Inspiration for When the Lantern Swings

When the Lantern Swings is based on one of many legends passed down through the years in the Hocking Hills. When we were newlyweds, my wife and I had little money for a honeymoon, so we decided to spend a week at Lake Hope State Park in Zaleski, Ohio. During the annual “campfire night,” the park ranger told the true story of a miner trapped in the Moonville Tunnel when a train came. He used his signal lantern in a desperate attempt to warn the train off but was killed. Legend has it that park guests can see the miner’s lantern swinging in the darkness. That week, I wrote the first draft of When the Lantern Swings. Later that year, I published it as a short story. The story stayed in my mind, and after retiring from the FBI, I decided to expand it to a novel. Though sub-plots and characters have been added, the story remains essentially unchanged from the original.