The Curse

Thomas E.Q. Williams has been a Hoosier author for the past many years. His first historical novel was Lil Guy in the late 1980's. The Curse is another work of historical fiction. Other works have been published under pseudonym such as Children of a New Abraham and The Wild Bull of Blue River. Many of his most popular books have been biographical. These have included the 150th year biography of James Whitcomb Riley (available in full on www.jameswhitcombriley.com), and the biography of "The Hoosier Evangelist" John T. Hatfield. Mr. Williams also edited American Folk Gospel with the financial assistance of a great anonymous benefactor. Mr. Williams currently resides in Greenfield, Indiana, the setting for The Curse. His email address is .



The Curse is based upon the historical lynching of a young black man. He was accused of raping a white woman. The lynchers were masked vigilantes who rode their horses into Greenfield, Indiana near the midnight hour, June 1875, broke into the Hancock County Jail, pulled the accused man out and lynched him without the benefit of trial. A green rope was later slung over a joist at the local county fairgrounds and the victim was hung until dead. His last words were that the vigilantes were making a great mistake and that he was innocent. When the young man's father heard of the incident, he spoke a curse on the vigilantes and their chief. The Curse breaks out the merciless demon from hell, Douluphonus, who embodied the curse over a four generation duration, wreaking havoc and inflicting mayhem and death by maniacal whim or plan.