Intersection Column | Can Creepy Be Hope-Filled?
- mtlmagazine
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
by Jaime Jo Wright
I’m often asked why I write dark and creepy books. I’m also often told, “I’ll never read your books; I don’t do scary.” I understand that last comment, because not all books are for everyone. But before you draw a conclusion when it comes to suspenseful, mysterious, and creepy novels, take a brief journey with me into The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall and my answer to the first inquiry as to why I write dark and creepy books.
The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall was inspired by an actual cold case crime from the late nineteenth century that took place in England. While my novel is set in midwestern USA, I take several actual historical facts from this crime and weave them into the story—the primary one being the owner of the home was building a bell tower so it could be rung in the event of his own murder, which he adamantly declared was going to happen.
So why write about such a dark story, especially during dark times like the days we live in? Who wants to read something creepy, mysterious, or even ghostly when you just want to relax and enjoy a good story?
I write these dark and creepy books for that exact reason. We do live in dark times, and we’re each trying to learn how to navigate them. Emotionally, physically, and primarily spiritually. And darkness isn’t a place we like to wallow, and yet it seems as though life essentially pushes us into that swamp and holds us under. I like to recognize the reality of this in my stories, and then I love to journey through it, like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, where hope comes via the Celestial City at the end of the story.
We need hope more than anything. And hope isn’t easily attained. Oh, we try. We try to find it in nature, our pets, or our community until we discover that what we’ve found isn’t hope. It may be happiness, even joy, but it isn’t hope. Hope—true hope—is confidence in something possible. It is expectation and anticipation, not just in something that might happen, but something we can believe will happen.
In The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall, death is imminent. The aftermath is palpable. The eerie rooms and creepy hallways of Traeger Hall that are locked and boarded up represent those of us who have locked and boarded up our inner faith and our traumatic memories. We throw away keys, we ignore the house on the hill that’s begging to be opened, and we hold tight to the dead inside of us. Traeger Hall is also a story about finding the courage to unlock the door that has been shut, hiding our secrets. It’s a story of beginning our quest for hope. Hope may only be a pinprick of light, but when you see it, our eyes latch onto it as something that is coming and promised.
I write dark and creepy so I can juxtapose the dark story with light and hope. I want to shine light on the promises our Creator has given us by way of the ultimate Story and the most magnificent of Heroes. He promises an eternal hope that transcends the temporal sorrows and tragedies we face. He gives hope for healing and the promise of a tomorrow that can overcome the traumas and wounds we hold close.
There is a place for dark and creepy in inspirational fiction . . . because the story of life is inspiring. It’s a journey through the wild moments, the frightening, the grief-filled, the lonely, and the burdened, toward the hope-filled promise of a bell that rings in victory.
Come. See. Be hope-filled.
About the Author
Jaime Jo Wright is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over fifteen novels and three novellas, including Christy Award-winner and ECPA bestseller The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill, and Carol Award-winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and fabulous felines. Learn more at JaimeWrightBooks.com.
About the Book
Follow two timelines set centuries apart in this clean Gothic suspense tale of unsolved murders, haunting rumors, and a troubling family legacy for readers who crave atmospheric thrillers with multilayered mystery, a hint of romance, and glimmers of hope.