New Englanders are always cursing. But a colorful profanity uttered by some sterotypically tactiturn old Yankee is usually more humorous than menacing. Yet, true maledictions (the opposite of benedicitons) have frequently been spoken on New England soil, curses intended to invoke evil, injury, or total destruction against other people.

Stories about preternatural revenge are numerous in Yankee lore, with each New England state providing its favorites. Some are well known, at least regionally. Others are nearly forgotten. Within these pages, renowned storyteller Joseph A. Citro vividly brings these tales to life, letting us decide if these tales of woe were bad luck or ... something else.