In 1878, Esther Cox -- a young woman who'd recently suffered a physical attack on her virtue in a small Canadian town, in an era when such things were unheard of -- was beset by spirits. Unseen hands set themselves on her; sourceless voices spoke to her. She wasn't the only one who saw or experienced these things, but she was at the center of the phenomena. The haunting began with the work of a poltergeist: little fires, voices, and rapping noises. But too soon it escalated to become. . . . THE GREAT AMHERST MYSTERY