Deliver Us from Evil

This lost Powers ghost story is set in Santa Ana involving The Laguna Art Colony, religious fraud, and a 1930’s silent film titled Thou Hast Hell, which induces insanity and death at its viewing — including that of the director who was beaten to death in the theater lobby. This outline has all the wacky characters, convoluted superstitions, and plot twists that we have come to love in a Powers story. The original title of this story was The Stress of Her Regard which Tim explains in his 2010 introduction to this 1979 manuscript which is presented here for the first time in print as Tim left it 31 years ago.

From the Introduction:

"I’ve got to admit that I like it myself, though it is a portion and outline — that is, after the first three full-length chapters the rest of the story’s chapters are told in present tense, and are briefer. But, in my 1979 naivete, I virtually told the whole story, including a lot of description and dialogue, in that outline... it seems to me any virtues [the book] might have had are all right here anyway."