The Red Room Riddle: A Ghost Story

by Scott Corbett

Bruce and Bill meet a strange boy with a bulldog who offers to introduce them to the ghosts in his house.

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Childrens, Young Adult

104 pages, Library Binding

First published April 1, 1972

About the author

Scott Corbett (July 27, 1913 – March 6, 2006) was an American novelist and educator. He wrote five adult novels, the first published in 1950, and then began writing books for children. He retired from teaching in 1965 to write full-time. His best known book is The Lemonade Trick, a children's novel.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even the memory of this book scares the hell out of me.

[Jordan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75; despite being over forty years old and originally intended for 9-12 year old's, this is a surprisingly effective little supernatural novel(la), which in the course of its brief 100 pages combines understated chills with a well-captured glimpse at growing up in the 1920's, all rendered in a timeless, unpatronizing tone that can be enjoyed by readers young and old alike.

[Jonathan Schildbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Corbett at his best--classic horror for kids--and still gave me some chills reading it again 30-some years later. There are elements in it that have stuck with me since my first read, including a description and illustration of a mural of the 'slaughter of the innocents.' As for the plot, you get a strange new kid and his dog showing up, and making a dare to a pair of best friends. From there, getting the kids to go into the haunted house opens up the door for anything to happen, and Corbett creates a number of great scenes where it becomes impossible to tell what's real and not--but it's all scary. In elementary school, I even had an idea that maybe someday I could borrow some home decorating tips from this book.

[J.A. Busick]

When I was in the fifth grade, Mr. Todd, who was my language arts teacher, read aloud to us a lot. This was one of the books he read,and I recall it being absolutely terrifying. I don't remember being that frightened by a book until I picked up The Andromeda Strain a few years later. So when I told my ghost-story-craving preteen about it, nothing would do but that we should find a copy. The library failed us, so I ordered it secondhand. It's here, finally. I hope she enjoys it!

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many, many years ago, back in middle school, and remembered it as being terrifying. I recently tracked down a copy on eBay (of course I had to have the old-school 70s edition with the wavy-gravy illustrations) and it was still pretty terrifying as an adult. Such a good ghost story! I haven't read anything else by Scott Corbett that I know of, but I might have to track some other books down. I can completely see how this book shaped my idea of what a haunted house looked like, what happens when ghosts come after you, and what a good Halloween should consist of (running wild in the streets, caught up in antics, hopefully a genuine scare or two). Old-timey and straightforward, this is a hardcore ghost story that only a certain kind of kid could handle -- the red room is full of scary atmosphere, the dark mystery unsolved, the ghosts pretty terrifying, and the kids full of bluster (and rightfully-placed terror). Totally worth tracking down for my October scary-book reading binge!

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about two kids who are duped by a mysterious boy and his dog to enter a haunted house. The book gets interesting after halfway through when it comes to the titular "red room" and how to escape the house. I can describe this book as if Stephen King tamed it down a bit for kids, with Scott Corbett doing the scares at the right time.

[Stina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I was 11 or 12 when I read this book. It gives me the shivers just thinking about it now, about three decades later. So many of the images remain clear in my memory, and the story's suspenseful revelation was masterfully done.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much when I was a pre-teen. It was spooky, dark and really, really freaking weird. Lesson: Don't go in the panic room.

[Paula Hatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! first read it when I was 11.

[Jo Caso · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 1973. I finished it right around my birthday and this was the defining book of the entire year for me. It was one of the books that turned me on to reading and made me want to be a writer. I loved it so much I read it 13 times. I knew it so well I could tell it effectively as if I'd written it myself. It was a slender book and utterly simple. But I'll tell you why this one had such an impact on me. It was truly spooky, atmospheric and the unique style of the illustrations completely captivated me. But there were two things that held me in such a grip of fascination I couldn't get it out of my mind. The character of Jamie Bly and what we find out about him. I think I felt for the first time in my life as a reader that sense of awe and wonder that fiction sometimes has the power to deliver. It is harder to come by as we become jaded adults, but stories that deliver like this stand the test of time.

[John Arden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this over thirty years ago. Recently, I got a copy and decided to try it again. Although it's not quite as thrilling as it was when I was ten, it still holds up. Good for kids with a bit of a dark streak to them.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so scary! I don’t think I read it as a kid, and I can’t get over how scary it is for a kids’ book. The title makes it sound like a nice mystery story, but it is a very scary ghost story. Surprising!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce and Bill end up in a scary Red Room while hunting for ghosts on Halloween.

This is a re-read of a book that scared me as a kid. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and creepy. Still a good read!

[Angela Sollom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book as a kid... so scary then. Not so scary now. I'm waiting for Kayla to finish to see what she thinks.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4th or 5th grade teacher read this to our class. I found a copy 40 years later and was surprised how much I remembered and how creepy this story is.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books. I remember my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Hill, reading it to the class and trying to explain to us the Slaughter of the Innocents. I was captivated.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book scared the pants off of me when I was young, and it's still pretty effective even though I'm, um, not young.

[Ben Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic from childhood

[Harley Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good Halloween story; a little slow moving at first, but the pace picks up about halfway through. It may be a little too spooky for some readers in the targeted age group.

[Andrew Pschirrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's Horror genre