Black Creek Crossing

infobox Book |
name = Black Creek Crossing
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = John Saul
illustrator =
cover_artist = Phil Heffernan
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Thriller Horror novel
publisher = Ballantine Books
release_date = 16 March 2004
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 368 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-345-43332-7 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Black Creek Crossing" is a thriller horror novel by John Saul.

Plot summary

This thriller by John Saul is set in Roundtree, Massachusetts, and is about the Sullivan family who have recently moved there. The story is set mainly around the fifteen year old daughter, Angel Sullivan.

Angel is a portly girl who is constantly being harassed and bullied by the other students at school. She eventually meets Seth Baker, a student who is also being bullied at the same school. Seth's father wants his son to impress other people through sports and the like, but Seth's main interest is photography. After Angel moves to a house at Black Creek Crossing, Seth takes some pictures of the house, not knowing who lives there. What he does know is that many generations ago, people practiced witchcraft in the area. He also knows that in that same house, a man went crazy and murdered his wife and daughter. Angel's room happens to be the same room in which the girl was murdered.

While living in the house, Angel comes across a black cat with a white streak down its chest. Due to the cat's disappearing abilities, she names it Houdini. This cat becomes a focal point of the story. The cat likes Angel and Seth, but anyone else is attacked. At school, a group of bullies capture the cat and supposedly kill it before stuffing the carcass into Angel's locker.

One day while walking through a trail, before the cat is killed, Angel and Seth are led by Houdini to a small cabin that is built into a rocky cliff. Upon entering, they find a witchcraft book and begin using it. The spells they produce are entirely meant to take out revenge on their punishers. Angel's alcoholic father and her mother are killed from a spell that is suppose to throw her enemies backwards as a defense. Through possession, Seth is able to make one of the bullies kill himself with a razor. He also uses the same spell that Angel used to kill his parents. Aware of their actions, and knowing that they would be caught eventually, Seth and Angel decide to hang themselves on a tree outside of a church.

The story ends with a woman (who shares a name with a historical witchcraft figure from earlier in the book) attempting to buy the house at Black Creek Crossing for a bargain deal. That same woman finds Houdini inside.

Literary significance and reception

Reception for this novel has not been as great as for some of Saul's work but reviews have been generally favorable.

:"In Black Creek Crossing, Saul is totally back to his roots" [cite web | title=Black Creek Crossing review | last=Schenone | first=J. | work=Sabledrake Magazine | url=http://www.sabledrake.com/2004/0405_reviews.htm | date=May, 2004 | accessdate=2007-11-14 ]

Some find the Horror or Thriller element of the narrative less striking::"Saul's ultimate strength in BLACK CREEK CROSSING, however, is his ability to explore the world of adolescent angst, to get into those areas where the triple gratings of school, friends and family rub the skin of the psyche raw." [cite web | title=Black Creek Crossing Bookreport review | last=Hartlaub | first=Joe | work=bookreporter.com | url=http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews2/0345433327.asp | date= | accessdate=2007-11-14 ] In some cases reviewers have a mixed opinion::"For the most part Saul did a wonderful job of explaining why certain things were occurring but there are a couple of things that he left hanging..." [cite web | title=Witchcraft Rules According to John Saul's Novel, Black Creek Crossing | last=Morgan | first=Christine | work=lockergnome.com | url=http://www.sabledrake.com/2004/0405_reviews.htm | date=2007-08-18 | accessdate=2007-11-14 ]

Footnotes

References

*cite book | title=Black Creek Crossing | last=Saul | first=John | authorlink=John Saul | publisher=Ballantine | location=New York City | edition=1st ed. | date=2004 | id=ISBN 0345433327