Marcelino and the Curse of the Gold Frog

Marcelino was born in a remote Mexican village in the late 1800’s. Life was tolerable until his loving mother’s death, when his conniving father gave him to an uncle. The uncle took him to his farm in Texas where his aunt made him her personal servant and whipping boy. Her sons also refused to accept Marcelino into the family and worked him like a beast of burden.

Finally running away from his miserable existence, he found his new freedom was glorious, but did nothing to ease his constant nightmares. Little did he know that those vile companions of the night had a more sinister plan. Very soon ruination would devour his dreams, and damnation would rule his entry into adulthood.

Marcelino’s wife, Maria, never knew her father. Tequila and a faster gun took his worthless life before she was born. While his death allowed her to live a normal happy life, her first husband brought an end to that happiness. What he did to Maria deeply scarred her both mentally and physically, and forever changed her life. Marcelino would ultimately inherit the consequences of those scars.

Marcelino and Maria met and were soon married, but WWI intervened. To provide for his family, Marcelino made the mistake of returning to the farm in Texas. They were trapped and mistreated and ultimately were forced to leave in search of work. Years of crisscrossing Central Texas provided extreme poverty, racism, and hardships beyond comprehension.

Marcelino eventually found permanent work in San Marcos, and his steady employment greatly improved their lives. What he failed to notice was a hellish nightmare taking shape. Maria developed telekinesis, and the townspeople suspected she was a sorceress. An incident at church confirmed their suspicions and angered the women of the town. They retaliated against Maria by hiring a Comanche witch to “fix” her. A crowded churchyard provided the scene for a confrontation that triggered Maria’s madness. As her violent behavior escalated, it singled out her newborn son. What she planned for him for all her children was genuine insanity.