Jacki over at Lovely Little Shelf has started this great “Flashback Friday” meme where we write about old books that we loved when we were younger. This could be a series or an individual book that we read until it was worn.

Today, I’m writing about my favorite book when I was about 12-14… I think I read it about 8 times. I seriously thought it was the SCARIEST book ever!

A Ghost in the House by Betty Ren Wright

This is the story of Sarah, who (of course) is crushed and angsty when her family moves into the beautiful old house in the suburbs which belongs to her Great Aunt Margaret. She would be fantastically happy with her amazing new bedroom (complete with fireplace!) but nursing home life doesn’t agree with Aunt Margaret, and she soon rejoins the family and reclaims her bedroom.

The bedroom squabble soon turns to darker tales, as Sarah bonds with her Aunt over the strange happenings that continue to plague their sacred bedroom.

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When I became a middle school teacher, one of the very first things I did was  check this bad boy out from the school library. I read it in about 5 hours, and of course, it wasn’t NEARLY as scary as I remembered it, but I still really enjoyed the story.

I thought it was clever, and twisty, with just enough ghostie-goodness to make me remember why I spent my youth reading mystery/scary/suspense books for kids.

I’d encourage you to check out your old childhood faves from the library too… it is a great way to take a book breather between more heady works, and remind you what you loved about reading back when it all still felt shiny and new.