This House is Haunted

John Boyne — 2013

1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor. When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong. From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlinâe(tm)s walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hallâe(tm)s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its pastâe¦

Reviews

Elise Rosa Cornelis@eliserosac

Jul 27, 2023

Liked it, scary enough, not too scary, hard to read through though.

Taylor Best@taybestbay

Sep 4, 2022

3.5 written by my favorite author of all time, I wanted to enjoy more. Cute, weird, and cheesy

Sonja H@sonjah

Aug 12, 2022

Flache und unsympathische Charaktere, aufgeblähte Kapitel, nicht nachvollziehbare Storyentwicklungen, offene Fragen. Boyne hätte besser eine Kurzgeschichte daraus machen sollen.

Sarah Vaughan@sarahlee1164

Feb 17, 2022

I'm not typically one to pick up books of the horror genre, but I was drawn to the cover of this book as well as the fact that it was written by the author of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," which is one of my favorites. While there were many aspects of the typical horror story - ghosts, an old and dark castle, a quiet yet creepy English village - the story itself was also enjoyable.

Alexandra Gillgrass@1gillyweed200

Nov 11, 2021

Can I just say that I loved this book! Spooky stories and ghost stories in general are just great and this one did not disappoint! While I admit that I did find it a little slow to start with it is definitely worth carrying on with. Each chapter left you wanting more and asking all these questions as to what was going to happen next. The setting was so eerie and spooky which really helped the atmosphere of the whole book. Such good storytelling and I really liked the characters. Such a cliffhanger at the end though!! Would recommend!!

Zoe Stanford@zoettastanford

Aug 29, 2021

Given Boyne's reputation in regards to 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', I expected so much more. Boyne does not trust his tools, believes himself too clever and his audience too stupid so there is no mystery or surprise at all throughout the book; all the foreshadowing might as well have neon lights around it. It's also one of the poorer examples of a male writing from a female perspective and poorer still as an example of a modern author writing in a setting from the past. It's readable. If it wasn't for a couple of the plot points, it might be a suitable text to introduce foreshadowing/clues with to children.