June 2026: News from J.P. Choquette

Though we’re nearer to the summer season technically, it’s only recently started to feel like it in northern Vermont. We made it through spring (aka “mud season”). It’s been a while since snowflakes fell last. Still, there are some trees just starting to leaf out, and the last of the apple blossoms and lilacs remain on the trees.

I’m glad to have you here! Whether this is your first time receiving one of my newsletters or you’re a long-time subscriber, thank you for your interest in and support of my writing work.

This month, I’m sharing a little bit about what’s been going on in my world, a “haunted” Vermont location we visited recently, and a collection of Substack articles and stories I think you’ll enjoy.

• From My Writing Desk

• A “Haunted” Vermont Location

• Roundup of Short Stories/Articles of Suspense

A couple of months ago, I was part of a short horror story challenge, Spring Fever. Published on 3/20/26 (the first day of spring), there are lots of great, unnerving stories for you to enjoy. Mine, “Sugarshack,” was fun to write. It draws on an old Native American legend. If you have a chance to read it, please let me know what you think.

I’ve also pulled out a historical mystery manuscript I wrote years ago to see if I want to continue working on it. It’s set in two time periods—present day and the late 1800s—and involves an abandoned asylum, an amateur sleuth who’s also a historical textile expert, and an unethical psychiatrist.

It’s a complete mess as I’ve read/re-read and started/re-started editing about a gazillion times in the past several years. Right now, I’m working on re-reading the manuscript (yet again) and mapping out each chapter on a big piece of foam core that was headed for the trash.

In other news, my husband and I got the garden finished over Memorial Day weekend. If you garden, I wonder if you have a specific date you try to have your planting done by? I’ve also been enjoying walking outdoors again without the ten layers of clothes that winter requires. It’s lovely to enjoy the beautiful sunshine (between the rain), and the smells, sounds, and sights of June.

Recently, on a wet and somewhat chilly afternoon, my husband, son, and I visited Stowe. If you’ve never been to this cute little mountain town, picture a Hallmark Movie set in Vermont. The main street is reminiscent of a cozy mystery novel, complete with a beautiful white steepled church and many adorable shops and cafes.

We poked around in the shops, walked a little on the bike path, and then headed over to Emily’s Bridge, a supposedly haunted landmark in the area.

Legend goes that a young woman named Emily died on the bridge after being jilted by her fiancé at the altar. One version says she hung herself from the covered bridge’s beam, the other that she was furiously driving a wagon she stole, and it crashed down the embankment, killing her.

There have been numerous sightings of a woman in white in or near the covered bridge over the years. Some people have sworn they heard a sound on the roof of their car as they drove across the bridge, believed to be Emily’s feet dragging along the rooftop.

We spent some time at the bridge, which was dotted with fresh flowers from visitors (see photo above). We didn’t see anything intriguing, and it was hard to hear much at all over the roaring of Gold Brook, which runs underneath the bridge. (The legal name of the bridge, btw, is Gold Brook Bridge, named after a miner who found $200 in gold in the brook before his luck ran out.)

A New England Folklore podcast covered Emily’s Bridge in a past episode, so we listened to that on the way home. While there is no historical evidence that Emily or anyone else died on the bridge, the story has endured since it first appeared in the 1960s.

My favorite part of the bridge, other than the wonderful sounds of the creek underneath, was this sign, which instructs drivers that the speed limit on the structure is “Horses at a Walk”.

Here are some of the best things I’ve read or that look most interesting to me on Substack recently. Enjoy!

1. “Spires Like Reaching Hands,” a short story by Alissa Yarbrough. The author takes a somewhat depressing short story by Ernest Hemingway and gives it a modern and hopeful Christian perspective.

2. C.M. Reid of The Ink-Stained Desk wrote an interesting and intriguing article exploring religious horror, which can be found here. It reminded me of an article I wrote, “Gritty Suspense, Religious Horror Books & Christian Readers”.

3. My son and I have been on an Alfred Hitchcock Presents kick lately, along with a few of his full-length films. I was excited to find this list of 15 Alfred Hitchcock Films You Can Watch for Free on YouTube, thanks to Cole Haddon.

4. Author Saralyn Richard describes how a pair of candlesticks gifted to her by her dying grandmother inspired a mystery novel in this post via Blackbird Writers.

That’s all for now, dear reader. I hope you enjoy a lovely rest of the month and find some time to sneak away and read in a secluded garden, at the beach, or wherever you’d most like to be.

Until next time, happy reading.

-J.P.