Took: A Ghost Story

Erica is the second grader sister of Daniel. As a result of the family’s move to West Virginia, Erica struggles mentally. She despises her new life in the countryside, fears the darkness of the woods, and struggles to make friends at school. The only thing Erica enjoys anymore is talking to her doll, Little Erica. As a result of the familial tension caused by the move, Erica begins to isolate herself. She doesn’t communicate with Daniel, except to ask him if he hears the same whispering she does.

As life at home grows more depressing, Erica spends more with Little Erica. She believes Little Erica “listens to me. Nobody else does. She talks to me too. Nobody else does that” (55). Old Auntie’s perspective reveals that she is speaking to Erica through the doll, convincing her that “she loves her [and] understands how she feels, but no one else does” (70). As a result of Auntie’s manipulation, Erica begins to act out of character. Though Erica fears the woods, the doll convinces her to visit a clearing, where she interacts with Auntie in-person; Auntie disguises herself as a young girl to further manipulate Erica.

In listening to her doll and the strange girl in the woods, Erica becomes convinced that Daniel hates her, and that their parents will abuse her. While under Auntie’s spell, she forgets her name and her family. Subjected to constant abuse, Erica becomes loyal to the witch until she is rescued, and the spell is broken. During the climax of the story, Erica throws rocks at Bloody Bones, because she wants to “stop him from hurting the boy” (239). Though Erica is still loyal to Auntie at this point, she acts out of fear, inadvertently killing Bloody Bones and rescuing herself and Daniel. At the end, she regains her memories and befriends Selene—her first friend in Woodville. Erica’s return resolves much of the conflict within her family, symbolizing not only a physical reunification, but an emotional one.

At the beginning of the novel, Selene Estes is only a folktale. Stories claim she lived in the same house as Daniel’s family 50 years ago but was “took” by Old Auntie and Bloody Bones. When Daniel finds Selene in Chapter 11, she’s still a child, “Sickly and pale, her skin grimy with dirt, [and] had the look of a wild creature” (130). Selene’s dialogue and desperate actions speak to her years of abuse with Auntie, doing everything the witch ordered at the threat of beatings or Bloody Bones.

Selene spends most of the story trying to return to Auntie. She refuses to leave the cabin ruins, sneaks out of Daniel’s bedroom window, finds Auntie in the woods and begs to be taken back, and asks Miss Perkins to reunite her with the witch. The longer Selene spends away from Auntie, the more she deteriorates. Miss Perkins reveals that Selene is still under Auntie’s spell and “must learn to live in the here and now—or die” (214-15). Following her encounter with Miss Perkins, she refuses meals and eventually loses interest in her doll.

When Auntie’s spell is finally broken, Selene doesn’t realize she’s lost 50 years. She runs through her family’s old house, searching for her parents and sister, but they are long gone. However, when Selene and Erica are introduced to each other, they instantly connect. Mrs. O’Neill speculates that “those girls will be good friends” (255), which is confirmed by the Epilogue in which they play together. It is implied that Selene adjusts to life with the O’Neills.

Old Auntie is the antagonist of the novel. She’s described as a “conjure woman” (61), the locals’ word for a witch—“older than old, crueler than cruel, as wicked as the devil himself” (102), with “skin stretched tight across her skull” and “her nose was no more than sharp bone” (163). Auntie has a companion, Bloody Bones, a skeletal razorback hog that walks on two legs, has bear teeth and panther claws, and wears the overalls of the hunter who killed him. The witch brought Bloody Bones back to life after he was hunted and killed. Bloody Bones killed the hunter, stole his overalls, and escaped back to Auntie.

Every 50 years, Auntie steals a young girl from town and forces her to do her bidding. The girl must clean the cabin and stoke its fire, cook meals, weed the garden, and do other chores for Auntie. The witch casts a spell on the girl, causing her to forget her life. After 50 years, Auntie retires her current girl and snatches a new one. Auntie’s retired girl remains under the spell and eventually dies because she cannot adjust to the outside world.

In addition to her spell, Auntie uses physical violence, emotional manipulation, and fear to control her current girl. She gains Erica’s trust by using Little Erica to communicate with her. When Erica “tells the doll how unhappy she is” (71), Auntie uses this information to further isolate the girl. Disguised as Selene, Auntie convinces Erica that her family hates her and will soon abuse her. Once Erica is isolated, Auntie bewitches the girl and takes her back to the cabin. In the cabin, Auntie “scold[s] her and beat[s] her and shut[s] her up in the hidey-hole under the cabin floor” (137) when Erica fails to perform tasks to her liking. When beatings and scoldings do not work, Auntie “brings in Bloody Bones and tells the girl he eats bad children like her” (137). This fear of Bloody Bones causes Erica to depend on Auntie for safety. However, this fear ultimately backfires on Auntie when Erica throws rocks at Bloody Bones, leading to her and Daniel’s escape. It’s unclear whether Auntie’s sabotaged spell or the cabin fire killed her, but Miss Perkins confirms that she is gone for good in the Epilogue.

Daniel and Erica’s parents, referred to as Mother and Father for most of the novel, arguably suffer the most from Erica’s disappearance. However, their deterioration begins long before Erica is “took.” In the Prologue, Mother and Father are magically convinced to buy a dilapidated farmhouse. They are ambitious and excited about their plans for the house. However, upon moving in, they realize how much work the house needs to be in good condition. The condition of the house, the misery and protests of the children, and financial issues contribute to Mother and Father’s deterioration. Mother, who planned to work on her loom, “didn’t touch the rug she’d begun weeks earlier” and instead “drank coffee and smoked” (52). Father begins to spend “more and more time staring at his computer instead of working on his photography” (52). The couple fight and fail to cook fresh meals or maintain the house.

When Erica goes missing, the couple’s problems amplify. Daniel observes “my parents were arguing endlessly over whose fault it was” (193). Mother stops taking care of herself and the house altogether, with her hair “limp and uncombed, her face shadowed with grief” (189-90). Father wears nothing but sweatshirts and sweatpants, “His eyes were puffy and red rimmed” (190), and he doesn’t shave. Mother and Father are so overcome with grief that they cannot function anymore.

When Erica is returned, normalcy is restored. Mother and Father clean up and stop fighting. In the Epilogue, Miss Perkins observes a woman in the barn, “weaving a rug on a loom” (262) and “A vegetable garden behind the house grows strong and healthy” (263). Two years later, Mother and Father have realized their vision for the farmhouse and seemingly live happier lives.

Brody Mason is a boy who lives near Daniel and Erica’s farmhouse. He is the first person to tell the siblings the story of Selene Estes. However, the bus driver Mrs. Plummer assures Daniel and Erica that Brody is “a born liar” (33). Brody’s “mama died a few months back” (65), so he and his father are struggling. At first, Brody seems like another bully to Daniel, who has been treated poorly by everyone at school—but he evolves into a helpful ally and friend by the end of the novel.

Brody also tells Daniel about Auntie’s magic and takes him to the cabin where Selene is later found. In an act of concern and trust, Brody offers his dog Bella to Daniel in order to keep him safe. In the final chapter, Daniel and Brody bond over burying Little Erica. The Epilogue shows them playing catch in the yard, revealing that they have become good friends.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill are an old couple who befriend Daniel and Erica’s parents. They knew Selene’s family and were deeply affected by her disappearance; their daughter, Eleanor, was friends with Selene when they were children. When Daniel escorts Selene from the woods, Mrs. O’Neill is the one who identifies her. Because of their relationship with Selene 50 years prior, the O’Neills take on the responsibility of caring for her.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill are shown to be caring and protective. Mr. O’Neill understands the danger of the woods and offers Daniel a ride home. Mrs. O’Neill feeds and bathes Selene. Both Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill work hard to help Selene and remind her of her old life. However, Mrs. O’Neill is particularly important because she suggests Miss Perkins might know how to defeat Old Auntie.