Vanhan talon kummitus

What a delightful, fun ghost story. What I really enjoyed about this story is not so much the ghost aspect - which was still fun - but the great way that Lively captures the wonderment of being a young boy and living with his parents and sister in an old cottage in a small Oxfordshire town. Its a

quaint, more simplistic life than is presented on the pages than the hustle and bustle of today and I can see why this book would be a popular one for children young and old..... I consider myself one the old ones. ;-)

As for the writing style, I love that Lively does not dumb down or talk down to her reading audience, which give the story such a great audience age range. It also has a somewhat timeless quality to it. Even the small town of Ledsham is going through its growing pains, with the older center of town finding itself being surrounding by newer housing communities, leaving James' sister Helen pining to live in one of the newer houses like her friends do and not the centuries old East End Cottage her family now calls home.

Overall, a quick and rather enjoyable read.

Show Less

6 more

LibraryThing member wyvernfriend

Interesting story about a boy being haunted by a poltergeist of Thomas Kempe who used to live in the house he's now living with. Could have had more detail about the man who was now a ghost and the end fell a bit flat for me but it was interesting

LibraryThing member chisels

I read this when I was maybe 9 or 10. I remember really liking it.

LibraryThing member francescadefreitas

It too me a little while to get into this, I thin the charm lies more in James's day to day life and imagination, than in the ghost story.
When James moves into an old cottage with his family, strange things begin to happen. The ghost of a long-dead sorcerer thinks that James is his new apprentice.

Being new in town is bad enough without cryptic notes with your name in them appearing wherever you go.

Show Less

LibraryThing member drmaf

Another childhood favourite. Not scary at all but a warm, sweet evocation of childhood. The relationship beween the young protagonist and the annoying, opinionated medieval spirit that attaches itself to him is fraught with embarrassment and difficulty, causing him nothing but trouble yet we feel

great sympathy for the ghost, as does James, when the spirit confides he is tired of the modern world and wants to rest. The ending, with the ghost released from his earthly confines through bell, book and candle with the assistance of a local blue-collar exorcist, is deftly handled and very moving. This is simply a superb book for children of all ages and all who fondly remember their childhoods

Show Less

LibraryThing member overthemoon

The charming story of an intelligent, sensitive boy with a vivid imagination, and a rather cantankerous, disillusioned ghost. In many ways it reminded me of my childhood, with the puddings and country lanes, the way we were before computers and multimedia. A lavishly illustrated edition.

LibraryThing member electrascaife

James and his family move into an old cottage, in which James gets the attic for his bedroom. It's been closed off for years, and when the workers open it up to renovate, they unwittingly let loose the spirit of a sorcerer, Thomas Kemp, from the 1660s. The spirit is moody and demanding, and tries

to get James to help him re-establish his business in the village. When James resists, Thomas gets testy and starts breaking things, for which James gets blamed by his parents. He finds a local carpenter who is also a bit of an expert on spirits on the side, and together they try to put the ghost to rest.
This is a great ghost story for kids - it's fun and well-written, and the characters are interesting and easy to become friends with, plus the story isn't scary really at all. Definitely recommended.

Show Less

Fewer