Paranormal Book Review: The Dibbuk Box

The Dibbuk Box

Jason Haxton

Paranormal

Paperback

A series of eerie events slowly unfolds when a wine cabinet sells at an estate sale in Oregon. It is soon sold and resold on eBay’s Internet auction, and each new owner becomes desperate to get rid of the box along with the health problems, accidents, or deaths they claim came with it. Jason Haxton, the curator of a medical museum in a small Missouri town, learns of the mysterious cabinet and is intrigued by it as an artifact to be studied and researched. He places a bid on eBay and soon finds himself the proud owner of the Dibbuk Box. But as he carefully investigates and records everything he can about this unusual item said to be possessed by a Jewish spirit, Haxton discovers far more than he bargained for. In this true account, a dark story comes to light—a story that began at the time of the Holocaust and seems to have come full circle.

The Dibbuk Box: Paranormal Book Review

This is a tricky one to review, not because I couldn’t decide whether or not I liked the book but, rather because of the book’s conclusion. There is no definitive closure to the story and the reader is left to decide whether or not what is written is, indeed, fact or fiction. Of course, this is great as it is open to interpretation but it is somewhat difficult when the author makes his case that what happens in the book actually occurred. Like any otherworldly or ghost story, one has to rely on the author who is, more likely than not, someone you do not know and have to take their word at face value. I, for one, am a skeptic therefore I knew that I would not believe the contents of the book going into it. Instead, I was hoping to be intrigued and introduced to something new, and I was. The story featured in this book is not what you will see in the film, The Possession, as the film is based on (inspired by) the story of the box itself. Hollywood liked the idea, purchased the rights, and created a fictional account that divulged almost entirely from the written word.

Being that I’m a sucker for a good ghost story, I was first introduced to the Dibbuk (Dybbuk) box from an episode of SyFy’s Paranormal Witness. It was this episode of the show that captured my attention that led me to The Dibbuk Box by Jason Haxton, with the hopes of learning more about this artifact. Indeed, I was able to learn about this artifact in detail as well as the story of Jason Haxton and his experiences with the cursed and dreadful box.

The story featured in The Dibbuk Box was not one to be feared as there were rarely any moments (if any) featured in the book that induced fear even while reading in a dimly lit room alone (my usual ambiance “required” to get myself in the mood for some scares). The story mainly revolves around Jason’s obsession with the box itself and, what seems to be, a never-ending quest to uncover the secrets of the box. It is this journey that we, the readers, embark on with Jason at the helm as we become “jurors” to his testimony about the numerous accounts of the box’s origins and its stories. Here, we become privy to countless variations of the box’s testimonies often leaving us with conflicting stories, inconsistencies, and more questions, a lot of which were not answered – a perfect recipe for a state of confusion.

Still, in the end, I was left with intrigue and could certainly see how the Dibbuk Box could be the subject of a person’s obsession and also a lesson of how the power of the mind can prove to be something unexplainable and perception-altering. Could a simple wine box sold on eBay be haunted? Or was it simply the makings of a seller out to prey on the weak-minded with the hopes of making a quick buck? These are some of the questions we are left with. Although it can be argued that the answer is in the book, in the end, we are left still questioning the validity of the author’s claims. Did it all happen? One thing is for sure, I became a victim of the obsession that overcame Jason Haxton and was briefly overwhelmed with wanting to know more about this mystical box.

I say give this book a read before throwing your money away on the movie. Despite the book’s shortcomings, it was an interesting read and what I would consider a case study in obsession and the power of the mind.

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This review prompted a response from the book’s author: