Windham author Renee Mallett (reneemallett.com) has penned a number of books and articles on New England’s folklore, legends, ghosts and hauntings. She talks about her newest book, Wicked New Hampshire, where she explores some of the Granite State’s darkest history.
How did you start writing about odd history and paranormal encounters?
It all kind of happened accidentally. I was writing a travel article about the bed and breakfast where the Lizzie Borden murders happened. It’s been turned into this lovely little inn, and it’s supposedly haunted. … When I went to go write the article … there was this sort of psychic who … walked me through the house, and it was just so interesting and fascinating. … So, after I wrote this sort of quirky travel article about it, the publisher actually contacted me and said, ‘Do you think you could write a whole book of ghost stories?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ And they said, ‘What city do you want to focus on?’ and I said ‘Manchester.’ I have no idea why I said that. It just sort of came out. So my first book was Manchester ghosts. It was popular, and it was so much fun to write, so I just sort of kept on writing them.
Have you always been interested in the paranormal?
I’ve always been interested in history and folklore, and that’s sort of the fun thing about these ghost stories. A lot of times they share parts of history that you wouldn’t normally learn about. Usually the things that make it into the history books are about generals and wealthy landowners, but a lot of these ghost stories actually tell about the day-to-day life of everyday people.
What kinds of stories are in Wicked New Hampshire?
I’ve spent so long researching and writing about the paranormal side of New Hampshire, and all the time I would find these really amazing stories and scandalous bits of history … so I wanted to collect all of those things in one kind of quirky and fun book about the darker side of New Hampshire history. We have a lot of characters and quirky people in our past. We have scandalous authors. … We have H. H. Holmes, who is known as American’s first serial killer, and a lot of people have no idea that he was born and bred here in New Hampshire. … We have witches, like Goody Cole. … I tried to pick a variety of stories. I didn’t want to focus on just one kind of wickedness or one point in history.
So, do you believe in ghosts?
I am a skeptic. … I’ve had experiences that people who are hardcore believers look at and say, ‘Yeah, you saw a ghost.’ I’m not ready to say that yet. I think I’m still waiting to see that one thing that makes me go, ‘Yes, that’s definitely a ghost.’ But with each book, I’m a little bit less of a skeptic. I’ve seen some weird stuff that I can’t explain. I’ve talked to so many people at these places who do not know each other but have had similar [paranormal] experiences. … Another big thing is ‘orbs’ in photos. A lot of times, if you take photos at a place where there is supposed to be a ghost, you get these fuzzy little dots in the photos. People who are big believers say that’s the manifestation of the ghost, and people who are skeptics say, ‘Well, that’s just dust on your camera lens.’ I will say that, going to a lot of places that are supposed to be very haunted, I get a ton of orbs in my photos, and I’m a pretty good photographer. I mean, my photos have been shown in art galleries. I don’t get those orbs in any of my other photos.
Why are these stories worth telling?
For me, the stories are really about the people. We think of these people who lived so long ago as being completely different from us, but at the end of the day, people today are not that different from people hundreds of years ago. A lot of the stories are about people who made poor choices in spouses or people who drank too much and it affected their jobs. People are people no matter what the time period or the situation.
Who are your readers?
I do a lot of book signings and talks in a year, and I’m continually amazed at how these stories seem to appeal to different people in all different ways. I’ve had everyone from middle schoolers up to little old ladies ask me to sign their books. … I think it’s the local history that appeals to them, because at first they think, ‘Oh, New Hampshire — we’re just like everywhere else; it’s not that interesting here,’ but then they’re like, ‘Oh, no, wait. Look at these wacky people who have been here and all these things that have happened.’
What are you working on now?
I’m actually writing two books right now. … I’m writing one book that’s about abandoned towns throughout New England, and that’s been another fun kind of road trip book. … I’m also writing my first true crime book; the Peyton Place novel was actually based on a crime that happened here in New Hampshire, so I’m writing about that.
Featured photo: Wicked New Hampshire
