TheSecrets of Raven Cottage / Austin Macauley Publishers (ePub)

Thoughts, words, and deeds have consequences, good and bad. These stories reflect people''s actions in various situations--prejudice, poverty, fear, looking different, and the helpless elderly. One may recognize a bit of Aesop''s Fables, Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and the Golden Rule. The Beggar''s Gift: an ironic tale about paying attention to the things in life that really matter. David: a humorous fantasy on mores, its elements plausible in a well-thought-out way. Saving Myself: A teenage couple is faced with parental religious bigotry. Picture Man: a suspenseful story that builds on fear that leads to a revelation followed by a surprising conclusion. The Guardians: an elderly woman hides her life savings as her daughter threatens to place her in a Home if she doesn''t give it to her.In 1640, Catherine Beckett stole a ring from a Druid shrine in Trawden Forest. The Druid put a curse on the ring and it was to remain cursed until the ring was returned.

The squire, Nathan Roxbury, coveted the ring and would do anything to own it. So when Catherine wouldn't give it up, he ordered her to face trial on a trumped-up charge of witchcraft.

Because of her forthcoming demise, Catherine cursed the child that Nathan's wife was carrying. His wife died during childbirth, leaving a deformed child, Anna.

When Anna became of age, she married her cousin, who later left her when the estate became bankrupt. So she and her maid, Matilda, moved to a cottage in Bluebell Wood, and there her son was born.It is now 1935. The curse still remains on the descendants, and the creepy, crumbly, spooky old cottage still stands...