The Screaming Staircase

{first of 5+1 in Lockwood & Co.; fantasy, adventure, mystery, paranormal, children's, young adult, television adaptation}(2013)

The story is told from Lucy Carlysle's point of view in the first person and opens as she and Lockwood (of Lockwood and Company) are about to enter a house on a case; Lockwood is a somewhat irrepressible character:

And above all don’t impersonate the client. Please. It never goes down well.’

‘That’s an awful lot of don’ts, Lucy,’ Lockwood said.

‘Too right it is.’

‘You know I’ve got an excellent ear for accents. I copy people without thinking.’

‘Fine, copy them quietly after the event. Not loudly, not in front of them, and particularly not when they’re a six-foot-six Irish dockworker

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with a speech impediment, and we’re a good half-mile from the public road.’

In this parallel universe Britain has been afflicted by the Problem for the last fifty years or so, where all manner of paranormal activities and hauntings (classified as Types 1, 2 or 3) have sprung up all over the country with potentially fatal results and only children can sense the apparitions. As darkness falls, curfew is called when everyone goes indoors, safe behind iron and salt, and only children go out to work either as guards or - the more sensitive ones - to work for agencies, banishing the Visitors. Most agencies do some work for the government, specifically with the department known as DEPRAC (Department of Psychical Research and Control), and they all have adult supervisors who used to be agents but are no longer sensitive.

Lockwood and company, as we discover through Lucy's flashbacks, are the only agency with no adults - consisting solely, in fact, of (Anthony) Lockwood, George and Lucy, all around 14 to 16 years old - and not linked to DEPRAC (although Inspector Barnes drops by from time to time when things aren't looking good). Lockwood owns the house (the details of how are only hinted at vaguely) in which they all live and work and can convince them (Lucy, anyway; George likes to research cases thoroughly first - if he's given the chance) to take the most dangerous risks on the strength of his smile.

He switched on his fullest, most radiant smile.

Barnes winced. ‘Put those teeth away. It's too early in the morning and I haven't had my breakfast'

I liked the banter; there was enough to keep it somewhat lighthearted without being overwhelming.

This seems to be set in a parallel London (although at one point Lucy 'fixed tea' which sounded odd) of about 40 years ago, where there are cars and telephones and Velcro but no mobile phones and ladies wear hats.

On the first case that we see (not Lucy's first, as she has been with Lockwood and Company - her second agency - for six months at this point) they have been called in by a widow whose husband fell down the stairs and now she feels a presence in the house. In solving the case, Lucy finds a necklace which involves them in another case. Meanwhile, desperate for business to keep the company afloat, Lockwood accepts a case at a manor house in Berkshire which has been haunted for centuries and where more deaths keep occurring - including a team from one of the oldest and best ghost agencies.

Wow, this was a nail biting page turner! And a BB from another LTer (thanks!) who also seems to be a fan of the Netflix series based on this books series - another thing I need to look into. The edition I borrowed from the library had a preface by the author complementing the Netflix actors and setting. The plotting was good, the pacing was good and I didn't want to put this book down (though I may have wanted to look away at times). And though it's about paranormal Visitors, it wasn't a scary book (I don't read horror) though there was plenty of tension.

The title reminded me of the Nancy Drew stories I used to read as a child - but this is nothing like! This was a good book and I'll be looking for the rest of the series. It's billed as a children's/ young adult's book but doesn't talk down to its audience. I've recommended it to my 15 year old son, too, since he's a Skulduggery Pleasant fan - let's see what he thinks.

ETA: I watched the first episode of the Netflix series last night and introduced my husband to it, too. I found it fascinating comparing it to the book though he found it a bit scary (though he used to be into horror - which I can't watch).

And, of course, a good cup of tea is absolutely essential.

But tea bags, brown and fresh and plenty of them, and made (for preference) by Pitkin Brothers of Bond Street, are perhaps the simplest and best of all.

OK, they may not save your life like a sword-tip or an iron circle can, and they haven‘t the protective power of a sudden wall of fire. But they do provide something just as vital. They help to keep you sane.

February 2024
4.5-5 stars show less

Un'ulteriore conferma che Stroud e i racconti soprannaturali sono tutt'uno. Nuova saga a base di spiriti urlanti pronti a stringervi in un abbraccio glaciale, morti misteriose da svelare e un gruppo di "cacciatori" di fantasmi degno dei Ghostbusters!
Anthony, il capo dell'agenzia Lockwood, per il suo carattere piuttosto sfacciato e la tendenza a dire battute sarcastiche persino nei momenti meno opportuni mi ricorda Bartimeus, il personaggio dell'altra celebre saga, mentre il modo macabro con cui vengono descritte certe scene non so perché ma mi richiama lo stile di Edgar A. Poe.
Attenzione però, in quanto non c'è assolutamente nulla di obsoleto in questa storia, a partire dalle capacità dei nostri tre acchiappafantasmi! Sono molto show more curiosa di sapere che cosa si è inventato nei due seguiti, perché questo libro è stato molto piacevole da leggere e mi ha strappato non solo alcuni sorrisi, ma anche un paio di brividi! show less

One of the most interesting things about this book is that even though it's set in modern day London, it never feels like a novel set in a hi-tech city and a world of Facebook and celebrity reality shows, but an older, period that could be anything from Dickensian times to Edwardian England to the post-war years, evoking the atmosphere of the likes of MR James or Agatha Christie or any number of old black and white BBC children's programmes. This gives the book a certain timeless quality that fits well with the ghost-riddled world it inhabits.

Lockwood & Co are ghost hunters, and there are lots of ghosts around nowadays and they're very dangerous and only children can see them so only children can hunt them. Lucy Carlyle is the Company's show more newest employee, bringing the grand total to three, including the dashing Lockwood himself and the gnomish George. Most of their cases so far have not been triumphs, and their current case ends in a flaming disaster that threatens to finish the Company for good. Lockwood struggle to make the best of a bad lot by pushing to find the person responsible for an old murder in the hopes that the publicity will bring more business. It does. They are invited to spend the night in the most haunted house in England. They're not expected to survive.

The Screaming Staircase is incredibly well written, and it is the style of writing and Lucy's narrative voice that contributes most to the timeless quality. The set-up is intriguing and mysterious, the types and behaviours of ghosts and the rules and methods of ghost hunting are well constructed, the plot is extremely clever, the pace is quick and exciting and the characters are lovable in the extreme. I was a big fan of Stroud's Bartimeus Trilogy. If he keeps this up, Lockwood and Co could be even better. show less

I say this with the deepest respect for Mr. Stroud's work and talents: This book reminded me of Scooby-Doo. Like the best possible Scooby-Doo! No, better than the best possibly Scooby-Doo (while still being pretty Scooby-Doo-ish).

Look, this book seriously gave me nightmares. Not as a I was reading it, but a few weeks after finishing it I had this terrifying nightmare about a room filled with blood and I woke up and thought, "Screaming staircases!" So clearly I don't mean to say that this book is cartoonish. Or that it has a talking dog.

But it is about a crew of kids solving ghost mysteries. It's a Gothic Ghost Busters. I enjoyed the mystery aspect and thought it was very moody and atmospheric. The relationships between the three main show more characters were great. You have Lockwood (the serious and talented boss), Lucy (the up and comer and our main POV character) and George (a slob but sharp as a tack). There is no love triangle here! Thank goodness.

I look forward to the next one! show less

What a rare treat it is to find a book so gripping that I'd want to experience it twice in one year! I hadn't heard of Jonathan Stroud or the series when its title caught my attention in the bookstore. But before I knew it, I found myself almost as 'ghostlocked' as the characters.

Jonathan Stroud's writing is so vivid and atmospheric that I could practically feel the characters' fear, leaving me as cold and tense as the characters themselves.

His approach to worldbuilding is a particular win here. This isn’t just another ghost story. It's a well-crafted reality. Spirits are dangerous and unpredictable but also are grounded in a clear set of rules that are expounded upon the more you read. The characters, teens in this case, have agency show more and skills and are not at all helpless. This structured nature of the universe doesn't lessen the fear. Instead, it heightens it. We know the risks and we sense the consequences. The knowledge only builds the suspense.

The character dynamics are so well done. They all feel real in their complexity, with each bringing in their own strengths and flaws. In their collaboration and loyalty to one another, the trio really shine. You find yourself enjoying their bickering and relishing their quiet moments (perhaps with a biscuit or three to share in their feasts).

The author really created characters that linger in the mind long after the final page and I am almost sad that I'm just meeting them now.

All in all, I'm hooked and am reading the other books. show less

Britain has a Problem with a capital P: hostile ghosts have become more numerous for the last fifty or sixty years, and a number of Psychical Investigations Agencies have sprung up as a result, dealing with the hauntings. As only young people can perceive them, children are now on the front line to keep spectres, phantasms and other apparitions at bay. After a harrowing incident in her native northeast, Lucy escapes to London to make a fresh start, and after a series of failed interviews finds herself engaged by the smallest independent agency, Lockwood and Co., consisting of the leader Anthony Lockwood and his deputy George. Narrated by Lucy, this book details the first major case in which she participated.

This was a real discovery: a show more gripping, atmospheric and well-written, not to mention immensely creepy and scary - and occasionally unexpectedly funny - variation on the usual haunted house story. Some of the background of the characters and the Problem is filled in, but there remains plenty of scope for future exploration in subsequent volumes of the series. Lucy is an engaging guide, not to mention a strong female character engaged in the main action of fighting the Visitors, but Lockwood and George are also well-drawn and intriguing personalities in their own right, and I felt that the children's so-called "Talents" could equally often be described as a curse. The fact that they are being sent out there to fight those often hostile apparitions on the front line, and not always make it out of a job alive, adds to the horror and danger, turning the natural order on its head. Some of the ghosts' stories are revealed, too, emphasising the fact that these were once human beings who now haunt the living as the restless dead. I finished the book in a readathon in under 24 hours, and can't wait to get my hands on the second volume. There is much in this novel that holds plenty of promise for subsequent titles, and teenagers (from 12 years up) will doubtless lap up every single one. More please, Mr Stroud. show less

Something has happened in the world that makes ghosts common as well as deadly. Children are the only people who can see the ghosts and especially gifted children now work for a variety of Psychic Investigations Agencies to eradicate the ghosts. Lucy Carlyle is one of these children, gifted with the ability to hear and experience memories of the ghosts. After a terrible accident with her last agency Lucy goes out on her own to find employment with the small agency Lockwood & Co.; consisting of only Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins and now herself, with no adult supervisors. On an investigation, Lucy and Anthony are able to separate a dangerous ghost from a home, but not without some damage. Now, Lockwood & Co. must pay back the damages show more and when a very high profile and extremely dangerous case falls into their laps, Lockwood jumps at the opportunity. The team prepares to enter one of the most haunted houses in England that seems to have a strange connection to the angry ghost in their previous case.

I absolutely loved the Netflix series of Lockwood & Co. and wanted to read the books. I love the books just as much and was impressed at how well the show followed along with the books. The writing pulled me in immediately as Lockwood and Lucy were investigating. I absolutely love the premise of the worldbuilding with ghosts existing and able to hurt people through touch as well as children being the only people who can see, hear or feel the ghost's presence. The plot of the story evolved steadily as the mystery of the ghosts unfolded as well as Lucy's past and hints about Lockwood and George's story. The characters are amazing, these kids have all had to grow up fast with their abilities and have to work to support themselves, their families and their town. Each character is harboring a secret and I enjoyed seeing the team of Anthony, George and Lucy begin to work together and get to know one another. Most of all, I enjoyed all of the hauntings and the reasons behind them. I am intrigued by Lucy's talent of feeling what the ghost was feeling through an object and if this might help the team lay more ghosts to rest rather than simply slaying or containing them. show less