There’s a lot of things one can lose. A cat, say. Or maybe a friend. Or, if one wants to get philosophical about things, one’s self. A cat, unless it’s Schrödinger’s, is either found or lost, there’s no in-between. Not so clear on friends or selves, sometimes. And that’s Sanderson’s problem in chapter 5 of Nightfeather: Ghosts, “Lost and found.” That, and trying not to get shot.

With the holiday season upon us and a ghost story on the blog, seemed like time for new background art. I happened to find precisely the sort of image to fit the situation. It’s a colored version of an engraving for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, a popular periodical of the mid-to-late nineteenth century. This is from the January 4, 1879 issue. Its original title? See the caption!

A MOMENT OF INTENSE EXCITEMENT – THE GHOST STORY NEARING THE CLIMAX.