THE RED ROOM RIDDLE: A Ghost Story

by Scott Corbett ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1972

Spooky scenes, snappy dialogue, the ambience of October 31st in a year when ""there was no television (and) even radio was just getting started"": this is just the sort of Halloween story kids clamor for every year. After a lot of reading on ghosts and the supernatural, Bruce and his friend Bill set out for a haunted house and encounter an aggravating kid named Jamie who dares them to go home with him and see some real ghosts. Jamie leads the boys through a huge empty house with shadowy ""servants"" and no electricity and up a staircase dominated by a gruesome tapestry of the ""Slaughter of the Innocents,"" then locks them into a blood red room with an engraving of the same scene. Bill persists in looking for the ""facts,"" but his explanation of hypnotism seems lame to Bruce after the two are chased down a secret staircase by a soldier from the tapestry. Later they see Jamie walk right through a wall, and discover that a boy of his description was killed in the house years before. Skeptics like Bill might be dissatisfied with the open ending, but anyone looking for a chance to suspend disbelief will be rewarded with a proficient blend of smiles and shivers.

Pub Date: April 20, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972

Categories: FICTION