A house haunted with good and evil forces and a boy who can see the dead. A boy who learned ... greater things can haunt us than just the dead ... things even the dead fear.
Devout husband and father, Chris's seemingly perfect life is unraveling at the core. Nothing within his faith can help him. Can something outside his faith save him – or damn him forever?
A mysterious couple guides him back in time, forcing him to relive his childhood starting in 1962, at a place called Trestle Creek, Idaho.
A true story of a family terrorized by a father who is possessed; a mother who must awaken from the sleep of denial to save her family; a house haunted with good and evil forces – and a boy who can see the dead. A boy who learned ... greater things can haunt us than just the dead .... there are things even the dead fear.
Excerpt
We had always been the victims of my father’s sudden onslaughts. This time, the decision to leave the house and my father, gave us all the time we needed to prepare.
Mama spent the next several days secretly putting everything in place for us to leave. She was happier and more focused than I had ever seen her. Aunt Nona had found a house in town for us, near a school for me and she and Mama set all the plans in motion to leave with the least amount of trouble.
They still planned for trouble though, and they were wise to do so.
Allies began to gather on both sides. Dianie, Chuckie, me, Aunt Nona and Uncle Chuck were on Mama’s side. My father had no allies … at first. Then I began to catch glimpses of them. As the days went by, I would notice shadows, only out of the corner of my eye.
Gradually with the passing of the week, the shadows accumulated and I began to see them out in the open, all through the house. The shadows far outnumbered us.
I spent those days rubbing my eyes a lot, thinking I was seeing things, not just the shadows, but shimmers of light began to appear as well.
Sometimes they were like dozens of tiny flash bulbs going off and then disappearing. I would only see one or two occasionally, but daily those appearances began to increase more and more. Swatzie and Trixie hardly left my side the whole time.
I would catch Swatzie staring at the wall or the air after I would see a shimmer and she would be wagging her tail. Soon I was seeing as many shimmers as I was shadows and now it seemed the odds were even again.
The dogs were becoming schizophrenic between growling at one thing and wagging at the next.
John came to see me. He said I would be all right, that everything would be okay, just like the first time I saw him. He told me to not be afraid … and I didn’t know what he meant, until late that night.
Mama had planned for Dianie to stay at Aunt Nona’s with Lana, so I slept in my sister’s bed. Chuck stayed with friends. During the middle of the night, I woke up. I sat wide awake, straight up in bed as if I had been awake for hours.
The room was filled with light. The shimmers were thick in my room and I rubbed my eyes, thinking they would go away. The light though, was coming more from the full moon shining through the west window.
Swatzie and I jumped from our bed. I felt forced to move to the other window to look at the moon and leave the warmth of my bed.
A horrific chill went up my spine. I did not want to turn around to look out the south window, the one at the head of the bed I had just been forced out of. I only wanted to keep my eyes on the moon. I knew something was there … at the window, by my bed, as my flesh began to crawl, and the hair began to stand erect on my body.
The shimmers gathered close to me. Swatzie began to bark and go wild at the south window, as she began to back toward the open door with her tail between her legs. It was as if I was commanded to look in the direction of the window at the head of my bed. As my head was forced to turn, I began to scream at what I saw there.
There were floating grotesque faces of demons that pressed against the window. I saw the troll faced creature that my sister had described many months before, but it was not alone. Countless faces were there!
The faces were fierce, full of rotting flesh and blood red with fire eyes. They were looking … looking at me … but looking past me, looking for something else. I just kept screaming and Mama ran into the room. It was then she saw the faces as well.
“OH DEAR JESUS IN HEAVEN!” she screamed, as she grabbed me, pulling me from the room and forcing me to look away from the horror.
She ran to turn on every light in the house. She never prayed openly, but that night, she did.
Professional Reviews
Debut Novel By A Talented Artist
"This debut novel by a talented new novelist breaks all the rules, will keep you reading every last word and then wanting more."
Jo Sparkes - Portland Or.
Sparkes Production
Give Thanks!
"If you think you were raised in a less than perfect family, read this book. Once you do, you will give thanks for the fact that the family you were given ... isn't this one. This story is courageous and inspiring"
Mary H. -= Baton Rouge, LA
A True and Inspiring Journey
"Trestle Creek is an inspiration for those seeking help."
Revenge is Fun series. Millions of dollars are missing from the Venice Canals HOA and so are the Vice President and Treasurer. Were they kidnapped? Where is the money? Twists galore and a surprise ending with humor along the way.
