I've since been collating other suggestions:
A grab of tax inspectors
A menace...
A conniving...
A tithe...
A levy (levee)...
A Grabble...
An Inquisition....
A Bogy....
A Spectre....
A Digger.....
A ruination ....
An infliction ....
A calamity ....
A chill ....
A pack...
A frisson .....
A vexation ....
A ravishment ....
An infestation....