2019 in Review

It was a busy and productive year, even to the point that I couldn’t find the time to update my site as frequently as I would have liked to. And since the beginning of 2020, things have become even more hectic, with plenty of the same-old as well as some brand new ventures and projects (stay tuned).

Rather than pen a bunch of long paragraphs discussing last year, I will show you how it went…with pictures. Just hover your mouse over the pictures to see the captions.

Arkansas Paranormal Expo 2019

Boyhood home of three rock stars. Ronnie, Donnie, and Johnnie Van Zant.

With friends at Arkansas Paranormal Expo 2019

Performing at the Exit 56 Blues Fest 2019

Chatting with the news media at Jackson State Community College

Playing at the 2019 Sleepy John blues jam

Lunch at the Bell family get-together in Adams, Tennessee.

At Celtic Fest 2019 for signing and meet-greet

The Great Escape – Nashville

With Joe from “The Fringe” FM

Knockin’ it out of the ballpark with blues legend, Dudley Harris

Original tomb of Ronnie Van Zant

From the Bell Family get-together 2019

At Celtic Fest 2019

With Tim Henson at the Bell Family get-together 2019

Performing at the Exit 56 Blues Fest 2019

At the Bell Family get-together, 2019, in Adams, Tennessee

Performing with The Music Highway Band

Small lane leading to the former site of Ronnie Van Zant’s last home.

At The Great Escape – Nashville

Piano time

Warming up at the Sleepy John blues jam 2019

Lecturing at Arkansas Paranormal Expo 2019

Me and my trusty 335

At Bell Family get-together with family genealogist Sharon Bell Hamilton.

“The Jug” in Jacksonville, FL., where the “Gimme Three Steps” incident occurred.

At Great Escape – Nashville

Met an Old High School Friend and Fellow Musician

Jammin’

Showing my Strat to guitar legend James Burton

Old Woodcrest Grocery – The setting for “The Ballad of Curtis Loew”

At Celtic Fest 2019

Playing an impromptu blues gig and live radio broadcast

At Celtic Fest 2019. The guy on the left is also a Fitzhugh

Grave of Ronnie Van Zant

At Jackson State Community College lecture

 

So, that’s it. My 2019 in a nutshell.

Meanwhile, in Louisville…

I had a fabulous time at the MID-SOUTH PARANORMAL CONVENTION over the weekend. I performed with the Orb Tones, gave a Bell Witch lecture presentation, and signed books all weekend.

It was also great to catch up with old friends and make lots of new ones. Great convention + great people! And, KUDOS to the LGHS for organizing yet another stellar, first-class convention!

Stay tuned for MORE conventions and excitement later this year!

 

Captain Jack, the Paranormal Pup

Free-hanging pendulums with audio + visual alarms

You never know who you’ll see at MidSouth

Doing one of the things I love

Giving my guitar a last-minute workout before performing with the Orb Tones

My book setout for MidSouth this year

Recent Lectures and Upcoming Projects

It has been a busy yet productive fall, winter, and spring, and new BELL WITCH-related lectures, books, and other items are on this year’s horizon! More on that in the coming weeks. This is, of course, in addition to several other projects I am currently working on.

I will also be talking more about the Bell Witch development I posted recently, regarding an old, 1856 reprinted account of the BELL WITCH that recently surfaced, and its impact on a theory recently popularized by the skeptical community.

Meanwhile, I am leaving you with photos from two BELL WITCH lectures and storytelling sessions I did last fall–one in Sparta, Tennessee, and another at the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah, Kentucky. Enjoy.

Paducah, KY

@ Paducah, Kentucky

Lecture – Sparta, TN

Talk to you soon!

Lecture and Signing Event — Batesville, Mississippi

Thursday, April 23rd, 7:00 PM Central

Batesville Public Library
206 Highway 51 North
Batesville, MS

This free event is open to the public, and is being held in conjunction with a regular meeting of the Panola County Historical Society. The discussion will center on the “Bell Witch” legend, with special emphasis on its local Mississippi ties. The limited supply
of books to be sold and signed include, “The Bell Witch – The Full Account,” and “Ghostly Cries From Dixie.” Light refreshments will be served.

Winter Update

Ice, bone-chilling temperatures, more ice, and very stressful driving. That’s what Tennessee winters are all about. We get little snow, but lots of ice. Kentucky’s weather isn’t any better.

I would like to extend a big thank-you to the many people who braved 5 inches of snow and 2-degree temperatures last Thursday night to attend my Bell Witch / Southern Ghosts lecture, Q&A, and book signing at the library in Bowling Green, Kentucky. After having done a TV filming in Adams, TN, earlier in the day, followed by a slow, 1.5-hour drive over Kentucky’s backroads toward Bowling Green, I was warmly relieved to find so many upbeat and welcoming people at the end of my journey. It was a lot of fun. Thank you!

On March 5th, I will be traveling to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to give another lecture (to a private organization) and then spend the evening of March 6th performing paranormal research at possibly the Read House or the Choo Choo, followed by an investigation at UT Chattanooga and a nearby location. Then on March 14th, it will be an all-night paranormal research and investigative session at Octagon Hall in Franklin, Kentucky. The following week, I will likely return to The Thomas House for some research and possibly some writing. The rest of my year looks about the same as this; it’s going to be a very busy and productive year.

Several more lecture and signing appearances will be announced in the near future, including another visit to Kentucky (Owensboro) on October 15th. New book releases are also in the works. It’s going to be a fun year. Stay tuned!

 

Lecture and Book Signing – Feb. 19, Bowling Green, KY

Full Lecture and Book Signing
“The Bell Witch and Other Southern Ghosts”

This event includes a meet & greet, lecture, Q&A, and book signing, featuring The Bell Witch – The Full Account and Ghostly Cries From Dixie.

6:00PM – 7:45PM (Central)

Warren County Public Library
Bob Kirby Branch
175 Iron Skillet Ct.
Bowling Green, KY
More information: Click here

For driving directions, please plug the address into Google Maps.

Late Summer Update

Hey! Long time, no see! I’m sorry for the prolonged absence, but a half dozen projects have kept me busy. The “fun” projects include working on the Bell Witch Thirteenth Anniversary Edition, and editing Turkey Creek one last time before I send it off to the REAL editor. That poses a problem because I keep recollecting boyhood stories that I want to add, yet when I am editing, my goal is to cut, cut, cut. Since beginning my edits–and working through all seven passes–I’ve managed to cut about 200 pages. And the stories I want to add? They equal… about 200 pages.

The paperback copies of The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge, signed by author Lori Crane, have arrived and are on sale. I will join Lori by signing and personalizing them (I wrote the foreword). You can snag your copy here. Any copies not sold online will be signed and sold at lectures and signings.

Speaking of book signings, I am proceeding with the fall signing and lecture tour, although I won’t be swinging by some of the regular, out-of-state venues. Projects, along with several local events and private engagements, are keeping me close to home this fall. In October, I will participate in a panel discussion about folklore and historical research, and I’ll discuss the methods I’ve used in researching the “Bell Witch” case over the last three decades. This is for the Tennessee Society of Historical Archivists, I believe. Several fall signing and lecture events are also in the works, and will be announced soon. Stay tuned.

Book Signing and Storytelling Event

Sunday, October 27th, 3-6 PM Central

Author Pat Fitzhugh will be on hand for Bell Witch storytelling and signing the books, “The Bell Witch: The Full Account,” “Ghostly Cries From Dixie,” and “The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge.”

Chester’s Halloween Costume Ball and Karaoke
Shady Acres Activity Center — Old Rink Plaza
1649 Murfreesboro Rd.
Lebanon, Tennessee

Also: DJ and costume contest!
ADMISSION IS FREE!

Signed Paperbacks Now Available

After a two-year break from signing, personalizing, and direct-selling paperbacks from my living room, I am at it once again!  To receive a signed, personalized paperback, you must order through the link provided, below. 

The titles I am signing are Ghostly Cries From Dixie, The Bell Witch – The Full Account, and The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge.  I will not be signing The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge until late August, when author Lori Crane and I will be able to sign it (she wrote the book, I wrote the foreword).

Once you’ve read the book descriptions and made it to the PayPal ordering page, make sure to check out the “combo” discount for buying “Bell Witch” and “Ghostly Cries” together; it will save you a few bucks.

Enjoy your signed, personalized book!

 

Click here to order your signed paperback(s)!

 

Free Publicity – Creating a Buzz

Free Publicity – Creating a Buzz.

This lady (see link, above) has got it right. Carefully estimate when your book will be released, create a professional press release, and let the buzz begin!

Thirty-plus years of writing and publishing has taught me a few things, the most important of which is: “Keep it simple.” Take the old-fashioned, tried-and-true, bread-and-butter approach to promoting yourself and your books. If you have a decent, timely book about something people are interested in and want to read about, a concise and carefully-worded press release will help you to get the word out quickly and effectively.

Over a short period, more people will hear about your book by reading newspapers, watching TV, and listening to their radios on the way to work than by surfing the internet and stumbling across your blog or Facebook. A book release, assuming that the book is timely and promises a good read, is newsworthy; hence, the media are likely to mention it.

After you create the first wave of your release buzz, send your forthcoming book’s description and, preferably, a couple sample chapters to your local bookstore’s small press or community events coordinator, asking for a signing at the store. Call or visit a few days later, to follow up. Do this with every bookstore in your area. You’ll most likely get two or three signings if you play your cards right. Once you’ve scheduled the signings, create and send a press release for each one.

The additional press releases and the signings themselves will create more buzz, and open doors for more promotion and bigger opportunities. Aside from the two hours you spend crafting a professional press release, the effort costs you nothing but leaves you with plenty to gain.