The Haunting - (Laurel-Leaf Books) by Joan Lowery Nixon (Paperback)

About the Book

Fifteen-year-old Lisa is forced to move with her parents into the old Louisiana plantation of her ancestors, where she must confront her fears and chase away a terrible horror lurking inside the house. Can she find the courage to deal with a noisy ghost out for revenge?

Book Synopsis

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes The Haunting from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon.

The walls whisper. The ceilings shriek. No one can survive a night of terror inside Graymoss. The old plantation house has been in Lia's family since the Civil War, but it's been possessed for generations by a malicious spirit, and Lia's family has always stayed far away.
Now her parents have decided to move into Graymoss, and Lia must either change their minds or chase away the horror lurking inside the old house. Using clues from her great-great-grandmother's diary and an old copy of Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Lia must discover what--or who--the evil wants.

"Nixon creates a spooky setting fairly dripping in atmosphere, then spins an ever-tightening thread of tension." -Kirkus Reviews

"A book that will please mystery fans...[and a] plot [that] keeps readers guessing until the end." -School Library Journal

"Nixon has woven a tale that grabs and holds her readers...It's a really fun read!" -VOYA

"A page-turner that will satisfy mystery and ghost story fans." -Booklist

From the Back Cover

The walls whisper. The ceilings shriek. No one can survive a night of terror inside Graymoss. The old plantation house has been in Lia's family since the Civil War, but it's been possessed for generations by a malicious spirit, and Lia's family has always stayed far away.

Now her parents have decided to move into Graymoss, and Lia must either change their minds or chase away the horror lurking inside the old house. Using clues from her great-great-great-grandmother's diary and an old copy of Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Lia must discover what -- or who -- the evil wants.

Review Quotes

"The plot keeps readers guessing until the end."--School Library Journal

"Typical of Nixon's popular gothics, this title has it all."--The Horn Book Magazine

"Nixon creates a spooky setting fairly dripping with atmosphere, then spins an ever-tightening thread of tension."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Joan Lowery Nixon was the author of more than 130 books for young readers and was the only four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Best Young Adult Mystery Award. She received the award for The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore, The Séance, The Name of the Game Was Murder, and The Other Side of the Dark, which also won the California Young Reader Medal. Her historical fiction included the award-winning series The Orphan Train Adventures, Orphan Train Children, and Colonial Williamsburg: Young Americans.