I have long been a fan of Mary Downing Hahn. WAIT ‘TIL HELEN COMES was one of my first ever book talks in schools. It was a hit and the requests to read it came pouring into the library. The same will hold true for THE GHOST of CRUTCHFIELD HALL (Houghton and Mifflin, 2010). A victorian style ghost story in which twelve year old Florence looks forward to moving away from an orphanage and in with long lost family. The mansion she moves into is the perfect setting for a ghost story. Unexpected and imposing. She is greeted by an uncle who is happy to have her and and aunt who clearly wants her gone. As for her cousin, Sophia does not meet him that day. He is bedridden and she is forbidden to see him. None of this is as shocking as the one family member who would rather see her and her cousin dead. Sophia’s vindictive ghost haunts the mansion and is determined to find anyway she can to step back into the land of the living. As with Helen, Sophia is a ghost that Mary Downing Hahn is not afraid to paint deep and dark. There is not one bit of good in her. Definitely a great read for kids who like a good jump in the night!
Looking forward to having this one on the book shelves, and to seeing to seeing signed out more often than not.
Release Date: September 2010
Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book!
Author Website ( and, seriously, all of her books would do well on your personal or library shelves).