Writer & Traveler with a passion for history, photography & the unusual
Filmmaker John Specht asked me to come down to Coles County on Saturday to be interviewed for another segment for his project “Fear in the Flatlands”. This time, they got some footage of me in a van being driven through the streets of Charleston. It was a great time and I’m excited about this project.
A brand new column by yours’ truly has been published on Strike-the-Root, a market anarchist website, today. Check it out here:
Send me an e-mail or leave me a comment about it!
Also, I just posted a new article featuring myself commenting on the folklore of Ramsey Cemetery in Effingham, Illinois. Head on over to the “Press” section of my website to check it out.
Things are a little hectic around here. As you can tell, I haven’t updated this website in about a month and a half, but I’ve never been the kind of person who rushes things just for the sake of it.
On January 1st I am officially announcing the start of the Black Willow Grove project, a fictional look at the Midwest’s “most haunted” town–Black Willow Grove. Each month will bring a new location to light. I will be posting pictures and background information on each of these locations, all culminating in a novel staring The Fallen from the Legends and Lore of Illinois. This novel will focus on The Fallen’s investigations into these places, so essentially what will be posted on this website is a large public brainstorming session.
Speaking of the Legends and Lore of Illinois, its brand new website will be launched at the beginning of the new year as well. This site will also be hosted on WordPress, and it will be easier to navigate and find what you are looking for.
The new issue of Black Oak Presents is also coming out on January 1. This will be the greatest issue to date, so don’t miss its release on www.blackoakmedia.org.
Finally, I am going to be working on a collection of my chapbooks called Michael Kleen’s Early Works, possibly edited by my father, et al. This book will contain several edited and updated versions of The Distance of Sorrow; Tales of Coles County, Illinois; Home of the Brave Part 1; and Six Tales of Terror. Getting all of these in one bound edition is a great deal! I’m looking forward to seeing it in print later on this year.
That’s all for now, see you in a few weeks.
Michael Kleen
Liz Surbeck, a freshman English major at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, was nice enough to quote me in a column she wrote on the Pemberton Hall legend for the Daily Eastern News. Read it here: Pemberton’s legend, Mary.
I turned 27 today, in the shadow of a global economic collapse. I knew this was going to happen some time in the future, but I never thought it would come so soon. My readers should be prepared for some tight financial times, if not something worse than that. Hopefully we can recover from this soon, but if not, it never hurts to be prepared.
In other news, I have an article in this month’s issue of Paranormal Underground Magazine, which is now online for the public. It’s called “The Most Remarkable Proceedings: Witchcraft in England, 1640-1690,” on page 68. Check it out here: http://www.paranormalunderground.net/
Since the 1950s, a story has been told to every generation of girls who reside in Eastern Illinois University’s legendary Pemberton Hall, the first all-female dormitory in the state of Illinois.
This story involves an infamous dorm mother named Mary Hawkins and the ghost of a girl who was allegedly murdered in the fourth floor piano room over ninety years ago.
Pemberton Hall’s fourth floor has been closed for generations, adding fuel to the legend. Now peer behind the locked doors and find out what really happened on that dark and stormy night at Eastern Illinois University!
This is the most comprehensive account of the legend ever written.
Click the link below to download it for free! Also, feel free to save this file and share it with your friends!
The Legend of Pemberton Hall by Michael Kleen
Welcome to my brand new website! Not only will it have the advantage of the WordPress engine, it will be more cost effective while making my writing more accessable to you, the reader! I’m excited about this changeover, and I think it will attract many new viewers to the site. The missions statement of this page is to give you the most information about me and my writing, without all the usual clutter. Look around and see for yourself!
