Douglas Daech, author

Q&A with a Ghost

We are speaking today to the spirit of Tori Clark, a high school senior in the book Haunted Romance, who was accidentally killed by a police officer defending himself against an attack by a criminal. Her next adventure is told in Haunted Rescue, scheduled to be released early in 2020. Now, Tori will offer insights on her thoughts and feelings about death, and her further adventures with her boyfriend ghost, Sam Bailey.

Question: Tell me, Tori, do you prefer to be called a spirit or a ghost?

Tori Clark: I think spirit is a kinder word, although ghost applies too.

Question: Are there good spirits and evil spirits? Have you met any evil spirits?

Tori Clark: There are good people and evil people, so there can be evil spirits, I guess. I’ve never met an evils spirit, but I have met angry spirits.

Question: In Haunted Romance, the first book, you are swept off your feet by Sam Bailey. Do you meet him in the afterlife?

Tori Clark: Yes, Sam is my guide and mentor in the next life. He's also in my next adventure, a book named Haunted Rescue.

Question: You use the term, next life, like you are truly alive. Is it a next life?

Tori Clark: Yes, I'd say so. We have the freedom to come and go.

Question: In your next life, do you feel pain and pleasure?

Tori Clark: There has not been any physical pain so far! But, some things have been painful emotionally, and hard to accept.

Question: Like what? Can you explain that?

Tori Clark: It hurts when you try to talk to your loved ones, and they can't hear you. It's troubling when you try to help, but you can't.

Question: As a spirit, can you walk through walls?

Tori Clark: Yes, but usually we just appear where we want to be. It's kind of magical.

Question: In the first book, Haunted Romance, you were shot by a policeman. Are you angry about that?

Tori Clark: It's sad, of course, but I'm not angry. My death was an accident. It opened up this whole new life for me, and I'm with Sam now.

Question: Can spirits read minds?

Tori Clark: No, but spirits are very empathic, we can feel what others feel.

Question: Do you interact with other spirits?

Tori Clark: Yes, I spend all my time with Sam, but sometimes I can interact with other spirits too.

Question: What happened when you realized you were dead?

Tori Clark: I didn’t feel any pain if that’s what you’re asking. I was standing there, looking down at myself, and saw the bullet hole in my forehead. It was a strange feeling seeing myself lying on the ground and being outside my body at the same time.

Question: Did your life flash before your eyes?

Tori Clark: It wasn't like that. Nothing flashed before my eyes. I just experienced my entire life in an instant, knowing every joy and trauma at the same time. I remembered my existence in its totality, and accepted it.

Question: Were you alone, or was someone there to greet you?

Tori Clark: Sam was there. He was my boyfriend in the first book, Haunted Romance. In that book, he helped me expose the man who murdered him. Now, for the first time, I can touch and feel him. We are both spirits now, and we can finally be together. He hugged me and told me everything was going to be alright. I had no fears or worries, and am in complete peace.

Question: Are you haunting the place that you were killed?

Tori Clark: No, not at all. As spirits, we can go almost anyplace. Sometimes we just show up at places without explanation. It's like a higher power takes control, and puts us where we need to be.

Question: Is there a reason you are still here and not at rest or in heaven?

Tori Clark: I think there is a reason. Sam and I are wandering spirits. You’ll have to read Haunted Rescue to know more about that.

Question: Have you come across Sam’s killer in the afterlife?

Tori Clark: No, I have not, and I'm happy about that. Hank was evil and a frightening man. I believe he is someplace fitting for the type of person he was. I hope to never see him again.

Question: Can you communicate with the living?

Tori Clark: I have a hard time connecting with the living. Sam can sometimes suggest a thought into people's minds, but I cannot. Some people are more susceptible to suggestion or hearing us, but we can't control or predict that.

Question: Can you make things go bump in the night. Can you frighten people?

Tori Clark: There is no reason to do that kind of thing. For me, though, it’s impossible to touch the physical world. I am just an observer. Sam has been a spirit for a long time, and I’ve seen him do things that I cannot do. That’s very annoying.

Question: Is it unpleasant, or does it hurt when someone walks through the place you are standing?

Tori Clark: No, it doesn’t hurt, but the sensation of being passed through is strange. I’m still real to me, so there is always that feeling you're going to bump into another person. But, that bump doesn't happen.

Question: If you had the power, would you make yourself alive again?

Tori Clark: Being a spirit does not make you magical. This is where I need to be, with Sam living this life and our adventures. Though, I would change things regarding my death, if that were possible. It has been very tough on my mother, but for me, not so much.

Question: Have you got any comments to offer the readers of Haunted Romance or the sequel, Haunted Rescue.

Tori Clark: Yes! Don’t be afraid of the spirits around you. They may be trying to tell you something important, or that they love and miss you as much as you miss them.