*Excerpts from It Happened on Willow Lane: MAY BE RELEASED IN 2008, an anthology, where every house has a story.
The Hangin' House, a narrative of a small town American tragedy, the first two pages follow...
I swear 102 Willow Lane is a house with a curse on it. So many families have come and gone. No one even tries to keep up with who's living there anymore cause no one stays long enough to bother. It's been a real estate property for some out of town investor for the last twenty years or so. No one around here would touch it, that's for sure.
Lots of couples have come married and left divorced after living in that house for only a few months. No one's ever left in as good a condition as when they moved in. The Place has an aura of evil.
It started back in the seventies when Jack and Suzanne were living there. A nice young couple, living together like man and wife, without the benefit of matrimony. A bit unconventional for around here at the time. Suzanne would laugh and say, "What good's a little piece of paper and a ring. We love each other and that's enough for us."
And it was for about eight years...until their lives started to go to hell in a hand basket. There was nothing anyone could do but watch them self destruct.
1972
Jack walks into the Corner Bar and well wishers immediately crowd around him like a long lost hero returning home from afar.
"Hey Jack! Great to see you, kid!"
"Are you out for good now? About time I'd say."
"When did you get back to town?"
"Good timing, they're hiring out at the mill. Business is booming!"
"Will you be living with your folks for awhile? I got a nice little apartment over my garage, could give you a good deal on the rent..."
Jack grins from ear to ear. He feels good to be back home. Four years ago he couldn't wait to get out of town and see the world. But he didn't get far before homesickness overcame him like a dull ache. And only two things could take that ache away, being drunk or being home. Tonight he's drunk and home. And he doesn't have to buy even one drink. Jack's the man of the hour and he's loving it.