Lorissa J Monk

There have been monsters among us lurking in the darkest corners of America, preying on children since the first settlers arrived on our shores. They have always been with us, stalking the innocent, from the days of the original colonies, to the Gilded Age, the Depression, and beyond. These monsters are not the stuff of fiction. They are bloodcurdlingly real, and they still walk among us, always looking for their next victim.

When it was first published in 1979, this novel introduced inspirational fiction to people hungry for well-told stories based on Christian values. Since then, over a million copies have been sold, and it has been made into a popular Hallmark movie. Janette Oke has won the Christy Award, the Gold Medallion, and scores of other awards.

I'm a 64-year-old retired lawyer and former Assistant Attorney General with an unusual story to tell. Every word of it is true. It happened in a state park known as Devil's Den. For fear of losing my job and damaging my reputation in the legal community, I never spoke about the incident. If it hadn't happened to me, I'd be skeptical too. In 1977, I was an active duty NCO in the USAF. A friend and I planned a two-night camping trip to explore the wilderness. We drove deep into the forest until we came to a high plateau. There on the horizon sat a perfect triangle of three very bright stars....