They shouldn’t have opened the crate. Dad did tell them to leave it alone until he returned from work at the hospital, but Amy, Danny and
their cousin Jack were intrigued. The guy who delivered it to their bach was a little strange, and no-one had ordered anything, least of all a box resembling a rough coffin.
They’d stayed at the bach many times and knew its little town of Tunamoana well. They’d read all the books on the bach’s shelves, been for walks for ice creams and skimmed stones across the lake, and now were all bored. The box was something different. Despite Dad’s instructions, they open the crate.
The inside is ten times more intriguing, bringing nightmares, terrifying visions, an investigation into Tuamoana’s past and a strange new friendship. What the cousins discover is beyond belief but right in front of them. They know it can’t be possible and yet it cannot be ignored.
When Dad is finally consulted, he is sceptical, quoting the Occams Razor Principle. When explained they put all they know together and try and find the simplest, most rational answer. But as more and more supernatural things happen, Occams is hard to call upon to explain the paranormal mystery surrounding them.
When one and then another of the cousins vanish, they know they are in serious trouble. But if Dad won’t believe them, how will a search party or the Police?
By the winner of the Sir Julius Vogel Award (2006), the NZ Post Junior Fiction Award (2010), author of adult, tween and young adult novels and ten collections of poetry, The Crate – A Ghost Story is a well crafted and spooky story for older tweens and young teens.
Tension steadily rises as the number of paranormal events affect three cousins on holiday in their family bach. It begins with a strange crate, a ghostly vision, strange footprints and the feeling of being followed.
Set over a couple of days, the story moves swiftly into super spooky territory, possession and an unexpected and imaginative conclusion.
Cool cover by Jenny Cooper.
Author – James Norcliffe
Age – 10+
Read other book reviews of James Norcliffe novels (Click on a Cover)
(2022, Quentin Wilson Publishing, NZ, Ghost, Paranormal, Supernatural, Tension, Spooky, Creepy, Bach, West Coast, NZ, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Holiday, Cousins, Mystery, Drowning, Small town, Secret)