Inspiration

The historic Story Inn

Several years ago, a friend and I took a mini-vacation to Nashville, Indiana. On the way home, completely by accident, we came across The Story Inn. It looked interesting and, since they served lunch and we were starving, we decided to go inside. And I immediately felt a strange sensation, one I couldn't and still can't explain. 

A few days later, curious about the inn, I decided to look it up on the Internet and I read this:

When the current owner of the inn took over the business, he was a skeptic but he now knows for sure the inn is one of the most haunted places in Indiana. One of the most common stories among guests and hotel staff is the “Blue Lady”. She is believed to be the spirit of the wife of Dr. George Story. The room where the Blue Lady is always seen was once called the Garden Room. However, it has been renamed after its most frequent visitor. People believe that if a blue light is placed in the room in the on position, the Blue Lady would appear. However, there have also been cases when the Blue Lady would just appear on her own. She is described as having blue eyes and has the habit of leaving behind items that are blue in color. Some people also reported smelling cherry tobacco, the Blue Lady’s favorite, when she was still alive.

But time passed and I forgot about The Story Inn - until I was trying to come up with ideas for a new mystery series and it popped back into my head. Physically, the "fictional" Storyville Inn doesn't resemble the "real" inn at all but the history and the atmosphere do and it will be the setting for my fourth Small Town mystery. Which just goes to show that a writer never knows when or where inspiration will strike.