Vanta Black: "Oubliette: A Forgotten Little Place"

Vanta M. Black, author of Oubliette-A Forgotten Little Place, enjoys uncovering the dark mysteries of our Universe. In addition to writing, she enjoys traveling to provocative places and studying all things esoteric. Vanta M. Black calls on her own experiences with entities known as "shadow people," and their horrifying late-night visitations, to masterfully deliver Oubliette. Though she once dismissed them as simply night terrors, Black was forced to question what the "things" that visited her were, after someone else witnessed one preparing to attack her as she slept. Oubliette is also inspired by the real oubliette at Leap Castle, the famed most-haunted castle in Ireland. In the 1920's it was emptied out, and the remains of over 150 different bodies were removed with wheelbarrows. A worker found a pocket watch in the remains, and it dated from the mid-1800s. This revealed how very recent the oubliette had claimed victims. After hearing about Leap Castle's oubliette, Black imagined there must be a myriad of forgotten stories behind each soul who met their fate within it. This thought became the inspiration for writing Oubliette-A Forgotten Little Place. Not only did Black visit Leap Castle, she also made jaunts to many French chateaux and the Paris Catacombs for research. Other inspirations include legends from the Knights Templar, the French Revolution, the Reformation, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Black Death. Black has degrees in English, communication and art. She resides in Southern California with her husband and pug-mixes, and spends her time in support of causes that empower women and advance science and technology.