Do You Believe in Curses by Mae Clair

I’m thrilled to welcome friend and fellow writer Mae Clair back to my little slice of the blogosphere today. She just released book three of her Point Pleasant series, A Desolate Hour, which I reviewed not long ago.

Today she wants to discuss curses, and I can’t think of a better person to dive into the supernatural with us. Here she is; let’s give her a warm welcome.

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Do You Believe in Curses?

From literature to the Bible, to famous objects and haunted places, curses abound. There are cursed objects (the Hope Diamond), cursed places (King Tut’s Tomb), cursed movies (Poltergeist), and even cursed performances (multiple instances of the play MacBeth). But what about a town? Is it possible for an entire town to be cursed and to carry that misfortune through centuries?

Point Pleasant, WV—not the collapsed bridge (obviously)

My Point Pleasant series has been a blend of fiction, folklore, and history. In book one, A Thousand Yesteryears, I introduced readers to the Mothman and examined the Silver Bridge tragedy from a fictional perspective. Book two, A Cold Tomorrow, is populated by Men in Black, UFO encounters, flicker phenomena, and a mysterious visitor who is far more than he appears.

Much of Point Pleasant folklore is tied to a curse cast by Shawnee Indian Chief, Cornstalk. A friend to the settlers in the area that would become Point Pleasant, Cornstalk arrived at the settlement in 1777 to warn them of an impending attack from tribes massing along the Ohio River. Cornstalk was detained and later killed, along with his son. According to legend, he cursed the town as he lay dying:

I was the border man’s friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young son. For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted by its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood.

Is the curse real? Point Pleasant has suffered multiple tragedies, including:

• A fire that took out an entire block in the late 1880s.
• A mine collapse in 1907 that claimed the lives of 31 miners, making it the worst coal mine disaster in American history.
• Devastating floods spanning several decades, two of which (in 1913 and 1937) almost wiped out the town.
• The collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967, a tragedy that claimed 46 lives and still ranks as the worst bridge collapse in American history.
• The loss of river trade and closing of the town’s major employer, resulting in an economic downturn from which Point Pleasant still struggles to recover.

In A Desolate Hour, the final book of my Point Pleasant series, new and returning characters rush to determine whether or not Cornstalk’s curse is at fault for releasing an ancient malevolence. Drawn by that evil, the Mothman reacts with deadly retribution.

A Desolate Hour: Blurb

Sins of the past could destroy all of their futures . . .

For generations, Quentin Marsh’s family has seen its share of tragedy, though he remains skeptical that their misfortunes are tied to a centuries-old curse. But to placate his pregnant sister, Quentin makes the pilgrimage to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, hoping to learn more about the brutal murder of a Shawnee chief in the 1700s. Did one of the Marsh ancestors have a hand in killing Chief Cornstalk—the man who cursed the town with his dying breath?

While historian Sarah Sherman doesn’t believe in curses either, she’s compelled to use her knowledge of Point Pleasant to uncover the long-buried truth. The river town has had its own share of catastrophes, many tied to the legendary Mothman, the winged creature said to haunt the woods. But Quentin’s arrival soon reveals that she may have more of a stake than she realized. It seems that she and Quentin possess eerily similar family heirlooms. And the deeper the two of them dig into the past, the more their search enrages the ancient mystical forces surrounding Point Pleasant. As chaos and destruction start to befall residents, can they beat the clock to break the curse before the Mothman takes his ultimate revenge? . . .

Universal Purchase Link (All Retailers)

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About the Author:
Mae Clair has been chasing myth, monsters, and folklore through research and reading since she was a child. In 2013 and 2015, she journeyed to West Virginia to learn more about the legendary Mothman, a creature who factors into her Point Pleasant series of novels.

A member of the Mystery Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers, Mae pens tales of mystery and suspense with a touch of romance. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and numbers cats, history, and exploring old graveyards among her passions. Look for Mae on her website at MaeClair.net

You can find Mae Clair at the following haunts:

Website | Blog | Twitter (@MaeClair1) | Google+ | Facebook Author Page |
Amazon Author Page | Kensington Books Author Page |
Goodreads | Pinterest | Newsletter Sign-Up | Story Empire

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Thank you, Mae, for stopping by today and sharing all this with us.

Readers, please do yourself a favor—check out Mae’s body of work, starting with her Point Pleasant series. I’m a huge fan, and I know if you read her stories, you will be, too. Click on the covers below for quick links to all the books in the series, and sound off below to discuss Mae, her work, and/or this post. Thanks!