Twelve-year-old Jennifer Gates is chased from her family's ranch house by huge, monstrous figures. When her parents are savagely attacked and their horse barn set afire, she must escape into the Montana wilderness atop her Tennessee Walking Horse, Dixie, following her fearless Jack Russell Terrier, Dot. Brutal rainstorms and treacherous mudslides drive the trio into a cave deep in the mountains. A perilous journey through the darkness leads them to a pristine valley that resonates with ancient power. Plagued by disturbing dreams and visions of vanquished American Indians, Jennifer comes to believe that the ghosts and demons she imagined may be all too real. With only her stepfather's fishing coat filled with the essentials for her survival and a flint lance head she finds in the cave, Jennifer is forced to confront a hideous evil that has been festering since the Civil War.

Johnny Grissom—nicknamed "Johnny Gruesome" by his high school classmates—is a heavy metal hellion who loves to party, watch horror movies, and get into fights. One winter night, Johnny's car, The Death Mobile, is discovered submerged beneath the icy surface of Willow Creek, with Johnny's waterlogged corpse inside. The townspeople believe that his death was accidental. But soon the murders begin—horrible acts of violent vengeance that hint at a deepening mystery and terror yet to come. A headless body is discovered at the high school, a priest is forced to confront his own misdeeds, and a mortician encounters the impossible. The sound of a car engine and maniacal laughter fill the night, and one by one, Johnny's enemies meet a grisly demise. The students at Red Hill High School begin to fear for their lives—especially Johnny's closest friends, who all harbor a dark secret.

A son dies heading to the prom and comes back as an angel to watch over his grief-stricken family and girlfriend.

Vol. 49, no. 9 (Sept. 1922) accompanied by a separately paged section entitled ERA: electronic reactions of Abrams.