East Liverpool ghosts and oddities

[johnreppion]

You've probably tried this already but how about placing a small ad in a local paper, or even seeing if they would like to do a story on it? perhaps see if you can get on local radio. I believe there is a ghost walk called 'shiverpool' maybe the guide would be a good place to start. I've always found that people are happy to talk about there experiences you just have to find them!

Brenda, you're absolutely right that it's just a case of finding the right people but, sadly, my deadline is closing in.

I've been putting handbills in shops and libraries, posting online, been interviewed on internet radio, all since I started working on the book last year. I've even had an extract from the book published in a Liverpool free newspaper. The sad fact is that the likes if the Merseymart, Radio Merseyside and the Echo already have their own resident ghost writers/experts and don't seem very interested in what I'm doing.
As for the Shiverpool tours, I've met people who work for them and heard some of the stories they tell. These are no doubt wonderful when you're on the tour but a bit too melodramatic for what I'm working on. Also, their versions of these tales (like Tom Slemen's) will be copyrighted and therefore illegal for me to use.

Sorry to sound so negative, all your suggestions make perfect sense and I'm very grateful for them; I just felt I should explain my position.

Cheers

[fortinian]

Researchwriter, remember that not all of Tom Slemens stories are bull****, some of them have a genuine basis in truth before the Arse-Sorryteller (sorry, Arch-Storyteller) gets his sensationalizing hands upon them.

One of his tales mentioned a UFO in in North Liverpool years ago, my mother who was only a child then but she maintains that her and my aunt saw something similar to what Slemen described.

As it was a general event and people like my mother are still alive and probably remember it I cannot see why he would have any copyright or assosiated claims over the story. I mean, it's not like he had copyright worries when he pillaged Wittington-Egans books for his first few publications.

[johnreppion]

Researchwriter, remember that not all of Tom Slemens stories are bull****, some of them have a genuine basis in truth before the Arse-Sorryteller (sorry, Arch-Storyteller) gets his sensationalizing hands upon them.

One of his tales mentioned a UFO in in North Liverpool years ago, my mother who was only a child then but she maintains that her and my aunt saw something similar to what Slemen described.

As it was a general event and people like my mother are still alive and probably remember it I cannot see why he would have any copyright or assosiated claims over the story. I mean, it's not like he had copyright worries when he pillaged Wittington-Egans books for his first few publications.

Fortinian, I couldn't possibly comment on whether Mr. Slemen's stories were embellished or not but, if I was to use his work as a source and there were details of it which had not previously appeared elsewhere, that is where (I believe) the copyright issue would come in. I have no doubt that there are plenty of people out there who have witnessed some of things he has described and, of course, their testimony would not be under his copyright. To be honest, my book is already going to be called Haunted Liverpool (since all of Tempus Publishing's books in this series are called Haunted [insert city or town name here]) so I want to try to steer clear of Mr. Slemen's work as much as is possible.

[johnreppion]

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