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Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #9
The Halloween Hoax
Boo! The Clue Crew is in for a fright!
It's Halloween in River Heights! The girls can't wait to go trick-or- treating and are busy getting their costumes ready. They also can't wait for the Halloween special of their favorite TV show. They even get the chance to visit the TV studio while the show is being taped! But soon after they arrive, Nancy is spooked. With all the scary noises the Clue Crew keeps hearing and the creepy shadows that seem to be lurking, it seems like the studio is haunted! Is it just Halloween jitters...or are there really such things as ghosts?
It's Halloween in River Heights! The girls can't wait to go trick-or- treating and are busy getting their costumes ready. They also can't wait for the Halloween special of their favorite TV show. They even get the chance to visit the TV studio while the show is being taped! But soon after they arrive, Nancy is spooked. With all the scary noises the Clue Crew keeps hearing and the creepy shadows that seem to be lurking, it seems like the studio is haunted! Is it just Halloween jitters...or are there really such things as ghosts?
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2007
73 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,016 books3,875 followersCarolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 21, 2017
This series is always great fun.
October 13, 2022
This was a fun Nancy Drew story. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, are working on a case to determine whether the local television station is haunted.
It all started when they attended a field trip to view the science show performed by Dudley, the science dude. Many mishaps occur, and their classmates decide that Dudley is a dud, much to their friend Shelby's dismay. Shelby, a Dudley superfan, hires Nancy and the Clue Crew to find out what happened so she can start a successful fan club.
The Clue Crew set to work and tried to piece together what caused the mishaps. Is the station haunted? Armed with notepad and ghost-detecting gear, the Crew sets to work and encounters a few hair-raising events.
As always, a super cute Nancy Drew. I enjoy the modernizations of the Clue Crew, and the arts/crafts at the end of the book look entertaining for young audiences.
I recommend this story to fans of Nancy Drew and Halloween.
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It all started when they attended a field trip to view the science show performed by Dudley, the science dude. Many mishaps occur, and their classmates decide that Dudley is a dud, much to their friend Shelby's dismay. Shelby, a Dudley superfan, hires Nancy and the Clue Crew to find out what happened so she can start a successful fan club.
The Clue Crew set to work and tried to piece together what caused the mishaps. Is the station haunted? Armed with notepad and ghost-detecting gear, the Crew sets to work and encounters a few hair-raising events.
As always, a super cute Nancy Drew. I enjoy the modernizations of the Clue Crew, and the arts/crafts at the end of the book look entertaining for young audiences.
I recommend this story to fans of Nancy Drew and Halloween.
👻👻👻👻
July 30, 2024
I loved all the educational tidbits in this book (especially about TV show production).
In the mystery, there were a couple of scenes that seemed too coincidental.
Things to be aware of in “The Halloween Hoax”
Language:
- A mention of someone being a “dud”
Violence:
- A mention of bats eating children.
Additional Notes:
- Many mentions of ghosts, ghouls and places being haunted.
- The girls (Nancy, Bess and George) intrude someone’s vacant office and then take a science formula.
In the mystery, there were a couple of scenes that seemed too coincidental.
Things to be aware of in “The Halloween Hoax”
Language:
- A mention of someone being a “dud”
Violence:
- A mention of bats eating children.
Additional Notes:
- Many mentions of ghosts, ghouls and places being haunted.
- The girls (Nancy, Bess and George) intrude someone’s vacant office and then take a science formula.
January 23, 2025
3.5 stars. Well, we read this in one day because its very compulsively readable. The girls get to visit a Bill Nye-esque science show, but things start going wrong. Is it a ghost?! They investigate more and find out about an old scientist that they believe has died. Maybe he's haunting the place? Cute and just the right amount of creepy.
March 10, 2023
I didn't like when they went into a room and there was all this scary stuff and they got caught by Dr. Funkenstein. But I liked when they went to the Halloween party and they played with their friends and talked to them.
November 8, 2019
It was amazingly full of twists and turns like all Carolyn Keene's books it deserves a 5-star rating!
August 16, 2020
Another cute book in this absolutely adorable series!
Read
October 27, 2020Elsa really likes Scooby Doo so I figured she would like the mystery of Nancy Drew books. This was definitely for younger kids than the original Nancy Drew series.
November 4, 2020
Von Nancy Drew hörte ich zum ersten Mal während Stranger Things. Passend zur Halloween Challenge habe ich mich nun mit der modernen Neuauflage des Klassikers vertraut gemacht.
Als erwachsener Leser hat man den Kriminalfall ziemlich schnell gelöst, aber junge Leser werden bestimmt ihren Spass dabei haben, Nancy und ihren Freundinnen behilflich zu sein. Es ist ein Buch, das ist wirklich nur mit "niedlich" im positiven Sinne beschreiben kann.
Denn auch als Leserin 30+ hatte ich meine Freude an dem Trio und wurde von ihnen richtig gut unterhalten. Schon klar, dass Nancy noch immer so viele treue Fans hat!
Als erwachsener Leser hat man den Kriminalfall ziemlich schnell gelöst, aber junge Leser werden bestimmt ihren Spass dabei haben, Nancy und ihren Freundinnen behilflich zu sein. Es ist ein Buch, das ist wirklich nur mit "niedlich" im positiven Sinne beschreiben kann.
Denn auch als Leserin 30+ hatte ich meine Freude an dem Trio und wurde von ihnen richtig gut unterhalten. Schon klar, dass Nancy noch immer so viele treue Fans hat!
June 28, 2021
I liked the discoveries they made throughout the book.
January 15, 2022
Quite average.
October 6, 2024
Fun to read with my 7.5 year old.
October 10, 2024
Those ghosts almost fooled you Nancy
December 23, 2025
theyre so cute
August 29, 2022
Cute Halloween mystery. My 6yo enjoyed it (and found it a bit spooky at parts).
December 4, 2014
Nancy Drew and the Clew Crew is a series of Nancy Drew mysteries for young readers. When I was about eight or nine, I was obsessed with this series, as well as the Nancy Drew notebooks. Recently I bought a lot of used Nancy Drew books, which included this book. With Halloween coming up later this week, I decided I'd read it. It took me about 45 minutes to finish this 86 page mystery.
The story is about Nancy and her friends (the clue crew) as they try to solve the mystery of who is
causing all the problems at the local tv studio. Bess and George seem to believe a ghost has something to do with it, but just like Nancy, she thinks something a little more real is behind these stunts. But after investigating, it's looks like Nancy may be wrong about this case. (Spoiler: she's right all along.)
Realizing that I am about ten years too old to read this, I have to review this as an 8 year old as well as an 18 Year old. The story is very cute. The mystery is pretty solid for a 86 page book. It's also not hard to understand what is going on. If I would have read this as a young child, I probably, would have been racing to see who was behind the mystery, changing my mind every other page.
But since I'm not a young child, I can't say that I was overly surprised by the outcome. As the suspects are first being introduced, I can't help myself by thinking of each of their motives. I always overthink things, as I did in this story. Once I got to the fourth or fifth chapter, I had a pretty good idea of who the "culprit" (if that's what you would call it) is. Needless to say, I was right.
It also bothered me that the girls were able to get in of the studio at least 5 times without getting caught. Did it ever occur to the security guards that the girls passed that something may be up?
Like I said, the story was very cute. I think the author should have talked with the illustrator though, because the front cover doesn't correspond with the details in the book. On the cover, Bess is wearing a green/blue tutu, and Nancy is wearing a purple dragon costume. Yet in the story, it mentions that Bess's costume was pink, and Nancy's dragon costume was green. I don't know if that, or the fact that the girls could enter the studio so easily is my biggest problem with this book. In any case, I keep having to tell myself who the audience of this story is...and it definitely isn't overthinking, observant 18 year olds like myself.
The story is about Nancy and her friends (the clue crew) as they try to solve the mystery of who is
causing all the problems at the local tv studio. Bess and George seem to believe a ghost has something to do with it, but just like Nancy, she thinks something a little more real is behind these stunts. But after investigating, it's looks like Nancy may be wrong about this case. (Spoiler: she's right all along.)
Realizing that I am about ten years too old to read this, I have to review this as an 8 year old as well as an 18 Year old. The story is very cute. The mystery is pretty solid for a 86 page book. It's also not hard to understand what is going on. If I would have read this as a young child, I probably, would have been racing to see who was behind the mystery, changing my mind every other page.
But since I'm not a young child, I can't say that I was overly surprised by the outcome. As the suspects are first being introduced, I can't help myself by thinking of each of their motives. I always overthink things, as I did in this story. Once I got to the fourth or fifth chapter, I had a pretty good idea of who the "culprit" (if that's what you would call it) is. Needless to say, I was right.
It also bothered me that the girls were able to get in of the studio at least 5 times without getting caught. Did it ever occur to the security guards that the girls passed that something may be up?
Like I said, the story was very cute. I think the author should have talked with the illustrator though, because the front cover doesn't correspond with the details in the book. On the cover, Bess is wearing a green/blue tutu, and Nancy is wearing a purple dragon costume. Yet in the story, it mentions that Bess's costume was pink, and Nancy's dragon costume was green. I don't know if that, or the fact that the girls could enter the studio so easily is my biggest problem with this book. In any case, I keep having to tell myself who the audience of this story is...and it definitely isn't overthinking, observant 18 year olds like myself.
October 7, 2016
A much better book than the Camp Creepy book from this series which I read yesterday. It does make you wonder though.
This book is #9 in the series, Camp Creepy is #26. In this one no one can convince Nancy that ghosts had anything to do with it. Even with all the "evidence". However, in Camp Creepy Nancy fully thinks it is the spirits/ghosts that keep on destroying her work. Weird how in 17 books she suddenly is a believer. Again, it doesn't fit with the Nancy character. Even with all the different series, Nancy is just not a believer, she will always look at stuff in a logical way, believing in science and real facts over something supernatural.
Also I knew the whodunnit from the start. It was just sooooo obvious, and I was kind of hoping for a twist near the end that would tell us it was someone different, but no. Instead it was really that person.
As for all the evidence they found? I just knew straight up that it was not a ghost doing, but something more science doing. I was cheering for Nancy to find the rational solution behind all the evidence.
But I still enjoyed the book a whole lot. It is the perfect read for this season (Halloween) with our crew going trick-or-treating, dressing up in costumes, and much more. The only thing I missed were the pumpkins, but I got enough from those in the other book I read a few days ago. :P
Poor George though, no one figured out her outfit. I guess next year she will have to make a better outfit.
The dad was pretty awesome, as he always is, he is sweet and caring, and totally supports Nancy with her cases. Of course there are still rules she has to follow, but he is pretty happy to help out if she needs a hand, or a vehicle to bring her to a place she can't walk to (because of the rule she has to follow).
All in all, this was a fun book and I am happy I read it!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
This book is #9 in the series, Camp Creepy is #26. In this one no one can convince Nancy that ghosts had anything to do with it. Even with all the "evidence". However, in Camp Creepy Nancy fully thinks it is the spirits/ghosts that keep on destroying her work. Weird how in 17 books she suddenly is a believer. Again, it doesn't fit with the Nancy character. Even with all the different series, Nancy is just not a believer, she will always look at stuff in a logical way, believing in science and real facts over something supernatural.
Also I knew the whodunnit from the start. It was just sooooo obvious, and I was kind of hoping for a twist near the end that would tell us it was someone different, but no. Instead it was really that person.
As for all the evidence they found? I just knew straight up that it was not a ghost doing, but something more science doing. I was cheering for Nancy to find the rational solution behind all the evidence.
But I still enjoyed the book a whole lot. It is the perfect read for this season (Halloween) with our crew going trick-or-treating, dressing up in costumes, and much more. The only thing I missed were the pumpkins, but I got enough from those in the other book I read a few days ago. :P
Poor George though, no one figured out her outfit. I guess next year she will have to make a better outfit.
The dad was pretty awesome, as he always is, he is sweet and caring, and totally supports Nancy with her cases. Of course there are still rules she has to follow, but he is pretty happy to help out if she needs a hand, or a vehicle to bring her to a place she can't walk to (because of the rule she has to follow).
All in all, this was a fun book and I am happy I read it!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
November 28, 2010
This is an odd story in the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series. It's a bit different from the other stories as the mystery is all about proving or disproving the existance of a ghost, rather than a true whodunit. It's not a scary story, but it's pretty strange and not entirely coherent. Still, our girls liked it, as they have all of the stories in this series and I'm sure we will read many more, if not all, of these before we move on to the original series.
November 6, 2011
Sofia really liked this book quite a bit. It didn't flow as well as the Magic Tree House books but it was an easy read. This book did not come close to capturing Gabe's interest like the Magic Tree series. Still, I think Sofia will grow into them and they are good for variety.
March 13, 2012
We've got so many kid mysteries going at once, they're all blurring together. This one is very reminiscent of Scooby Doo. Also, this 70s themed volume introduced "afro" and "bell-bottoms" to Malcolm's vocabulary. Groovy.
July 22, 2014
It's Halloween and Nancy has a new case, while visiting a TV studio to be a part of their favorite science show but while the show is being filmed they keep having accidents. Is the studio haunted or is there a real life reason why all these accidents keep happening?
August 26, 2009
I like this book
November 21, 2009
good book
March 19, 2013
Yeah! Holloween!
October 15, 2013
My daughter loves the Clue Crew series, but this story really scared her. The haunted laboratory, mad scientist, ghosts and haunted house really freaked her out.
February 22, 2015
this book was weird in some parts of the book. overall the book was pretty good.
October 20, 2015
I read this aloud to my reading intervention group. It was fun, but they figured out who the culprit was pretty early on.
September 1, 2021
Read it around age 10~12, loved the story
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews