OUAF Letter

So I really love this challenge. It gives me a chance to step outside the sort of thing I normally write, and it gives me the opportunity to get some nice ghost encounter stories and/or a mythology fix.

General: Try not to make everything too dark - some darkness in the progress of the story is fine, but don't end it that way. Bittersweet or slightly creepy "do I want to turn on the lights before I go up" is always good.

I also love crossovers. If you want to smash a few of the prompts together, I would be A-OK with that. I'd also be cool with you dragging in characters from other fandoms (Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys investigate the Ocean-Born Mary house or encounter "Room for One More"? Go for it.)

If you want more about my writing likes/dislikes, check out the "dear Yuletide writer" tag.

I'm good with sexual activity that fits with the characters and situation.

1. Ocean-Born Mary
Ocean-Born Mary, Don Pedro's Mother, Don Pedro

I'd be interested in how Mary and Don Pedro meet up again, when he marries her.
But I'd also be interested in how Don Pedro's mother reacts when she about her little namesake. Or maybe she urges her son to go find her.
But I'd also also be interested in a story where people move into Ocean-Born Mary's house and interact with the ghosts...

See above notes about crossovers. I'd love to see Mary and Don Pedro interact. Perhaps there is a picture of the rare silk dress she is married in - or perhaps there is enough held back to marry Don Pedro in?

The version of the story told in C.B. Colby's Strangely Enough invokes the possibility that Ocean-Born Mary still haunts the place - you can roll with this.

Or maybe a young couple decides to renovate or restore? Do they find the treasure? Does the ghost help?

2. Room for One More
Visitor at the House, Man Carrying the Coffin, House's Owner

So I have loved this story forever. I'm not so interested in Lord Dufferin, but more in the character types. Feel free to populate this story with some fresh characters.

Nancy Drew, or perhaps M. Poirot and the good Hastings? I don't have many more suggestions. There's also the Twilight Zone adaptation of the story, "Twenty Two" that may be helpful.

3. The Lady Lovibond
Simon Reed, Simon Reed's Bride, John Rivers, The Lady Lovibond

I really love this story, especially the whole "repeating appearances" theme - are the people on board stuck in a Flying Dutchman-esque loop where they keep reliving it? Do descendants have to be present? Is there some way to avert the disaster?

So, I love this story. I first found it in a Regency (The Haunting of Henrietta by Sandra Heath, if you're interested) and was stoked to find there was a "real" story as well. ("Real" because the source indicates that it may be a made-up story. I dont care, still love it.) It's a pretty open field, but I like:

* ghosts trying to affect their fate/prevent others from wrecking
* introspection from the ghosts (particularly the bride) - either after they become ghosts or the events of the night itself
* a modern day ship meeting up with them - bonus points for descendants/family members being on board OR having skeptics of the ghost ship on board

4. The Little Match Girl
The Little Match Girl

I'm always taken by the sadness of this story - especially the animated version that is in the Disney Short Films collection with Frozen Fever, with its Russian setting.

What I'm really interested in here is seeing the Little Match Girl's ghost helping other children - does she take on the role of the grandmother, rescuing children who have been forgotten and abandoned? Maybe she helps out cats? Or maybe it's the story of the Little Match Kitten?

I don't have anything else to really add - if you haven't seen the short, it is well-worth seeing. Have some tissues.

DV