Amber Roberts: How Exploring A Haunted Small Town Inspired A Romance Book

I grew up in a small town in Vermont, USA: The largest city in Vermont has a population of fewer than 45,000 people, while the town where I was raised has fewer than 1,500 people. My graduating class had 27 students—and I could tell you exactly where each of them lived. Because the area was so tiny, I had to find ways to entertain myself. If I didn’t want to drive an hour to the nearest shopping center, my options were limited, which is how I discovered the shadowy locations that sparked the premise for Haunt Your Heart Out.

I loved dressing in all black, wearing spiked collars, and listening to what teenage-me considered “edgy” music, so you may not be surprised to learn that I often trekked to spooky spots and areas rumored to be haunted. In these journeys, I soaked up local lore about unexplained things: The feeling of being watched, items disappearing from where they’d been left, sightings of spirits within the halls of historic buildings.

While working at a bookstore (which had its own haunting rumors!), I met a handful of people who also frequented these forgotten spaces in search of a good ghost story. My early 20s were rough: I was lonely and struggling to figure out who I was and what I brought to the world. These intrepid wanderers introduced me to Emily’s Bridge, which would become a prominent spot in Haunt Your Heart Out.

Emily’s Bridge—officially “Gold Brook Covered Bridge”—was built in 1844 in Stowe, Vermont, USA, a state known for its many covered bridges. It’s the only surviving example in Vermont of the specific Howe truss style, which was patented only 4 years prior.

And, if you ask the locals, it’s haunted.

With regular visits to this supposedly haunted location, I gained goosebumps, but also companionship. The group accepted me for me and assured me—showed me—that it was okay to be a little bit different; a little bit weird.

But here’s a secret: Though I was a glitter goth devotee, every trek to the haunted bridge (and haunted inn, and haunted cemetery, and haunted… you get the idea) had me biting my nails, hoping I didn’t spot any actual ghosts. I was terrified of the possibility that a wayward spirit might pop in to say hello.

Were these places truly haunted? Was the prickle at my hairline or shiver down my spine from ghosts… or the nighttime temperatures? I can’t say for sure. But, when these moments of maybe led to bonding with a bunch of weirdos over the possibility of a haunting, I’m pretty sure the truth never actually mattered in the first place. Ghosts or no ghosts, I was always only in it for the stories. And, thanks to those many winter nights wading through snow for the possibility of catching a glimpse of the beyond, I was inspired to craft an entire book, complete with my own ghost stories, to share with the world.

Haunt Your Heart Out is published by Penguin on 24 September 2024