Ghost of Butternut Fields

What is this dank chill that wafts darkly from the river; seeping into the crumbling entrails of wall, floor and curtain?From the moment the Rusk family glimpses Butternut Fields through pouring rain and overgrown brushit is evident that mystery shrouds the house and grounds. Tyler, Lawton, Cecil, and Tess Ruskrecently uprooted from their apartment in Milwaukee due to Depression era hardshipreluctantly settle into their mothers run-down childhood home near Butternut, Wisconsinnow manned by foreboding Aunt Iris. Tyler Rusk, the eldest at nearly eighteengrapples with resentment caused by his fathers war injuries, his mothers absence, and mounting pressures to be the strong man of the family. Soon to be sixteen, Lawton escapes into the reverie of his cartoon art as he navigates through his parents separation, capricious young love, and baffling events as unpredictable as Northern Wisconsins changing seasons. Tess abounds with curious speculations and optimism. Her childlike innocence gives way to awareness as she stands by her disabled brother, Cecilwho hears beyond the floorboards and sees through the curtains of night. Youthful hilarity and Lawtons signature artwork are juxtaposed against an eerie backdrop of preternatural loreas layers are painstakingly uncovered to reveal a decades-old, bloodcurdling reality.