“Well, it would appear that you just move back three spaces and lose a turn.”

88. The Mark of the Rope – Miriam Lynch

So now even the very mention of Salem while being in a suburb of it is enough to make things scary and invoke witchcraft, I guess. I guess the whole place is just permeated with ancient vengeance evil vibes and it’s seeping into the suburbs because when Andrea drops off her “friend” and neighbor Charlene at her ex-husband’s mom’s house with her daughter so they can beg for money in Shadduck, she gets those vibes and sees a dog and then it’s all happening. But what is happening is not something anybody wants to tell Andrea, innocent bystander with a now ruined vacation because she is the only person with any common sense.

Charlene is dramatic, like gets dressed up to meet the mailman in heels and full face paint level wanting attention. She has made some bad money decisions and also refuses to do anything for herself like sort it out or even pay attention to her daughter, who she is only concerned about when it might get her more attention and who she named Catha. Yes, Catha, although there is one typo of “Cathy” in my copy which I totally understand.

Catha gets sick as soon as they get to the house near Salem, so very near, and when the doctor is called, he also happens to be the object of one woman’s unrequited affections and then Charlene sees him and no one was going to take care of Catha while those two are so busy trying to get the doctor to talk to them. Andrea also finds the doctor attractive, but someone had to be sensible and not let that get in the way of a sick child. Andrea was only supposed to drop Charlene and Catha off. She never gets away.

A dog comes and reminds everyone in the house of a family curse they don’t want to talk about and it’s now Catha’s best friend, but seems otherworldly, and there’s clearly no way out of this curse or the dramatic attention whoring of Charlene. You know Andrea will end up with the doctor and only eligible dude since this is a Satanic Gothic romance, but, it’s all because she can’t get to her vacation…where she could have met any number of menfolk…but she had to just be stuck in Shadduck forever.

 

Being near Salem in my house, or this cardboard haunted house, was desirable, he was a very sweet guinea pig and as far as I know had no family curses.