The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

When twelve-year-old Florence boards the crowded horse-drawn coach in London, she looks forward to a new life with her great uncle and aunt at Crutchfield Hall, an old manor house in the English countryside. Anything will be better, she thinks, than the grim London orphanage where she has lived since her parents' death. But Florence doesn't expect the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who haunts the cavernous rooms and dimly lit hallways of Crutchfield and concocts a plan to use Florence to help her achieve her murderous goals. Will Florence be able to convince the others in the household of the imminent danger and stop Sophia before it's too late?

This is advertised as juvenile literature but I needed a "children's or Young adult " book for show more another challenge and found that this one also fit this challenge and I had read Mary Downing Hahn's work before and found that she was an expert at weaving a goose bump raising ghost story no matter how how you are. In the beginning you feel sorry for Sophia...the little ghost...but befor long you discover she is far from the angelic creature idolized by Eugenie. Sophia proves to be spiteful, manipulative, and determined to avenge her death. While some of Hahn's literary references will likely go over the heads of the targeted age group, most readers will be too absorbed in the chilling atmosphere of the tale and Sophia's terrifying influence on the living world to care. A deliciously spine-tingling tale that even the most "mature" readers will enjoy. show less

Even though The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall was written for children aged 9 and up, it was so chilling and suspenseful that this middle-aged woman was glad that I "read" it in the Audible.com version in a van full of six people in broad daylight! The terrifying ending made me jump!

Don't be put off by the knowledge that this is kid lit. Adults will thoroughly enjoy Mary Downing Hahn]'s well-crafted 19th century ghost tale. If anything, I think this short novel is just too scary for most elementary-school children or even easily spooked teenagers. (I know it would have been too much for me even at 13 or 14.)

In Victorian times, Florence is rescued from the orphanage by her rich Great-Uncle Tom, and goes to live in his country manor, Crutchfield Hall. There she discovers that her cousin James is an invalid, bedbound and confined to his room.

So far it's The Secret Garden, but wait!

Great-Uncle Tom's sister, the Bible-thumping Great-Aunt Eugenie, loathes and abominates the newcomer because how could Florence ever match Eugenie's darling, James's big sister Sophia, who fell off the roof to her death a year ago? According to everyone else, however -- though they're at first reluctant to tell Florence this -- Sophia was a malicious little toad who made James's life a misery and was just about as vile to others . . . except Great-Aunt Eugenie, to show more whom she sucked up for toys, dresses and candies.

Hey, we're in Rebecca! No, no: again, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Florence soon becomes aware, as are the servants and of course James, that Sophia's ghost still haunts the place. In fact, Sophia wants James dead, because she believes his death will bring her back to life. She also wants to torment Florence, and doesn't much care if Florence dies too.

Even if a bit derivative, this is all well enough told; but then it just sort of peters out. The book's a fun way to pass an hour or so -- it's for kids, and about novella-length -- but I'm sure that by this time next week I'll have forgotten all about it. Joan Aiken lite, really. show less

When twelve-year-old Florence boards the crowded horse-drawn coach in London, she looks forward to a new life with her great uncle and aunt at Crutchfield Hall, an old manor house in the English countryside. Anything will be better, she thinks, than the grim London orphanage where she has lived since her parents’ death. But Florence doesn’t expect the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who haunts the cavernous rooms and dimly lit hallways of Crutchfield and concocts a plan to use Florence to help her achieve her murderous goals. Will Florence be able to convince the others in the household of the imminent danger and stop Sophia before it’s too late?

I found this book to be a charming and sweet ghost story, even if the ghost herself was anything but sweet. Mary Downing Hahn’s writing cast Florence in a wonderful light as a sincere young girl trying to find her footing in her new home. Her cousin James is both a tender child and a frightened child and evoked memories of A Secret Garden for me.

The book is a quick read at only 160 pages, but the pages are used to the fullest advantage. I despised the great aunt right away and loved Spratt, the everything-man, feeling that anything the he said should be adhered to, because he is someone that knows what’s what, even when no one else will admit to a thing. My only wish was that the story would continue on and have a more defined show more ending…but maybe there is more to come of this story. show less

Take a little girl named Florence Crutchfield, formerly of Miss Medleycoate's Home for Orphaned Girls in London, mix her with a long-lost kindly uncle, a puritanically mean spinster aunt, a sickly cousin named James, and another cousin in malevolent ghost form, and what do you get?

A wonderfully creepy Poe-esque middle reader that will even entertain adults, The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall is certain to be a favorite. I loved the eGalley so much that I have ordered a copy for the shelves. This is one of those that could be a favorite middle reader for years to come. If you have a middle reader in your house, boy or girl, get this one. It is available now in hardcover, ebook, and CD, and will be available in September in paperback.

QUOTES show more (from an eGalley; may be different in finished copy):

"It were her fault, ye know. Her throwed a ball right in front of that wagon and Nero gone after it. I swear she done it a-purpose. A spiteful thing, she were."

Uncle said the dead did not return. He was wrong.

I looked at her with both pity and loathing. Pity because she was most certainly dead and not about to go dancing with anyone. Loathing because she was man and spiteful and obviously had not benefitted morally from dying.

Writing: 5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 4 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 4.375 out of 5 stars show less

This is a short tale about an orphaned twelve-year old girl, Florence, who has finally been sent for by her Great-Uncle Thomas, who keeps a country home with his sister, Great-Aunt Eugenia, and his nephew James. But there is one other resident of the house, one with evil intentions, and that is James' dead sister Sophia.

Though this book was definitely creepy, I couldn't stand Florence's lack of willpower or her Aunt Eugenia's ridiculous prejudice against her. The characters were just too one-dimensional and I was disappointed that the female main character was so weak. I was actually kind of rooting for something bad to happen to her by the end, which I'm sure wasn't the author's intention.

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