Charles Willing BealeCharles Willing Beale was an American civil engineer, hotelier, and author of horror and science fiction novels. He was born in Washington, DC, on December 9, 1845, and passed away in Arden, North Carolina, on August 16, 1932. The Ghost of Guir Houseis his best-known composition. On December 9, 1845, Charles Willing Beale was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He received his civil engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania when he was sixteen years old and worked as a surveyor for the Pacific Railroad for a number of years. He moved to western North Carolina in 1869 and experimented with a variety of economic operations. He eventually created and managed a hotel that hosted prominent visitors including author Mark Twain, presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, and many others. In the literary world, he had a keen interest in Eastern culture and tradition as well as the so-called occult sciences; to hone his meditative method, he used hypnotism and lengthy periods of silent meditation. He was a prolific writer as well, submitting numerous brief articles to many magazines in the late 19th century. He only had two of his novels published, though. Read More Read Less