fuonlyknew

Now, PJ and his fellow ghost-hunting friends are invited to
stay in the picturesque fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife, a place which,
unbeknown to them, has haunting echoes of its witch-hunting past.

However, their holiday promises to be anything but peaceful,
as witchcraft and superstition threatens to bring terror and chaos to the
villagers and the Paranormal Pursuers must face off with the malevolent spirit
of a young boy, Patrick Morton. Can they find a way to prevent him from
reviving the dark and sinister past of Pittenweem before it’s too late?

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School’s out and The Paranormal Pursuers, PJ, Freya, Shuggie and Sunny  catch up at Starbuck’s. Things suddenly take an unexpected and spooky turn, however…

“Good to see you both.” Sunny smiles. “Sit down. Here, PJ, hot chocolate for you and Freya, a vanilla Frappuccino.” Sunny never changes – always polite and concerned for everyone else’s comfort. I give him a fist pump.

“Just what the doctor ordered, Sunny, after a day worse than being trapped in Mackenzie’s tomb!”

Everyone laughs. The smile is quickly wiped from my face, though, when I catch some familiar faces in my peripheral vision. They’re tucked away in the corner, their heads together, looking like they’re plotting something evil. It’s Heather who sees me first. She kinda gives a look of disgust and tuts audibly. I don’t know why, but they’re always huddled together in the school yard, giving me dirty looks, or pointing and sniggering whenever they see me and Freya. I give Freya, who’s absorbed in lively banter with Shuggie and Sunny, a nudge, and tilt my head surreptitiously in their direction.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were stalking us.” Freya snorts and shakes her head disdainfully. She gives the girls defiant side-eye, as if to say, you lot don’t worry me, but just as she does, there is a whoosh, followed by the clattering of breaking crockery and the three girls are screaming in horror, coffee dripping from the table and staining their clothes, a mass of broken plates and glass mugs lying in pools of milky liquid on the floor surrounding them.

Other customers are looking on in shock as one woman stands up, clutching her beads and says, “Did you see that? Those plates and coffee glasses shot up in the air of their own accord!”

“I saw it too!” A young woman in distressed jeans and white t-shirt is standing open-mouthed. “It… it’s like a ghostly hand tossed everything up from the table!”

My heart flutters wildly with excitement. Maybe I don’t have to look too far for a new investigation, after all? I’m brought back to earth with a bump as things take an unpleasant turn.

The three girls are sobbing hysterically, and a barista comes running over to see what all the commotion is about. He gives them a bunch of napkins to wipe themselves down. Heather, who is gulping in air, looks aghast and shrieks, “It’s her! Freya!” She points at Freya, whose face is ashen. “She did it. The witch! Nothing like this happened to me until she stayed with us at our other house last year. Her and her mother. They’re evil, I tell you. They make stuff happen. Her and those – those – others! They were summoning up the Mackenzie Poltergeist last year! She’s a witch, I tell you.” Heather now is gurning and wailing uncontrollably.

“Now just wait a minute! That’s not fair, Heather…” I stand up to defend Freya, but almost instantly I’m aware of my cheeks reddening in embarrassment as it’s all eyes on us, the silence deafening. “So just leave Freya alone,” I say, self-consciously sitting back down. Now I’m beginning to understand why Heather’s been so off with us. Freya has paled in open-mouthed horror, her hand shaking as she puts down her cup. Shuggie and Sunny look at each other, eyebrows raised in shock at the sudden fracas that’s developing in the far corner, which also seems to involve them.

The woman with the beads pipes up. “Now, now, dearie. Those young people over there were minding their own business. They did nothing that could have caused this.”

“Are you not listening to me?” Heather is insistent and is not backing down. “Of course she didn’t move. But she gave me the evil eye! I saw it.”

“Well, she did give you a sideways glance,” the younger woman in jeans agrees, “but I wouldn’t say it was the ‘evil eye’, as such. Anyway, there’s no such thing as witches and ghosts,” she adds definitively.

Heather is puce with anger and determination.

“Do none of you recognise them? They’re that bunch of ghost hunters that found Sophie McGregor in the Mackenzie Tomb last year. I know that Freya one! Her mum runs Magickal Moments in the Grassmarket. They’re all into witchcraft and spirits and she’s put the evil eye on me. This isn’t the first thing that’s happened!”

The barista is now looking very worried. I guess he’s thinking that business could be affected if people think there’s a poltergeist in Starbucks. Freya is shaking and looking really upset.

“Och, c’mon, guys,” says Shuggie. “Ah’m no sitting here listenin’ tae that daft girl insultin’ oor Freya and the rest of us any longer. Let’s get oot of here an’ find somewhere else tae talk.”

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The Mackenzie Poltergeist

PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers Book 1

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After his mom dies, PJ reluctantly leaves his New York home
and everyone he loves, to live with his Aunt Katie in Edinburgh. A series of
strange events begin when his aunt’s elderly neighbour and her cat Azrael
convince him that his mom, weirdly, is still very much with him.

At a bereavement counselling group, PJ makes a new group of
friends, all of whom have lost loved ones. Drawn together by their shared
experiences, they soon discover they have something else in common; an interest
in the supernatural. Freya is the daughter of a white witch, Sunny has a
scientific and enquiring mind and Shuggie, a superfan of ghost hunting
programmes. Led by PJ, they try to prove that there is life after death and
that their loved ones are still with them. The team receives strange messages leading
them to investigate Greyfriars Kirkyard where they experience terrifying
paranormal activity and PJ is drawn into the clutches of the evil Mackenzie
Poltergeist after reciting a famous rhyme that invites the restless spirit to
draw back the bolt of his scary mausoleum to allow him entry. There, he finds
himself in a fight of good against evil with the ghost of Sir George Mackenzie.

“If you are, or know someone who is a teenager with a newfound interest in the
supernatural and paranormal, this is the book for you.” The Courier and Advertiser (Fife Edition)

“PJ and his friends make a great group of characters, and there’s lots of
laughter to be had as well as scares, while ‘auld reekie’ provides the perfect
backdrop for these ghostly goings-on.” LoveReading4Kids & LoveReading4Schools

“This is a terrific story for teen readers to devour on a spooky autumn
evening.” The School Librarian
(TSL)

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Who are the Dogs on the Cover of PJ and The Paranormal Pursuers – The Phantoms of Pittenweem?

 

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Well, the small white dog, who appeared on the cover of my first PJ book, The Mackenzie Poltergeist, was designed from a photograph of my beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Smudge. Sadly, at the time the first book went to print, Smudge, who was almost 17 had been terribly ill for a while. The book has a dedication to him but he went to the Rainbow Bridge before publication and I wanted his memory to live on. He does so as ‘Dug,’ Shuggie’s JRT in the book and as the motif on the covers. The other dog, added for the Phantoms of Pittenweem is modelled on Gus, another family dog. He was a Schnauzer who was also a lovely soul. When he wasn’t freshly groomed, he was a shaggy dog on whom I modelled Buddy, PJ’s dog. Gus had also travelled the Rainbow Bridge by the time the new book was published and he joins Smudge on the cover of my second book.

As many people will understand, the grief of losing a pet, who is very much a family member, friend and companion is hard – often just as hard as losing a human. I was devastated at the loss of Smudge and resolved never to have another dog of my own because the pain and trauma was too great. I know that many people say that you should offer another dog a happy home and believe me, I have been tempted – until that wave of grief crashes over me and reminds me of what we went through. I have written about Smudge extensively on my blog; one part (For the Love of Smudge) telling his story and the second part (I’m only talking to my dog today) which explains the strange events after his death which convinced me he was still around and sending messages to say he was OK. These can be found here: Jacqueline Dempster – Medium. I hope that the articles help those of you who find themselves grief stricken after the loss of a beloved pet.

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My days of doggy love are not over, however. Although we don’t have any of our own, we did join an organisation called ‘Borrow my Doggy,’ which offers just what it says on the tin! For a small annual fee, you can offer to borrow other people’s doggies when they need company during the week or a place to stay when their people want to go on holiday. It’s worked out brilliantly for us and we’ve had the joy of looking after Winnie, a Jack Russell Terrier (who looks remarkably like Smudge) and Arlo who is a very cheeky little JRT/Shih Tzu cross. We also look after our grandpups, Willow (guess what – a JRT whose arrival as a pup was accurately predicted by one of the animal psychics I consulted after we lost Smudge) and Pepper, a Poodle/Bichon Frise cross. We have a new boy, Joe, (JRT) coming to visit and stay for holidays very soon! I am certain that Smudge knows that we’ll never replace him but has a hand in bringing all these perfect friends into our lives. It is very strange how all of the borrowed doggies who’ve arrived on our doorstep have been JRTs and I am certain our boy has a hand in it. To be honest, I love each one of them dearly and while they are not our dogs, the grief of losing any of them will be hard. I can console myself, however, knowing that we’ve been able to give them a welcome and the comfort of a loving home from home whenever their mums and dads need a holiday, or just to stop them getting lonely while their people are working. They return the love in spades and I wouldn’t be without them. They’ve also been very willing to read my books as you might gather from the photographs!

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Jacqui Dempster
qualified as a solicitor in 1999 but now works as a malpractice investigator
for an education and qualifications organisation. She lives in Dunfermline,
Fife, with partner, Andrew, and various ‘borrowed’ doggies who visit regularly.
Jacqui loves dogs, especially Jack Russell Terriers and thinks if they ruled
the world, it would be a better place! The doggy motifs on the cover of her
books represent Dug and Buddy who belong to the characters, Shuggie and PJ. Dug
is based on Jacqui’s own beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Smudge, and her
grandpup, Gus, both of whom have sadly passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

Jacqui loves
theatre and ran performing arts schools for young people in Fife. She produced
and directed various shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. When not either working or
writing, she loves to paint and crochet, and of course, read books.

Her first
children’s book in this series, PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers– The Mackenzie
Poltergeist, was published by The Book Guild in 2021.

Jacqui explains:
“The supernatural has featured in my life since I was young, with a grandfather
who saw ghosts regularly and other members of the family, on my Welsh side,
having strange experiences and even dabbling in magic! I studied on the
Edinburgh University Koestler Parapsychology course to learn about the science
of the Paranormal. I have also been on a few ghost investigations with mixed
results.

I live in Fife
nowadays and often visit the beautiful towns and villages within the county.
Fife was one of the famous areas where ‘witches’ were persecuted, and the story
of the Pitteweem Witches is particularly well known. In my book, the story is
told for a younger reader involving a contemporary allegory about one of the
young characters, Freya, who is a Wiccan. The subject of Scotland’s witches
came up in 2022, when an apology was issued by the then First Minister of
Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon to those persecuted, tortured and executed, and MSPs
were invited to consider legislation to pardon them.

I enjoy writing
about various places we’ve visited, and especially about any with spooky
stories attached on my Medium Daily Digest blog.”

Jacqui loves
history and enjoys embracing fact with fiction in her books which she hopes
encourages not only a love of reading in young people but also the desire to
learn about events of the past which often influence the present and the
future.

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