This is a bit of a departure from my usual TYMNHS posts, where I talk about art, movies or books that you might not have seen. I wanted to talk about the ghost story (or rather ghost stories) of Lari Castle in Tuscany, Italy because of how it tied in (rather spookily) to my upcoming release Eleanor’s Travels.
Bare with me as this might be a long post. I will first start with the legends of the castle.
One of these is Gostanza da Libbiano, a woman accused of witchcraft in 1594. She was more likely a herbalist who treated sick people with herbs. She was put in jail, where she was violently tortured. She became mentally and physically disabled. She was confined to a three-miles distance from her house. She died in the grip of madness. Since then, people believe that her spirit returns to the prisons. They say that she goes through the walls with chains and rags on her body. Others even hear crying at night within the castle walls.
The other ghost belongs to Giovanni Princi, a farmer who was put in jail in 1922 because of his political ideas. He was found hanged in his cell. He had actually been killed by the guards, who beat him up and hanged him later. When the jail closed down, the keeper said that he saw the ghost of Rosso in the castle. He appeared like a mist-shrouded man who vanished in the corridors.
Now to the part where one of the ghost story fit in Eleanor’s Travels. There is one entire chapter about a character who Eleanor meets in Italy. I wrote the scene before researching the exact location. It goes to show that a writer’s mind does not work in a linear fashion. Sometimes, we find the location to fit the scene we have already written 😆
I had a picture in my mind, but no name to go with it. I searched for ghost towns in Italy. I searched for pictures that looked like the picture in my mind. After deviating from my main search and clicking through many websites, I came across Lari castle. I looked at the pictures of the medieval village and everything clicked!
I then read the details of the ghost story. Although my story is quite different, there were three details that were the same 👀 1. The part about a witch 2. The part about crying in the night 😱 3. Reference to madness
My mind was blown and I got chills🤯🥶 It also told me that I was on the right path with the story. You can say a confirmation of my intuition where the story was headed. As a writer, it is nice to get those signs from the universe 😁
I hope you found today’s post interesting. I learned one thing for sure. I can get easily spooked 👻
Thank you for reading!
Sources: https://www.posarellivillas.com/best-of-italy/2017/curiosities/castle-of-lari-ghosts
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