Betray the Devil

Who other than Harold Knob could turn a hand-me-down jacket into a living and breathing entity with a mind of its own, or an old homeless lady into a Pied Piper hellbent on revenge? Or turn a seedy Chinese restaurant into a shrine where a cult worships ancient gods of an elder race. Or a wrong turn during a ride on a bicycle along a wooded park trail leads to a serendipitous paradise. Set in Anchorage, Alaska, "I Am a Voodoo Zombie" is the story of a mild-mannered library custodian who complains one too many times about his noisy neighbor and gets cursed by a Voodoo spell. In "Betray the Devil," a sometimes writer of self-published novels strikes up a deal with the Devil, but when he gets his wish he discovers he cannot keep his end of the bargain. In "A Clean Slate," a man on a witness relocation program is abruptly confronted by a band of town hoodlums who conjure up ill-fated remnants from his past. In "The Redemption of Annabelle Hartman," retribution comes quickly to two bumbling petty crooks who bribe an elderly widow and threaten her legacy.

Betray the Devil-It is a bargain made of desire, an offer you cannot refuse, with a final destination in brimstone and fire . . . and your soul is the prize. These stories delve deeply into themes of wickedness and wrath, everlasting fire, rage and hatred, horror and dread, death and murder, eternal love and sweet revenge. Shocking and riveting, these dark and frightening tales come directly from the mind of Harold Knob . . . a place where nightmares are born without betraying the Devil.