Her first book,“Oregon Hauntings and the Unexplained,” took her two years to write and publish. Her work on it began not as an effort to write a book, but as recording paranormal activities she observed after she bought a restaurant & bar (The Longbranch Restaurant & Saloon) in Richland, Oregon, in 1983. It, and she, was visited regularly by an impudent and impetuous ghost named Oscar. To say that spooked her would be a bad pun, but quite true.

Richland was a very small town and it didn’t take her long to find out that there had been a young man, those family had ties to the property, who has committed suicide. Arlene new his name was Oscar – she actually new the last name but has never used it, out of compassion for the family — which is why she decided it was proper to name her ghost.

Her frequent discussions about Oscar led to discussions with other people who had experienced his paranormal activities and soon she began writing down their accounts. Arlene sold the restaurant and bar in 1984 but continued to compile stories about Oscar and other Oregon ghosts.