Book excerpt: 'My ghost will always protect this land. I curse your beloved city and all the people who witness my death. I will guard this place and reap death upon anyone who disturbs my spirit. Do not try-' And so began the mysterious curse issued by New York's finest firefighter turned inventor and landowner. It was 1935, and Morgan, who lost his parents in a devastating building fire as a young boy, recently patented a snazzy new machine that would draw out the oxygen from the fire, depleting the primary fuel source. By eliminating the oxygen, the fire would die, saving both lives and buildings. But one cold night, a homeless woman and her young daughter started a small fire in empty oil drum to keep warm in a building on Morgan's land. The fire caught, and though Morgan had arrived on the scene and started his Fire Eating Machine, it was too late. The building went up in flames, and the last sound onlookers heard were the screams of a dying girl. The onlookers quickly became a mob, blaming Morgan for the girl's death and demanding he hang. The ominous curse contained his last words. Some seventy years later, contractor William Swanson purchased the very same land Morgan had cursed to build luxury condos, dismissing the curse as silly superstition. But when strange things start happening, including the deaths of two construction workers and unexplained fires, suspicions arise that Morgan's Curse might just be more than folklore. Will Swanson and the New York police and fire departments be able to find the truth behind the curse, or will Swanson have to abandon his plans? Joseph Pusch lives in Oktaha, Oklahoma, with his wife. He is the author of Jeremy and the Storm Witch.