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Ocular: The Haunting of Peacock Hill by Stephen E. Crockett

When his father decides to use his inheritance money to buy and renovate a run-down house in Peacock Hill, south-eastern Virginia, fifteen year old Stephen finds it hard enough leaving their home, and everything they had known on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay to start a new life many miles away. Little does he know that their new home has a secret and its history explains why Peacock Hill, which used to be a thriving place, alive with laughter and families, now stands alone surrounded by acres of farmland.

The family looking around their new home, cannot understand how an old closet could have been missed, but there it is, standing out strangely among its newly painted surroundings.

Stephen, given the job of sorting it out, soon finds himself drawn to a fascinating old mirror whose frame appears to be covered in ancient symbols, unlike anything he has seen before...

It is not long before he discovers that the mysterious mirror is indeed not what it appears, it holds terrible secrets and inside is a gateway to…. Well you will find that out yourself.

With his parents busy, the troubled teenager has only two elderly ‘neighbours’ Gaggey and Grandma to turn to, and their advice to guide him. Luckily, Grandma has her journal, and the couple possess an uncanny memory of the house’s past. However, will the pictures he has found, and their shared knowledge be enough to save the family? 

If you are looking for a good scary story, containing all the ingredients a horror fan could wish for, then I cannot recommend this book enough. Demons, poltergeist, possession and ghosts are all there, liberally sprinkled with tortured cries and screams and brilliantly brought to life by the author’s vivid imagination and wonderfully descriptive writing.

About the Author: The books previewed on this website represent my work in the adult horror genre. My stories are drawn from real life experiences so a good part of each is, in effect, true. Of course I have taken a writer's liberty with each but the truth is never forgotten no matter how I twist the facts. As a result every one of these books can be traced to a specific location and a specific person or group of people. They begin with the horror story "The Dark Man," (2009), which is based on a true story that occurred in Advance, North Carolina and as implied by the narrative is still occurring today. I followed that with "Black Tar: For the Love of Heroin," (2010), a bird's eye view into the daily life of a heroin addict, from addiction to destruction, to a valiant struggle to get clean and live a sober life as a recovering addict.

The personal view of addiction portrayed in Black Tar is followed by a collection of short stories entitled "Wicked Tales from a Twisted Mind" (2011). This book contains five stories which are either very personal or were drawn from the local news. They include serial killers, suicide, homicide, heroin addiction and two tales of occult tragedy. This collection of incredibly interestingly stories range from those who dabble in the occult and unfortunately lose their lives, to murderous newlyweds (It's in the Will) and drug abusers ("Smack") and people so tired of living they just want to die. ("Suicide.")

These are followed by the lovable "Devil's Kin" (2012), a work of total fiction that feeds off the words "wraith and "fetch." "Devil's Kin" is a writer's project. It's just one of those books that wells up inside you and demands to be written. You may find it interesting and it my not be your cup of tea. It was a blast to write, and I laughed the whole way so I hope you enjoy it.

My next offering is another collection of short stories entitled "Skeleton Keys." Skeleton Keys was released in April of 2014. In it I return to the characters and territories of my first two books. "Skeleton Keys" cover subjects ranging from religious fanaticism, to drug abuse, homelessness, suicide, demonic possession and murder. As you can see I stick to my chosen subjects with true stories that can be considered skeleton's in my closet. Understanding these stories is to understand me. Each key opens its own particular door and a possession of one kind or another is waiting behind each one.

"Ocular: the Haunting of Peacock Hill" (2014) is by far the best book I have ever written. It is a delicate blend of truth and fiction and makes for one hell of a read. Editors and reviewers alike describe it as a triumph on my part. "Topping perfection with yet more perfection."

To be honest there are stories in these collections that scare me and when asked about their autobiographical nature I can only say; "I have been writing about one subject or another for as long as I can remember. When you write all the time you never lose anything. You may not know how subjects are going to develop but you have faithfully captured them, in files and folders, and they stand ready to be a part of one story or the other. High School drew the writer in me to the surface and it became an obsession that I have fed every day of every week for as many years as I can remember.

The early years of my life, particularly my late teens and early twenties were heavily influenced by substance abuse and a lifestyle that is best left alone. Living through such danger is no small feat but to emerge with stories to tell is an accomplishment that is almost never heard of. But here I am ready to reveal my treasures. To tell my stories and regale you with tales from which it may seem impossible to survive. Mine is a soul shaped by gritty, life changing experiences. Living it and writing it down as it happened and then weaving its various parts into a whole is not an easy thing to do.

I spent twenty-odd years studying the Kabbalah, The Golden Dawn and all forms of mystical-magical practice. The grandest knowledge I have ever gleaned from active research and practice is the mechanics of Precession and the impact that the Great Year cycle had on Judeao-Christian theology. During this period I sharpened my instincts and developed my writing skills. As a result I produced two books. "The Prophet Code" (2001) and "Bible Prophecy" (2007). The Prophet Code was first, however Bible Prophecy is better so the first is out of print while the second can be found on Amazon.com as a paperback on in Kindle form and on the CreateSpace book shelf. As proud as I am of Bible Prophecy I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be a theologian and while precession is certainly a lofty subject and the wisdom revealed in Bible Prophecy, is a knowledge worth obtaining, I never planned to spend my life writing about religious subjects.

This period instilled in me a strong desire to write stories where truth guided my pen so I weave truth and fiction in every story I write. I am blessed with a keen sense of literary creativity and am able to draw from a reservoir of dramatic experiences that have shaped my world and colored my life. The subjects captured in the books I have published are the result of the last ten years of writing and the last forty years of living. I have always felt it reasonable to assume that experiences and certain veins of knowledge could be turned into books. For that reason I have always felt it critical to write down everything that crosses my path. "Weak ink is better than a strong mind." Nobody can be expected to remember everything - or with time anything - so writing down everything is critical to story telling.

There's a lot of death and substance abuse in my writings and they are mirror images of my life. I have lost a lot of friends to drugs and car accidents and truthfully I am amazed to be alive myself. But that's life when you lose yourself in drugs for a long period of time. Heroin and alcohol are unforgivable and I'm just lucky to be alive. So I'm sharing my experiences and while I may be accused of giving certain stories a romantic slant the truth still comes through and the nasty, gritty side of drug addiction is not lost or forgotten. It is what it is and if your going to write about it you might as well tell the truth. My stories are not precious and light. I spend a lot of time writing about the darkness of heroin abuse and the horrors of being homeless, penniless and friendless. Drugs will do that to you and the road back to soberity is a long one but should you live through it the adventure can only be described as incredible.

The decision to turn my stories into books has been a long, hard road and writing at a professional level takes long hours and patient editors. I've been blessed with good help along the way and while my support has changed from time to time I have a team of editors and artist that make my books the success they are. So read "The Dark Man" and "Ocular: The Haunting of Peacock Hill" because they are both good horror storys and you won't expect what you find therein. You should also read "Black Tar: For the Love of Heroin" because its a cautionary tale that deserves reading. The same can be said of "Wicked Tales From a Twisted Mind" because of the short stories "Smack" and "Suicide" although there are some other interesting stories in that book and these two particular stories don't go like you might think. "Skeleton Keys" is another collection of short stories that deals with the subjects of religious poison, heroin addiction, suicide and homelessness. It marks the end of this portion of my writing. Passions and subjects change so I plan to keep writing and you can look forward to future publications.

Authors Website: http://www.stephenecrockett.com/#!

About the book: Within every mirror there is a reflection and within every reflection there is a world. It may be as simple as your face in the morning or as complex as the world behind you. But not every mirror projects a simple reflection of what is placed before it. Some mirrors have depth and in that depth there hides another world. A realm you will never see unless you go looking for it.
Sometimes you find it, most times you don't. Those that do open themselves up to a realm beyond our physical world. A place where dreams hide and nightmares come true. Where monsters are real and where a simple man can quickly find himself hunted by creatures he knows nothing about and has no control over.
Though rarely seen by mortal eyes this realm exists and certain mirrors are doorways between the physical world and a realm in which demons have their being. So handle your mirrors with care because some of them are not what they seem and your life, should you get trapped by one, will never be the same.

Ocular: The Haunting of Peacock Hill is available from Amazon

in Kindle format http://www.amazon.com/Ocular-Haunting-Peacock-Stephen-Crockett-eboo...

and Paperback http://www.amazon.com/Ocular-The-Haunting-Peacock-Hill/dp/150078988...

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