The Haunting [Hardcover]

Joan Lowery Nixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 1998

Fifteen-year-old Lia comes from a long line of courageous women, dating back to a Civil War survivor who single-handedly saved her Louisiana plantation house, Graymoss, from destruction. But Graymoss is haunted by a terrible evil.

With clues from a diary and Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Lia, who doesn't feel as if she's inherited any family genes of courage, must figure out what--or who--the evil wants. When Lia's parents decide to move into Graymoss, Lia isn't sure how to convince them to change their minds. But it's up to her to chase away the horror lurking inside the old house. Can she find the courage to deal with a noisy ghost who wants vengeance?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-A book that will please mystery fans. As the story opens, Lia, 15, is at her great-grandmother Sarah's bedside. Delirious, the old woman begins to speak of Graymoss Plantation, the Louisiana family estate left unoccupied for decades because of a "terrible, fearful evil." After the woman's death, Lia discovers that the house has been willed to her mother, who plans to move the family in and adopt a group of hard-to-place children. Lia is against this idea and vows to prove to her mother that the house is truly haunted. She learns that the ghostly occurrences are well documented and that several locals oppose the family taking up residence at Graymoss. Could one of these people be staging the hauntings? There are lots of suspects and readers will enjoy trying to solve the mystery along with the inquisitive Lia. While the suspense is not constant, the plot keeps readers guessing until the end. Not Nixon's best, but sure to be popular where her other novels circulate.
Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-10. Despite claims that Graymoss mansion is haunted, Anne's mother is determined to turn it into a foster home for unwanted children. But Anne doesn't want to move to Graymoss. What's more, she has read the diary of Charlotte Blevins, a distant relative who inhabited the house during Civil War times when the spirits first appeared. She encourages her mother to spend a night in the mansion, hoping Mom will be too frightened to continue with her plans. Anne has a change of heart, however, after she meets the children her parents want to care for and resolves to take on the ghosts herself. Aided by a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, she eventually succeeds in driving the spirits away. The ghosts are reminiscent of those in Shirley Jackson's classic The Haunting of Hill House, whispering through the walls and sending books flying through the air. The novel ends somewhat abruptly, and a potentially interesting romantic relationship fizzles out completely, but this is still a page-turner that will satisfy mystery and ghost story fans. Helen Rosenberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (August 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038532247X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385322478
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,294,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Petrified Plantation, February 22, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Haunting (Paperback)

Joan Lowery Nixon is a striking writer. I would read this book over and over again. She shows an evil mood, when she describes the mysterious evil that haunts the old plantation house. Nixon's style is mysterious murders, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night.

I would recommend this book to people who love a good spine-chilling, horrifying, spooky tale. The exposition could use a little work but otherwise the book is breath-taking.This book gave me the jitters, but a chill that fills my mind with questions. What if ghost do exist? What if they're watching you right now? What if they're standing right behind you?

The main character in the story is Lia Langley who looks back on her families' past and feels she doesn't fit in. All the women in her family have been exceptionally brave except for her. Lia loves to read and doesn't solcialize well with others. Lia is shy and very unsure of herself. After the death of Lia's great-grandmother, Sarah, an old plantation house named Graymoss is left in Lia's mother's hands. Lia's parents plan to move there and raise unadoptable children.

According to a mysterious lady that lives in the wood behind Graymoss, Lia will have to set free the evil that haunts Graymoss after dusk for the house to be "liveable." Will Lia save Graymoss? Will the evil be vanquished? Who is the inscrutable evil that haunts Graymoss?

The plot is very easy to follow. It's clear that Lia's goal us to get rid of the the ghost that haunt Graymoss. The plot revolves around the stories of Graymoss and the mystifying things that happen after dark.

In summary, Joan Lowery Nixon knows how to write a good book from expostion to the closing sentence. If I had to rate this book from 1 to 10, without a doubt I would this book a 10.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great thriller!!!, October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Haunting (Hardcover)

This book is about a girl, Lia Starling. When her great-grandmother dies her mother inheirits this old plantation called, Graymaoss. This plantation survived the Civil War and is waiting for some one. When Lia's parents want to move into the house and fill it with "unadoptabe" kids Lia has to figure out who the house is waiting for using the original owner, Charolette Blevins, diary and an old copy of Favorite Tales of Edgar Allen Poe. Can she solve this mystery? You'll have to read it to find out. This book sent chills down my spine and its a great book to read over and over again. The auther describes everything so well that it feels like you're excperiencing the terror of Graymoss!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ghost Thriller., March 4, 2001

By 

Rebecca (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Haunting (Hardcover)

THE HAUNTING is an awesome book. I usually like Joan Lowery Nixon's work, anyway...so of course I'd think this is a great book. This book is about a modern-day teenager named Lia who doesn't believe she is very brave and courageous like most of the women in her family have been. She, of course, loves to read and doesn't have a lot of friends. After Lia's great-grandmother dies, her parents are given the huge house on a plantation her great-grandmother owned. Lia's parents decide to move there and adopt lots of orphan children, who will become Lia's brothers and sisters. Lia doesn't want to have any brothers and sisters because she likes being the only child, and so she doesn't want to move to the plantation. Anyway, while Lia's great-grandmother was dying in the hospital, Lia came over to visit her great-grandmother. Her great-grandmother thought Lia was Lia's mother, and told her to read a diary by a girl named Charlotte who's grandfather owned the plantation house during the Civil War, in the 1800s and why she thinks the house is haunted. When Lia tells her mother this, her mother doesn't believe the house is haunted and wants to live in it anyway (even Lia's grandmother believes the house is haunted). So to prove the house is haunted, Lia finds Charlotte's diary and reads it and now has to discover a way to destroy the evil in the house before it destroys her! A great thriller for a late-night reading. Go out and try this book.