A promising new high school just opened its doors in a small community in Wheeling, West Virginia. But little did the students know, many people lost their homes on the very land in which the new school was built upon. One unique person in particular—was Mrs. Boswell, a middle-aged gypsy woman. She refused to sell the home she inherited from her parents no matter how hard the city pushed—no matter how extreme the prejudice and hatred she was subjected to from her own community became. And not surprisingly, she was the sole obstacle that prevented that well-fed project from going forward.
Tragedy, depending on how one would perceive that, struck when Mrs. Boswell’s home was mysteriously set on fire. And to make matters worse, the fire department arrived in a timely manner—but did nothing. They happily observed the Boswell house burn to the ground—killing her young daughter in the process, her only daughter—her only child. That, combined with the loss of her husband due to an “accidental” drowning not long before, is what ultimately brought the gypsy woman to the brink, thus taking her own life. But—before doing so, she cursed the land beneath her feet. This wicked curse was simple: those responsible, as well as their children, would be met with a force not of this world, and with it, unimaginable suffering, both mental—and physical.
No one was ever arrested for this atrocious crime, and no real pressure to do so either. Everyone went on with their boring little lives, never talking about what happened on that fateful night again. It became the city’s most darkest secret.