Will Wight, New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'Cradle'
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In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.

True Halloween Story

10/31/2019

62 Comments

 
I don't have time to write an actual short story for today, working as I am on Of Killers and Kings, so I thought instead I'd share with you what happened to me last night.

For context, I'm writing in the mountains of northern California, in a cabin I rented from some acquaintances. It's a very nice place, with amazing views of peaks and mountain ski slopes visible from the huge living room windows, and the temperature drops to single digits at night while remaining sunny in the 40s during the day.

I've been here for a week now, and I've had trouble sleeping. That happens to me sometimes, especially in new places, so it's not too much of a surprise when I jolt awake in the middle of the night because a gust of wind or a creak of the ceiling makes my half-dreaming mind believe there's someone else in my room.

But as soon as I'm awake, I remember where I am, so I just turn over and go back to sleep.

Last night, I woke myself up screaming. As far as I remember, I've never done that before. I had the usual...I hesitate to even call it a 'nightmare,' because it's more like that sense of unease you get as you're falling asleep that jolts you awake.

But when I woke up, I saw very clearly something pale--the size of a large dog, or so it seemed to me--dash across the shadows of my bedroom.

I screamed, which was when I fully woke up, and scrambled for my phone light. Of course there was nothing there, but now my heart was pounding and I was way too keyed-up to go to sleep. I ended up moving from the large, open room upstairs to sleep in a smaller room downstairs, which had no big windows and a door I could easily lock.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I hadn't really woken up the first time, I'd just dreamed that I had, and then dreamed that I had seen a figure running across the room, and it was my panic at that dream that woke me up. A dream within a dream, if you will. But that didn't help my emotional state much, and it was another hour or two before I could fall asleep.

Only today, when I told my brother over the phone about last night, did I recognize a few other things that have happened since I've been here.

The first thing he asked me was "All right, so have you seen any dead animals around the property recently?"

I laughed and said no, and then halfway through realized that wasn't true. Two days ago, a bird ran into those wide picture windows in the living room and killed itself.

Then he asked me "Are there any secret doors or passages in the house?"

No, of course not. Except...there is a whole added wing, kind of like an additional house unto itself, that has remained locked the entire time. I don't have the key. It's where the cabin's relative stays when he visits during the summer, and the property's owners said he likes to leave it untouched during the rest of the year. I haven't seen what's in there, and indeed couldn't if I wanted to.

After telling me that if I were the protagonist in a horror movie, I should be running for my life right now, my brother said one final thing: "What a crazy thing to happen on Halloween."

​Honestly, I'd forgotten that it was Halloween. And I remember the time when I turned on my phone for the light last night: 12:01 AM local time.

-Will

P.S. Hilariously and coincidentally enough, every word of this account is true. I realize that I lie and embellish with fiction all the time, as is my job, but every part of this is 100% true. This really did happen last night, my phone really did say it was 12:01, there really is a locked wing of this cabin in the mountains, and so on and so forth. No joke, everything is true.

P.P.S. If I am living in the plot of a horror movie, me waking myself up screaming would be the break into Act 2, where all the characters and setting have been established and now actually spooky stuff starts to happen. If unseasonal early snows block my way to the airport, trapping me in this house longer than I'd planned, then you will know that I am indeed trapped in a horror movie, so just go ahead and resign yourselves to my inevitable death.
62 Comments
Ravi
10/31/2019 12:35:12 pm

Hope you can get a good night's sleep Will!

Reply
Wright
10/31/2019 12:36:34 pm

Just to prevent your work from being lost forever in the event of a horror movie occurring at your cabin, you should probably pick a few trusted fans (most trustworthy fans have names that start with the same letter as the author, btw - true facts) and have them safeguard your manuscripts and notes for upcoming books.

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Rogue9
10/31/2019 01:56:32 pm

Will has a group of Gnomes on standby diligently working behind the scenes to make sure his remnant is guided to his chosen successor to continue his work. But rest easy, as the dog was pale, it is a protective spirit so he is safe where he is. If it was grey and made of shadows then it would be cause to worry.

Reply
Dallin
10/31/2019 12:46:38 pm

Maybe there is a mystery to be solved? See if there are any full sets of armor around, usually a clue around there.

Reply
Jess
10/31/2019 01:40:33 pm

You'll be fine. Well, as long as you don't have any obsessed stalkers living nearby...

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Andres
10/31/2019 02:00:25 pm

Hey, that's my state! Cool

Reply
Will link
10/31/2019 02:52:05 pm

Actually that was a typo on my part; I made this post to my phone, and it autocorrected 'north California' to 'North Carolina." My bad! I guess there WAS one word in this post that wasn't true...

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DesperateFan
10/31/2019 03:14:50 pm

How weird!

I had a similar experience last night. I'd just taken a flight to Northern California to visit a cabin I knew my favorite author was staying in. I decided to hide in the closet, making my way around the house at night by crawling around inside the walls.

I was doing what I have been the last few days, watching him as he slept, but he jumped up and started screaming for no reason in the middle of the night. It scared me and I had to run back into the walls as fast as possible. It was really a scary experience, so I can totally sympathize with you Will, going through something similar.

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SomeBody
10/31/2019 04:09:02 pm

Hmmmm, strange, I remember being somewhere in that area and walking past a cabin in my ghost costume for Halloween. When I heard the screaming I assumed it was a haunted house so I went inside and saw you and then I realized it was not a haunted house. So, I extended my will into your mind and made you think it was a dream, then I tapped into The Way and departed in a flash of blue. Never to be seen again...

Reply
SomeBody
10/31/2019 05:05:51 pm

Also did you say I was the size of a large dog?

Reply
Nikolai Teves
10/31/2019 04:45:50 pm

Don't worry about it. That was probably just the Nye checking up on you Will.

Reply
John
10/31/2019 04:55:43 pm

But was it a girly scream?

Reply
Eithan Arelius
10/31/2019 04:57:30 pm

Anybody else go to his first ever blog post just to comment random things?

Reply
Eithan Arelius
10/31/2019 04:59:40 pm

I did....

Reply
Eithan Arelius
10/31/2019 05:01:23 pm

Also, look at the FAQS section of the blog and check what book it says he's working on.

Carl
10/31/2019 08:04:16 pm

Funny. The fact that he's trying to get OKAK out before Christmas seems up-to-date until you look at the year.

Will link
11/1/2019 04:32:17 pm

I don't know if you were the one to email me and tell me that the FAQs were out-of-date, but they were, so I updated them!

Eithan Arelius
10/31/2019 05:17:11 pm

Okay this is an actual question post, so in the Travelers Gate Trilogy they speak of Valinhall's founding and they mention that it appeared that Valin had been cast there forcefully and he landed like a meteor. So I have a couple questions,
1) Who sent Valin there and how?
2) Will you ever be making an entire sized book about that universe anymore?
3) How did Indrial's sword get so chipped and cut if it is forged out of unbreakable steel by Valin in Valinhall?

Reply
Will link
11/1/2019 04:33:56 pm

1.) RAFO.
2.) I still plan on it!
3.) Indirial's sword was the first that Valin forged. He used it before it was complete, and its forging was rough, leading to it having marks left over from the forging process and from combat before it was indestructible.

Reply
Eithan Arelius
11/2/2019 06:02:14 am

What does RAFO stand for?

Eithan Arelius
11/2/2019 08:16:33 am

Anybody?

Robert
11/2/2019 08:20:28 pm

Pretty sure RAFO stands for "Read And Find Out"?

Just guessing.

Reply
Eithan Arelius
11/3/2019 05:37:02 am

Okay, thanks.

Kandra
10/31/2019 06:27:01 pm

Wait...I thought cold temps (and possible snow...) were deadly to Floridians... oh no.

Reply
Will link
11/1/2019 04:36:38 pm

Honestly, the low humidity is worse. I can't breathe unless I'm also inhaling a mouthful of water.

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Heather
11/1/2019 08:09:52 pm

Oh the joys of the the South. I too enjoy drinking my oxygen!

Bill
10/31/2019 09:13:22 pm

Will! I just thought of something that I have to know!

Do the hair regrowth elixirs Mercy was talking about in Ghostwater and Underlord also work on male pattern baldness?

If so, I'll pay you to have Lindon pick some up for me next time you summon him.

Reply
Jesse
10/31/2019 10:44:15 pm

BUT THEN WHO WAS PHONE?!

Reply
Chad Brink
11/1/2019 06:12:13 am

"Why don't we get in the running car?"

Reply
Will link
11/1/2019 04:34:22 pm

"Quick, let's hide behind those chainsaws!"

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Garth
11/1/2019 08:27:13 am

Hi Will,

So I remember we were going to get a Ghostwater short story. Relevant blog post:

https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/greetings-from-outer-space#comments

Did we ever get that? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Reply
Will link
11/1/2019 04:35:24 pm

Man, I don't know. I don't even remember that. I have no idea whether I fulfilled that or whether it completely slipped my mind.

Reply
Chicknbiscut
11/1/2019 08:37:13 am

I really want to believe this happened, but I've been let down by you before.

Reply
Will link
11/1/2019 04:35:43 pm

I know that, but in THIS ONE CASE, I am actually telling the total truth!

Reply
Matt
11/27/2019 06:36:50 am

You've cried wolf too many times Will.

goodmp
11/1/2019 10:24:19 am

Well, since you're in NC -- you could do a signing at somewhere on your way home...

Reply
Rei S.
11/2/2019 07:24:54 am

NOOO!!! You cant die... I still need to read Book 8! 😂
Kidding aside that has happened to me before... Really creepy... Also have a hard time sleeping after...

Reply
Wei Shi Yerin
11/3/2019 10:00:19 pm

DAMN. I was supposed to do all my homework today, but I accidentally read the entirety of Uncrowned. I really need to learn to take breaks from books, I keep finishing yours in a single day.

Reply
metatron58
11/5/2019 10:27:06 am

I know it's insensitive but can you finish writing before you get murdered by a wendigo?

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Diego
11/10/2019 09:59:05 pm

Sigh...I just re-read all of Traveler's gate and introduced it to a friend. Funnily enough he read the Cradle series first, and said he liked the Traveler's Gate series more enjoyable.

Reply
Diego
11/10/2019 10:05:37 pm

To clarify I actually agree. (Mostly because I feel its a more unique setting than Cradle.) I love Cradle for other reasons, I'd been fascinated with cultivation genre and had yet to read a good one. (The translations are always hard to read and story-wise I feel they always had no plot.)

Elder Empire took some warming up to, but I've come to appreciate it. I'm fascinated with Intent, and after familiarizing myself with Lovecraftian Horror, I realized I actually do like it.

Reply
Thunderpants
11/12/2019 02:18:16 pm

Will stayed in a cabin on all hallows eve.
A story he tells, that we won't believe.
Something went bump in the night,
it frightened poor Mr. Wight.
and when he jumped out of bed,
saw it was all in his head,
until something flew by that was white.

Reply
Jeffery Sparks link
11/13/2019 03:53:16 am

Well, Will, of course you know how Stephen King came up with the Shining at The Stanley Hotel? Who knows, you may have just been given the gift of a new fantasy-horror series:

https://stephenking.fandom.com/wiki/The_Stanley_Hotel

Reply
The Ghost Of Will Wight link
11/14/2019 12:41:43 am

Hey guys bad news it looks like I actually did die.

On an unrelated note don't try to close a window that you find mysteriously open.

Reply
Jeffery Sparks
11/14/2019 09:38:42 am

Thanks for the ominous tip for the living, er, Ghost Will . . . indeed, we ignore foreshadowing (and Dickensian forensics) at our peril.

Reply
Taylor
11/18/2019 04:47:36 pm

Will once said that he was going to try to post more than twice a month... its been 2 months(about) since he posted.

Reply
Fellow Daoist Ji Ning
11/19/2019 09:27:39 am

19 days, though for us regular Will Wight stalkers, it certainly feels like two months.

Reply
Soshara
11/19/2019 07:27:21 pm

Hello Mr. Wight. Are you ever doing those worldbuilding paragraph long story prompts again? Those were fun.

Relevant blog post here.
https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/next-book-skysworn#comments

Reply
Sam B
11/20/2019 04:24:57 am

OK so, this is totally random, and maybe the wrong place for it (thanks for the scary story by the way, I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway) but in future Cradle series, would it be possible to see more of Aurelius servant 113? Cos I feel like he's kind of an important servant, and also Ethan's favourite - he's the one who preps Orthos' chamber to help Lindon on the Path of Black....Flame. He gets saved by Eithan when the Jai attack the city...I just feel like 113 is definitely an excellent character, and think he has great potential ;) even just as '113'

Reply
Mad Conspiracy Theorist
11/20/2019 07:17:27 pm

"Servant 113" isn't a designation, it's a title passed on to the most favored servant at any given time. So it could change multiple times over the course of a book.

Reply
Gulag
11/22/2019 12:33:46 pm

It's been over three weeks. Perhaps Will really did die.

Reply
The Ghost Of Will Wight link
11/23/2019 12:27:31 pm

Oh I did. But luckily for you Bob Ross and Mr.Rodgers(2 of the 3 judges, Steve Irwin hated the ending of the last book) are fans of my work so they let me re-apply for citizenship in the realm of the living. Im waiting for the paperwork to be processed, but all the bureaucrats are down under so up here all the paperwork takes forever. Don't worry, I've been keeping up on my writing using their computers, but I haven't been able to post because I forgot my website password and need to get back to my own computer for that.

Reply
Shawalee
11/24/2019 08:50:38 pm

I think we should start dropping blog post prompts until Will posts something new.

Will, what's your favorite convenience store food? Doritos, Cheetos, Frozen Burrito, ect.

Reply
ABV
11/25/2019 11:04:32 am

Should frozen burritos really count as convenience food? Seems like they take some effort.

Reply
Shawalee
11/25/2019 11:17:11 am

True. You need to microwave them instead of just opening a bag.

New prompt for Will: You and Eithan switch bodies. Summarize the first week for either you or him. How do you make it as an underlord and how does Eithan do finishing up OKAK?

ASmileyFace
11/25/2019 11:58:35 am

I just randomly stumbled across the blog post introducing the elder empire series as two parallel posts and noticed the statement “Meaning that, when the series is complete, it will be twice the number of words as the Traveler's Gate Trilogy. But it won't take twice as long to release, because I am as merciful as I am wise.” Which means that either there is an equal amount of time between pre-order and release, or Will is very unwise, because it has been a ridiculous amount of time since the Of Darkness/Dawn and Dawn/Darkness books were released

Reply
Tim
11/25/2019 05:59:01 pm

+1

Reply
Shawalee
11/26/2019 07:24:16 pm

How do you feel about all these knockoff cultivation novels that have been showing up?

Reply
Curious Bystander
11/27/2019 02:30:18 am

Which ones are you referring to? In a certain sense you could even consider cradle a knockoff of cultivation novel(But way better than the originals).

Reply
Shawalee
11/27/2019 09:45:10 am

What are some recurring themes you find in your own writing and why do you think you find them there?

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MitchyGoodness
11/28/2019 09:22:14 am

Happy Thanksgiving ya!

Reply
Maggie Magoo link
12/9/2019 04:49:01 am

You're from Florida and you've never seen a ghost? I thought water was supposed to attract them. Will Will Wight see a wight? He might. Sit tight. A'ight?

Reply



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