The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

By  Mary Downing Hahn

Book review by Olya O

Would you want to be haunted by your evil, older sister’s ghost? For most people the answer would be no. Well imagine being haunted by your sister’s ghost… that’s what James experiences. His sister, Sophia, is a ghost seeking for life after her deadly fall from her roof. Sophia believes James should be dead and not her. She terrorizes James causing him to stay in bed because of a “sickness.” Then a charm gets placed in his room to protect him from evil. Sophia has an evil plan but will it work? When an orphan named Florence comes to live at the manor, she has no idea of the horrible secrets the manor has to hold. Sophia uses Florence by pretending to be her friend to get to James. When Florence explores the manor she wanders into the restricted wing and meets James, learning the truth about Sophia and making a new friend. When Sophia finally tells Florence about her plan, Florence decides not to take a part in it, but Sophia is too strong making Florence obey her. A few themes throughout the story are courage, trust, friendship, and fairness. Think of how much courage you would need to stand up to a powerful ghost like Sophia. Trust is another big theme. Would you trust your cousin with your life knowing she could betray you at any minute? What would you do to protect your friend? I think the lesson in this story is to accept things as they are and not everything in life is fair.