COMMENT - Jessica - July 12, 2014

Creepy Capreol Comes to Town

Matt DelPapa is launching another book and he asked me if I would interview him about it. I was more than happy to do that.

Matt thank you for asking me to interview you about your upcoming book. I am always happy to promote your writing in any way I can. This book sounds to be very interesting indeed. The title alone “Creepy Capreol” is intriguing and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. So on with the information to let others know all about the hard work you have been putting into your latest book. I’m sure once the readers of this article hear Matt talk about his book they will be lining up alongside me to get a copy.

Q. Did you have a difficult time collecting stories for your book at all?

A. Not really, no. I contacted several Capreol writers (current and former residents) and asked if they’d be interested. Those who were free were happy to help. Unfortunately there are only so many local writers and some were just too busy. I ended up turning to a few people who have loose connections to town, people who’s writing I admire, and asking if they could write something Capreol-specific. Luckily a few were willing to try.

This book features 14 entries (7 fiction and 7 non-fiction) as well as 5 illustrations by noted local artist Robert Michelutti. I wrote 6 of the 7 non-fiction pieces (the other is a more than seven-decade old poem by George Quackenbush and his mother) and one of the stories. Former Capreol resident — and renowned Canadian horror writer — Steve Vernon provided a great railroading story called “Rolling Stock.” Another former town resident, Jason Shayer, wrote a terrifying story for the book. “Stagnant Waters” shows off Jason’s love of the dark and will chill readers to the bone. Lisa Coleman-Brown offers a disquieting story of disgust and discovery in “Not The Basement!” While Betty Guenette gives two stories, both set in local ghost towns, and Paul Mandziuk wrote a literary murder mystery with a novel twist. Not only did Mark Leslie give his blessing to my ‘borrowing’ his idea, he wrote the introduction.

Q. Matt what lead you to your subject choice in this book?

A. I decided to write Creepy Capreol after being involved with Spooky Sudbury and seeing how successful it was. The invite for that book came out of the blue — a friend of mine gave Mark Leslie (Spooky Sudbury’s co-author) my email — and he approached me looking for stories from Capreol. I only had a few days to track something down but managed to find one (about Capreol High School) that they liked. Seeing that story in print encouraged me to continue, as did some kind words from Mark.

Q. Do you, as an individual, believe in ghosts or the supernatural?

A. I love the idea of the supernatural. Science Fiction and Fantasy are my reading material of choice and I’ve read my share of ‘out there’ fiction. Some of my favourite books and stories feature werewolves, vampires, and the like. The question of belief is harder. Let me put it this way; I don’t expect to ever meet a mummy, lake monster, or bigfoot … but, then again, I can’t say with certainty that none of those things exist. It’s highly doubtful — science can explain a lot and those answers tend to be mundane — but very little is impossible.

Q. Most people I have met have someone in their family with a story or two of an eerie happening. Has anyone you know or someone in your family told you a tale or two?

A. It’s funny, but no one ever talks about that stuff in my family. I grew up hearing lots of stories, but these focused on more routine topics — the railroad, sports, and fishing/hunting. Ghost stories didn’t even get told around the campfire. Luckily most of the other people involved in Creepy Capreol have more background with the spooky.

Q. Have you ever experienced a ghostly encounter yourself?

A. Ghosts, no. I’ve had weird stuff happen, seen things that I couldn’t explain, but nothing ghostly. I’m not the bravest person in the world. If something strange happens I don’t investigate, I head the other direction!

One of the few times I broke that cowardly habit, and it wasn’t by choice, was when I got locked in Capreol’s graveyard Halloween night. It was less than an hour of confinement, but I spent it with my eyes closed and so saw nothing. There were some questionable noises and a definite chill to the air … no floating spectres or ghostly apparitions though — just my friends playing a trick and the late October weather.

Q. What made you chose your title? Capreol has been around a long time but is it really that haunted?

A. The title was a joke at first. When I sent my story about Capreol High School to Mark Leslie I mentioned that there were other spooky rumours in town — so many, in fact, that I could write my own book. I forget who came up with Creepy Capreol, him or me, but it soon stopped being a joke and became a reality. The title is a nod to Spooky Sudbury. I knew Capreol had to be in there and, liking the alliteration in that book’s title, wanted a ‘c’ word to compliment it. Creepy fit the bill.

Surprisingly Capreol is that haunted. I won’t speculate why, but lots of strange things happen here. Mark’s book featured three true tales from my hometown and hinted at more. My book is part fact and part fiction, but even the made-up parts are based on some tiny bit of reality — maybe just a location or an idea — but enough to inspire the writers involved.

Q. Did you have a difficult time collecting stories for your book at all?

A. Not really, no. I contacted several Capreol writers (current and former residents) and asked if they’d be interested. Those who were free were happy to help. Unfortunately there are only so many local writers and some were just too busy. I ended up turning to a few people who have loose connections to town, people who’s writing I admire, and asking if they could write something Capreol-specific. Luckily a few were willing to try.

This book features 14 entries (7 fiction and 7 non-fiction) as well as 5 illustrations by noted local artist Robert Michelutti. I wrote 6 of the 7 non-fiction pieces (the other is a more than seven-decade old poem by George Quackenbush and his mother) and one of the stories. Former Capreol resident — and renowned Canadian horror writer — Steve Vernon provided a great railroading story called “Rolling Stock.” Another former town resident, Jason Shayer, wrote a terrifying story for the book. “Stagnant Waters” shows off Jason’s love of the dark and will chill readers to the bone. Lisa Coleman-Brown offers a disquieting story of disgust and discovery in “Not The Basement!” While Betty Guenette gives two stories, both set in local ghost towns, and Paul Mandziuk wrote a literary murder mystery with a novel twist. Not only did Mark Leslie give his blessing to my ‘borrowing’ his idea, he wrote the introduction.

Q. Where can we get Creepy Capreol?

A. I’ll be selling it downtown during the annual Capreol Days festivities — look for me in front of Lynn’s Place on August 2nd. The book will be on sale for a special holiday price of $14.00 ($2.00 off the regular $16.00 cover price). It should be available through Amazon in the fall, and an e-version is coming for Kobo, Kindle, and other devices. The electronic copies sell for $2.99. It is also available in the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre’s gift shop and should be in the ‘local authors’ section of Chapters Sudbury location in time for Halloween.