," momentarily forming the shape of a face, a city, a line of alien script, before dissolving back into chaos. "This is what happens when you don't ground your story in the stone. You become a 'Residual-Echo.'"

Those who had discovered the truth were swiftly silenced, their secrets dying with them. The rumors about The Ghost were the stuff of criminal legend. They said he could walk through walls, that he had spies in every major organization, that he could make people disappear without a trace. Some said he wasn't human at all, but a vengeful spirit who had returned from the dead to punish the wicked. Victor did nothing to discourage these tales—in fact, he cultivated them.

“A witch?” Grams gasped. “Geeze, Mil, how else do you think you get a magical being like a white wolf?” Grandad rolled his eyes, making me laugh. “Now, get on with the story. We’ll need to meet this so-called mate of yours. Ghost. What kind of name is that?” Dad weaved our tale throughout the day and into the night. Grams kept our bellies full, and Grandad kept the fire blazing.

"Most people don't." "Oh, she definitely did." "Why?" "Because she'd light candles everywhere and tell me it was an adventure." She laughed quietly at the memory. "We'd make hot chocolate." "We'd tell stories until the electricity came back." Lucien listened without interrupting. "What kind of stories?" "Bookshop ghosts." He blinked. "Ghosts?" "The friendly kind." She grinned. "They supposedly rearranged books during the night because they got bored." "And you believed that?" "I was seven." "...Fair enough."