Before Leslie Rule – Ann Rule

For years I have been devouring books written by true crime author Ann Rule. With every turn of the page, I sit spellbound with an eerie kind of fascination and a growing sense of revulsion as she unravels the mysterious evil perpetuated by psychopathic killers. 

Unlike most people, these deranged individuals appear to be without conscience as they commit their horrendous and unimaginable crimes where murder has become their form of recreation. 

While I am deeply disturbed by what I read, I am also intrigued about the heartlessness of these hard-core criminals who torture, maim, rape, and destroy their victims – these criminals who live next door to us. Or live in our homes. To the casual acquaintance they appear to be normal, but they are far from anything even remotely normal.

They are so far out of the realm of normal, in fact, that they fall beyond the paranormal into a kind of demented Twilight Zone filled with distortion, warped perceptions, deception, and horror. Because of the nature of their crimes, these sadistic criminals are often more frightening than are those spirits who haunt homes where dreamers slumber in the warmth of their beds on silent nights.

One has to wonder at what point in a human's development a person breaks rank from reason to either deny – or refuse to acknowledge – having a conscience. Or are they born without one? Someday we may learn why criminals engage in atrocities they perceive to be pleasurable that most of us with reasonable minds and good conscience find abominable. Their crimes are senseless.

Innocent victims of these senseless crimes are surprised and terrified, frozen in a fear unlike anything they have ever felt before. Their fear rises in direct correlation to their assailant's frenzy as the crime escalates until the killer's target has fulfilled the fantasy of the tormenter. No longer needed, the victim becomes another casualty tossed aside – dead. But energy never dies. And emotion is energy, electrifying the air and lingering long after the torture has ended.

Because of the emotion involved and its related energy, we have to wonder what happens to the energy of the spirits belonging to innocent victims who died at the hands of sociopaths. Might they return from beyond their graves to solve their own murders by reaching out to those of us receptive enough to help them?

Leslie Bends a Rule and Blends the Genres

Overlapping the genre in which Ann Rule writes is a blended genre that includes paranormal apparitions combined with murder and suspense where ghosts of murdered victims try in desperation to point an unseen finger at their killers. The connection between psychotically abnormal and paranormal is a distinction made a little more clear by someone who writes across the genres, a woman who provides a link between abnormal and paranormal. These crime-related true ghost stories are written by none other than Ann Rule's daughter, Leslie Rule.

As one of the featured authors in the paranormal division of xomba.com, I couldn't wait to contact Leslie to find out how she "rules" the paranormal world. I asked her if I could showcase her work and discuss her ability to interact with the paranormal world. Fortunately, for me – and for you – she agreed to the interview.

And now I would like to introduce you to Leslie Rule, Ghosty Girl author of dozens of paranormal stories and half a dozen paranormal books: 

BW: At what age did you KNOW that unseen spirits existed?

LR: It never occurred to me that spirits didn't exist. And it always surprises me when I meet people who say that they don't believe in ghosts. I suppose those who have never recognized a spirit encounter are a little like those who are color blind or tone deaf. They simply aren't able to detect what other more sensitive people do.

BW: You mention in your web site that you grew up in a haunted house, but have you personally had any ghostly encounters?

LR: I've had a few spirit encounters throughout my life. As I wrote in COAST TO COAST GHOSTS, we had a sobbing ghost in our neighborhood in Des Moines, Washington. I heard her when I was twelve. She wailed as if her heart was breaking. I assumed it was my sister and ran to see what was wrong. The crying kept moving, always sounding as if it were in the next room. After several minutes, it abruptly stopped. I discovered that my sister wasn't even home. I could find no explanation for the crying.  The experience sparked my fascination with the paranormal.

BW: Why do you think spirits remain earth-bound?

LR: When it comes to ghosts, no one can say definitively what they are or why they stay around but I embrace the popular theory that spirits remain earthbound because of unfinished business. My research supports that theory as I find case after case of paranormal activity tied to unsolved murders. Of course, there are other less dramatic situations that involve ghosts sticking around for more benign reasons but the most active sites tend to be those where a murder occurred and the killer has not been brought to justice.

BW: What are your personal beliefs about what happens to us when our spirits leave our bodies?

LR: I don't know what happens to us when the body dies, but once again, I lean toward the popular theory that we are reunited with our loved ones who have passed on before us. After saying hello, we might get to come back for more!  Reincarnation makes the most sense to me. It is comforting to think that those who have suffered in this life might get a chance to come back and live happier lives. Also, I have met people who I feel I have known before and I like to think it was in another lifetime.

BW: What types of people would be interested in reading your books and can you tell us a little about them?

LR: I think anyone who is curious about life after death will be interested in my ghost books. It is my goal to validate spirit sightings by interviewing credible witnesses who allow me to use their real names. I also do a lot of historical research, trying to find information that makes sense out of what is being experienced.

Each book contains dozens of true stories of spirit encounters and features my black and white photographs of the various places I have researched.

COAST TO COAST GHOSTS--TRUE STORIES OF HAUNTINGS ACROSS AMERICA includes stories of haunted hotels, restaurants, and other places that readers can visit and perhaps see a ghost themselves.

GHOSTS AMONGS US--TRUE STORIES OF SPIRIT ENCOUNTERS documents a variety of ghost sightings, including some that occurred at amusement parks, theaters and museums.

WHEN THE GHOST SCREAMS--TRUE STORIES OF VICTIMS WHO HAUNT covers cases of haunted sites where people were murdered or died in accidents and their ghosts are still seen or heard.

GHOST IN THE MIRROR--REAL CASES OF SPIRIT ENCOUNTERS features sightings of apparitions seen in reflections, one of the most common places where ghosts appear.

BW: Would you mind if I tell my readers the relationship between you and your mother?

LR: Of course not! I am proud of her!

Obviously, I did more than mention Ann Rule; I allowed my introduction of Leslie to directly connect the criminal world with the world of its victims. Leslie's Rule's books can be purchased from any of the large chain book stores and online. She also sells her books through her Ghosty Girl web site. Anybody interested in reading more about Leslie Rule and her true ghost stories is invited to visit Leslie Rule's web site at http://www.ghostygirl.com/

*While the term ghostwriter is used for a person who writes as if she is the actual author, in the context of this article ghost writer means that Leslie Rule writes about ghosts.