Chris Chandler is trying to escape the glare of the media while the State of Maine reviews his conviction and investigates the disappearance of so many corpses from Bemishstock. He flees to the tiny town of Lewis, Vermont where he's been invited to house-sit the estate of a mysterious family with a history stretching back to the thirteenth century and the Albigensian Crusade. There he discovers one of the town's prodigal sons has recently returned with a plan for a Goth festival and Grand Guignol Theater, which he'll fund…with human remains. Once again, Chris and Gillian must do battle with grave robbers and hostile officials, this time with the aid of an ancient amulet and the spirit world itself, while they also struggle to free Chris of Mallory Dahlman's vengeful spirit.