My commentary--indirectly, like all good things ghostly--on writing "Borrowed Places."

"Do you believe that a human being can run an English mile in about four minutes?  If you believe the record is true--why do you believe it? How good are you at accepting that other people can do something you can't?

"When someone hears something you don't--like a camera flash recharging? Do you doubt them? If not--would you doubt them if they told you a kitchen light ballast was buzzing, driving them nuts?

"If someone told you that an empty house felt "occupied" . . . do you immediately dismiss it? Wish you believed it? Wonder what it is they sense?

"If. If. If.

"I had the dubious privilege for decades of having a mostly unknown medical situation. To battle both medical gaslighting and becoming incapacitated, I had to go to incredible lengths to avoid certain foods, burning materials, mold in buildings, and VOC exposure. So I know something about not being believed.

"Most people in my country scoff at ghosts. It's especially strange because most of the cultures of the world have a long history of belief in spirits, both dearly departed and "Others." Many countries still accept that large numbers of citizens believe in ghosts. Being a high tech country doesn't necessarily change this. After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011 in Japan, hundreds of ghost sightings took place.

"I listen when people tell me about a brush with a spirit. So I will say this about "Borrowed Places." Only one of the ghosts is made up. All the rest are disguised. People had ghost experiences, and you get the remix on them.

"Enjoy that next vacation rental." ---Kat Kimbriel, from Murmurs in the Dark