Mansion Original
When I snapped this image in October, I wasn’t too impressed with the result. It didn’t spark my imagination, which is always a bad sign. I was in a hurry and used my camera phone, which was zoomed in a bit too much. Even though this house has stories to tell, I didn’t feel any of them that day. My creativity felt closed off. Since I’m a writer, and not a photographer, it’s normal if I am not immediately able to capture a visual; I tuck everything away until the time is right. I’m familiar enough with this house, which is in my home city, to know that the intuitive call to my creative process would happen, eventually and beautifully.
After a conversation with Jennifer from Quirk’n It, I decided to wade through the 1300+ photos on my phone. When I saw this one, it struck me differently than it did two months ago. I was playing around with some effects, when it hit me: for the last few months, I’ve been writing a short story featuring this house in triplicate. The house is not the star, nor was it the impetus for the piece, but it’s there just the same: altered, transformed, re-imagined into something else. All before I took the photograph. Remembered from previous glimpses, from some unremembered or unnoticed tucking away.
*”Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”-Edgar Allan Poe
**This is an excerpt from my short story, The Brothers’ Boneyard. No stealing, please.
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That’s a great house! Where did you find it?
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It’s in downtown Columbus, Ohio. One of many lovely homes in the city.
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Well done. I’m sure the story will be great.
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Thank you!
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This is so beautiful…
xx
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Thank you very much!
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This was fun! I loved reading the captions with the different image(s). Too difficult to pick a favorite, but I can see why the house captivates you. It has a haunted beauty. And I can’t wait to read the story!!!
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Thanks, Jennifer! I have to admit that I had fun with the captions. The story is progressing nicely (I think). I cannot wait to share it with you.
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Oh wow, I love homes like that!! That’s pretty cool that you subconsciously wrote about it.
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I know! It was weird when I realized that. There are so many lovely 19th-century homes like that in downtown Columbus. Some house businesses now, but many are still residences. This one is about a 90-second walk from where my mother lives, so I usually see it when I visit.
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That house is beautiful 😀 When I saw the photo I could think up some stories to go along with it.
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I can, too, when I see it in person! It’s one of my favourites. I just didn’t feel anything directly after snapping the photo. It figures in a piece of fiction I am writing now, though.
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