The Dark Spirit of Moxworth Manor

An unassuming Capuchin monkey named Moxie becomes the unlikely heir of a mega- mansion. Built on the site of a cursed and abandoned colonial village, Moxworth Manor is enchanted by the Dark Spirit; a simmering Abenaki Indian phantom whose rage is mounting in an evil conspiracy to avenge the souls of his slain people. A house servant named Annie has already suffered a grisly death at the hands of the Dark Spirit. There is blood on the manor, and the threat of more mayhem looms menacingly. Moxie must discover untapped inner strength if he is to triumph, but how much can one little monkey do? Inhabited more by ghosts than mortals, and staffed with an unsavory group of servants who are bent on doing away with Moxie so they may seize the Manor as their own, the monkey finds camaraderie and acceptance in his new friends Jeffrey - the adorable ghost of a little orphan boy, and the Marbleheads - an affable group of spirits who inhabit the Manor’s cemetery. Moxworth Manor is in its own right a dominating character in the novel. Comprised of a hodgepodge of historic buildings - including a Lunatic Asylum and an Orphanage - salvaged from various parts of New England, the manor is composed of five main houses adjoined by expansive wings. It encompasses within its pentagonal center an old fashioned American Main Street, resplendent with an array of vintage cafes and shops, including a 1940’s Department store which is frozen in time and overseen by an enchanted mannequin named Jane. Distant borders of the vast acreage even boast a 1950’s lake-side children’s summer retreat – Camp Rigawauka, and a deteriorating (Coney Island-style) amusement park – Ocean Side Midway. The story is rich in nostalgic references which comfortably carry the reader back in time to earlier, idealized American eras. Woven with dozens of stories within the story, a complex, tightly-knit tapestry of fiction is created, igniting the imagination and urging the reader to keep the pages turning. Possessing a timeless essence, this story - like most classics - will be equally relevant today as in a hundred years.