June 19, 2024
SPOILER ALERT: This journal entry contains insights about major themes in The Empty Lot Next Door. If you're trying to avoid spoilers, it's advisable not to read further until you've finished the book. Reading this journal entry may reveal important plot details you'd rather discover alone.
Candle Face Chronicles: The Lost Souls [Book One] has been available on Amazon since May 5th, 2024. I ordered a shipment of books, which arrived on June 14th. As expected, some of the books were damaged, but to my surprise, only four were affected. This is a significant improvement compared to last year when I ordered 100 copies of The Empty Lot Next Door, and 80 of them were damaged due to shady shipping, poor packaging, or subpar print/cutting work – issues many authors face when dealing with Amazon.
Despite the frustration, the fact that only four books were damaged felt like a victory. During the grueling refund process, I documented each damaged book. Three had pages fused together due to poor cutting, and one had a sticky substance on the front cover. Anticipating that Amazon might refuse a refund for the sticky book, I sprinkled baking powder on the cover to make the stickiness more visible. It worked, revealing a visible handprint. However, the camera still had problems picking up the handprint.
For those who have read my memoir, The Empty Lot Next Door, you’ll know Candle Face left handprints around my house, especially on the windows. As a child, I struggled to determine if Candle Face was real or just a figment of my imagination. Those handprints convinced me she was real. By the end of my elementary school years, I defeated Candle Face, and she disappeared. However, on the day of my high school prom, I found a small handprint on the inside of my car’s hatchback window, a sign that Candle Face wasn’t dead.
The handprint has always been a powerful symbol in my life. It represents the tangible yet elusive presence of Candle Face, a ghost who haunted my childhood. The handprints were her way of leaving a mark, a reminder that she was always near, watching. They were both a source of fear and proof of her existence. This duality—fear and proof—became a central theme in my life and writing.
I hadn’t seen or heard of Candle Face until October 2023, when I began researching her and the mystery of the empty lot next to my childhood home. Shortly after starting my research, lost souls—Candle Face’s victims—began visiting me, asking for help locating their bodies and identifying their killers. These visits reinforced the significance of the handprint as a symbol of unresolved mysteries and unfinished business.
Seeing the handprint on my car that prom night was an alarming reminder that Candle Face was still lurking in my life’s shadows. Now, years later, finding another handprint—this time on the cover of my book about Candle Face—evoked that same heart-stopping sensation. Why would Candle Face leave her mark on my book? Was it a message, a warning, or left by a printing press employee who used my book as a napkin?
Adding to the creepy connection, I’ve encountered Candle Face twice in the past few months during my research and the subsequent visits from the lost souls. Each encounter has left me questioning the boundaries between reality and the supernatural. The handprint on my book directly links my past fears and the mysteries I’m unraveling.
Could this handprint be a sign that Candle Face is closer than ever, watching my every move as I uncover the secrets of her victims? Or is it a twisted coincidence, a cruel trick of fate to remind me of the horrors I thought I had left behind? The recurrence of the handprint serves as a haunting reminder that Candle Face is real.
Key To Understanding
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