‘Ghosts, Witches, & Mystery! Oh My!’

MILO — On Saturday, Oct. 26 Elaine’s Basket Café & Bakery will be the setting for Milo Historical Society’s program “Ghosts, Witches, & Mystery! Oh My!”, an evening of true ghost stories and supernatural cozy mysteries read by local authors.

ReGina Welling and Erin Lynn will read from their books of mystery featuring witches and ghosts who help or hinder the search for the character who “dunnit.” Victoria Eastman will share stories from her collection about real ghosts inhabiting places you might know.

In reality, ReGina Welling is Laura Vryhof who is a full-time writer, occasional mixed media artist, and a resident of Milo. Describing her books, she says, “I write mysteries. Some with a hint of romance, some with a dash of the supernatural, all with a dose of humor.”

Vryhof’s daughter is Erin Austin, who writes under the pen names Erin Lynn and Emily Queen. She and her mother have collaborated on many books since beginning her writing career. Austin says, “I inherited the trait of expressing myself, most effectively via the written word, from my mother.” Together, they have written more than 16 books. Besides writing, Austin says her “life is made complete by my two hilarious teenage sons, my adorable chocolate lab, and two mischievous kitties.”

Eastman is a collector of real ghost stories and most recently stories about UFO encounters. Her interest in ghosts began at her grandparents’ breakfast table when, at every visit, she asked to hear about their haunted house in Chittenango, New York. Over the years, people she has met were willing to share their own experiences, generously allowing her to compile them into two anthologies; “Collecting Ghosts” and “Following Ghosts”. Eastman is presently working on a third book. “I’m not interested in ghosts to scare people or myself,” she says, “the mystery of who they were, who they are, and why they are here fascinates me.”

“Ghosts, Witches, & Mystery! Oh My!” begins at 6 p.m. at Elaine’s Basket Café & Bakery, 38 Main Street. Admission is free. Refreshments are available for purchase. Donations to the Milo Historical Society are welcome. For more information contact Eastman at 207-943-2400.