Ghost Light
By Rick Hautala
A Macabre Ink Production
Macabre Ink is an imprint of Crossroad Press
Digital Edition published by Crossroad Press
Digital Edition Copyright 2013 by
The Estate of Rick Hautala
Copy Edited by: Kurt M. Criscione
Cover
d
esign
b
y:
David Dodd
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the vendor of your choice and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Under his own name, Rick Hautala wrote close to thirty novels, including the million-copy best seller Night Stone, as well as Winter Wake, The Mountain King, and Little Brothers. He published three short story collections: Bedbugs, Occasional Demons, and Glimpses: The Best Short Stories of Rick Hautala. He had over sixty short stories published in a variety of national and international anthologies and magazines.
Writing as A. J. Matthews, his novels include the bestsellers The White Room, Looking Glass, Follow, and Unbroken.
His recent and forthcoming books include Indian Summer, a new “Little Brothers” novella, as well as two novels, Chills and Waiting. He recently sold The Star Road, a science fiction novel co-written with Matthew Costello, to Brendan Deneen at Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s.
With Mark Steensland, he wrote several short films, including the multiple award-winning Peekers, based on the short story by Kealan Patrick Burke; The Ugly File, based on the short story by Ed Gorman; and Lovecraft’s Pillow, inspired by a suggestion from Stephen King.
Born and raised in Rockport, Massachusetts, Rick was a graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Arts in English Literature. He lived in southern Maine and is survived by his wife, author Holly Newstein.
In 2012, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association.
For more information, check out his website
www.rickhautala.com
.
Book List
Novels
Beyond the Shroud
Cold Whisper
Dark Silence
Dead Voices
Follow
Four Octobers
Ghost Light
Impulse
Little Brothers
Looking Glass
Moon Death
Moonbog
Moonwalker
Night Stone
Shades of Night
The Mountain King
The White Room
The Wildman
Twilight Time
Unbroken
Winter Wake
The Body of Evidence Series
(co-written with Christopher Golden)
Brain Trust
Burning Bones
Last Breath
Skin Deep
Throat Culture
Novellas
Cold River
Indian Summer
Reunion
Story Collections
Bedbugs
Occasional Demons
Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers
I have no idea how to start this… I’ve changed it a score of times.
If you’re reading this then you obviously have good taste in books and you are probably already well versed in Rick’s works… or perhaps this is the first Hautala book you’ve ever picked up…?
I have no way of knowing.
So I guess the best I can do is tell you
my
Rick story.
It means a lot to me and I’m still choked up that I was asked to write this intro in the first place.
A little over 20 years ago, around 1991, I was going through an interesting stretch in my life.
Bad things had been happening and my favorite escape was to go outside with a good book and read.
At this time I was given a box full of horror titles.
I was in my early teens, and while I had started out reading Tolkien and other fantasy stuff, horror called to me.
There were several good books in that box, but the only one that mattered was a perfect first printing of the
Little Brothers
paperback.
That was my first Rick Hautala book.
I was totally hooked.
It had everything I have come to love in horror (especially coming from a fantasy reading background): It had monsters (and cool original ones at that), it had a teenage protagonist avenging the loss of his mother (hey I was 13 and only had my mother at the time), it had role-playing (my other escape), it had a harrowing battle in the woods and underground (I love hiking and caving).
It had
everything
I love.
The rest of my ‘90s was spent reading King and Koontz, and then a return to reading fantasy.
Those dark times got worse and my mother and I found ourselves living out of car for a while and in worse places.
Moving constantly and losing parts of my life all over the state.
It culminated in finally having to leave home, my family, and even my dreams behind.
Ok… Bear with me – this really is about Rick Hautala, and we’re getting back to the better parts.
In 2008 I was in a better place and I wanted to read horror again.
I also had my dreams back… I wanted to be a writer.
I started hanging out in online creative forums and getting to know new writers and the small press.
One day, I found Rick Hautala on one of those websites, and my memories of
Little Brothers
flooded back in.
Through all my moving around, being homeless for a time, and everything else… I still had my first printing of that novel.
It was one of only a handful of books that had managed to stay with me through it all.
I started hunting more of Rick’s books and in my search I discovered this small Convention in Rhode Island.
NECON.
My first NECON was in 2010.
I arrive, nervous.
I know some of these people only from the Internet, and there were going to be a bunch of
real
writers there.
I unpacked and sat in my room for a few minutes.
During the trip from my car to the building I had run into a few people I knew on sight but didn’t actually know.
I gathered my courage and boldly stepped out into the “quad.”
While I fought to regain control of my nerves, I ran into one person I had met before.
He was kind enough to offer to take me around.
He pointed out Jack Ketchum going into a room and then turned and said, “There’s Rick Hautala.”
I was so excited!
Not more than 15 feet away from where I stood, Rick was signing into the register and collecting his room key.
My guide, sensing my excitement then said, “Want to go meet him?”
To which I replied, “What!?
I couldn’t, I mean he hasn’t even gotten to his room yet.
That would be annoying for me to just bother him and all.”
“What?
Writers are all an extroverted and easy going lot, no worries.
Hey Rick!
I got one of your biggest fans here!” he yelled, despite only a short distance separating us.
I took the extrovert comment to be a joke on the fact that
I
was rather introverted and shy.
“Bah.
I don’t have fans.”
Rick said.
I didn’t know he was called the ‘Eeyore of Horror’, yet.
Just like that I was walked over and introduced to Rick, and just like that I loved him.
He was great.
Someone took a picture of us, and every time I look at it I feel happy (and sad) all over again.
I told him the story of my teens and how I still had that first copy of
Little Brothers
and how much I loved it.
After that he would refer to me as the
Little Brothers
guy (usually when he forgot my name… hey we just met so I forgive that).
The rest of that weekend was great:
I got that book signed, Rick tried to give me a free book (I already had an ARC and a HC of it), during one night while I wandered alone he called me over to the gazebo and we talked about books and music and life and I got introduced to dozens of other people who have all since become my friends.
Every NECON has been magic and that particular NECON was my time with Rick.
It wasn’t enough time, sadly, but I treasure each of those conversations.
I wish I had called him more and I wish my job had allowed me to go to other cons and spend more time with him.
Now back to this novel.
When we (Crossroad Press) got the first books from Rick to convert into eBooks, there literally was a fight between myself and David Dodd over which titles we would get to edit.
For a very long time I thought Rick wrote awesome monster stories, it wasn’t until 2008 that I realized that he was a master of the psychological ghost story.
Ghost Light
is a prime example of that genre.
It is everything Rick talked about when he talked about what a Ghost story was to him.
I don’t want to go too far into the details, into his definition, because I think that would give away too much of the story.
Since some of you might be first-time readers, it would be unfair of me to ruin it for you.
Hopefully I have not digressed too long, and have not bored you with my story.
I just wanted to share some of what Rick Hautala
meant to me.
I miss him terribly and I’m thankful for every minute I got to spend with him.
Kurt M. Criscione
November 5, 2013
