Episode 108:
Paranormal Experiences That Influence My Writing
I write fantasy because the world doesn’t want to believe my reality. Stay tuned for how my real-life experiences have influenced my books.
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Welcome to the PEEP Podcast! I’m your host Nicolle Morock, and I’m grateful you’re here! The two big ideas behind the PEEP Podcast are to show that the paranormal is more normal than most people think and to connect the science to the psi, including ESP, psychokinesis, and intuition! In this episode, you’ll learn how my own paranormal and supernatural experiences end up in my short stories and novels.
But first, I have a few announcements:
Number one – the registration link for my Wake County Public Libraries Haunted Carolina presentation is live, and the link is in the show notes. I’m only doing one presentation this year, and it will be virtual via Zoom. Space is limited, so if you want to join us on Monday, October 20th, 2025, at 7:00 pm Eastern Time, you must register.
Here’s the event description:
Paranormal Investigator, Podcaster, and Author Nicolle Morock will dive into the common tropes found in horror movies and compare them to the nuggets of reality that inspire popular films. Pulling from her own research and experiences and using a combination of common sense and dry humor, she’ll show you how to determine if you’re up against the supernatural or you’ve just seen too many scary movies.
This event will not be recorded, which is kind of a bummer, and it means if you want to watch, you need to register as soon as possible.
Second, I follow and financially support IONS, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and they are looking for participants in a study about telepathy. They need pairs of people who experience mind-to-mind communication with each other who can fulfill the time commitment and attention required, and they’re having a difficult time finding them. Since “science plus psi” is my tag line, and that is the epitome of the study, I’m putting the link for information in the show notes. If you think you fit the bill, please sign up and contribute to the advancement of knowledge about telepathy!
Now, back to this episode’s topic – the paranormal experiences that influence my writing.
They say, “write what you know,” so it only makes sense that my characters and their stories are shaped by my life experiences. Rather than depending on autobiography or memoire, of which I have one, I prefer to casually seed my paranormal/supernatural experiences into fiction. Since I write fantasy, it’s pretty easy to get away with it. In fact, that’s probably why I write fantasy.
I’ve published five books and several short stories. Don’t look for the first novel because I retired it a couple of years ago. It was an okay story that needed to be written, and the process was somewhat cathartic and definitely a learning experience. But it was a first book, and my writing has greatly improved since releasing it. I retired it because I’d hate for someone to find it and read it as a first impression and then decide my writing wasn’t worth their time.
The Tritium Hypothesis is my second book, and it’s the first in The Rayna Smith Series. It follows the adventures of a small-town paranormal investigation group who live in the mountains of eastern Tennessee. There’s a mysterious hum, a UFO flap, and a friend that goes missing. It only made sense for me to work my own UFO sighting into the story by letting Rayna have a similar experience. I was kind enough to give her a fellow witness, so she didn’t have to question her own sanity.
I’ve already shared my UFO story on the podcast in Episode 42, so you can go back and listen if you haven’t already or read the transcript, which I’ll link to in the show notes.
The Dark Season is the sequel to The Tritium Hypothesis, and it deals with a supernatural entity, ghosts, and the idea that rather than help a person dealing with those things, some churches would rather kick the person out of the congregation. It’s a sad reality that my paranormal investigative group was made aware of by one of our clients that suffered from that experience. To this day, I still get angry thinking about how much it hurt her.
So, I wrote my rebuttal to her minister into the story line. I also included some of her claims about what was happening in her home, the Archangel Michael, spontaneous mediumship through dreams, assistance from the other side, and how flipping to a random page in the Bible gave me the message I needed for a different client.
If you listened to the last episode, you heard Rosa and me talk about our experiences with Saint Michael the Archangel, and if you go back to Episode 58, you can hear the whole story or read that transcript.
I’ll read an excerpt from The Dark Season now, to share how my flipping to a random page in the Bible experience worked its way into the story:
She closed her eyes and said a prayer before opening it, “Lord, show me what I need to know for my work on Saturday.” With her eyes still closed, she opened the book and let the pages fall where they wanted to. Then she opened her eyes and smiled at what she saw. It wasn’t the first time she had opened a Bible to a page in the Book of Tobit, Chapter 6.
Now listen to me, brother; we will speak about this girl tonight, so that we may arrange her engagement to you. Then when we return from Rages, we will take her and bring her back with us to your house.”
14 But Tobiah said to Raphael in reply, “Brother Azariah, I have heard that she has already been given in marriage to seven husbands, and that they have died in the bridal chamber. On the very night they approached her, they would die. I have also heard it said that it was a demon that killed them.
15 So now I too am afraid of this demon, because it is in love with her and does not harm her; but it kills any man who wishes to come close to her. I am my father’s only child. If I should die, I would bring the life of my father and mother down to their grave in sorrow over me; they have no other son to bury them!”
16 Raphael said to him: “Do you not remember your father’s commands? He ordered you to marry a woman from your own ancestral family. Now listen to me, brother; do not worry about that demon. Take Sarah. I know that tonight she will be given to you as your wife!
17 When you go into the bridal chamber, take some of the fish’s liver and the heart, and place them on the embers intended for incense, and an odor will be given off.
18 As soon as the demon smells the odor, it will flee and never again show itself near her.
Rayna closed the Bible and smiled. “Yes, sir,” she said with her eyes raised to heaven. “It may not be a fish’s organs, but I’ve got some nice sweetgrass and sage.”
If you’re wondering why the Book of Tobit isn’t in your copy of the Bible, my guess is that you’re looking at a protestant version of it. Tobit is one of the books that Martin Luther removed. It still exists in Catholic Bibles, and if you enjoy paranormal/supernatural stories, it’s worth reading.
As far as spontaneous mediumship through dreams? I’ve had several throughout my lifetime, and I think I’ve spoken with guests of the show about a few of them. As an empath, I’ve learned to put my psychic walls up most of the time because it keeps me from feeling everyone’s emotions and physical pain (for the most part).
So, if a deceased loved one wants to reach me, they have to do it when I’m asleep because that’s when my walls are down. I don’t mind those dreams, but I usually wake up crying because I don’t want the visit to be over. Still, I’m sure I’ll see them again when I make it to their side of the veil, so don’t worry about me.
Speaking of dreams, I’ve written at least two short stories based on very vivid dreams that stuck with me, The Trial and The Companion. To be clear, it’s not the same “The Trial” that is the bonus chapter for Daughter of the Mystic Moon. I have a few more dreams that I will probably do the same with, eventually, including one I had last year that I refer to as the demon rave.
My third book is autobiographical, verging on memoire, and it covers my experiences and lessons learned over a decade of investigating reportedly haunted locations with the National Society of Paranormal Investigation and Research (NSPIR). I’ve read several chapters from it on the podcast, including Episode 58, Saint Michael and His Merry Band of Angels, so feel free to go back and listen, or read the transcripts to episodes 76 (The Evil Ex-Husband), 99 (It Started with a Ouija Board), and 105 (Epic-Con at the Old Cavalier Hotel). If you liked those episodes, you might be interested in buying “Please, don’t call me psychic” on Amazon.
Daughter of the Mystic Moon, which you might be tired of hearing about by now, is the new one that is also seeded with my own experiences, but in a different way. The main female character, Serena, is an energy healer, so I’ve drawn upon the truths I’ve learned as I traveled my path to becoming a practitioner.
Keep in mind that the book is Medieval fantasy, so Serena’s adventures are much grander than anything I’ve ever done, but explanations of healing energy coming from her palms and not her crystals – that’s based on Reiki. Projecting energy for protection? I do it pretty regularly. Crazy crows that attacked as if controlled by a wizard? I actually have a story, although much tamer, for that, too. I won’t share it here because I don’t want to convict a family member.
I’m not the only author to work my own paranormal experiences into my writing. It’s an easy way to share a story while hiding behind a fictional story line. I just see no reason to hide anymore. My paranormal freak flag has been flying for years, so the world might as well know what they’ll get when they read my work.
And if you do read it, I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you for listening.
If you have an idea for an episode topic, or better yet, if you want to share your own personal paranormal experiences of any type, use the contact form at peeppodcast.com to get in touch! You can be as anonymous as you like, or you can let your paranormal freak flag fly and share your name. Either way, I’m happy to hear from you. Sharing our stories helps people realize that the paranormal is much more normal than they think! That's P-E-E-P Podcast.com. Remember that stands for People Experiencing Everyday Paranormal.
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