Uncle's Trunk

About the Book

Beverly Lawson and her two children, Rick and Lori, inherited a house from Beverly’s late Uncle George.  They arrive at the Tudor-style house in Rockland, Maine.  The movers unload the truck and drive away, leaving the family to unpack everything.  After everyone goes to be, Rick is visited by what he describes as a shadow, with red eyes.  He awakens his mother and sister and tells what he saw.  They convince him that he was overly tired from a long day of moving.  Rick left a number of friends behind in his old hometown, Seattle, Washington.  He misses them and hopes that one day soon, he will be able to move back.  Lori seems happy enough in the new town.  She is looking forward to meeting new people.  Beverly is just glad she is away from the old town.  It brought many sad memories for her.  She cleaned out her savings account so they could afford to move, but must now find a job.  While searching for a job, she leaves Rick and Lori to unpack the boxes in the basement.  They discover an old steamer trunk full of costumes and props.  They are quite taken with some very old, very realistic swords that were also in the trunk.  In fact, much of the clothing in the trunk appears to be realistic.  They lose track of time while doing a pretend sword fight.  It almost seemed to them that they were actually on a ship somewhere, having a real sword fight.  When they finally realize what time it is, they have very little time to prepare for their mother’s return.  They put the costumes back in the trunk and rush upstairs just in time for Beverly to drive up to the house.  Beverly sees Lori has something on her head ... a pirate’s hat.  Figuring that was Uncle George’s, she tells the kids to be careful with those old costumes and make sure everything is put back in the trunk.  Later on, the pirate hat reappears upstairs.  Even later still, the computer seems to have a mind of its own.  In an apparent dream, the shadow creature visits Beverly.  It seems to want something from her.  Rick learns he can communicate with the entity through his computer.  He discovers they are dealing with a pirate, named Captain Ramos.  A witch sent him on a mission to our time and holds his daughter captive until he returns.  Rick and Lori go into town and do some checking on the pirate suit from the trunk.  They find out that Captain Ramos was kind of a nasty pirate.  He used Uncle George to stay in this time and now that Uncle George is dead, he needs to go back to his time.  In order for him to return, he needs two items from the family.  Will they figure out what he wants and return it to him in time?  At least one thing is for sure.  They learned very quickly that when you inherit a house, you must take everything that comes with it.  Have you inherited a house recently?

About the Author

Because a good, spooky campfire story is usually enjoyed by almost everyone, Julie Austad writes about people experiencing strange and mysterious adventures. The Shadows In The Dark series is a collection of tales of bizarre adventures, the paranormal, and the people who get caught up in the wake. Woods, the second book in the series, brings campfire "scaries" to life for some young campers. The first book is titled Uncle’s Trunk. The third book in the series, The Voyage of The Challenger is currently in progress. The characters from the first book go up against a new adversary to equal a story of the supernatural mixed with adventure. . These imaginative stories are intended for readers seventeen and under. Ms. Austad lives in Everett, Washington, with her husband, two (almost grown-up) children, and their Bichon Frise dog, Buffy, who serves as a cure-all for writer's block.