
When PJ and his team of Paranormal Pursuers unearth the sinister secrets of the Scottish village of Pittenweem’s witch-hunting past, they must confront the malevolent spirit of a young boy to save the villagers from chaos and terror.

The Phantoms of Pittenweem
PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers Book 2
by Jacqui Dempster
Genre: YA, Teen Paranormal Adventure

After moving from New York to Edinburgh to live with his aunt, PJ very quickly discovered the parallel worlds of the living and the dead when he was forced to battle the evil Mackenzie Poltergeist at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Now, PJ and his fellow ghost-hunting friends are invited to stay in the picturesque fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife, a place which, unbeknown to them, has haunting echoes of its witch-hunting past.
However, their holiday promises to be anything but peaceful, as witchcraft and superstition threatens to bring terror and chaos to the villagers and the Paranormal Pursuers must face off with the malevolent spirit of a young boy, Patrick Morton. Can they find a way to prevent him from reviving the dark and sinister past of Pittenweem before it’s too late?
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School’s out and The Paranormal Pursuers, PJ, Freya, Shuggie and Sunny catch up at Starbuck’s. Things suddenly take an unexpected and spooky turn, however…
“Good to see you both.” Sunny smiles. “Sit down. Here, PJ, hot chocolate for you and Freya, a vanilla Frappuccino.” Sunny never changes – always polite and concerned for everyone else’s comfort. I give him a fist pump.
“Just what the doctor ordered, Sunny, after a day worse than being trapped in Mackenzie’s tomb!”
Everyone laughs. The smile is quickly wiped from my face, though, when I catch some familiar faces in my peripheral vision. They’re tucked away in the corner, their heads together, looking like they’re plotting something evil. It’s Heather who sees me first. She kinda gives a look of disgust and tuts audibly. I don’t know why, but they’re always huddled together in the school yard, giving me dirty looks, or pointing and sniggering whenever they see me and Freya. I give Freya, who’s absorbed in lively banter with Shuggie and Sunny, a nudge, and tilt my head surreptitiously in their direction.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were stalking us.” Freya snorts and shakes her head disdainfully. She gives the girls defiant side-eye, as if to say, you lot don’t worry me, but just as she does, there is a whoosh, followed by the clattering of breaking crockery and the three girls are screaming in horror, coffee dripping from the table and staining their clothes, a mass of broken plates and glass mugs lying in pools of milky liquid on the floor surrounding them.
Other customers are looking on in shock as one woman stands up, clutching her beads and says, “Did you see that? Those plates and coffee glasses shot up in the air of their own accord!”
“I saw it too!” A young woman in distressed jeans and white t-shirt is standing open-mouthed. “It… it’s like a ghostly hand tossed everything up from the table!”
My heart flutters wildly with excitement. Maybe I don’t have to look too far for a new investigation, after all? I’m brought back to earth with a bump as things take an unpleasant turn.
The three girls are sobbing hysterically, and a barista comes running over to see what all the commotion is about. He gives them a bunch of napkins to wipe themselves down. Heather, who is gulping in air, looks aghast and shrieks, “It’s her! Freya!” She points at Freya, whose face is ashen. “She did it. The witch! Nothing like this happened to me until she stayed with us at our other house last year. Her and her mother. They’re evil, I tell you. They make stuff happen. Her and those – those – others! They were summoning up the Mackenzie Poltergeist last year! She’s a witch, I tell you.” Heather now is gurning and wailing uncontrollably.
“Now just wait a minute! That’s not fair, Heather…” I stand up to defend Freya, but almost instantly I’m aware of my cheeks reddening in embarrassment as it’s all eyes on us, the silence deafening. “So just leave Freya alone,” I say, self-consciously sitting back down. Now I’m beginning to understand why Heather’s been so off with us. Freya has paled in open-mouthed horror, her hand shaking as she puts down her cup. Shuggie and Sunny look at each other, eyebrows raised in shock at the sudden fracas that’s developing in the far corner, which also seems to involve them.
The woman with the beads pipes up. “Now, now, dearie. Those young people over there were minding their own business. They did nothing that could have caused this.”
“Are you not listening to me?” Heather is insistent and is not backing down. “Of course she didn’t move. But she gave me the evil eye! I saw it.”
“Well, she did give you a sideways glance,” the younger woman in jeans agrees, “but I wouldn’t say it was the ‘evil eye’, as such. Anyway, there’s no such thing as witches and ghosts,” she adds definitively.
Heather is puce with anger and determination.
“Do none of you recognise them? They’re that bunch of ghost hunters that found Sophie McGregor in the Mackenzie Tomb last year. I know that Freya one! Her mum runs Magickal Moments in the Grassmarket. They’re all into witchcraft and spirits and she’s put the evil eye on me. This isn’t the first thing that’s happened!”
The barista is now looking very worried. I guess he’s thinking that business could be affected if people think there’s a poltergeist in Starbucks. Freya is shaking and looking really upset.
“Och, c’mon, guys,” says Shuggie. “Ah’m no sitting here listenin’ tae that daft girl insultin’ oor Freya and the rest of us any longer. Let’s get oot of here an’ find somewhere else tae talk.”


The Mackenzie Poltergeist
PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers Book 1

After his mom dies, PJ reluctantly leaves his New York home and everyone he loves, to live with his Aunt Katie in Edinburgh. A series of strange events begin when his aunt’s elderly neighbour and her cat Azrael convince him that his mom, weirdly, is still very much with him.
At a bereavement counselling group, PJ makes a new group of friends, all of whom have lost loved ones. Drawn together by their shared experiences, they soon discover they have something else in common; an interest in the supernatural. Freya is the daughter of a white witch, Sunny has a scientific and enquiring mind and Shuggie, a superfan of ghost hunting programmes. Led by PJ, they try to prove that there is life after death and that their loved ones are still with them. The team receives strange messages leading them to investigate Greyfriars Kirkyard where they experience terrifying paranormal activity and PJ is drawn into the clutches of the evil Mackenzie Poltergeist after reciting a famous rhyme that invites the restless spirit to draw back the bolt of his scary mausoleum to allow him entry. There, he finds himself in a fight of good against evil with the ghost of Sir George Mackenzie.
“If you are, or know someone who is a teenager with a newfound interest in the supernatural and paranormal, this is the book for you.” The Courier and Advertiser (Fife Edition)
“PJ and his friends make a great group of characters, and there’s lots of laughter to be had as well as scares, while ‘auld reekie’ provides the perfect backdrop for these ghostly goings-on.” LoveReading4Kids & LoveReading4Schools
“This is a terrific story for teen readers to devour on a spooky autumn evening.” The School Librarian (TSL)
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Jacqui Dempster qualified as a solicitor in 1999 but now works as a malpractice investigator for an education and qualifications organisation. She lives in Dunfermline, Fife, with partner, Andrew, and various ‘borrowed’ doggies who visit regularly. Jacqui loves dogs, especially Jack Russell Terriers and thinks if they ruled the world, it would be a better place! The doggy motifs on the cover of her books represent Dug and Buddy who belong to the characters, Shuggie and PJ. Dug is based on Jacqui’s own beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Smudge, and her grandpup, Gus, both of whom have sadly passed over the Rainbow Bridge.
Jacqui loves theatre and ran performing arts schools for young people in Fife. She produced and directed various shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. When not either working or writing, she loves to paint and crochet, and of course, read books.
Her first children’s book in this series, PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers– The Mackenzie Poltergeist, was published by The Book Guild in 2021.
Jacqui explains: “The supernatural has featured in my life since I was young, with a grandfather who saw ghosts regularly and other members of the family, on my Welsh side, having strange experiences and even dabbling in magic! I studied on the Edinburgh University Koestler Parapsychology course to learn about the science of the Paranormal. I have also been on a few ghost investigations with mixed results.
I live in Fife nowadays and often visit the beautiful towns and villages within the county. Fife was one of the famous areas where ‘witches’ were persecuted, and the story of the Pitteweem Witches is particularly well known. In my book, the story is told for a younger reader involving a contemporary allegory about one of the young characters, Freya, who is a Wiccan. The subject of Scotland’s witches came up in 2022, when an apology was issued by the then First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon to those persecuted, tortured and executed, and MSPs were invited to consider legislation to pardon them.
I enjoy writing about various places we’ve visited, and especially about any with spooky stories attached on my Medium Daily Digest blog.”
Jacqui loves history and enjoys embracing fact with fiction in her books which she hopes encourages not only a love of reading in young people but also the desire to learn about events of the past which often influence the present and the future.
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Ghosts, Ghouls and Things that go Bump in the Night
I’m often asked why I’m interested in writing about the paranormal, ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. It’s a difficult question to answer because personally, I can’t say that I’ve actually seen a ghost, although I think I may have sensed things and I have witnessed one or two odd happenings when I’ve attended organised ghost investigations.
I think my interest may have been ingrained in me from childhood as it was commonly accepted within and outside the family, that my grandfather was psychic and when I visited my grandparents in the sleepy, yet idyllic Rhondda Valley in South Wales, my grandpa would tell me of his own experiences and of other local ghost stories.
He, for example, used to walk between Cwmparc, where he lived with my gran, and Merthyr Tydfil, across the mountain roads, to visit his mother. One night, as he was returning from one such visit, he stopped to light a cigarette and rest for a moment. As he did so, his mother appeared next to him and told him that she had died, shortly after his visit. They apparently chatted for a few minutes and as she disappeared, he continued the walk home. On arrival, my grandmother was waiting for him at the door. A message had just come through from relatives in Merthyr to say that his mother had indeed died. As she broke the news, he said, unsurprised, “I know. I saw her up on the mountain and she told me.”
On another occasion, both my grandparents were kept awake by the screeching of machinery and the sound of clanking metal and screams. It seemed to come from the linen chest they had in the bedroom. My grandpa lifted the lid and the room, according to him and my gran, was filled with the stench of death. This continued through the night until they heard the desperate cries of friends and neighbours shouting in the street for people to come and help at the coal mine, where there had been a terrible accident and several people were trapped or had been killed. An ex-miner himself, my grandpa recognised that the noises had been those of the mine and the screams had been the desperate calls for help from the victims of the accident. The mine however, was not within hearing distance of their home. Tales of strange happenings peppered my grandfather’s life and the stories of them were familiar to me. I guess I grew up thinking such things were normal.
Like most children, I loved to scare myself silly reading ghost stories and in later life, I retained my interest.
My partner and I went on a ghost investigation at Chillingham Castle, where the Scots, supporters of William Wallace, were held prisoner and tortured by Edward I, or ‘Longshanks’ as he was known, due to his extraordinary height. While in the torture chamber of Chillingham, those of us gathered on the investigation had bought either new torches or fresh batteries as instructed by the paranormal investigation team. As they called out to those whose spirits might still have been there, the ten, or twelve of us gathered, stood with our torches around a table. Without exception, every single one of the torches went out simultaneously! More than coincidence? I think so.
Of course, I have been on a tour of the Black Mausoleum and Covenanters’ Prison in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, where those persecuted for their religious beliefs were kept in the open air by Sir George Mackenzie, Scotland’s Lord Advocate. When Mackenzie’s tomb was desecrated in 1999 as a homeless man seeking shelter inside, fell through the floor onto partially preserved bodies and ran for his life in horror, poltergeist activity began in the Kirkyard. The entity, thought to be an angry Mackenzie, is said to haunt the Black Mausoleum today, attacking many who visit with scratches, bruises and causing them to faint.
I have also spent time in Pittenweem, a beautiful village in Fife, my home county, where the horrific persecution of innocent people accused of witchcraft took place. Their ghosts have allegedly been seen in the Tolbooth where they were imprisoned and tortured.
Both of these incidents are explored in the PJ and The Paranormal Pursuers Books, told in a way that I hope middle grade readers will learn of the history of Scotland and enjoy the ghostly adventures of the team of young ghost hunters.
I am often asked if I believe in ghosts. I think, on balance, I do. I completed the Koestler Course on parapsychology with Edinburgh University to learn about the science behind paranormal activity, which tries to establish the evidence for and against. I would describe myself as a ‘sceptical believer.’ I am still to be convinced one way or the other, as nothing has yet proved the existence of ghosts. Like most people, however, I like to think that there is more to come beyond the life we have now.

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Sounds like a good series. Thanks for sharing.
A fun read; thanks for the chance.
I love reading paranormal stories especially really scary ones !
Great cover – looks like a good book..
Looks interesting
Looks like a good read
Interesting, the type of genre I don’t normally read, but I like the cover a lot. Very spooky.
I like everything about this series – title cover and genre!
Thank you for sharing this excerpt.
Good cover
This sounds like an interesting read.
I would love to read this one this spring season it sounds like a good one for sure!
I am always interested in YA books, both because I often enjoy them myself, but also to recommend them to my grandchildren.
thanks this excerpt sounds really good, nice cover too
Sounds like a good book.
The book sounds very intriguing. Love the eerie cover. Very effective.
This sounds like a great series. I like the covers.
I like this cover. Sounds like a good read for the younger audience
Loving the cover
Sounds like a good book.
Sounds like a really interesting read.
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
Do you have any advice for new writers?
What inspired you to become a writer?
Looks very exciting. Do you write in a daily journal?
Sounds like a great book!
This looks like a very good book and I look forward to reading it. Love the covers and the excerpt.
Hope the book does well
cool
I like the covers and the excerpt was intriguing!
I enjoyed the excerpt
The excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.
Sounds like a good book
Great cover!
The cover and title are on point. Congrats on your tour.
Sounds like a great series of books.
This sounds like a fun read! Thanks for the giveaway!
Sounds like its got the intrigue
It looks like a good read.
I would love to find out the secrets behind the Scottish village of Pittenweem’s.
Nice cover!!
Thanks for sharing the excerpt. Sounds like a good book.
Sounds like a terrific series. Congratulations on your newest book.