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The Haunted Room
Charlotte Maria Tucker was a prolific writer and poet for children and adults, who wrote under the pseudonym A.L.O.E.
276 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1876
22 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
A.L.O.E.
228 books39 followersCharlotte Maria Tucker, the English author, who wrote under the pseudonym A.L.O.E (a Lady of England), was the daughter of Henry St George Tucker (1771-1851), a distinguished official of the British East India Company. From 1852 till her death she wrote many stories for children, most of them allegories with an obvious moral, and devoted the proceeds to charity. In 1875 she left England for India to engage in missionary work, and died at Amritsar on the 2nd of December 1893.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 2, 2020
A.L.O.E. is truly an underrated and underappreciated author. Her writing is simply spectacular. Nothing less.
October 25, 2019
This is my favorite Lamplighter Theater!!
It's so relatable and deep.
It's so relatable and deep.
July 10, 2025
Pretty good, though as usual the Lamplighter Theater was quite dramatic.😂
November 12, 2017
The Trevor family, consisting of Mr. Trevor, Bruce, Emmie, and Vibert, must move to a new house called Myst Manor, which has a nefarious reputation. Its previous owner, Mr. Trevor's aunt, kept one room securely closed up in honor of her late husband who died in a dreadful manner. As a result, the room is considered haunted. But numerous other issues abound. Mr. Trevor's brother, while helping the family move, wisely discerns that each sibling harbors a secret sin within their own "haunted houses." Bruce must deal with pride, Emmie with mistrust, and Vibert with selfishness. Will the siblings be able to rid their hearts of the secret sins that haunt them? Will Myst Manor forever have the reputation of being a place where ghosts roam?
I enjoyed this book greatly and highly recommend it to all ages. I originally had some misgivings due to the title, but all my worries were quickly put to rest. The author did a masterful job of causing the reader to consider and search the chambers of their own hearts for any pet sins that might haunt the halls therein.
I enjoyed this book greatly and highly recommend it to all ages. I originally had some misgivings due to the title, but all my worries were quickly put to rest. The author did a masterful job of causing the reader to consider and search the chambers of their own hearts for any pet sins that might haunt the halls therein.
August 3, 2019
I listened to the Lamplighter version of this story. While I appreciated the moral points in the book (Which were very relatable), it felt almost like too much of a moral story. I got a little bogged down in everyone's problems and then was a bit disappointed at how quickly they overcame them. I'm all for a happy ending, but it just happened so fast and instantly. =/ I would be interested in reading the actual book of this, to see if it better.
February 15, 2017
Excellent!
May 14, 2018
I found this book at a Lamplighter table at a Homeschool convention. While I heartily approve of their goal of republishing old, forgotten classics, it's hard to spend $17 on an unknown novel that I Probably will forget about long before I get my kids to read it. So I did a little digging and found many of their titles available on Project Gutenberg.
This very Victorian novel follows three late-teen siblings of a rich English household as they move to a recently inherited manor possessed of a classic bricked-up room and widely rumored to be haunted. Their wise uncle warns them that their true fear should not be of the literal haunted room, but of the figurative ones in their own hearts - i.e. their secret, besetting sins. Said uncle is even kind enough to inform each sibling of the contents of his or her haunted chamber, which they take with various levels of grace.
Of the three main characters, only Emmie (the fearful, mistrustful one) makes any serious attempt to conquer her besetting sin, and it is through her obedient opening of that closed door that redemption comes to the entire household and beyond.
The sermon at the heart of this novel is fairly convicting. The suggestion of identifying a besetting sin by asking a trusted outside observer is not unfamiliar to me, but it is rarely practiced for obvious reasons - especially since, like the characters in the book, the human reaction to such tender knowledge is usually either laugh or to lash out. The further suggestions on how said sins are to be conquered are worth further investigation and attempts. :)
As a story, the plot is actually pretty good. The sermon does tend to slow things down, and it absolutely gets heavy handed and maudlin at times (the scene with the poor, ignorant dying widow was especially over the top.) The characters certainly grew and changed - that was the point of the story of course - and you did end up with a couple you could actually like and admire by the end. Not that they started out that way - but again, that was the point.
Then there is the historical context. As I said, it is a heavily Victorian novel with all of the incumbent - and frankly rather insipid - female behavior. And of course it ends with the predictable "shattered nerves" (male, for a change!) with the accompanying long holiday at the seashore to finish the healing process. As they say, the past is a foreign country, and England is a foreign country to begin with. Still, I do find myself wondering if ladies Ever talked that way in real life, no matter how high class and high strung. And I wonder how, precisely, we'd diagnose "shattered nerves" today and what would be prescribed. Prozac?
While I would not place "The Haunted Room" on the same footing with, for instance, George MacDonald, it certainly at least belongs in the same genre with some of his stories such as Sir Gibbie and Malcolm. The truths are timeless and fairly well presented, at least if you are the sort with a predisposition to read and appreciate Victorian novels.
This very Victorian novel follows three late-teen siblings of a rich English household as they move to a recently inherited manor possessed of a classic bricked-up room and widely rumored to be haunted. Their wise uncle warns them that their true fear should not be of the literal haunted room, but of the figurative ones in their own hearts - i.e. their secret, besetting sins. Said uncle is even kind enough to inform each sibling of the contents of his or her haunted chamber, which they take with various levels of grace.
Of the three main characters, only Emmie (the fearful, mistrustful one) makes any serious attempt to conquer her besetting sin, and it is through her obedient opening of that closed door that redemption comes to the entire household and beyond.
The sermon at the heart of this novel is fairly convicting. The suggestion of identifying a besetting sin by asking a trusted outside observer is not unfamiliar to me, but it is rarely practiced for obvious reasons - especially since, like the characters in the book, the human reaction to such tender knowledge is usually either laugh or to lash out. The further suggestions on how said sins are to be conquered are worth further investigation and attempts. :)
As a story, the plot is actually pretty good. The sermon does tend to slow things down, and it absolutely gets heavy handed and maudlin at times (the scene with the poor, ignorant dying widow was especially over the top.) The characters certainly grew and changed - that was the point of the story of course - and you did end up with a couple you could actually like and admire by the end. Not that they started out that way - but again, that was the point.
Then there is the historical context. As I said, it is a heavily Victorian novel with all of the incumbent - and frankly rather insipid - female behavior. And of course it ends with the predictable "shattered nerves" (male, for a change!) with the accompanying long holiday at the seashore to finish the healing process. As they say, the past is a foreign country, and England is a foreign country to begin with. Still, I do find myself wondering if ladies Ever talked that way in real life, no matter how high class and high strung. And I wonder how, precisely, we'd diagnose "shattered nerves" today and what would be prescribed. Prozac?
While I would not place "The Haunted Room" on the same footing with, for instance, George MacDonald, it certainly at least belongs in the same genre with some of his stories such as Sir Gibbie and Malcolm. The truths are timeless and fairly well presented, at least if you are the sort with a predisposition to read and appreciate Victorian novels.
July 31, 2024
"And it is with these words, taken in a loftier sense, that I would now close my story. Its object has been to lead the reader to search the haunted chamber of his own heart, to discover there the lurking ministers of evil who may, unknown even to himself, have made it their secret abode. Let us resolutely and prayerfully resolve, at whatever cost of humiliation or shame, to know ourselves, to recognize and face the sin that so easily besets us. Let the brickwork of ignorance be thrown down, and let not spiritual sunshine be shut out from the self-deceived heart. Pride, Self-love, cowardly Mistrust of God's wisdom and goodness, are natural to our fallen nature; but the entrance of His Word into the heart is as that of the glorious beams of the day--joy, brightness, and holiness follow the admission into its deepest recesses of the pure, life-giving light of Heaven!"
~A.L.O.E.
🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
~A.L.O.E.
🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
November 21, 2019
In this novel three siblings named Bruce, Vibert and Emmie move into an old mansion that their father has inherited from a relative who recently died. These three children battle with hidden sins in the “haunted room” of their hearts while also learning about a supposedly haunted room in the mansion. This novel is very exciting, but also very meaningful and highlights the need to identify and fight against besetting sin that we have hidden in the chambers of our hearts; especially focusing on mistrust, pride and selfishness. Please note that this novel makes no use supernatural elements.
Here is the free ebook (this novel is not under copyright) and a free study guide. Enjoy! https://anabaptisteducationtoday.word...
Here is the free ebook (this novel is not under copyright) and a free study guide. Enjoy! https://anabaptisteducationtoday.word...
February 12, 2021
I highly recommend this book!! Amazing story!! This is one of my favorite books!!! It teaches very valuable lessons and will continue to every time you read it! It shows a beautiful and sobering contrast between our hearts and the haunted room. I love how this book points shows that the only way to conquer our besetting sins is by making Jesus our first love! It also shows the disastrous results of allowing sin to have a place in our lives. We can so often take sin too lightly, but when we turn to Christ, the freedom He gives us is life changing!
December 13, 2022
Amazing book. Plot full of mystery. Main theme - besetting sin. The examples in main characters - pride, selfishness and mistrust (fear).
""I have been tracing a parallel in my mind," he observed, "between the human soul and the so-called haunted dwelling. Most persons have in the deepest recess of the spiritual man some secret chamber, where prejudice shuts out the light, where self-deception bricks up the door. Into this chamber the possessor himself in some cases never enters to search out and expel the besetting sin, which, unrecognized, perhaps lurks in the darkness."
""I have been tracing a parallel in my mind," he observed, "between the human soul and the so-called haunted dwelling. Most persons have in the deepest recess of the spiritual man some secret chamber, where prejudice shuts out the light, where self-deception bricks up the door. Into this chamber the possessor himself in some cases never enters to search out and expel the besetting sin, which, unrecognized, perhaps lurks in the darkness."
April 26, 2025
Marvelously written! The story was so captivating I read it basically in one day (I read the intro several months ago then picked it up today again, restarted it and finished it!) I have listened to the audio drama but it was delightful to hear the author's commentary and synthesis of why this story is applicable to everyone.
January 8, 2017
As usual, the story always seem to mirror what is going on in our life relating to issues we need to work on. We didn't read the book, but listened to the audio drama. We always enjoy listening to the stories in the car.
August 21, 2017
Really enjoyed the Lamplighter production of this story! I like Lamplighter, but sometimes it can be too depressing, so much so that the depression overwhelms the story. That, happily, did not occur here.
February 23, 2021
This was probably my least favorite Lamplighter audio. Probably because one character struggled with fear and she was so whiney!!! I just can’t stand whining and the audio person was exceptionally good at it! I should have just read this one!! Haha! I stuck with it and actually really enjoyed the second half. The cast is fairly small -- three siblings, each with their own weakness, a wise uncle and a father – but the lessons were really big. All the Lamplighter books I’ve read/listened to are huge on character building. There was a bit of a mystery in this one so it could be a bit scary for younger listeners.
June 24, 2021
Great book. Shedding light on three sins that everyone has: Pride, Selfishness, and Mistrust. Following the Trevor siblings while they battle their sins in an exciting way makes us realize, we can defeat our haunted room just like them!
April 30, 2022
This book takes a mystery and adds Christian values and morals to it. I really wanted to like it but I had a hard time envisioning what was happening throughout the story. The world building was kit done very well in my opinion which made it difficult for me to stay interested.
August 23, 2024
Loved how the story follows three siblings and their search for truth. Much like the haunted room in their house, our hearts can also become void if we keep secret sins. Wonderful tale of family and redemption!
May 5, 2017
Listened to the Lamplighter Theatre production of this book, and it was excellent!
March 23, 2017
Fear can keep us from being what God made us to be!
March 2, 2019
This was an amazing, Christian novel. Despite its title, it was not a horror story, or fantasy in the least. Instead, it was a very eye-opening allegory about the faults in our characters which stay hidden from our own eyes. Our hearts are often like a haunted room, bricked shut and guarded from every beam of revealing light which would bring our secret sins and faults to our attention. But when we turn to God in faith and submission, Christ's light triumphs over the darkness, helping us to conquer our most crippling faults. Besides having a wonderful message, this story was full of character, fun, and thrill. The beginning of the book is a little bit slow, but if you can push yourself into the middle of the first chapter, the story picks up and you'll be glad you stuck it out!
November 7, 2015
A novel with a challenging message—What is the state of mind sin you hide from even yourself, such that you refuse to even recognize? This is a well told story, if a bit melodramatic, of three siblings whose pride, self-love, and cowardly mistrust got in the way of what they knew to be right. It will cause you to examine what is in the secret chamber—the haunted room—of your own heart.
March 24, 2016
This was a good book, not my favorite but good nonetheless. I will wait to read it to my kids a little later. There are so many other lamplighter books to read to them now, this one can wait. I think they will get more out of it as they get older..krb 3/23/16
April 12, 2016
I did not read this exact version of this book but needless to say this was a wonderful book! It really shows of faith in God can help us break out of the "haunted room" of our heart!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews