book cover

Seven Ghosts

by Chris Priestley

Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 8+

Published by Barrington Stoke, 2020

  • Chapter books
  • Ghost story
  • Horror

About this book

Welcome to Grimstone Hall. It’s one of the most haunted houses in the country, but with a twist: all the ghosts are children.

After entering a horror-writing competition, Jake and the other winners are being treated to a tour of the house and its ghosts. And that’s how Jake finds himself in a grand entrance hall surrounded by gold framed paintings and fancy mirrors.

As they’re shown around the house, the guide tells them a series of ghost stories associated with the different rooms. They’re tales of guilt and revenge and supernatural trickeries to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck – made more sinister by the way that each is told from the perspective of those being haunted (and why).

Jake obviously likes a good ghost story, but as the tour progresses, he gets increasingly uncomfortable. He keeps seeing odd things out of the corner of his eye and is certain the tour guide is giving him funny looks. And why does that strange, cracked mirror in the hallway creep him out so much?

An atmospheric collection of interconnected short stories in a super-readable format that masterfully builds the tension toward a chilling climax – though keeps things as just a little unnerving rather than overtly terrifying.

About the author

Chris Priestley is the author of the Tales of Terror series and the hugely popular, award-winning Mister Creecher. He is inspired by the tradition of horror stories by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley. Chris is also a talented artist and illustrator, and his cartoons have been published in The Economist, Independent and other national newspapers. Chris lives in Cambridge, where he continues to think up marvellously macabre stories.

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