Haunted

by Judith St. George

When sixteen-year-old Alex accepts a summer job as caretaker of an old mansion, he thinks it'll be a breeze—he plans to lie by the pool, drive around in a nice car, and meet girls. But the moment he sees the sinister-looking house he remembers why he's there: a murder suicide has left it empty and it's his job to look after things until the new owner arrives. Alone on the sprawling property, Alex becomes the victim of strange, unexplainable events and he soon realizes something is horribly wrong. He knows he is being sucked into an uncontrollable situation—a terrifying battle between two ghosts—and there seems to be no way out.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Supernatural, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Magdalena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for the first time when I was quite young. It was my brother's book, but we never bothered with his or mine when I was little. Or at least, I didn't. He had a lot of interesting books. And, this one had an interesting cover, a boy, and a girl in a room and the blurb must have intrigued me (can't remember). But anyway, the story was engrossing for me, I wasn't used to reading that much suspense when I was so young so I was probably quite enthralled with the book. It's one of those books that you remember loving so much when you have grown up.

So, a couple of years ago I bought the book in English to re-read it. To be honest, it was not as suspenseful as it was when I was younger, but it was damn well still very good. The story still works so well. The old house, the mysterious things that happen there still intrigued me so many years later.

I should perhaps check to see if Judith St. George has written more interesting books...

[Qanita Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up there's a book that sinks it's teeth into you. A book that that managers to capture you. A book that turns you into a reader. This was that book for me.

I could have been about 10, or 11. A boy in my class was reading it and he let me read a few pages. I was hooked. I stayed behind during the break, stole it out of his bag and read it while he played. I devoured the pages and the story devoured me. 30 years later and can still remember the plot.

[Bonnie Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably love this book so much because I first read it when I was about eight years old. It was scary then, and it's still creepy and nostalgic, perfect for a grownup's afternoon reading just before Halloween. It has ghosts, Nazis, a mystery to solve and a German Shepherd who wants to be a good dog just as soon as he's allowed. Perfect for the pre-Stephen King set.

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my favorites as a kid. I couldn't remember the title or author, just the cover and it took quite a while to hunt it down since the cover has changed so many times. It still holds as a good JA scary story. The beginning is a little slow and the end is a little fast. But I'm still gonna push my girls to read it.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book rules. Read it as a kid and read it again recently in about 30 minutes. The german shepherd kicks ass.

[Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is a good book because there was a lot of weird stuff going on in the house. For instance, there was a scarf floating in the air.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister actually got me to read this book for the first time as it is one of her favorites. I finally thought I would give it a shot and I am glad that I did. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. It had that creepy feeling that something was about to pop out at you but never got that far. Although, a great read, it left me wanting more at some points; like the baroness and the baron actually manifesting and showing up or at least the baroness at the end to say thanks to Alex for finding the will and setting things straight. I understand they were there in theory but it would have been nice for Alex to actually have seen them. Still it was a good read.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a cozy little read, "cozy-spooky", not as horrorous and as good though as I remembered it (I haven't read it in YEARS) but still a nice read!

[Janet Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this is written for the younger set, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mystery is solved to a point, but the object of the mystery is found.

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a 12 year old so am reviewing it from that perspective. The story captivated me then, and I still think of it often.

[jewleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Good story with an interesting twist.

[Erwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book because a friend recommended the book to me. It became apparent in the first few sentences that the target audience for this book are young adults. However, even giving that into consideration, the writing is just horrible and there is no character development.

The characters are flat, unrealistic and highly inconsistent. For example, the 16 year old male protagonist seems to have the mind of a 6 year old, getting easily spooked, to the point of sounding like a paranoid schizophrenic, yet is confident enough to sleep alone in a cabin that is separate from the main house. It's mentioned that he's a runner, and he's spooked enough that he's considering walking to town six miles away, but on the morning he's unable to walk the measly six miles because he hasn't had breakfast?

The ellipses on every chapter and page number also didn't help.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex accepts a summer job as a caretaker of an empty mansion. He thinks it'll be easy and he'll have a fun summer. But when weird things soon start to happen to Alex, fun isn't the word he'd use.

I found this cheap at a library book sale and decided to pick it up. It starts out okay, and it does get better further into the book. There isn't a lot of character development. Alex wasn't a bad character, but not really one I felt a connection to.

I did really enjoy the paranormal parts of the book and the mystery Alex had to solve.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rather elementary mystery concerns Alex, who is to look after a house which a murder-suicide left empty. However, Alex suffers strange, unexplainable events, and realizes the place is haunted. Not overly well done, but ok.

[Janaki · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good book, but it didn't have a meaning to it.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The summary on the back of the book sounds good. Don't be fooled. It's not that good at all.