Devil's Footsteps

Something is taking the children of Redford. Bryan and his older brother Adam had been playing in the woods when they stumbled upon the trail of 13 stones known in local lore as the Devil’s Footsteps. Adam had foolishly dared to walk the Devil’s Footsteps while reciting the infamous playground rhyme …One in fire, two in blood. Three in storm and four in flood. Five in anger, six in hate. Seven fear and evil eight. Nine in sorrow, ten in pain. Eleven death, twelve life again. Thirteen steps to the Dark Man’s door. Won’t be turning back no more…And when Adam reached the 13th step, the Dark Man appeared just like the old legend claimed.

Five years later, Bryan’s days are filled with sadness and guilt over the gruesome death of his brother. He also lives with an ever-present sense of fear and dread that the Dark Man will return. When Bryan meets two other teens haunted by the Dark Man, the three become allied in a quest that will force them to confront their worst fears and to ultimately walk the Devil’s Footsteps.

Devil’s Footsteps by E.E. Richardson offers up a dark and entertaining tale reminiscent of Stephen King’s It, the Candyman movies and of course the Bloody Mary urban legend. Speaking of the latter…After reading this book, I felt compelled to do some research on the Bloody Mary legend. The version of the legend that I have always heard requires the person who is summoning Bloody Mary to say her name 13 times while holding a candle in front of a mirror in a dark room. After the 13th utterance of the name, Bloody Mary will appear in the mirror and basically stare you down. However, I learned through my research that other variations of the legend include Bloody Mary scratching off the face of the person who summoned her, driving the person mad, or even dragging the person through the mirror to live with Mary for all eternity…Yikes!