Out of the Dark

by Betty Ren Wright

Not all nightmares happen when you're asleep. . .

Jessica's nightmares begin as soon as she and her family move into her grandmother's isolated country house. Jessica is so afraid that she can hardly sleep. Her fears deepen as the ghostly young woman who haunts her dreams begins to appear--even when Jessica is awake.

When Jessica discovers her grandmother's childhood diaries hidden in a drawer, she hopes they'll provide some answer to the ghost's identity. Instead, they tell a twisted tale of jealousy and hatred in which her grandmother had unwittingly been involved. Jessica must put the pieces of the past together to solve the mystery of the present.

Genres: Horror, Ghosts, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Paranormal, Fiction

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Betty Ren Wright was an award-winning author of children's fiction including The Dollhouse Murders, The Ghosts Of Mercy Manor and A Ghost in The House.

Known for her ghost stories and mysteries, Wright published 28 children's novels between 1981 and 2006, as well as picture books and short stories. Prior to pursuing her career as a full-time author in 1978, she worked as an editor of children's books.

Wright lived in Wisconsin with her husband, painter George A. Fredericksen, until her death in 2013.

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A long, long time ago, I had a ghost story book by Wright that was so cool and creepy and I read it often. And just now I’m discovering she had a lot more of them!

In this one, our young heroine is living with her family temporarily in her grandmother’s house while her grandmother is away on some kind of business. This girl’s relationship with her grandmother made me ache for my own grandmother, whom I lost in 2017. Always, always cherish the time you have with the people older than you because it is limited.

Anyway, Jess starts having nightmares involving a ghost and a schoolroom. She also finds her grandmother’s journal from 8th grade. Jess has to piece together clues from both sources. The pacing and the reveals were perfectly done. It was a great mystery, and I didn’t guess it all. But it never explained why the ghost was done haunting. I think the ghost needed her own resolution, not just the characters figuring out who she was and what she did.

It also has a good message about taking responsibility for your life instead of quitting and then blaming everybody else for being unfair.

Language: None
Sexual Content: None
Violence: Some vague threats but no real violence.
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: Some temporary endangerment
Other (Triggers): Jealousy, friendship troubles, portrayals of disability that felt accurate to me.

[Charlotte Hunter]

Jessica and her family, who are struggling financially, stay in her grandmother's house in the country. She worries about making friends. She worries even more about dreams she's having about a schoolhouse that is full of menace and the figure of a woman whose face is filled with hatred.

Jessica discovers her grandmother's childhood diaries and reads in these a story of unrequited love and another of deep, abiding jealousy. The ghostly woman appears to Jessica several times, each time more menacing than the last, until Jessica fears for her life.

This is one of Wright's better ghost stories, in terms of creep factor, if not her most convincing. I wasn't sure how a ghost could manipulate a ladder, or open a storage locker; a double-dose suspension of disbelief is required here. Nevertheless, Jessica comes across sympathetically, as a young teen searching for friendship in a strange place, while worried about her parents' economic viability (which, by the way, isn't wholly resolved). Jessica's mother is one of Wright's least successful secondary characters; she is supposed to be a woman unhappy about this move to the country and unhappy about getting a job she feels is beneath her (working in a hardware store), but she comes across as nasty and shrewish. In fact, the few moments when she shows any warmth toward Jessica seem unbelievable, given how harshly and unsympathetically she speaks throughout much of the book to her daughter and her husband. Moms seem not to be Wright's forte.

The finale feels rushed--Jessica's feelings during the climax and just after are rushed past so quickly they seem almost not to have happened--but the unveiling of the ghost's identity is done well.

Recommended for some nicely creepy moments.

[Grace Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have nothing snarky to say here. Betty Ren Wright rules, and delivers the ghosties. Every. Single. Time.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The nightmares were so lame, so completely childish and non-threatening. She came upon a schoolhouse in the woods and found the path behind her closed off with branches and she had to go inside the school and it was dark. Really scary stuff...Another dream was seeing a vicious woman with a blue hair ribbon..Truly frightening.

I didn't bother to take notes after this because I was in too much of a hurry to finish. I was so bored and uninterested and not enjoying it that I didn't want to stop to take the time to make complaints.

She had a jerk neighbor, a girl with a crippled leg, who was always in a bad mood and had a chip on her shoulder. She was mad at the world for how people treated her. Jessica would say things to offend her and I just didn't care anything about this girl or this friendship.
They went to hike and came upon the schoolhouse from her dreams. Jessica was annoyingly afraid. She found the hairbow quivering on the floor like an animal and ran away like an idiot without saying anything to the girl. So ensued a back and forth relationship where they kept hanging out but the girl would get mad and Jessica would think what a mad girl she was and how she didn't think the girl would want to hang out with her again.

Then she saw the ghost at her house. She found her grandma's diaries and her grandma wrote about how her schoolteacher was seeing her uncle and her classmates thought the teacher was giving her grandma good grades just because of that. There was an opportunity for a scholarship and the mean girls were sure Jessica's grandma was going to be given it. Jessica thought her grandma had looked at the test questions that the teacher left out. Of course the diary entries left off after that so we didn't know if she did or not. We had to wait until the very end to find out.

Jessica was over at the neighbor girl's house in the barn loft looking at kittens, when the ladder was pushed and she fell. She saw the woman but of course no one believed her.
The neighbor girl went to the schoolhouse and the weather turned bad and Jessica found the girl trapped in the cellar. She went down to meet her and the door was shut. She used her shoe to wedge open the cellar door.

This whole time we thought the ghost was the teacher who was mad that Jessica's uncle didn't marry her. But it turned out the woman was the mean classmate who couldn't accept that Jessica's grandma had won the scholarship. She killed herself in the schoolhouse. That was a twist and a surprise, but had no effect on me overall because this was not a good story. It didn't end in a way that would have helped this a smidgen, like the girl losing her anger at the world and coming around to a better way of thinking. We don't know how long Jessica will live in her grandma's house and if her dad will finish his book.

I hate to say it but she actually wasn't that good of a writer and I don't like any of her stories that I've read. I've been afraid to reread The Ghost Comes Calling because I haven't liked any of her others that I've read.

[Ysabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

when I was a child I loved Betty ren wrights books still a favorite author. the top most exciting books from her are the dollhouse murderers the ghost of mercy manor and this delight of a book out of the dark. I remember being so captivated and intrigues by this story it keeps you guessing and the descriptions in the story give you chills it's amazing to read this story unfold until you finally get complete understanding at the end this is a must read if you like mystery.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this one. It was okay if you like creepy ghost stories. What I didn't like was the main character's friend. They had such a rocky relationship that it took the joy out of it for me. The friend had a problem with her leg and expected everyone to dislike her. Her personality just made it hard to like her. However, some kids may be able to relate to those feelings.

[Just A Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving this book so much when I was younger. It was the perfect mystery book for younger readers. If you know someone who loves mystery and is in this reading level definitly pick this up for them! Or any Betty ren Wrights book for that matter1

[Lynne M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the main character and the historical storyline, however, I just could not stand any of the adults in this book. The mother was a huge complainer who just could not seem to make the most of the situation at hand, and instead was rude to both her husband and daughter.

[Brianna Crall · Rating 3 out of 5]

C0vid isolation read. Loved this author when I was a child, took a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Definitely no Christina's Ghost or Ghosts Beneath Our Feet. Simple ghost story with a slight twist.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might have given it 3 stars 20 years ago, but I've aged out of this book's demographic.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

For youth, this is definitely a four-star book. Spooky *and* realistic. Deals well with challenges that many youth face: moving, family tensions, not fitting it, friendships, family love, and more.

[Momjulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea how I missed Betty Ren Wright as an author when I was growing up, but I’m enjoying her books in between my other ones now!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was a blast from the past for me as I read her Dollhouse Murders many years ago when it was popular.

[Samantha Comer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Started slow, ended strong. Classic mwah! Chefs kiss.

[Hope Broadway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, for a kids' story. I did not read this as a child, although I read other novels by the author. I quite enjoy her books.

[LuAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t see the ending coming. Not as much character development as some of Wright’s, and a major relationship is left unresolved.

[Samii Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always reread this book. It's one of my favorite books from the 6th grade.

[Heather Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Devri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great little mysterious ghost story!
Betty Ren Wright nails this genre every time.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Jessica Belland, a teenager, who has just moved into her grandmother's country house with her father and mother. This would seem great and all, however, a ghostly young woman begins to haunt her as soon as she moves in.

Soon she unravels the mystery behind the ghost woman and it seems to be related to her grandmother's mysterious childhood...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book and had some twist plots in it.

I really liked this book I read it in early middle school or late elementary because I had read other books by Betty Ren Wright and I loved her books even then so I bought it and read it. I think that this helped me fall more in love with Betty Ren Wrights books.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was a kid--still pick it up to flip through every now and then, when I'm in the right mood. Fun, scary ghost story with a real connection to the protagonist's past (unlike in horror movies and some ghost stories, where the readers/viewers never really know why a particular character was chosen by the "ghost").

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spooky tale, one that I didn't read as a child but I'm sure would have scared the pants off me (in a good way). The description of the lady in blue is just too chilling, especially when it's leaving physical satin ribbons and actively trying to murder you. I liked the discovery of her grandmother's journals and the abandoned one-room schoolhouse, too.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a little bit different but quite similar to the Goosebumps books. I've read this a long time ago. This book is pretty okay to read. It's mainly for kids who like goosebumps, will like reading this book.

[Cws]

JMAR4-Wri

[Erika Cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good, i read it in like.. 5th grade???

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Betty Ren Wright delivers another scary story - not too scary - but enough.

[Jalien · Rating 5 out of 5]

de schim in het duister

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I would read it over and over and over. I'm currently trying to track down a copy to see if I'll still like it as much ten years later!!