Zane's Shoebox is an object that appears in Alan Wake.
Purpose[]
Just before Thomas Zane wrote himself out of existence, he wrote that whatever was left of him in a shoebox would be the only parts of him not written out of existence. The purpose of this could be that for one day, should it be reawakened, somebody such as Alan Wake might come along, find his objects and destroy the Dark Presence.
It's possible that because a shoebox of Thomas Zane's books was found in Bird Leg Cabin, this made Alan learn a little bit about Thomas Zane, and that motive could have brought Zane back when Alan wrote him into the manuscript entitled Departure.
Objects in Shoeboxes[]
Below are a list of objects found in shoeboxes belonging to Thomas Zane.
Shoebox #1 (Bird Leg Cabin)[]
- The Labyrinth of Me
- The Temple of Shadow and Mist
- In Her Dreams to Prevail
- Kept from Sleep
These are all books by Thomas Zane himself. This same shoebox can be found in Alan's apartment in the remastered version of Alan Wake.
Shoebox #2 (The Well-Lit Room)[]
- The Clicker
- Manuscript page detailing Alan's childhood and what he did when he reached the Well-Lit room.
Shoebox #3 (This House of Dreams)[]
- Two old photos of Thomas Zane and Barbara Jagger, with their faces covered with black ink stains
- 12 Poems by Thomas Zane, with wand=written notes on them
- An old light switch, which might have powers similar to the Clicker, only that this one might be able to turn off all the lights.
The shoebox was discovered by a woman named Samantha in a house that she bought in the town of Ordinary. The shoebox was also in the possession of the FBC for a while, before it suddenly disappeared without a trace. A board detailing their research on it can be found in Control.