"Tales from the Southern Hotel" stories Web Site

Story Summaries and Excerpts

Tales from the Southern Hotel now available online!

"Mary Lou's Gift"- Mary Lou Peters and her parents are introduced in this story. Mary Lou has a frightening dream one night that the hotel catches on fire, then later realizes that it happened long ago. She asks Papa questions about the hotel, but he tries to tell the truth without giving away a very important secret. Mary Lou travels back in time and learns something surprising about her father and the hotel, while simultaneously learning something about herself.

"The fire blazed madly as the buffet went up in flames and charred velvet curtains burned on the blackened inlaid wood floors. People yelled and screamed, and all were in a crowd trying to pile through the only unblocked door. The stage, where the band had played only five minutes ago, was up in flames as well. The only fire engine in town roared down the street...."

"Hattie"- It's time for the annual Confectionery Convention at the Southern Hotel. Mary Lou is very excited about the wonderful event, especially since everyone always gives her samples of the food. Hattie, an old friend from Mary Lou's early childhood, shows up for the first time in a long time just as Mary Lou makes friends with one of the guests. Hattie is no ordinary little girl, though, and hasn't changed a bit since Mary Lou last saw her. Robby and Mary Lou can see Hattie, but Mamma and Papa are convinced that their daughter is just remembering her "imaginary friend" from early childhood. Mary Lou takes Robby and Hattie to a trip back in time to learn of the tragic death of the little girl who didn't know she had died.

   "...'Hattie, why do you come back to visit me every year? How come you never stay in the hotel any other time?' Mary Lou was so excited she sounded almost angry.
    'Mary Lou, I have to go see my family, too. They live in a place just like this. I stay the same age for some reason and never grow up. I'm just like Peter Pan in your other storybook.'
    Oh my goodness! This little girl doesn't realize she has died! She still thinks that she lives in the hotel...."

"The Argument, the Basement, and the Blue Trunk"- Mary Lou spends a few days down in the basement cleaning and organizing for her parents to earn a little extra money. Mary Lou starts questioning why she's the only sibling, which starts her parents arguing about a big family secret. She finds a mysterious blue trunk underneath years of junk and extra items for the hotel. Mary Lou feels she is responsible for her parents arguing all the time. Guilt-stricken after she opens the trunk, she then realizes why her parents were arguing.

"...Something caught her attention. In the corner behind empty suitcases and plain-looking trunks was a small blue trunk. It had old-fashioned cars and teddy bears stenciled on the front and sides.
'This is odd. I've never seen this before. Well, actually I haven't seen most of this stuff before, but it seems so out-of-place down here in the cold, dark cellar.' Mary Lou slid the other trunks out of the way. She tried to open the chest, but it was locked...."

"Murder Mystery at the Hotel"- It was a little past midnight, January 1, 1930, that Jim Feering was stabbed to death. A little over twenty years later, Mary Lou Peters has a vision of the murder that took place behind the stage in the hotel ballroom. Mary Lou's family and Robby's family go to Penelope Parkington's estate auction. Penelope wants to escape the town and house that fills her with awful and painful memories of the past. The murder is an unsolved, forgotten case that very few people care about, and nobody knows exactly what happened... except Mary Lou. The day Penelope leaves, she gives Mary Lou a journal that belonged to her fiancee, who committed suicide.

     "For a moment before the eardrum-piercing shrieks filled the ballroom, the eerie sound of the gramophone echoed throughout the otherwise silent darkness. The fire bell then sounded and everyone evacuated, nearly trampling one another to escape whatever peril lay ahead.
    In the panic, nobody noticed that the sprinkler system wasn't even turned on. They didn't realize the lack of smoke and flames.
    Somebody wearing gloves and a hat pulled down over his eyes reached out and pulled Jim Feering from the stampeding crowd..."

"Caught at the County Fair"- A questionable person, Henry McDonald, is staying at the hotel. Mary Lou is convinced he's up to something. When she and Robby overhear a telephone conversation and find his secret files, they know he's out to get someone at the annual county fair, too. At the fair, Henry McDonald and hid clown accomplice learn that the two kids know something and tries to stop them.

"...'She's the daughter of the owner of the hotel where I'm staying. I have no idea who the boy is, but they are acting suspiciously. They keep staring at us as if they know something, and we can't allow that. Make sure they keep away from the barn and the magician.'
The clown nodded, and the two men parted company...."

"Rediscovering Mary Lou's Gift"- Mary Lou has to run errands one day and loses consciousness in front of the hardware store. Her mother finds her and she and the storeowner carry her home. Mary Lou goes to the hospital to lower her abnormally high fever and cure her extreme dehydration, but she loses part of her memory in the process. She has continuing visions of previous visions and awful headaches while in the hospital, and the only thing familiar to her is her best friend's name-- sort of.

"...The doctor came and knew exactly what had happened.
'She has been outside in the heat too long and has heat stroke. Her fever is too high and she's very dehydrated. If we don't get her to the hospital now and lower her fever, she's going to be in a coma.' "

"Independence Day Ball"- Mamma and Papa decide to invite Robby to go to the Independence Day Ball with Mary Lou. This is Mary Lou's first dance with anyone outside her family. She meets a new friend, thirteen-year-old Julie Parkington, niece of Penelope Parkington. At the end of the ball, Robby tells her some sad news.

"...At first, there seemed to be no other kids, but then Mary Lou noticed a curly blonde-haired girl about twelve or thirteen sitting at the table. Her place tag was next to Robby and Mary Lou's place settings. Had Papa planned this?
Mary Lou looked at the girl's name tag. 'Hi, Julie, my name is Mary Lou, and this is my friend Robby.'"

"Moving On"- Julie and Mary Lou become fast friends, and Julie enjoys staying with Mary Lou at the hotel. She is a very smart girl with lots of clever ideas and plans a party for the Phillips family. While Julie visits her grandparents, Mary Lou realizes that she is used to having friends and not used to being alone anymore. Her lonliness causes carelessness and laziness in her responsibilities, but everything soon returns to normal. The day of the party is filled with both laughter and tears as the Phillips family moves on to their new destination in the Southwest.

"...He [Robby] tore the paper off the white box and opened it. He removed the green tissue and pulled out Mary Lou's scrapbook.... 'I wanted your present to be something special, not that the others weren't. I really am going to miss you.' Her [Mary Lou's] eyes started watering, and she rubbed the tears away...."

"Forgotten"- Mary Lou is turning Sweet Sixteen and, as usual, her parents planned a party in the hotel. Her mother specifically told her not to see her birthday cake, but Mary Lou couldn't resist the temptation; she peeks at the beautiful multi-layered pink birthday cake. Her mother finds out that she saw her surprise birthday cake, and isn't very happy. Mary Lou's conscience gets the best of her as she goes through the day feeling sorry for herself. Will there be a surprise party after all?

"...There was no way to hide it, and lying near her birthday would not be a wise choice. She sighed and plopped down on the sofa. 'Okay, I admit it! I saw the cake. Mamma, I just wanted to see what color it was,' she said...."

"Of Dreams and Visions"- Mary Lou has a frightening vision after she slips on the waxed ballroom floor and falls on her back. The ballroom is in ruins once again, only this time it isn't fire damage. This time, it's as if she's traveled forward in time instead of back, and the future of the Southern Hotel looks very bleak.

    "...It became louder, and louder, and louder still. She noticed something different about that corner— the piano was missing.
    She went to the door that led backstage and tried to open it. The doorknob popped off. She ran to the other doors, but they were locked. The walls seemed to be closing in on her.
    The music became louder, until she felt the notes almost following her, pounding her ears with their creepy twang...."

"Merry Christmas, Mary Lou"- A Southern Hotel Christmas ends the Tales from the Southern Hotel story collection. The whole town of Asheville, especially the hotel, is getting ready for the Christmas holiday. Everyone has plans for parties, festivities, family fellowship, and fun. Mary Lou's parents have a special surprise planned, but something that nobody could possibly control happens that might possibly cancel the surprise. Meanwhile, the Peters family has volunteered to help Julie with her schoolwork, as she's struggling in school. Julie is jealous of all the attention and care Mary Lou receives from her parents, whereas it seems to Julie that her own parents are never happy with her. Julie struggles with family and school issues and nearly ruins her friendship with Mary Lou, worst of all, right before Christmas. Will everyone this year have a not-so-merry Christmas?

"...'How is running away going to lessen the burden?' Mary Lou said. She was scared for Julie. 'Your parents will have a bigger burden to carry if you escape. They’ll have to feel the guilt of driving you away, not to mention the fact that they might never see you again. Unpack that suitcase right now, Julie Parkington. You’re just proving your parents right by not thinking before you do something....'"

"The best way to get to know a person isn't to read their autobiography, but to read their fiction. Every hope, dream, fear, like, and dislike appears in the characters and plots of an author's made-up story. A biography is what really happened; a tale is the reality of the person's imagination and dreams."