Spirit of Mischief

About the Book

An Irish village has been plagued by a mischievous Imp that is imprisoned in a jug in a castle. The Imp wrecks playful havoc on the local village. When the owner Fallon O’Danley passes away, his American raised granddaughter, Meg comes back for the funeral.

The whole village conspires to have Meg take the Jug with the Imp back to America.  Patrick, the local mailman, tells her the jug was a favorite of her grandfathers. She drinks a toast, and becomes possessed, which turns Meg into raucous Megine, who decides it’s her duty to stay.

When the Meg sneezes he inadvertently changes her into Megine and back again, which causes chaos for Patrick and the villagers. During the wake, a lightning storm creates a nearby forest fire, and all blame the imp for this catastrophe.

Dash, an American filmmaker, has arrived and previously paid the grandfather for the rights to shoot a horror film in the castle. Meg is fine with this, but Megine will have “no truck with such nonsense”. Patrick tells Dash he need to woo Meg at the weekend’s “Solstice Fair” and take her back to America.  The villagers say, “What Fair?”  So, they must create a fair basically overnight.  Patrick goes to the reluctant witch, Elsbeth for a love potion to lock the two Americans together.

Patrick accidently lets the potion be drunk by Esmirelda, a shaggy Irish wolfhound, when the spiked coffee cups are left on a table at the fair, so instead of Meg falling for Dash, Dash who also drinks the potion, falls for Megine. And, Esmirelda now seems to love Patrick. 

After a series of misadventures, Dash tries to impress Megine by putting on the Irish kilt of her clan. Patrick brings Meg to the tent, but he is distracted by the love-struck dog.  The belt on the kilt drops, through the Imp’s doings, and just as Meg lifts the tent flap, she is accidently ‘mooned’ by Dash.

Patrick helps Dash to become a hero to save Meg from the Imp. They discover a scroll written in an ancient language. Only Elsbeth can read the ancient writings, which tells of how a 15^th century young Irish boy was trapped in the jug. There is also a cryptic prophecy, “To release the ultimate evil, you must grasp the blessing from infinity”. Since no one has the slightest idea what that means, they all set out to capture the Imp.

In the castle Elsbeth puts a crucifex on the jug, but the Imp steals the jug. Meg grabs it and runs into a balcony room with mirrors. Dash shouts, “Catch it”. The Imp catches the crucifix instead and while standing between the mirrors the prophecy is fulfilled.  The Imp disappears and Kyle, the young boy appears before them.

Meg has since fallen in love with Patrick. Dash will make “films that touch the heart” and has fallen for Elsbeth. But wait, there’s a twist. You see the Imp — well, you’ll just have to read it.  Sure an’ may the story bring you as much joy as an Irish spring day.

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