Karen Stevens has always loved Halloween, with all its mystery and excitement. As a child, she would linger in the leaf-whirled darkness as long as she dared, hoping to catch a glimpse of the spirits that were said to roam the earth on All Hallows’ Eve. She never saw one, but that only made her more determined to try her luck again the next year. And things sometimes did go “bump in the night” at the family home. Doorbells rang for no apparent reason, lights turned themselves mysteriously off or on, and someone we couldn’t see occasionally walked up the basement stairs. Eventually, the family sold the house and moved on with their lives, but Karen never lost her childhood fascination with ghosts, whatever they may be.

She was born on Halloween more than sixty-five years ago and currently lives in Billings, Montana, with two dogs and a house ghost who fills the kitchen with the aroma of baking cookies around the holidays. Unfortunately, she never leaves Karen any!