Blackwateris the saga of a small town, Perdido, Alabama, and Elinor Dammert, the stranger who arrives there under mysterious circumstances on Easter Sunday, 1919. On the surface, Elinor is gracious, charming, anxious to belong in Perdido, and eager to marry Oscar Caskey, the eldest son of Perdido's first family. But her beautiful exterior hides a shocking secret. Beneath the waters of the Perdido River, she turns into something terrifying, a creature whispered about in stories that have chilled the residents of Perdido for generations. Some of those who observe her rituals in the river will never be seen again ...Originally published as a series of six volumes in 1983,Blackwateris the crowning achievement of Michael McDowell, author of the Southern Gothic classicsCold Moon Over BabylonandThe Elementalsand screenwriter ofBeetlejuiceandThe Nightmare Before Christmas. This first-ever one-volume edition, with a new introduction...