Devil in the Basement is creative nonfiction and based on the shocking true story of Charlotte Laws’ family. She learned about the murders, bombings, and devil worship when she visited her ancestors’ home town of Fairmont, West Virginia. As a former private eye, she investigated what had happened and even ventured into the eerie basement where the satanic rituals had occurred. The story begins in 1928 when thousands of Ku Klux Klan members march through this sleepy town. Great uncle Jal’s passions were ignited that day, as were those of Laws’ grandfather Tucker, who changed his Italian name to sound white with hopes of escaping poverty and racism, and of becoming a U.S. Senator. Meanwhile, Laws’ great-grandmother set up a criminal enterprise in the back barn, and her great aunt was hauled off to an insane asylum before becoming the mistress of a Detroit mobster. But this story is not just about Laws’ family. It is also about their creepy neighbor Ernie, who lived in the run-down house around the corner. He abused his wives and dabbled in his favorite pastime: evil. He liked evil. He was creative when it came to evil. He was all about evil. Many odd things happened in Fairmont in those days. There was a clearing in the woods called Hangman Forest where, as rumor had it, children were brought and tortured. There was an abandoned coal mine, where a small boy was left to die. There was a ghoulish, life-sized doll, which was spoken to as if it was a person. In the end, there were bombings and brutal murders which shook the town and shocked the nation. Devil in the Basement is a story of love and horror, racism and hope, of Christian piety and satanic ritual. It is a book that shines a light on one of the most ghastly real life incidents in West Virginia history. It is a story you will never forget.