Book Description

Barkerton, Massachusetts, 1650, three children and a woman went missing, and the inhabitants of Barkerton were in panic. Was it a witch, a friend, or some kind of monster that had taken them? Even more disappearance had happened several times in the past, but no one had wanted to talk about it until now. This time, it was the Barker family, and this town had been settled by them nearly thirty years ago. A search party was sent out into the forest to find them, but there were no bodies to be found, only a hideous man with an evil disposition. There would be a trial. In present day, the Carrier family-Jonathan, Sarah, and their two boys-move into their new country home, where they begin seeing visions of a ghost, a singing chandelier, and a strange man who is trying to lure the boys into the woods. The boys eventually go missing, and Jonathan must get them back safely. The older of the two boys, Thomas, shocked his parents when his face is seen in the bark of the mysterious sycamore tree. In 1616, in the village of Wampanoag Indians, terrible times have cursed the village with yellow fever, drought, and famine. Nitchicke, the village spiritual adviser (taupaw), is tasked to find a solution. He and twelve other taupaw search the forest for a place to convene with the spirits. On the night of the full moon, a silver tear is shed by the moon, and it lands in Nitchicke's lap. He must carry this moonstone to the ancient burial ground, where it will capture the spirits of the dead and remove the curse on his village. The journey costs him his life. He was buried beneath a sycamore tree. It was said that his face could be seen in the bark.