Real-life true crime inspires haunting new novel

More than 20 years ago, Kelly Dwyer and her husband bought a house in Baraboo. But it wasn't until the day of the closing that they learned its unsettling history: It had formerly belonged to Charles Gollmar, one of the Gollmar brothers — circus owners and first cousins to the Ringlings — and Gollmar's widow, 62-year-old Alberta Gollmar, had been murdered in the house in 1938. The slaying, a "robbery gone wrong," even made The New York Times. Discovering this news at such an untimely moment might have given another buyer pause — but, in this case, the buyer was a writer with two novels under her belt.

"When I learned this, I thought, 'There's a story here,'" Dwyer says.

Two decades later, she's right: " Ghost Mother " will be published by Union Square & Co. on Aug. 6. The novel follows Lilly Bly — desperate to have a baby and hiding her spending habits — and her husband, Jack, who reluctantly agrees to buy a money pit mansion they can't afford. Lilly learns through town gossip that her dream fixer-upper was once the site of a gruesome crime and begins to believe the place is haunted — but is it? Or is she having a breakdown? Dwyer will celebrate the launch of "Ghost Mother" with a reading on Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus — "Boo U," appropriately, for short.

What was the initial kernel of "Ghost Mother" that lodged itself in your mind? Did you know it would be a book?

That [fateful closing] was the initial seed, but it took me a while to figure out what the story was, exactly, and the novel went through many permutations. At the time, I was dealing with infertility issues and had experienced two miscarriages, and so I began to imagine a character who longed for a child. At some point I reread "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James and thought, what if, like the governess, someone moved into the house and felt that it was haunted, but the reader wasn’t sure if there really were ghosts, or if the protagonist was losing touch with reality? So take the murder of Mrs. Gollmar, throw in infertility, add "The Turn of the Screw," and Lilly and "Ghost Mother" were born.

This is a "psychological ghost story." Where did these characters come from, and what were you hoping to explore with each of them?

A psychological ghost story is one in which the dread or fear or discomfort is developed, at least in part, by exploring the vulnerabilities, fears and mental state of the protagonist. I wanted to create the sense of wonder that Henry James creates, in which you ask yourself, Are the ghosts real? Or is the protagonist losing touch with reality? To achieve that, I had to realize a character in Lilly who had a dark history, who was unstable, who was haunted. I also wanted to write about what that means in our society, when we say a woman is “crazy” or “hysterical.” I created the other characters centered around her orbit.

Haven is based on Baraboo, and I could see it so clearly. Can you tell us a little bit about the choice of a fictional town and the world-building that went into the novel?

Yes, for those who don’t know, I live in Baraboo most of the year (spending a few months of the year in southern California, where I grew up), and Baraboo is where my husband and I bought the Gollmar home. It’s also the site of a beautiful library, a wonderful historical society and an independent bookstore whose owner is the mayor of the town. In other words, it’s charming! But what made me choose Baraboo was the circus theme, and I fictionalized the town so that I could take liberties with the circus history. One of my characters is a trapeze artist, and I could never picture her as anything else.

In terms of world building, I find it a fun challenge to have an actual place in mind that you change to suit your needs in terms of plot, themes, and/or character. I made up Birdy and her family out of my imagination, so it was only fitting that they live in a fictionalized Baraboo.

Related: I absolutely love that Lilly gets a job in a library. Honestly so many things about the novel feel "cozy" despite the intense subject matter. Was there a mood balance you were trying to strike?

I knew I couldn’t write a book about someone sitting around and feeling haunted all the time, right? My character had to find a job. She had to interact with her colleagues, the library patrons, and her husband. I tried to find a balance between all these aspects of her life — the mystery of the house, her work and her marriage. I probably initially chose the library as her workplace because I worked at the library throughout college, so I knew the job well, but at some point, I appreciated the irony. We go to a library, in part, to find answers. But of course there are many questions to which the answers can’t be found in a library.

Plus, I think if you’re reading a ghost story, you want to be scared, but you need breaks from the intensity, too.

In addition to the themes of hysteria, infertility and hauntings, you've got the circus. There is so much lore, charm and mystery surrounding circus life — have you always been intrigued by that, or did it come about naturally after moving to Baraboo, or was it simply coincidental to the story?

I have complicated feelings about the circus. Growing up in Los Angeles, I think I went to the Shriners circus one time, and I cried because I felt sad for the elephants. I still feel sad for the elephants. But I love the human acts. The trapeze artists, the tightrope walkers, the clowns … all of the human acts at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo are just incredible.

I knew I wanted to include the circus as a backstory, partly due to the history that sparked the story and partly as a way to honor Baraboo’s circus history. In the character of Birdy, the trapeze artist, I was also interested in exploring what it means to fly, and what it means to be trapped.

Have you ever lived in haunted house or do you have any personal experience with ghosts?

I’m sorry to say no. I would love to feel the presence of my deceased loved ones. But I have had powerful and inexplicable moments of synchronicity. And I’ve heard quite a few stories from people I admire and trust whose experiences have no earthly explanation. I love to hear those stories. I don’t know if I believe in ghosts or not, but I know it’s a great comfort for me to think that we continue to live on. I guess I’m like Mulder from the X-Files: “I Want to Believe.”

What was the process of writing and publishing this book like?

I got the idea for the book over 20 years ago. At times I felt like it wasn’t going anywhere, and I would shelve it. But every so often, I would think there’s something here and I’d dig it out and work on it again. The silver lining of the pandemic, for me, was that I really got to devote myself to it. When I felt it was ready to show to my agent, he had some excellent suggestions, which I implemented. Then he showed it around. Two publishing houses made an offer, and we chose Union Square & Co. It’s been a very positive experience.

Your first two novels also deal with spiritual things, "The Tracks of Angels" and "Self-Portrait with Ghosts." What is it about these subjects that captivates you so?

I have eclectic taste as a reader. But as a writer, I’m really only interested in two things: the Human and the Unseen. That is, what is it like to be human? And what is the reality of the noumenal world (the world that can’t be known by our senses)? And connected to that, what is the unseen a metaphor for? In this novel, I loved writing about haunting and ghosts because I think the questions they evoke — What is haunting you? What are you afraid of? What’s real? — are fascinating.

On a more personal level, my mother got cancer when I was 7 and died when I was in college. So it’s hard for me to remember a time when I didn’t feel intimate with questions about death and the afterlife.

You've written flash fiction, short plays and monologues, and you're also a teacher, editor and writing coach — but it's been almost 30 years since you wrote a novel. What was it about this story that wanted to be a novel, and how do you make that decision when you're writing?

Flash fiction and short plays are about moments; novels are about lives. When I began to imagine Lilly, and the house, and what might have happened there, I knew I was writing about lives.

The Baraboo connection is clear, but how else has the Madison area influenced your work?

I have found Madison's arts scene to be incredibly impressive. I’ve been inspired by so many writers, actors, and directors in Madison, and all of them have helped to fuel me. I’m grateful for the arts community here, especially Forward Theater and Kathie Rassmussen Women’s Theatre, which have produced my monologues and plays, and Children's Theater of Madison, which was a big part of my and my family’s lives as my daughter (who just graduated from college) was growing up.

Is there anything we didn't talk about that you want to share?

I’ve had a number of early readers of "Ghost Mother" (Thank you!), and I’ve found it interesting that there are some who are convinced that the ghosts of the novel are real, while there are others who are equally convinced that they’re a result of Lilly’s imagination (or mental breakdown). Achieving that balance while still making the reading experience satisfying was one of my primary goals as a writer, so it’s been gratifying that, depending on what readers believe, the novel, and particularly the end of the novel, have different resonances. I guess what I’m saying is, “Come one, come all” (circus reference, lol) — believers, non-believers and those who are somewhere in between — alike!

Maggie Ginsberg is a senior editor at Madison Magazine.

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