Customer Reviews

The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book more than thirty years ago when I was still in grade school -- I ordered it through one of those scholastic book catalogues they used to distribute in class -- and it quickly became one of my favorites. I read it several times again over the next few years, and then went on to other books. But not too long ago I started thinking about some of the books I had loved as a girl and this book came immediately to mind. Turned out that it was no longer in my collection (that is what happens when you move every few years). So I looked for it on Amazon.com, bought it, read it the very night I received it . . . and fell in love with it all over again. Sure, it was not as scary as I remembered, nor as lengthy, either (it took me about an hour to read), but the story gallops along, the plot is fairly sound, and the central character is surprisingly real. I am glad I have a copy of the book once more, and I plan to keep it in my collection from here on out.

In 1988, when I was attending the fourth grade, our teacher (name long since forgotten) began reading us a story that has stuck in my mind ever since. Over the years I remembered odd snippets of the story. The old abandoned house. The portraits of beautiful women that moved. The shoe repairing leprechaun in the garden. It was only recently that I decided to track down this story and reread it for myself. You see, my fourth grade teacher never finished "The Wicked Pigeon Ladies In the Garden" (since renamed "The Wicked Wicked Ladies In the Haunted House") and, when last heard from, the heroine of the story was in dire straights.

In this tale, a bratty young girl gets the ultimate comeuppance. Having broken into an abandoned old mansion, she quickly finds herself at odds with the horrible inhabitants. When Maureen (the aforementioned girl) steals a bracelet belonging to one of the long lost daughters of the house, she sets off a chain of events that takes her back in time. Along the way, she makes the acquaintance of a leprechaun, who offers her the only way possible back home to her family.

So I reread the story in its entirety. Originally published in 1968, I was disappointed to find the writing mediocre. For some reason, author Mary Chase was excellent at making memorable characters and plot points while not being particularly good at writing itself. In this story, seven vain sisters from the Victorian era break their parents' hearts by turning themselves into pigeons and flying away. The leprechaun muses that perhaps a greater good will come of it. Unfortunately, that greater good is apparently the same moral Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" learned. Namely, teaching our heroine that there's no place like home. So ruining the lives of two people is worth one young bratty girl learning a lesson. Mmm hmm. There are other problems as well. I remember being very confused as a child as to the fact that the girl, Maureen, is never helped by the one pigeon lady who she was nice to. And then there's just the writing itself. It's not awful. But any kid who's suddenly thrown into the past is going to catch on pretty quickly that they aren't in the present day. For Maureen, it takes roughly 36 hours.

This isn't a terrible story, mind you, but there are better ones out there. Still, there's no arguing with the fact that this book made a huge impression on me when I was young. For the kid interested in mysterious goings on and ladies in beautiful evening gowns, this book is a great read. So sayeth my former 10 year-old self.

Mary Chase's Wicked Wicked Ladies In The Haunted House returns to print an old classic: the story of an outsider who imagines she lives in an old mansion. Maureen is nasty to everyone and when she creeps into the abandoned old mansion she's even rude to the ladies in the pictures  ladies who turn out to be evil and who come to life with an agenda. New generations will find this delightful.

Having first read this book approximately 30 years ago when it was known as "The Wicked Pigeon Ladies In The Garden", I was so excited to find it again. I checked this book out of my middle school library (a LONG time ago) about a million times. As an avid reader since second grade, this is one of the few books that has stayed with me even though I haven't actually seen this book since then. I have looked for the book under its original title with no success; however, I will purchase it now that I have located it under its new title for my ten-year old daughter to read and hopefully enjoy as much as I did.

This is a story of a bratty, nasty little girl who rarely listens to anyone and is fascinated with a crumbled down mansion called "The Old Messerman Place."

Disobeying her parents, she finds her way into the mansion where she gets into trouble and finds that her nastiness nets her the same treatment in spades.

There is nothing in depth about this book. It is an easy, breezy, delightful read and I recommend it primarily the highly creative writing style.

Mary Chase is best known for writing the original stage version of the classic Jimmy Stewart move "Harvey," about the six-foot-tall invisible rabbit. She also wrote this wonderful children's story, in which a delightfully bad little girl named Maureen trespasses inside the "Old Messerman Place," a ruined mansion that had once been the home of a thriving Victorian-era merchant, his kind wife, and their seven cold-hearted daughters. At first it seems the mansion is full of Harry-Potter style moving pictures, but there is a different kind of magic afoot here, as Maureen discovers. A funny book, and a great one to be shared between adventurous youngsters and grown-ups who like fantasy.

I remember trading this book from one of my sixth grade classmates when it first came out on the weekly reader list. Lisa and I used to trade books. I kept this one for far too many reasons. It reminded of some of the classic stories I'd often read. Granted, it's not one of the greatest books ever written, but I have a fondnest for it. Every year I read it--much like watching the Christmas stories I watch every year: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, etc.

The story, if one is 8, 9, 10, 11 is pretty decent. I love the innocence of the story and always thought it should be a movie.

I ordered this book from the Scholastic Book Club when I was in junior high in the early 70's. I read it cover to cover twice and decided to save it "forever" as my favorite book. I was so swept away by the time travel and I remember being terrified for the lead character that she was stuck in the past with no idea how get back. A cousin of mine visited me over the summer and I gave her some books but told her I was keeping this one since I loved it so much. Guess what? When she left to go home, my book was gone. I was heartbroken and have looked for it over the years. I once found it on Ebay, an original of the hardback, selling for over $800! I am so happy to see that it has been reprinted.

Wow, interesting how many reviews start off "I read this when I was a kid..", well, me too. This is one of a half-dozen books I read as a kid that have stuck with me, and probably the only one that >really< scared me! Just finished it again, a walk down memory lane. I have to take issue with some of the harder critiques just below. In particular, that Maureen does not understand right away that she has gone back in time, at a certain point. Well come on. She's what, 9? And -truth be told- doesn't seem like the brightest bulb to begin with. I think it is perfectly reasonable and consistent that she thinks she has simply wandered into a strange (very strange!) part of town. Also, the timeslip is not modern sci-fi, it is the working of dark magic. Perhaps the confusion is just part of the spell!

I also must take issue with the notion that the story is shallow. It is certainly profound, at least profound enough for the target age group. It certainly addresses the wickedness of selfishness and vanity, to the degree that Maureen finally sees what a terrible person she could become, and realizes she doesn't like that: she repents and reforms.

I am particularly intrigued by the character of the leprechaun, called "The Leaper." I believe he is the type of character known to folklore as "the trickster," someone who is not necessarily good or evil, but who provides the means by which certain story elements play out. Often a catalyst, in the sense that he is not himself touched by the story. The most famous trickster in American story is Brer Rabbit from the Uncle Remus stories (although he is himself definitely a participant.) Interestingly, Rabbit's nemesis, the fox, is the usual European trickster animal. Another famous iteration is Uncle Drosslemeyer in "The Nutcracker," the mysterious character who is the source of Clara's magical adventure: just as The Leaper's stolen bag of tricks is what brings Maureen back to the 19th century. And, in perfect Trickster character, at one point he "hides" in plain sight from the eyes of modern police by simply sitting still and appearing to be a statue. Wow. Enough of a digression, sorry!

Bottom line -- wonderful engaging story! Very highly recommended. As I note, this really scared me when I first read it, so know your audience!
Last thought, someone else mentioned this not too far below, but it's worth repeating -- this was written by the woman who wrote "Harvey," which became the famous Jimmy Stewart movie "starring" a giant invisible rabbit. ("He's a pooka.")

Okay, first, my 5 star rating is based on my memories of having read this as a child. I'm so excited to have finally found it on Amazon as I think my daughter would enjoy it! I couldn't quite remember the title, but just received a copy of The Penderwicks I had ordered from Amazon, and the title was in a list of books in the front. I'm going to order it and hopefully it will live up to my memory of it.