The Haunted Cove

by Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton

Three children become involved in the exploration of a secret cove that is reputedly haunted.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Ghost Stories

143 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton has had many years of experience in writing for radio and television. Among other outstanding scripts, she has done a score of television screenplays for the series "Death Valley Days." Miss Hazelton has also been a professional actress and for twelve years taught radio and television writing in Los Angeles. She now lives and works in South Laguna, California, in a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
(from the 1971 Book "The Haunted Cove")

Reviews

[Jamie Dacyczyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite ghost stories growing up. Sure, a few of the plot devices are a little contrived (as are many kids books involving mystery. Ahem, Hardy Boys/Nancy Draw/Trixie Belden!), but it's still a very enjoyable read.

I grew up in the 90's, with the onslaught of Goosebumps and other cheap scary story books full of gross-out humor. The fact that this book still haunts me to this day is a testament to the eerie quality of the story. Our main characters, Kevin and Christie, are siblings who stay in an Oregon ocean-side house for the summer, and get caught up in the local folklore of witch craft. They have a few adventures along the way, but the ghost stories that they hear are what always lingered for me after the last page. This author has a way of invoking a beautifully eerie quality to certain parts of the book that used to give me the chills. Ghosts and monsters that come out and grab you are just not as spooky to me as the softly haunting ghosts that remain just outside your sight. This book is not about ghosts that go, "Boo!' but about ghosts that swirl across organ keys to play haunting melodies through the fog....

Admittedly, the side plot with the bank robbers is a little hokey in a "gee golly" Hardy Boys way, but it provides a climax for the plot. Also, it's pretty funny to think that this book involves a kid named Kevin MacAlistaire (sounds a lot like McCallister???) foiling the plans of two robbers, aided by a strange but friendly old man who comes up and clobbers one of the robbers when things are looking most dire. This was written in 1971, and obscure enough that I'm SURE the name is just a coincidence and served as no inspiration for Home Alone....but it's still a funny fluke.

My only quibble is that we never get any resolution with Mora, who gave us all the info about the witch and the curse. Felt like there should have been some scene with her at the end, but things wrapped up too quickly.

And reading this as an adult lends an extra element of being jealous of the "witch". She inherits a huge old mansion overlooking a private cove, complete with stairs down through a cavern to the beach AND a bridge out to a stone island in the water?? And it's all fenced in to keep out (most) meddling kids. Jealllouuuusssss....

Any kid who likes a nice ghost story and is tired of the cheap scary books normally found on the shelves ought to read this. Adults who like a nice creepy story and aren't above "stooping" to read childrens' literature will also enjoy this book.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the scariest book I read and loved as a child.

[skein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. So there are these kids (Christie and Kevin, siblings) who go summering near the shore and they meet up with a strange girl (Mora) who is a bit of a crazy bitch and tells them SERIOUSLY RIDICULOUS STORIES about the witch who lives in the last house on the road and how she turns people to stone via music, and all the time I'm thinking DEAR LORD, PLEASE MAKE MORA FALL OFF THE CLIFF but she does not fall off the cliff.
and for some reason Kevin is obsessed with the escaped robbers who MUST be using the creepy house as their hideout, it's just so logical! and Christie is obsessed with Mora, and drinks her special potion -- me, I would not be drinking ANYTHING that chick gave me, but there you go -- and Christie almost falls off the cliff (the lord works in mysterious ways) and then it turns out the robbers really ARE there, and they're holding the witch hostage, and, because this is the 1970's, ONLY KEVIN CAN SAVE THEM.
except that his elaborate, bizarro plan is foiled by fog (DAMN YOU, NATURE). and the adults save the day after all, haha. and the witch isn't a witch after all (see: 1970), except that she sort of is!
and it ends with the witch being friendly and pleased with the children who trespassed on her land a zillion times and nearly got her killed by robbers. and also, she sees the ghost of her great-grandmother playing the pipe organ, which is actually kind of sweet!


(my copy is a first edition. you want?)

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Kevin MacAlistaire, his ten-year-old sister Christie, and their mother are checking into a seaside cottage in Oregon to spend a summer holiday. Mr. MacAlistaire is a music teacher and will join them after an engagement. On their first afternoon there, the children meet a girl named Mora, who lives in a nearby cottage. Mora informs them that the cove next to theirs is haunted with ghosts, and that a mysterious witch who lives in a mansion in the cove next door goes out on a rock in the middle of the sea to play her flute each night at sunset. Mora further tells them she herself has been studying magic. Kevin is skeptical, but Christie seems to believe every word which Mora says. What will happen?

The book follows their adventures in observing the “witch,” trying to find out how she goes out onto the rock, and learning why the cove is said to be haunted. Obviously, a belief in witches, ghosts, and magic potions is mentioned in the story. There is an element among Christians in general and some homeschoolers in particular who wish to avoid all such references in literature and they would naturally want to avoid this book. I will say that, while the supernatural elements are there, that aspect is not overpowering, and it has a perfectly earthly conclusion. A few common euphemisms (golly, heck, gosh) are used, and one character smokes a pipe. Otherwise, this is a rather harmless tale that starts out a little slowly but ends in a very exciting fashion.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is copyright 1971. My book is from that date. I don't remember how I got it, but it was a favorite reread. I've kept it all these years!

Kevin is 12, his sister, Christie is 10. They've come to the Oregon coast for the summer & have a cabin by the ocean. They meet Mora who's maybe 13. She tells them the spooky story of the haunted cove that's next to the kid's cabin. She takes them to a secret place on a cliff overlooking the haunted cove. There, they see a woman playing a flute on a small island off the beach. Mora tells the kids that woman is a witch. They have some adventures that make Kevin believe that the woman is NOT a witch & is actually in trouble.
Typically of the time period, the kids are given the freedom to run around & get into mischief. Kevin actually acts a little older than 12.
If you don't like stories about a young person trying to be a practicing witch, this might not be the story for you. Mora casts spells & tries to make the kids believe in the occult. Other than that, this is an intelligently written story. The author was a screenwriter for tv shows in the 60s.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving this book as a kid in the 80s. What I mostly remember about it is that I was so scared of the cover illustration that I wouldn't even look at it; I'd grab the book with my eyes closed and open it up before opening my eyes to find my spot.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Haunted Cove is one of those older books that no longer seems to be published anymore but as a result these are the types of books I normally enjoy. These older books are usually much purer than anything that is now published for children, they are more adventuresome and yet also a bit more quaint. As such I was looking forward that this book would be pretty much the same.

Instead this book ends up falling quite flat of my standards for older books and ends up just being one of the bland samples that seems to have been published just to provide children with reads for the time. The story introduces us to the MacAlistaire family minus dad who is still back in the city as they make their way to their summer stay thus introducing us to our major characters as well as the setting where the story takes place.

The siblings Kevin and Christie are rather kind of flat characters with stereotypical cookie cutter personalities. The boy is rather practical, logical and protective when it comes to his sister but still even as he rolls his eyes follows along just to have something do while the younger Christie is pretty much a gullible girl who swallows every hook, line and sinker. And then if the reader hasn't had enough with bland characters they are introduced to a lonely girl who is living nearby by the name of Mora who is not only an attention-seeker but rather reckless not only in her own actions but in her interactions where she constantly endangers the others.

The rest of the writing was mediocre at best with some weird additions. Mrs. MacAlistaire was more progressive than any parent I have ever heard of until now while she doesn't feel really realistic and crazy Mora dabbles in witchcraft, not the Wiccan/New Age type, which conflicts with her weird obsession.

At the same time the story bounces around so much with the reader being told this is a story about a witch and her haunted property. Then the story becomes a ghost story before bouncing to a story with escaped prisoners then ends up with elements of all of it so I couldn't really get into the story since I wasn't quite sure where it was going although I had an idea.

In this end this book would more than likely only attract to those who have nostalgic memories of it or for those who want to re-read it to see how it now stands up to their adult reading tastes versus their reading taste as a child.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is as tense a ghost story as I’ve read in a long time. Literally frightening. I love that it was written for kids. I also liked the plot twists (mostly) and the very end.

[Jack Johnson]

As an adult I often remember books from childhood and wonder if they are good or were just good to my thinking at the time. I'm curious if there are any scholarly works about children's literature or a website placing books or authors into context? I don't want to go down a path of discussing the statement "good or just good to my thinking...."

[Laura Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books from childhood. Because of COVID-19, I'm currently an elementary music teacher teaching from home. I started a virtual book club for my 3-5 grade students in which I read two chapters a day of a Middle Grade Chapter Book. We're just finished this one, and it's been a huge hit with my students. As for me, I rediscovered why I loved it so much as a 4th grader!

[Ricky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly just remember the cover of the addition I read as a kid. Every time I see a full moon through leafless tree limbs, the creepiness of the book is still there...

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book I remember loving in elementary school, so I got it for .99 on Amazon. It was still pretty good, but of course not as good as I remembered.

[Parker Keys_to_hades · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been so long since I’ve read a book that I literally couldn’t put down. I was skeptical at first because it starts out in a summer setting and I thought, “how can this be the perfect October read?” But by the end of the first chapter I was sold. This book has major spooky/creepy vibes. So much so that I literally shivered once. The fact that it’s written for children does nothing to shade how masterful a writer this woman is (was?). The pacing was perfect, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction at the end, though I did feel that some questions were left unanswered, and the last bit finished too soon.
It’s a clean read, but parents may want to read it with their kids because it does get creepy sometimes, and witchcraft is a heavy topic. It’s not an evil feeling kind of witchcraft, but you may want to read it with or before your kids just to know what’s going on :)

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hover between liking and not liking this one. The kids actions are really outlandish and foolish and they have surprising freedom even for the 1970s, unless it's set earlier than when it was written. Mora was certainly over-the-top in her belief in witchcraft, though I wasn't sure for a while if she really believed it or was telling tales for the attention. It was clever to have Mora weave a spell with her telling of the history of the cove, though we don't find out how much of that is accurate. I did like the ending. I probably would have liked this much better had I read it when I was a kid. The writing and pacing are fine.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute all-time favorite book from my childhood. I found it in my 5th grade homeroom teacher’s bookshelf. I borrowed it all year and never returned it (sorry Mrs. Jones). I just couldn’t bear to part with it, and I’ve read it hundreds of times over my lifetime. I’m 50 now and just finished it again. It never disappoints. This was the first mystery/paranormal-ish book I ever read, and it is the reason for my intense love of both genres. I owe a lifetime of reading partly to my mom for her example, partly to a small town with nothing to do but visit the library, and partly to finding what I thought was the perfect book at 10 years old.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute enough.
Things escalated quickly and frankly there were a couple weird unexplained plot holes BUT
for an older book marketed at kids I don't think it was bad. Spooky elements that would creep kids out, and an interesting sibling duo.

[Reading with Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was completely ridiculous.
2.5 stars

[Jennifer Wrage · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite young reader mysteries. I read it aloud to my 6th grade class each year. Many cliffhangers - literally and figuratively! They love it and so do I.

[pietastic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Pretty simplistic product of its time. Almost everything that happens could really just be in their heads (the way your own childhood adventures were spiced up by imagination when you went walking through the woods - because as a child, walking through the woods is an adventure), and what isn't in their heads is really quite convenient. However, I'm reading this for the first time as an adult. There's nothing to say a child couldn't - or shouldn't - find enjoyment in it. So long as it doesn't bore them first.

[Rodney Haydon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book in a used bookstore because it looked like the type of book I would have read as a child. An okay “ghost story”. I’m actually more interested in the author, and what she accomplished in her life beyond this book.