When 14 year old Jack and his friends, Weezy and Eddy, venture out into the forbidden pine barrens of New Jersey, they find a mysterious sight. Weezy leads her brother Eddy, and Jack to a long mound of crusted sand. Soon rain comes, and the threesome find shelter under a nearby tree, and erosion takes its toll on the eerie mound. After the storm, Weezy comes along a black artifact that can't be opened. Jack looks for one for himself, but doesn't necessarily come up empty handed; he finds the head of a deceased body relaxing in the palm of his hand. They run home as fast as they can, contact the police, but don't realize the mysterious friends, deaths, or suspects, right around the corner, waiting for them in Jack: Secret Histories, by F. Paul Wilson. Jack is confused by the Lodge, a building that contains many secrets. Is the Lodge linked to the corpse? Or what about the so-called old wives' tale, about a misty monster, the Klazen? He also remembered seeing Mrs. Clevenger, the town witch, but what do these links lead to?