In the distance, the ominous rumblings of thunder can be heard while a dark drizzle begins to fall on a dreary summer afternoon that makes no sunny pretenses about what is coming. Albert is at Professor Charles' house for a high-energy physics lesson when a friend bearing a high-energy piece of bad news bursts through the doorway. The news relates to the murder of a dear friend a week ago and what Albert saw on that foggy night, "There was a ghostly figure wielding a sword in a rowboat near the scene of the riverbank killing."Prof Charles quickly states, "Albert, there is a sword in a diabolically haunted mansion not far from here. The mansion was owned by a rich man who was so sinister that many considered him to be the Devil incarnate, and he was referred to as 'The Sovereign of Sin.' Upon his death, several morbidly evil spirits hastily escaped to various rooms of the mansion. In one of those rooms is a knight with a sword. But the mansion is confusing in its construction, and those brave enough to have entered it while being stalked by rattling chains cannot agree on where the room is."Albert's girlfriend, Molly, has just arrived. Molly's mother, Mabel, is a revered teacher, and she often helps Albert by telling him her "Lessons of Life": "Sometimes ideas that have become part of our entrenched assumptions need to be looked at again. Reexamine all your assumptions, even those you find irrefutable, and relook at clues you have been unable to fit into any assumption. Perhaps that will lead you in new directions."The news of a sword accessible to the murderer gives Albert and Molly a new clue to follow. Molly considers finding the killer their higher calling, and Albert follows clues with the enthusiasm and perspicacity of Sherlock Holmes. They start their journey with trepidation. The densely tree-surrounded path to the haunted mansion begins surreally serene given that its destination is the home of The Sovereign of Sin. Only the storm clouds and the heavy mist add a subtle version of reality, which precedes the more demanding version that occurs when a huge lightning strike hits nearby.The closer Albert and Molly get to the haunted mansion, the more the path takes on the threatening encompassment of their goal. The trees and thick overgrowth turn into strangely evil forms as they become darkly shadowed and more impenetrable, and the sky fills with ghost-shaped, black rain clouds that close in on Molly and Albert and move and morph and forebode the fast-approaching, ill-omened night.Then another massive lightning strike with its bone-rattling thunder shakes Molly and Albert's nerves raw."Did you see that?" exclaims Albert terrifyingly as he points up to a spot in one of the trees ahead of them."See what?" asks Molly worriedly."During the lightning, up in that tree I saw something staring at us," anxiously responds Albert. "It was the form of a ghost, which looked to me like one of the morbidly wicked spirits that The Sovereign of Sin turned into upon his death."As they slowly walk past the tree, each stares up at the spot; then another lightning flash occurs, and instantaneously both their expressions turn ghostly fear-stricken. They run past the tree.Albert exclaims, "So you saw The Sovereign of Sin's malevolent spirit?""No," cries Molly. "I saw the Grim Reaper reaching out to grab me!""Great ghouls!" declares Albert. "Aren't we two, with our spine-chilling imaginations, going to have fun in the haunted mansion!"Albert and Molly have many grand adventures in store for them as they follow clues to a killer lurking near the rich waters of the grand ol' river and its lush surrounding forest. The Legend of Mighty Mabel is the story of a summer of wonderful joy, great adventures, scary fun, fun for the sake of fun, and a bit of romance. And it is the story of the bravery, the love, and the "Lessons of Life" of Mighty Mabel.

A collection of scary stories based on the lore of New Mexico, in English and in Spanish.