The Spook's Curse is the second novel in the children's book series, The Wardstone Chronicles, written by English author Joseph Delaney.
Publishing information[]
The novel was originally published on June 30th, 2005 by Bodley Head in hardback but since then it has been released in paperback and reprinted in a new-style cover (published by Red Fox).
The book was also released in the U.S as The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane due to 'spook' may be viewed as a racist term to some of the American population.
Book Description[]
The spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts and boggarts. But now they have unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral, lurks the spook's nemesis - the Bane, a creature he has never been able to defeat. As Thomas and his master prepare for the battle of their lives it becomes clear that the Bane isn't their only enemy in town. The Quisitor has arrived, searching the county for those who meddle with the dark - witches, warlocks and spooks! When the spook is arrested and sentenced to death, it's up to Thomas, with a little help from his old friend Alice, to rescue his master and destroy the curse of Priestown.
Detailed plot[]
The spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward have traveled to Priestown for some unfinished business. For, deep in the catacombs of the cathedral, lurks the spook’s nemesis - The Bane. A creature he has never been able to defeat. As Thomas and his master prepare for the battle of their lives it becomes clear that the Bane isn’t their only enemy in town. The Quisitor has arrived, searching the county for those who meddle with the dark – witches, warlocks and spooks! But when Alice makes a pact with the Bane, she may be in great danger. By making a pact with the Bane, she has to feed her own blood to it. The more blood that she feeds it, the more she becomes under its control.
The spook fears that she will eventually be under the Bane's control fully and wants to stay as far away from her as possible, however that proves to be difficult since Alice and Tom became very good friends since his first adventure. Alice begins to use the Bane to help her and Tom out of binds where they could be killed. When the spook is arrested and sentenced to death it's up to Thomas, with a little help from Alice (and the Bane), to rescue his master and destroy the curse of Priestown. Eventually she begins to fear and dislike it just as much as Tom and the spook do. With the spook and Thomas helping her, she controls the Bane for just enough of a time for the spook and Thomas to devise a plan to capture or kill the Bane.
In a race against time, Thomas and Alice must face the Bane deep in the depths of the catacombs. Alice requests one more thing from the Bane when they meet it in the catacombs, and that is that he does not hurt the spook or Thomas. When Alice is its new target, Tom takes his chance and kills the Bane, freeing Priestown from its curse.
Chapters[]
- The Horshaw Ripper
- The Spook's Past
- The Bane
- Priestown
- The Funeral
- A Pact with Hell
- Escape and Capture
- Brother Peter's Tale
- The Catacombs
- Girl Spit
- The Spook's Trial
- The Silver Gate
- The Burning
- Dad's Tale
- The Silver Chain
- A Pit for Alice
- The Quisitor Arrives
- Nightmare on the Hill
- The Stone Graves
- Mam's Letter
- A Sacrifice
- A Bargain's a Bargain
Deaths[]
| Character | Killed By | Cause Of Death | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Quisitor*
*I believe the Quisitor did not die but he just burnt his hands. |
The Bane/Alice Deane | Alice used one of her three available commands on the Bane to kill the Quisitor. | The Quisitor and his men were hunting the Spook, Tom and Alice down in belief they were servants of the dark. |
| zzz]] | The Bane | Pressed to death in the catacombs of Priestown. |