Curses, Inc.

"Curses, Inc." is a collection of short stories by Vivian Vande Velde. The stories contain elements of horror, fantasy, and humor. The book is aimed at children and young adults. The book also includes an introduction, explaining the story behind many of Vande Velde's previous books, and an afterword explaining where the ideas for each story came from.

Plot

Here is a short summary of each of the stories.

Curses, Inc.

Bill Essler cannot take his girlfriend Denise to the eighth-grade graduation dance, as he has been planning to do, because he refuses to spend any of the $375 which he has saved to buy computer games on getting everything he would need. After he gets home, he connects to the Internet and finds a company called "Curses, Inc." Intrigued, he checks it out, and discovers that they will – for a nominal charge– place an actual curse on anyone he names.

The curses are remarkably expensive, but Bill cannot resist tormenting Denise with the website. He buys a spell that will make Denise lose her precious dog; unfortunately, the curse only lasts about fifteen minutes, and the dog soon comes home. Infuriated, Billy begins to spend more and more of his hard-earned money, determined to break Denise. The spells all seem to work out in her favor, though-a wish to fail math brings a handsome young foreign exchange student as a teacher, and a desire to ruin the dance for her turns into a fun-filled night at a theme park.

On the last day of school, Billy spends the last of his money on a truly powerful curse: "The Have the Worst Day of the Summer" spell. To his chagrin, Denise's day goes normally. Furious, Billy contacts the witch in charge of the company, who gleefully explains that Denise did have the worst day of her summer-for the coming months will bring her fame and fortune. Before Billy can ask 'why?', a single phrase floats onto the screen:"Because Denise took out a 'Lose All Your Money' spell on you three weeks ago.'

Skin Deep

A young girl, cursed with a scarred face, possesses amazing skills of witchcraft, and can grant almost any wish. She has chosen to isolate herself from society, as this will keep people from traveling to her every day and making foolish wishes. While this power grants her money and fame, she still feels lacking, as people can only see her scars.

A chance at redemption arrives when a young prince stumbles upon the girl's cottage in the winter. She nurses him back to health, but before he fully awakens, she casts a "glamour" over herself to change her face into a beautiful visage. The prince and the girl get to know each other over the course of the winter, and the young witch feels love for the first time in her life. When the prince vows the same, she removes the glamour to show him what she truly looks like; he is appalled, and leaves the very next day. Though broken-hearted, the witch nevertheless acquires revenge-she curses the prince to have an ugly face!

Past Sunset

On one small street in Paris, no one dares to go out after sunset because of a ghost which, according to the story, steals people's souls. When one of the children living on the street falls seriously ill, they have no choice but to go out to get medicine for his ailment. Antoine, a kind-hearted teenage boy, volunteers to go out.

He has almost reached his home when he sees the ghost. It comes towards him. He thinks it may just be misunderstood, and ever-so-kindly looks into its eyes – and becomes a ghost himself.

To Converse with the Dumb Beasts

A witch gives a man a magic acorn which enables him to talk to animals. He soon realizes that this is actually a curse and not a gift, and is driven insane by his animals' senseless chatter.

Boy Witch

A witch leaves her son for a few days, during which he experiments with his mother's magic – and soon screws things up horribly.

Lost Soul

A boy in a small village falls in love with a strange girl he meets at the pond, but then discovers that she is a kelpie who lures men to their death – and loves it.

Remember Me

A young man has lost his memory, and the only clue he has as to what is going on is a mysterious old woman who appears out of (and subsequently vanishes into) thin air...

Witch-Hunt

A young girl living with her mother is told that the witch hunters are coming, and will arrest the two for possessing "Satanic bibles" and other mysterious articles. The leader of the witch hunters-an iron-hearted woman who despises all magic-soon comes to the door. The mother is apprehended, but the girl manages to escape into the forest. She knows that her small bedroom and Satanic bibles will be destroyed; unfortunately, she soon ends up a captive of the lead witch hunter.

The major plot twist of the story comes in its last paragraphs, as the leading witch hunter returns home...and logs onto a personal computer. The story, therefore, took place in modern times, and not an ancient colonial village; the witch hunters are religious extremists, and Cinderella is considered an evil story.

Cypress Swamp Granny

A girl living in Louisiana during the American Civil War has been trying and trying, but cannot seem to find the man of her dreams. She asks the grandmother of a young slave girl, who is said to be a witch, for help – and discovers the not-so-nice side of magical spells.

The Witch's Son

Devastated by the loss of her son, a woman turns to magic and witchcraft to try raising him from the dead. The only problem is that she has to kill the man who shot him in order to live.