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The House on Hackman's Hill
Cousins Debbie and Jeff stumble across something they were not meant to see when a blizzard strands them in a mysterious old house with a hidden mummy and Anubis, a strange creature that once guarded the pharaoh's tomb. Reissue.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1986
40 people are currently reading
1149 people want to read
About the author
Joan Lowery Nixon
188 books485 followersAuthor of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
February 4, 2009
I read this book when I was in about the fourth grade and it terrified me -- in a delicious, don't-turn-out-the-lights kind of way. I looked for it for years, but it seemed to be out of print; then, recently, my friend Kyanne found me a copy. I read it again last night, perhaps trying to recreate that cozy/delicious feeling that accompanied my childhood reading.
The verdict? It's pretty cheesy.
AND IT STILL TERRIFIED ME.
So I basically had a blast rereading it, which is why even the not-so-great writing earns four stars from me.
The verdict? It's pretty cheesy.
AND IT STILL TERRIFIED ME.
So I basically had a blast rereading it, which is why even the not-so-great writing earns four stars from me.
September 2, 2018
I read this quite a few times, starting at age 10, and just loved it. To this day, it may still be the scariest book I’ve ever read. It’s really spooky but not dark or disturbing; it’s fine for MG and up. A mummy’s curse – what’s not to love?
November 4, 2018
Last year, I read and reviewed Joan Lowery Nixon's Haunted Island. Really I should say I re-read it, since it scared the daylights out of me as a kid and three decades had gone by between my first encounter with it and that particular Thursday. I enjoyed it enough that when another of Nixon's young adult horror fares crossed my path, I wanted to give it a chance. Thus, on this cold and frosty Wednesday morning, snuggled under the covers, the time seemed right, and I took a journey to The House on Hackman's Hill.
The main question I had going into the story was if I could enjoy this one as much as Haunted Island. After all, I have no memories or experiences to ignite any nostalgic fires about this one, and while it's clearly meant to spook children, I routinely devour more adult horror offerings with nary a nightmare in sight. Nixon's a good author, but did she have what it takes to entice me into enjoying a fifth-grade level young adult mystery?
Spoiler alert: yes, she absolutely does.
* * * * *
Nixon uses much the same literary technique to set the scene in this one as she does in Haunted Island. Two children, a boy and a girl, are regaled by an older man with a scary event that took place during his childhood. In Haunted Island, it was a natural disaster, a vanished person, and a missing bag of silver coins. With Hackman's Hill, it's an ancient Egyptian curse, a vanished eccentric, and a stolen mummy with a reward for its recovery. Even though it's a formula, I can forgive Nixon for using it, since it's quite effective in communicating the back-story and enticing our leads into action.
Our leads, in this case, are Debbie and Jeff, cousins on spring break and in search of excitement. No state or region of the country is specified, but given the place they're staying sees cold weather and a freak snow storm during "Spring Break", I'm going to guess they're in the New England area and not, say California. The twelve-year olds are drawn to the mysterious abandoned mansion house of the title by curiosity, and while Grandma and Grandpa don't seem keen on answering questions, kindly old neighbor Mr. Karstan is only too happy to bend their ears for a while.
Karstan himself lived in the house as a boy for a short time--after his father's death, his mother was taken on as an assistant to Dr. Hackman, a man whose life's ambition was to convert his ancient house into a museum. Hackman was interested in pieces of antiquity, and for him, nothing beat out the mythology and glamour of ancient Egypt. Hackman, in fact, was so taken in with Egyptian culture that he didn't always procure his artifacts in ways either ethical or legal. Take mummies for instance: the Egyptian government bans their export, and the US has laws against the personal ownership of artifacts from other cultures, but as Jeff and Debbie learn, there's a way around every law if you have enough prestige, money, or guile. Hackman had all three.
While a boy, Karstan witnessed the delivery of a real, authentic, wrapped-in-bandages mummy to Hackman's house. Later on, as he tells the children, a series of spooky events and accidents sent him and his mother fleeing from the house, never to return. Dr. Hackman always boasted about not believing in curses befalling people who plundered Egyptian tombs, but Karstan knows what he saw and heard during his short time living in Hackman's home, and his story is meant as a warning to keep Jeff and Debbie away from the place.
Unfortunately, Karstan makes a mistake: he mentions that while police investigated the home after Dr. Hackman's disappearance, they never found the mummy, and there's a standing reward of $10,000 for anyone who returns it to the authorities. All of a sudden, a story about paranormal happenings and Egyptian curses has dollar signs flashing in the cousins' eyes. Jeff's father is out of work, and $5,000 would go a long way towards helping the family financially, while Debbie's amateur photography hobby could take on a more professional look if she could buy a truly nice camera to replace her cheap insta-print model. And that settles it: back at their grandparents' place, the pair decide they'll solve the mystery of Dr. Hackman and his missing mummy before Spring Break is over. Packing a couple of sandwiches, flashlights, extra batteries, and a few homemade cookies, the pair head up to the abandoned house first thing in the morning.
The house is spooky enough as it is, but when a freak snowstorm swirls into the area, the pair realize they're stuck in the dark mansion with its bizarre and twisted galleries of artifacts until the blizzard blows over. What's worse, they are definitely not alone. Was Old Mr. Karstan's story about mummies and Egyptian curses true, or did someone have the same idea they did to explore the house? With no choice but to press on in their explorations, solving riddles and uncovering hidden passages, the pair's overnight stay in Hackman's house may turn into the spring break they'll never forget...for all the wrong reasons.
* * * * *
Nixon's writing here, just like in Haunted Island, is the perfect level and tone for the ten-and-up crowd. While the story itself is relatively unsophisticated by adult standards, I have no problem at all admitting this would have left me good and spooked had I read it as a child--these kids are a hell of a lot braver than I was at their age, that's for sure.
One of the things I loved was the way Nixon handles the relationship between Debbie and Jeff. They're partners in this venture, equals, and while they each handle the frights in their own way, it's nice to see a story where the female isn't just the damsel in distress or a whiny brat the boy needs to constantly rescue. In one particular scene, the pair are trying to decide who should go first when ascending a staircase, and Debbie volunteers to go first. Not because she's particularly eager to confront danger head-on, but more because she can't stand the idea of something creeping up behind her, a thought which Jeff wishes she hadn't voiced now that he's the one bringing up the rear. I laughed. :)
Most of the book's scares have rational explanations, but be aware that, like Haunted Island, Nixon's playing straight with the paranormal: there really was a mummy, there really is a curse, and this isn't a Scooby-Doo story where the ghost at the end is unmasked as some ornery, cantankerous scallywag. Anubis walks, and even though seven decades have passed between the time Hackman imported/stole the mummy and the cousins enter the abandoned house, a curse that has festered for millennia views seventy years as a blink of an eye. The danger is real, even if it sometimes seems a bit mentally deficient. Powerful gods of death should not be deterred by simple locked doors. The ending is also somewhat bittersweet, leaving a few questions left unanswered, but I honestly don't see how Nixon could have finished the story otherwise, and it's at least sensible if you can read between the lines.
Like Haunted Island, this is very much worth reading if you enjoy lighter young adult fare with a hint of horror and excitement. Between the two, I think Haunted Island does it better, but Hackman's Hill is no slouch, and if this sort of thing is what you're looking for, copies are certainly inexpensive enough and easy to find. Scholastic reprinted this one in 2001, so you aren't stuck looking for the original 1985 printing. They also updated the cover artwork, and thankfully it's much better than the godawful Haunted Island reprint:
That said, while it isn't a bad cover, it's still not as interesting as the original cover from the 1980's. That may just be the nostalgia for those old Apple Paperback cover artworks talking though. Let me know what you think.
And, hey, as an extra special bonus, enjoy this fun little one-minute trailer cut together by a group of 5th graders as their class project from November of last year. I think they did a bang-up job, so give them a watch and a like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FpY...
Note: the author of this review assumes no responsibility for readers who decide they now want to go exploring spooky old mansions in search of Egyptian artifacts as a result of learning about this book. Be smart, stay alive, and don't trespass on other people's property. :)
The main question I had going into the story was if I could enjoy this one as much as Haunted Island. After all, I have no memories or experiences to ignite any nostalgic fires about this one, and while it's clearly meant to spook children, I routinely devour more adult horror offerings with nary a nightmare in sight. Nixon's a good author, but did she have what it takes to entice me into enjoying a fifth-grade level young adult mystery?
Spoiler alert: yes, she absolutely does.
* * * * *
Nixon uses much the same literary technique to set the scene in this one as she does in Haunted Island. Two children, a boy and a girl, are regaled by an older man with a scary event that took place during his childhood. In Haunted Island, it was a natural disaster, a vanished person, and a missing bag of silver coins. With Hackman's Hill, it's an ancient Egyptian curse, a vanished eccentric, and a stolen mummy with a reward for its recovery. Even though it's a formula, I can forgive Nixon for using it, since it's quite effective in communicating the back-story and enticing our leads into action.
Our leads, in this case, are Debbie and Jeff, cousins on spring break and in search of excitement. No state or region of the country is specified, but given the place they're staying sees cold weather and a freak snow storm during "Spring Break", I'm going to guess they're in the New England area and not, say California. The twelve-year olds are drawn to the mysterious abandoned mansion house of the title by curiosity, and while Grandma and Grandpa don't seem keen on answering questions, kindly old neighbor Mr. Karstan is only too happy to bend their ears for a while.
Karstan himself lived in the house as a boy for a short time--after his father's death, his mother was taken on as an assistant to Dr. Hackman, a man whose life's ambition was to convert his ancient house into a museum. Hackman was interested in pieces of antiquity, and for him, nothing beat out the mythology and glamour of ancient Egypt. Hackman, in fact, was so taken in with Egyptian culture that he didn't always procure his artifacts in ways either ethical or legal. Take mummies for instance: the Egyptian government bans their export, and the US has laws against the personal ownership of artifacts from other cultures, but as Jeff and Debbie learn, there's a way around every law if you have enough prestige, money, or guile. Hackman had all three.
While a boy, Karstan witnessed the delivery of a real, authentic, wrapped-in-bandages mummy to Hackman's house. Later on, as he tells the children, a series of spooky events and accidents sent him and his mother fleeing from the house, never to return. Dr. Hackman always boasted about not believing in curses befalling people who plundered Egyptian tombs, but Karstan knows what he saw and heard during his short time living in Hackman's home, and his story is meant as a warning to keep Jeff and Debbie away from the place.
Unfortunately, Karstan makes a mistake: he mentions that while police investigated the home after Dr. Hackman's disappearance, they never found the mummy, and there's a standing reward of $10,000 for anyone who returns it to the authorities. All of a sudden, a story about paranormal happenings and Egyptian curses has dollar signs flashing in the cousins' eyes. Jeff's father is out of work, and $5,000 would go a long way towards helping the family financially, while Debbie's amateur photography hobby could take on a more professional look if she could buy a truly nice camera to replace her cheap insta-print model. And that settles it: back at their grandparents' place, the pair decide they'll solve the mystery of Dr. Hackman and his missing mummy before Spring Break is over. Packing a couple of sandwiches, flashlights, extra batteries, and a few homemade cookies, the pair head up to the abandoned house first thing in the morning.
The house is spooky enough as it is, but when a freak snowstorm swirls into the area, the pair realize they're stuck in the dark mansion with its bizarre and twisted galleries of artifacts until the blizzard blows over. What's worse, they are definitely not alone. Was Old Mr. Karstan's story about mummies and Egyptian curses true, or did someone have the same idea they did to explore the house? With no choice but to press on in their explorations, solving riddles and uncovering hidden passages, the pair's overnight stay in Hackman's house may turn into the spring break they'll never forget...for all the wrong reasons.
* * * * *
Nixon's writing here, just like in Haunted Island, is the perfect level and tone for the ten-and-up crowd. While the story itself is relatively unsophisticated by adult standards, I have no problem at all admitting this would have left me good and spooked had I read it as a child--these kids are a hell of a lot braver than I was at their age, that's for sure.
One of the things I loved was the way Nixon handles the relationship between Debbie and Jeff. They're partners in this venture, equals, and while they each handle the frights in their own way, it's nice to see a story where the female isn't just the damsel in distress or a whiny brat the boy needs to constantly rescue. In one particular scene, the pair are trying to decide who should go first when ascending a staircase, and Debbie volunteers to go first. Not because she's particularly eager to confront danger head-on, but more because she can't stand the idea of something creeping up behind her, a thought which Jeff wishes she hadn't voiced now that he's the one bringing up the rear. I laughed. :)
Most of the book's scares have rational explanations, but be aware that, like Haunted Island, Nixon's playing straight with the paranormal: there really was a mummy, there really is a curse, and this isn't a Scooby-Doo story where the ghost at the end is unmasked as some ornery, cantankerous scallywag. Anubis walks, and even though seven decades have passed between the time Hackman imported/stole the mummy and the cousins enter the abandoned house, a curse that has festered for millennia views seventy years as a blink of an eye. The danger is real, even if it sometimes seems a bit mentally deficient. Powerful gods of death should not be deterred by simple locked doors. The ending is also somewhat bittersweet, leaving a few questions left unanswered, but I honestly don't see how Nixon could have finished the story otherwise, and it's at least sensible if you can read between the lines.
Like Haunted Island, this is very much worth reading if you enjoy lighter young adult fare with a hint of horror and excitement. Between the two, I think Haunted Island does it better, but Hackman's Hill is no slouch, and if this sort of thing is what you're looking for, copies are certainly inexpensive enough and easy to find. Scholastic reprinted this one in 2001, so you aren't stuck looking for the original 1985 printing. They also updated the cover artwork, and thankfully it's much better than the godawful Haunted Island reprint:
That said, while it isn't a bad cover, it's still not as interesting as the original cover from the 1980's. That may just be the nostalgia for those old Apple Paperback cover artworks talking though. Let me know what you think.
And, hey, as an extra special bonus, enjoy this fun little one-minute trailer cut together by a group of 5th graders as their class project from November of last year. I think they did a bang-up job, so give them a watch and a like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FpY...
Note: the author of this review assumes no responsibility for readers who decide they now want to go exploring spooky old mansions in search of Egyptian artifacts as a result of learning about this book. Be smart, stay alive, and don't trespass on other people's property. :)
January 5, 2022
Cousins Jeff and Debbie are drawn into a decrepit mansion with the lure of a $10,000 dollar reward for finding the remains of a lost mummy believed to be hidden deep within its mysterious halls full of secrets corridors and staircases. They go during the day to avoid the eerie superstitions of nightly hauntings, but a ruthless snowstorm forces them to spend the night within. Before they can leave, the mansion has malicious plans for the two cousins.
This was okay. A bit childish, even by the standards of its age rating, but I can definitely see how it could appeal to very young kids who maybe have no experience with the horror genre. Some parts are told genuinely well like the suspenseful rumors and ghost stories about Hackman Hill, but the actual plot centered around Jeff and Debbie as well as the events within the mansion are pretty bland. It feels like a goosebumps book or a decent episode of Scooby Doo.
This was okay. A bit childish, even by the standards of its age rating, but I can definitely see how it could appeal to very young kids who maybe have no experience with the horror genre. Some parts are told genuinely well like the suspenseful rumors and ghost stories about Hackman Hill, but the actual plot centered around Jeff and Debbie as well as the events within the mansion are pretty bland. It feels like a goosebumps book or a decent episode of Scooby Doo.
April 21, 2021
Interesting story that is well told. I would have rated it higher, but there were a couple of significant plot holes and unanswered questions.
January 28, 2021
2.5 Would have been 3 stars if that ending had been different.
It was all a bit much with the sadistic Dr. Hackman, laughing at Paul and seeming to play tricks on him. He knew Paul was afraid and he kept asking him to do things with objects and places he was scared of.
They went to visit Paul whose mom had worked for Dr. Hackman and who had lived in the house. It turned into another story with another main character and got away from the cousins. I kept forgetting about them.
His first night there, he and his mom heard crying. The next day he told Jules and his wife about it and said he thought it was the spirit of the boy who fell from the window to his death in Paul’s room. He told them to tell him the story because it may save his life. It felt so dramatic. When did it become life or death?
Dr. Hackman told him that Anubis watched over the dead and made sure no one disturbed their final resting place. He carries out the pharaoh’s curse.
Dr. Hackman had Paul bring a box downstairs knowing he would forget to prop the door open and be stuck. He found the mummy’s eyes kissing and Dr. Hackman said they were too valuable and he had moved them somewhere safe.
The second night Paul heard footsteps coming up the stairs to his room. He removed the key from inside the door and heard an animal sniffing at the lock. It asked him where its eyes were. He realized Dr. Hackman had protected against the curse by planting that coin in this room for Anubis would go after them and not him. Paul threw it outside but then changed his mind and went to get it, not wanting Dr. Hackman to find it and place it in his mom’s room or something.
He put it inside the statue of Anubis and there was screaming in the house and Dr. Hackman was never seen again, and the statue disappeared too. That’s why there’s a $10,000 reward for the finding of the mummy.
When Debbie and Jeff went to investigate the house, she took a picture of the room with the statues but Anubis didn’t show up in the picture. Then they heard a crying sound in the room with them.
As Jeff was walking down the stairs, someone took his hand and pressed up against him and he thought it was Debbie but it wasn’t her and he didn’t see anyone. Jeff had a plan to lock Anubis in the library. They heard heavy breathing and thumping. They found the mummy’s eyes in a secret hiding place in the archway to the door that said “Only I have the secret.” They went to the basement to find the mummy.
I thought Dr. Hackman had been killed, but it was a surprise that he had been mummified. There were two mummies that had been sealed up in the basement. Then the door shut on them and they were trapped. It was cute how Debbie said “We’re the gruesome twosome, aren’t we? We’ll figure something out.”
Jeff tried to get the mummy down through the trap door but Anubis got free and came after them, so he had to abandon the mummy. They went out the secret passage and met up with Grandpa and Paul, now an old man. I was so upset that Paul burned the house down. All those priceless artifacts. I didn’t really want the kids getting the reward because that’s a lot of money, but it absolutely sucked that the entire house and all its possessions were lost. I hate endings like that.
We never knew what happened to the man in Paul’s room. I guess Anubis threw him out the window because he had the coin in his room? What was the significance of the coin when it seemed to be all about the mummy? Why didn’t Anubis care that the eyes weren’t returned to the mummy? Who was holding Jeff’s hand in the house? What kind of reward are the kids going to get for the golden eyes?
As you can see, I’m left with too many questions that the author didn’t answer. It wasn’t a success because it left too many unanswered questions and didn’t full explain the mystery.
It was all a bit much with the sadistic Dr. Hackman, laughing at Paul and seeming to play tricks on him. He knew Paul was afraid and he kept asking him to do things with objects and places he was scared of.
They went to visit Paul whose mom had worked for Dr. Hackman and who had lived in the house. It turned into another story with another main character and got away from the cousins. I kept forgetting about them.
His first night there, he and his mom heard crying. The next day he told Jules and his wife about it and said he thought it was the spirit of the boy who fell from the window to his death in Paul’s room. He told them to tell him the story because it may save his life. It felt so dramatic. When did it become life or death?
Dr. Hackman told him that Anubis watched over the dead and made sure no one disturbed their final resting place. He carries out the pharaoh’s curse.
Dr. Hackman had Paul bring a box downstairs knowing he would forget to prop the door open and be stuck. He found the mummy’s eyes kissing and Dr. Hackman said they were too valuable and he had moved them somewhere safe.
The second night Paul heard footsteps coming up the stairs to his room. He removed the key from inside the door and heard an animal sniffing at the lock. It asked him where its eyes were. He realized Dr. Hackman had protected against the curse by planting that coin in this room for Anubis would go after them and not him. Paul threw it outside but then changed his mind and went to get it, not wanting Dr. Hackman to find it and place it in his mom’s room or something.
He put it inside the statue of Anubis and there was screaming in the house and Dr. Hackman was never seen again, and the statue disappeared too. That’s why there’s a $10,000 reward for the finding of the mummy.
When Debbie and Jeff went to investigate the house, she took a picture of the room with the statues but Anubis didn’t show up in the picture. Then they heard a crying sound in the room with them.
As Jeff was walking down the stairs, someone took his hand and pressed up against him and he thought it was Debbie but it wasn’t her and he didn’t see anyone. Jeff had a plan to lock Anubis in the library. They heard heavy breathing and thumping. They found the mummy’s eyes in a secret hiding place in the archway to the door that said “Only I have the secret.” They went to the basement to find the mummy.
I thought Dr. Hackman had been killed, but it was a surprise that he had been mummified. There were two mummies that had been sealed up in the basement. Then the door shut on them and they were trapped. It was cute how Debbie said “We’re the gruesome twosome, aren’t we? We’ll figure something out.”
Jeff tried to get the mummy down through the trap door but Anubis got free and came after them, so he had to abandon the mummy. They went out the secret passage and met up with Grandpa and Paul, now an old man. I was so upset that Paul burned the house down. All those priceless artifacts. I didn’t really want the kids getting the reward because that’s a lot of money, but it absolutely sucked that the entire house and all its possessions were lost. I hate endings like that.
We never knew what happened to the man in Paul’s room. I guess Anubis threw him out the window because he had the coin in his room? What was the significance of the coin when it seemed to be all about the mummy? Why didn’t Anubis care that the eyes weren’t returned to the mummy? Who was holding Jeff’s hand in the house? What kind of reward are the kids going to get for the golden eyes?
As you can see, I’m left with too many questions that the author didn’t answer. It wasn’t a success because it left too many unanswered questions and didn’t full explain the mystery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2010
Ha! I love reading this to my students in October every year. It is intriguing with the mysteries of what hides in the house on Hackman's Hill. But the underlying story definitely scares them. There are even a couple parts where I actually get to make scratching and sniffing noises and then...jump out at my students in the dark. Love it!
December 23, 2010
This book scared me to death when I was younger. Mummies generally aren't scary. The one here was.
October 10, 2020
It was on the simple side, though it tried to be scary.
The mysterious eccentric employer who owns the mansion.
He puts Paul in a tower room where someone fell to their death. His room is kept locked.
A mummy’s curse.
It reminded me of A Haunted Mansion, with the wife and husband workers, & the creepy house with the strange owner.
The god Anubis is cool, how he’s the guardian of the tombs, & watches over the dead. He has the head of a jackal, & is the one who carries out the pharaohs curse.
Maybe it was supposed to be scary, but I laughed at this:
‘Terrified, unable to think, I whispered, “What do you want?”
And a voice whispered back, “Where are my eyes?”’
Ahaha
It was a lil scary how it sounded like an animal was on the other side of Paul's door and when he took the key out of the locks the animal sniffed through the lock.
When Paul threw the coin out the window the animal left. Dr. Hackman knew evil would follow the person who had the coin; that’s what he did to protect himself, he drew Anubis to Paul.
Part 1 was mostly in Paul’s POV, not even about Jeff and Debbie. I wondered when it would finally be about them looking for the mummy. I felt Paul's story could be shorter, and it wasn't written in a way that sounded like someone saying a story out loud. The way things were described didn't sound believable that someone would talk that way.
It’s very unlikely the statues would still be standing on the table in the house, untouched, just as they were left. Someone would likely have stolen them.
And of course Anubis didn’t show up in the picture Debbie took. I knew something would happen when Debbie took a pic of it.
I love when Jeff knew Debbie would ask the animal what it wanted and when it responded with where are my eyes, she’s like “How should we know? We didn’t take your eyes! What do you think you’re doing anyway, going around scaring people? You rotten, mean, whatever-you-are!”
I love a character with spunk.
I loved the humor between the cousins, some moments had me smiling and laughing.
A bit unlikely all the doors had the keys left in the locks, easily enabling them to lock the library and office door, trapping Anubis in the library.
I was horrified that Dr. Hackman had turned into a mummy, even though he was a bad guy.
It seemed like they should have done more with the mummy, like put the golden eyes in it, but I was disappointed they were taking the mummy out for the reward money Jeff needed for his family, and then Anubis was after them and Jeff threw the mummy at him.
That didn’t feel significant at all, I wondered what would happen next. Their grandpa shows up in a snow plow along with Mr. Karsten who runs into the house for some reason.
Then the house is on fire, & Karsten said it had to be put to rest.
How did throwing the mummy at Anubis stop the curse? Couldn't Anubis have gotten the mummy on his own, all those years ago, before the alcove in the basement was covered with bricks?
At first the curse seemed to be about the coin. Because whoever had the coin drew Anubis to them. But then putting the coin in the Anubis statue seemed to appease the god. But then that didn't seem to be enough; he needed the mummy from the basement, too. And bizarrely, Anubis was ok with the golden eyes being stolen from the statue, & the kids get away with the eyes, and the curse is still over despite this. Anubis, I'm guessing, ignites the house and burns everything.
I honestly thought, and would have liked, if the kids returned the mummy to Egypt where they belonged. That should have ended the curse to me. And then they still could have gotten the reward money, that Jeff's family needed because his dad lost his job and his parents were worried.
That would have been a much better ending, and the ending I hoped for.
Also, what happened to the poor person who fell/was pushed out the window who owned the coin? Were they workers from Egypt who happened to be moving stuff into the tower room? Did he own the coin and Anubis come for him and push him out of the tower? I felt like we needed the whole story there.
And as an adult reading this, it’s pretty unrealistic. Idc how scary the house is, it wouldn’t sit abandoned that long, without robbers or someone else taking the stuff from inside the house.
This needed to be longer. There was an action scene right close to the end & I wondered how they would wrap this up. Not enough time to finish things properly.
It ended so suddenly,& with a completely unsatisfying conclusion.
They didn’t even get the reward money!! And will they get money for the gold eyes of the statue? It was unfinished, so we don't know.
This feels like a series, like Jeff and Debbie get into escapades all the time.
I liked that there was humor in here. Some moments had me smiling. & I like the relationship between the cousins. They probably get in a lot of trouble together!
I was thinking 2.5 stars, but that ending made me wanna lower it.
The mysterious eccentric employer who owns the mansion.
He puts Paul in a tower room where someone fell to their death. His room is kept locked.
A mummy’s curse.
It reminded me of A Haunted Mansion, with the wife and husband workers, & the creepy house with the strange owner.
The god Anubis is cool, how he’s the guardian of the tombs, & watches over the dead. He has the head of a jackal, & is the one who carries out the pharaohs curse.
Maybe it was supposed to be scary, but I laughed at this:
‘Terrified, unable to think, I whispered, “What do you want?”
And a voice whispered back, “Where are my eyes?”’
Ahaha
It was a lil scary how it sounded like an animal was on the other side of Paul's door and when he took the key out of the locks the animal sniffed through the lock.
When Paul threw the coin out the window the animal left. Dr. Hackman knew evil would follow the person who had the coin; that’s what he did to protect himself, he drew Anubis to Paul.
Part 1 was mostly in Paul’s POV, not even about Jeff and Debbie. I wondered when it would finally be about them looking for the mummy. I felt Paul's story could be shorter, and it wasn't written in a way that sounded like someone saying a story out loud. The way things were described didn't sound believable that someone would talk that way.
It’s very unlikely the statues would still be standing on the table in the house, untouched, just as they were left. Someone would likely have stolen them.
And of course Anubis didn’t show up in the picture Debbie took. I knew something would happen when Debbie took a pic of it.
I love when Jeff knew Debbie would ask the animal what it wanted and when it responded with where are my eyes, she’s like “How should we know? We didn’t take your eyes! What do you think you’re doing anyway, going around scaring people? You rotten, mean, whatever-you-are!”
I love a character with spunk.
I loved the humor between the cousins, some moments had me smiling and laughing.
A bit unlikely all the doors had the keys left in the locks, easily enabling them to lock the library and office door, trapping Anubis in the library.
I was horrified that Dr. Hackman had turned into a mummy, even though he was a bad guy.
It seemed like they should have done more with the mummy, like put the golden eyes in it, but I was disappointed they were taking the mummy out for the reward money Jeff needed for his family, and then Anubis was after them and Jeff threw the mummy at him.
That didn’t feel significant at all, I wondered what would happen next. Their grandpa shows up in a snow plow along with Mr. Karsten who runs into the house for some reason.
Then the house is on fire, & Karsten said it had to be put to rest.
How did throwing the mummy at Anubis stop the curse? Couldn't Anubis have gotten the mummy on his own, all those years ago, before the alcove in the basement was covered with bricks?
At first the curse seemed to be about the coin. Because whoever had the coin drew Anubis to them. But then putting the coin in the Anubis statue seemed to appease the god. But then that didn't seem to be enough; he needed the mummy from the basement, too. And bizarrely, Anubis was ok with the golden eyes being stolen from the statue, & the kids get away with the eyes, and the curse is still over despite this. Anubis, I'm guessing, ignites the house and burns everything.
I honestly thought, and would have liked, if the kids returned the mummy to Egypt where they belonged. That should have ended the curse to me. And then they still could have gotten the reward money, that Jeff's family needed because his dad lost his job and his parents were worried.
That would have been a much better ending, and the ending I hoped for.
Also, what happened to the poor person who fell/was pushed out the window who owned the coin? Were they workers from Egypt who happened to be moving stuff into the tower room? Did he own the coin and Anubis come for him and push him out of the tower? I felt like we needed the whole story there.
And as an adult reading this, it’s pretty unrealistic. Idc how scary the house is, it wouldn’t sit abandoned that long, without robbers or someone else taking the stuff from inside the house.
This needed to be longer. There was an action scene right close to the end & I wondered how they would wrap this up. Not enough time to finish things properly.
It ended so suddenly,& with a completely unsatisfying conclusion.
They didn’t even get the reward money!! And will they get money for the gold eyes of the statue? It was unfinished, so we don't know.
This feels like a series, like Jeff and Debbie get into escapades all the time.
I liked that there was humor in here. Some moments had me smiling. & I like the relationship between the cousins. They probably get in a lot of trouble together!
I was thinking 2.5 stars, but that ending made me wanna lower it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2009
Such a scary book! It kept making me think that when it was dark, Anubuis would come out at me! Oh whyyyyyyyyy did I have to take it home and finish it????? WHHHYYYYY???????? TELL MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so here's a summary *hint hint*! As you smart people have guessed, you people should stop reading this review if you haven't read this book yet! So: . There are two parts. The first part is about two kids(a girl and a boy) who are playing in the snow when they go to a neighbor. I don't remember how they got to the topic, but the neighbor(an old man) tells them about the time when he lived with his mother in the haunted house. He said that the guy he and him mother were living with was kind of creepy. Then, one day he finds a necklace and keeps it in his room. That night, Anubuis comes to visit him(looking for the necklace). So the neighbor throws it out the window, but takes it back because he doesn't want Anubuis to run into his mom. Then, the guy who owns the house dies one day and no one ever found his body. Then, their neighbor and his mother move out. In part two, the kids go looking for dead man because there's prize money for whoever finds the dead guy. They find the necklace, which wakes Anubuis from his everlasting sleep because he couldn't find the necklace. So the kids think of a plan to close Anubuis up because he's chasing them. But one of them forgot to close a door, so Anubuis gets out and follows them to the basement. Then, they find a hidden room where the dead man was in a coffin. They try to take the coffin, but Anubuis is coming, so they look for a trap door. When they find one, they go through it, but the coffin can't fit and Anubuis was about to make it through, so they left the coffin and were safe from Anubuis! Yeah, so that's it! I really recommend that you only read it in the daytime and you should be at least nine years old so you don't freak out! I kept feeling like Anubuis would come out at me everyday for a very long time...
February 24, 2014
I heard about this book on a librarian listserv. The thread was about horror for teens, and this title came up with several librarians talking about how it scared them. I figured it could be similar to Wait Till Helen Comes - an actually scary middle grade book.
Jeff and Debbie want to sneak into the abandoned house on Hackman's Hill to find a missing mummy for a $10,000 reward. The neighbor, Mr. Karsten, tells them the tale of how he lived with his mother in that house and worked for Dr. Hackman until the night he disappeared. Despite his warnings, Jeff and Debbie sneak into the house and are trapped there by a snowstorm, as something in the house stalks them.
There were really only two scary moments in this short book for me:
1. When Jeff, in the dark, thinks Debbie is holding his hand. BUT IT'S NOT DEBBIE.
2. When
While this story might induce some chills in the middle school set, I really only found the idea of a man with a jackal head walking around the house to be really creepy, but this isn't fully explored OR explained. The ending wraps up very quickly and I was left wondering if Anubis was someone dressed as Anubis, or a statue come to life, or the real god? I was fully expecting a Scooby-Doo moment at the end where they pull off the jackal's mask and say in unison, "Mr. Karsten!" And Mr. Karsten would explain how he'd been trying to scare people out of the house on Hackman's Hill for years to protect everyone from the mummy's curse. (This is not the actual ending).
I'm sure if I read Wait Till Helen Comes now, I wouldn't be as freaked out as I was as a child reading it... but The House on Hackman's Hill was definitely a disappointment for me as an adult reading it.
Jeff and Debbie want to sneak into the abandoned house on Hackman's Hill to find a missing mummy for a $10,000 reward. The neighbor, Mr. Karsten, tells them the tale of how he lived with his mother in that house and worked for Dr. Hackman until the night he disappeared. Despite his warnings, Jeff and Debbie sneak into the house and are trapped there by a snowstorm, as something in the house stalks them.
There were really only two scary moments in this short book for me:
1. When Jeff, in the dark, thinks Debbie is holding his hand. BUT IT'S NOT DEBBIE.
2. When
While this story might induce some chills in the middle school set, I really only found the idea of a man with a jackal head walking around the house to be really creepy, but this isn't fully explored OR explained. The ending wraps up very quickly and I was left wondering if Anubis was someone dressed as Anubis, or a statue come to life, or the real god? I was fully expecting a Scooby-Doo moment at the end where they pull off the jackal's mask and say in unison, "Mr. Karsten!" And Mr. Karsten would explain how he'd been trying to scare people out of the house on Hackman's Hill for years to protect everyone from the mummy's curse. (This is not the actual ending).
I'm sure if I read Wait Till Helen Comes now, I wouldn't be as freaked out as I was as a child reading it... but The House on Hackman's Hill was definitely a disappointment for me as an adult reading it.
July 17, 2011
My son made me read this. He read it and loved it. I found it to be okay. I think the Egyptian myth thing is intriguing to kids, but this book felt rushed and simplistic. Still, for kids in grades 2-5, I guess it could be fun.
August 2, 2011
It was kinda creepy for a little kid book. Something u definitely don't want to read at night.
May 6, 2020
I would love this book if I were a kid. It’s so corny at times, but it does have its suspenseful moments.
October 7, 2020
As a kid I would probably find this scary. I liked the idea of a spooky house that the whole town avoids but the mummy stuff just isn't my thing. The missing doctor was more interesting to me.
November 5, 2022
First read it in 6th grade and it gave me nightmare for weeks and I still obsessively close and lock doors because of it. That being said it’s a good thriller and I would recommend you read it
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November 22, 2024Well, I did it. I went back and figured out what book I'd been remembering in little flashes for however many years. You know these books, the first chapter novels you read in elementary school, their haunted plots following you around through life. Remembering how arresting the reading experience was and the feeling of reconnecting with the source of some of those feelings has a draw, an appeal. So I did it! I figured one out. I did a bit of googling udm14ing for "anubis" "kids mystery" "book" and was brought right to a Reddit with this title.
Tragically it does not hold up at all. Or I am just too old to read it well and anyway am in this weekslong SOUP right now of David Lynch All The Time, omg soooo much David Lynch rn so maybe I am just too demented to get a little demented off a creepy but ultimately innocent, bloodless story like this.
Either way I'll say this book was formative to me as a reader, as a kid. I loved that feeling of the creeps. Horror. Alone in my bunkbed late at night. The moths at the window.
Tragically it does not hold up at all. Or I am just too old to read it well and anyway am in this weekslong SOUP right now of David Lynch All The Time, omg soooo much David Lynch rn so maybe I am just too demented to get a little demented off a creepy but ultimately innocent, bloodless story like this.
Either way I'll say this book was formative to me as a reader, as a kid. I loved that feeling of the creeps. Horror. Alone in my bunkbed late at night. The moths at the window.
before-goodreads
September 11, 2020Just thinking about the terror this book caused me as a child.
October 17, 2022
As an adult, this was a super fun and scary read. Sydney is supposed to read this for a novel study this week at school; it might give her nightmares! Or maybe she would love it too? Ugh!
December 24, 2022
This is a scholastic paperback book of the kind we used to buy when the book fair came to the elementary school. I’ve always like this type of book, especially if it was scary and had anything to do with witches, vampires or…mummies. This was a very good book. Kept my attention, making me want to know what would happen next. The reason for the 4 star rating was because I didn’t like the ending. But all in all, a very good book.
October 17, 2023
Solid little story perfect for MG readers who like scary but not too scary!
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February 3, 2020SCARIEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.
June 18, 2021
Just read THE HOUSE ON HACKMAN'S HILL by Joan Lowery Nixon. This was a really fun children's chapter book. It's all about two friends who hear that there is a $10,000 reward for a missing mummy. There's an old dilapidated house on the hill. An old man tells the kids of strange goings-on in the place from when he was a kid. Now the two friends are more determined than ever to investigate the house, unravel its mysteries. Why were there shrieks in the night? What became of Dr. Hackmen who went missing all those years ago. A blinding snowstorm, the two kids find themselves trapped in the house, but soon find themselves to not be alone. It was a very fast-paced fun Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew type mystery. Had all the things that I like about books. Two kids in peril, haunted houses, murder, mayhem, snowstorms. Everything I gravitate towards when it comes to children's literature. The energy tone was creepy and exciting. Face-paced and very much that "against the clock" type attitude. The ending was kind of weak, but overall it was a very engaging children's book. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading kids mysteries. Once again it really makes me wonder where I was when I was a kid. When I told my mom about this book and then about elementary school and middle school and how in English class we had reading time at the beginning of class and how my parents were called by the teacher and informed that I wasn't reading during reading time. I wonder why that was. Did I just not like it or did the other kids snatch up all the good books and I was left with Bobby and Suzie Lou Who Dig for Buried Shells Down By The Seashore by O.M.G. Snooze? I have this feeling I wasn't introduced to darker tales, which is the genre I love best. Oh well, no time like a global pandemic to help catch a grown man up to the childhood he missed out on. 😉
September 30, 2009
Someone was looking for this book on the What's the Name of That Book? thread here on Goodreads -- and it sounded so intriguing that I ordered a copy for myself!
It's a hard one to rate, because I'm a jaded adult with plenty of horror fare under my belt. From my perspective, The House on Hackman's Hill went out of its way to make its big menace -- the Egyptian God of the Dead, Anubis -- not terribly menacing to the young protagonists. Really, you've unleashed the wrath of an ancient deity, but it can't open a locked door? I expect kids' books to not be super-scary, but it seemed to me that Nixon solved the not-too-scary problem by making the menace pathetically feeble and pedestrian. It's also organized into two parts -- a story from an old man who once lived in the house, and then the adventures of the modern-day kids, and the old man's story is much cooler and creepier, so the second half is a bit anticlimactic.
As a kid, however? I would have LOVED this! Spooky old house, mummies, Egyptiania, secret passages ... this really is a fun Gothic spookfest for young readers, and I bet more than a few children have had nightmares thanks to Hackman's Hill. And the flashback story is nicely told and loaded with good period atmosphere.
As a grown-up, I'd give it a three, as a kid a five, so four stars seems about right. Thanks, Good Reads person who remembered this one from childhood!
It's a hard one to rate, because I'm a jaded adult with plenty of horror fare under my belt. From my perspective, The House on Hackman's Hill went out of its way to make its big menace -- the Egyptian God of the Dead, Anubis -- not terribly menacing to the young protagonists. Really, you've unleashed the wrath of an ancient deity, but it can't open a locked door? I expect kids' books to not be super-scary, but it seemed to me that Nixon solved the not-too-scary problem by making the menace pathetically feeble and pedestrian. It's also organized into two parts -- a story from an old man who once lived in the house, and then the adventures of the modern-day kids, and the old man's story is much cooler and creepier, so the second half is a bit anticlimactic.
As a kid, however? I would have LOVED this! Spooky old house, mummies, Egyptiania, secret passages ... this really is a fun Gothic spookfest for young readers, and I bet more than a few children have had nightmares thanks to Hackman's Hill. And the flashback story is nicely told and loaded with good period atmosphere.
As a grown-up, I'd give it a three, as a kid a five, so four stars seems about right. Thanks, Good Reads person who remembered this one from childhood!
June 23, 2011
Cute and short. It's about two kids--Debbie and Jeff--who have heard creepy stories of the house on Hackman's Hill, and that there's a $10,000 reward out for anyone who can find the mummy inside. So they're determined to find the mummy and collect the money.
The original owner was a collector of Egyptian artifacts, who suddenly disappeared. The police and other investigators searched the home, but never found the mummy or the doctor. After Jeff and Debbie listen to their neighbor's horrifying story about how he came to live in the house, they remember specific details as to where everything is located to make their hunt easier.
Reading this book reminded me of my R.L. Stine days.
The original owner was a collector of Egyptian artifacts, who suddenly disappeared. The police and other investigators searched the home, but never found the mummy or the doctor. After Jeff and Debbie listen to their neighbor's horrifying story about how he came to live in the house, they remember specific details as to where everything is located to make their hunt easier.
Reading this book reminded me of my R.L. Stine days.
October 29, 2013
This book is about a house on Hackman's hill and the house has a mummy with a curse. There is a boy named Jeff and his friend Debbie. Debbie tells Jeff about the mummy and the reward that comes with it if you find the mummy. Before they go to find the mummy they try to get information about the mummy from Debbie's grandparents. They don't know the story. So they go to Mr. Karsten to get the information from him. When they get there, Mr.Karsten tells them the story and the curse that goes with mummy. Before they leave he warns them not to go looking for the mummy. Then Jeff and Debbie go on an adventure and they get stuck in the house. What happens next? You will just have to read to find out.
I liked this book because it had suspense and it scared me. I recommend this book to people who like scary books. This book will leave you in suspense. When you read you will be shocked and you will jump and you would want to now what happens next. I hope you like this book as much as I do and you will be scared like I was.
I liked this book because it had suspense and it scared me. I recommend this book to people who like scary books. This book will leave you in suspense. When you read you will be shocked and you will jump and you would want to now what happens next. I hope you like this book as much as I do and you will be scared like I was.
February 6, 2017
The House ON Hackman's Hill by Joan Lowery Nixon is an amazing book about a two cousins. This book is mostly about the two cousins and finding the mummy. This book is about to cousins named Jeff and Debbie. Jeff and Debbie are trying to get a reward to finding a mummy. But there is a rumor that the mummy has a curse and its in the house on Hackman's hill. Jeff told Debbie there were people giving a reward to the people who find the mummy in the house. The reward was about 10,000 dollars. Jeff and Debbie try to find the mummy for the grand reward that they were giving. I give this book a four out of five because it puts you on the edge of the seat! But I did not like how some parts are kind of confusing but over all it is an astonishing book. I think the theme here is to never give up even though there are challenging obstacles. I really liked this book because I connected to this book it make me think about my cousins when we take great adventures. I would recommend this book to others because it is a surprising book.
November 25, 2021
Tracked down this book from my childhood. I remember my 4th grade teacher reading this to our class, and Part 2 definitely still made me a bit anxious.
July 21, 2016
Very quick read about two cousins, Jeff and Debbie, who hear a creepy story about the titular house on Hackman's Hill from an older gentleman while they're visiting their grandparents. Supposedly there's a mummy hidden inside and the person who can manage to find it will receive a reward of $10, 000. Naturally, the kids, mainly Jeff, want that cash so they go searching inside this old, creepy house where they're nearly maimed by Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead. Yes, Anubis is inside the house. Yes, Anubis, the half man-half jackal Egyptian god, is somehow inside this old house in the United States of America chasing two children around a dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere presumably to protect the mummy...or something...his intentions aren't quite clear and the kids escape anyway so I guess none of this really matters...I wasn't too impressed with this one :)
August 3, 2019
I remember this being read to me in maybe the second or third grade. I remember being thrilled by it. I knew I loved ancient Egypt, and it was a time when anything involving treasure seemed more exotic, and also, as a kid, more important. The mystery was fun, and easy to refresh myself on, seeing as I couldn't remember the ending.
I think it was better left forgotten. It doesn't add up. The goals: not met. The logical steps of putting things back where they belong: not followed. Which for children in books is usually forgivable, but these two, Debbie and Jeff, are fairly level headed. That being said, they are realistically fearful and forgetful, occasionally deceitful, and act with clear intent. Ultimately, a good little short story for a very young reader reading non critically.
I think it was better left forgotten. It doesn't add up. The goals: not met. The logical steps of putting things back where they belong: not followed. Which for children in books is usually forgivable, but these two, Debbie and Jeff, are fairly level headed. That being said, they are realistically fearful and forgetful, occasionally deceitful, and act with clear intent. Ultimately, a good little short story for a very young reader reading non critically.
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