Kirjahaku

The little dolly waited in the attic to be picked up, cooed over and set free to work her will. After her father's death, Dorrie found happiness in the attic with her new-found dolly. Her family was busy doing other things. She might have been concerned when her little doll began to move on its own, if only she understood this life and death thing.

Jessica lived with her father, mother, and brother. Her sister was away making a living as an artist. Jessica was devastated when her mother left to pursue a career. Lonely, she found comfort in the old mansion nearby, where the ancient dolls seemed to appreciate her. And it seemed there was another presence in the old house. Her father recognized that Jessica was struggling and tried to take action, but he failed to grasp the rapidly unfolding terror.

Only eighteen, Rose had a three month-old baby, born out of wedlock. Her mother Sybil, determined to protect the family reputation, had carefully concealed the baby from the entire town. This was 1910, after all. That fateful day, Sybil brought an old doll down from the attic as a present for baby Angela. Mysteriously, the next day Angela did not wake up. Just a few days later, there was more dreadful news. Several strange events in such a short period of time Sybil gave birth to Ted a few years later. Both Sybil and her unmarried daughter Gertrude doted on Ted as he grew up. However, Sybil was furious when Ted decided to marry Jenny, the maid. They were forced to elope. The couple soon had a daughter, Annie. In 1950, when Annie was eight, Sybil's deathbed wish was that Ted and Jenny would bring Annie so that she could at last lay eyes on her grand-daughter. Upon seeing Annie, Sybil said "Now she is yours", then collapsed. The family had no idea what she meant ... After Sybil passed away, Ted, Jenny and Annie moved into the old house to live with Gertrude. Unfortunately, death continued to stalk the family. Years later the neighborhood was being developed and a new family moved in next door to the old mansion. Unsurprisingly, two young girls decided to check out the abandoned house, where they found an old doll. Was it possible that the house had sat unoccupied for forty years? Sadly, the troubles in the old house were not yet at an end ...

Sybil received the baby dolly as a present, but she didn't like it. Three days later, her sister Rose Marie died a mysterious death. Later, when Sybil's daughter Rose had a baby born out of wedlock, Sybil gave orders to protect the family reputation by hiding the birth from the entire town. This was 1910, after all. When baby Angela was 3 months old, Sybil brought her old doll down from the attic as a present. Mysteriously, Angela did not wake up the next day. Sybil knew exactly what she was doing. In this manner, a chain of events was launched that would play out over much of the century. The horror at the center of it all was the old Baby Dolly.

Heather was young and beautiful, but she had ongoing man trouble and had trouble accepting her daughters Ellie and Becky. When she found a new husband, the option of sending the girls to live with their Aunt Aster was irresistible. As a parting gift, she gave the girls a beautiful doll . . . Zenoa. Ellie soon took out some of her frustrations on the doll, and it was terribly defaced. Just a few days later a terrible tragedy occurred. Aster and Ellie were killed with an ice pick, and six year-old Becky, the only survivor, was assumed to be the killer. A hundred years later, Gramma Virginia bought the doll in an antique store, had it restored, and gifted it to granddaughter Kit, on her ninth birthday. Kit was almost immediately fearful of the doll, and confided her fears to her older sister Pam. Some of what she said caused Pam to believe that Kit was having mental problems. However, in the middle of one night when Kit had awakened her, Pam decided to put the doll into the attic. While up there, she lost her balance and hit her head. Upon awakening the next morning, she discovered that all of her family had been killed. Since there was no evidence of anyone else in the house, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Twenty-four years later Pam was released from prison and returned to the house where the murders had occurred. Her sister Beth had never gone in the house, and had left everything exactly as it had been. Pam had a mission in mind, but she was diverted from it when she learned that her nephew Justin was about to be married--to a young lady named Zenoa Was this a coincidence? Pam tried to communicate her fears to other family members, but she constantly faced doubts and questions about her own sanity.

TRUST BETRAYEDBarry was saved from having to testify when Miss Beatrice, his teacher at the nursery school, unexpectedly died. Who could feel sorry for her after what she had done? Dr. Coleman felt that Barry would soon be able to forget his painful experiences, and suggested that spending a summer in the mountains was just what he needed. PROTECTIVE FRIENDSBarry was never frightened when his friends were around, and he was not surprised when they followed him to the cabin in the mountains. No one else could see them. His friends played with him and protected him. They would do whatever he asked of them. But then his friends began to do things that he did not ask them to do ... and people started to die.

Seven-year old Ellen bought a very intriguing old lamp at a garage sale in Los Angeles. Although her older brother Joey and sister Beth mocked her, she started calling it her "Aladdin's Lamp". While Ellen was rubbing the lamp to clean it up, it suddenly got so hot that it burned her hands. Yet, when her sister picked it up it was cold. A few nights later, the kids lost their mother to an apparent murder-in their living room while they slept And with all the doors locked Their father Gavin, remarried after the divorce, was forced to pick up the kids and take them to live with his new wife, Faye, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Gavin's job required him to travel, and he could only join the family on weekends. Faye took up the challenge and quickly began to relate well to the kids. However, their neighborhood was soon disrupted by violent events. Each occurred in strange circumstances, and there was a lingering smell of smoke following each event. Faye was forced to call Gavin and ask that he take some time off. Although the family celebrated his homecoming, the celebration was to be short lived . . .

Youngsters Abby and Brian decided to spend the afternoon riding their bikes to the Speedee-Mart and buying a few treats. However, plans strangely went awry. First, Abby talked Brian into taking along Babs, his six-month-old golden retriever. Without asking permission, Brian put his best leash on Babs and off they went. Abby then wanted to stop and ask Shelly to join them. Shelly agreed, but suggested that they take the short-cut through the woods. That is where things went off-track. Along the way, Babs got loose and led them on a merry chase. Up a big hill to a tall chain-link fence. Then, under the fence and into a huge, abandoned old nursing home. They searched high and low but could not find Babs. What they did find was a torn portion of a spooky chain letter-with spidery words elegantly penned on yellowed paper edged in black. This was unlike any chain letter they had ever seen. The letter plainly stated: Whosoever possesseth this letter and dares to break this chain shall suffer disaster and death . . . It had the feel of pure evil. That night, Brian and Shelly decided to go back and look for the dog. Things got even worse when Shelly also disappeared Over the next few weeks, Abby, Brian and their family and friend's lives came to revolve around that letter. Would they know who had broken the chain letter by who had died? Abby and Brian slowly became obsessed with finding the torn-off portion of the chain letter and learning what is supposed to happen to those who break the chain.

Amy and Jodi hardly remembered their father who lived and worked in a carnival, but now they were going to live with him. Their lives were soon disrupted by two mysterious murders that were somehow related to the history of the House of Illusions.

Heather was forced to go live with her Uncle. Uncle Reece, her mother's brother, felt obligated to take her in. But, Aunt Pansy and her cousins resented that she was upsetting their lives. Heather hoped that her mother would soon save her. Coming home from school one day, a strange old man caught her eye and carefully laid a package on the lawn for her. When she opened it she found an old fortune teller's pendulum. Experiments soon progressed, and Heather seemed to have a unique ability to make the pendulum move when she held a person's hands and focused on their future. Some of the predictions were frightening The pendulum might point at-DEATH, or UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. Nicole encouraged Heather to host a fortune-teller booth at the upcoming Halloween carnival at school. Miss Upton, Heather's sixth-grade teacher, was immediately supportive of the idea. In fact, Miss Upton seemed to be trying to get closer to Heather. Heather certainly did not want to be a teacher's pet Everything seemed to come together the day of the carnival. The pendulum's predictions seemed to be coming true At the same time, she was hearing weird noises in her Uncle's house. While Heather began to learn more about the history of the house, she also began to remember more about the day that she had followed some older kids out to the sand pits-the day that Antol had drowned. Might all of these things be somehow connected?

"Ten-agers" Greta and her cousin Derek are constant companions. Upon finding an old well, of course they must pry off the rotten wood cover. Derek fetches his Dad's fishing rod. He soon hooks a beautiful gold ring with a red stone setting, followed by an ornate piece of cloth. It becomes apparent that there is a body in the bottom of the well ... the police must be called in.Greta immediately takes possession of the ring. She must possess that ring Without knowing why, she turns the ring toward her palm to make it less noticeable. Curiously, she soon becomes haunted by a strange, terrifying feeling-that someone is following her. Someone like a shadow. She also starts hearing a whispered voice telling her to do bad things. Is this voice only in her head? Then comes the murder. Greta, nearby at the time, remembers nothing. But, she can't shake the nagging feeling that she is somehow responsible, even though she has been saying No, No, No to the whispers As the murder investigation proceeds, dark family histories are slowly revealed.

THE NIGHT THE CHILDREN CAME HOMEIt all started the night of Dalton Walsh's revival meeting... when the earth beneath his tent trembled with a kind of vengeance. It was as if some force from beyond knew about the terrible crimes that had transpired in this little town and finally wanted to reveal the evil that lived there.Then the sightings began. All those lost, almost forgotten children; kids who hadn't aged a day in all the years since their disappearance-like the teenage boy who still wore the same clothes he'd last been seen in or the golden-haired little girl who still clutched that same doll.Reverend Dalton didn't know why the children had picked this moment to come home, but he did know one thing; now was the time for a terrible truth to be finally revealed. Now was the time for . . . THE RECKONING