The Rain Ghost

Hippo Hauntings #9

by Garry Kilworth

Rain ghost, rain ghost, go away...
Steve is being followed, watched. Something is waiting for him. Something is coming to get him.
Steve is being haunted.
But by what? And why? Does it have anything to do with that night Steve got lost out on the moors - and what he found there?
How do you stop...a haunting?
When Steve finds an ancient dagger on the moors he realizes that, unless he returns it, he will always be haunted by the brooding presence he has disturbed.
The Scholastic classic returns to print for a whole new generation!

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Horror

120 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Garry Douglas Kilworth is a historical novelist who also published sci-fi, fantasy, and juvenile fiction.

Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream

[Livvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Point horror always puts me in a good mood

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While on a school hike on a mountain, Steve becomes lost in the mist. Finding himself in a circle of stones, he discovers an ancient dagger in the peat and brings the treasure home. But he brings other things along with it. The dagger brings excess moisture wherever it sits, nightmares plague him, and a ghost comes in the rain searching for it. Steve will need the help of his friends to put a top to the haunting.
While intended for youth reading, the story nonetheless had drawbacks beyond the age level it was intended for. Aside from not a lot of depth to the horror elements, the fact that the plot seemed to waver between what age levels it was written for, it felt dated and had a lot of slang and cultural elements that may have been familiar to late 1980s England, but fell flat in today's United States. - 2.5/5*

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel harsh giving this one star, but it was so dull that I can't muster up any enthusiasm for it.

Quite a typical style for the late 80's, it starts out in an adventure style plot with a boy getting lost in the mist on a school trip. Then it veers unconvincingly into a ghost story. I can't decide if this is middle grade or YA, it doesn't really suit either. Again, quite typical for the time period.