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Synopsis

Joey Barns, a fourteen-year-old boy, thought he had outgrown believing in ghosts, at least before moving into the old apple orchard house off Blackburn Road. He is one of four children of a poor family whose tyrannical mother and explosive father have miraculously purchased a property beyond their means. Arriving in Flinthill, Joey is the sole beneficiary of a mysterious warning about his new home. But even the source of the ominous warning, an eccentric old lady, doesn't know the true origin of the house's evil, evil that Joey and his brother unknowingly unleash, and evil the rest of the family refuses to consider.

The story opens in late August, the time when other boys are playing baseball or fishing, but not Joey Barns. It's a time when Joey suddenly realizes he isn't a member of Good Housekeeping's definition of a normal family. Both parents are alcoholics. Their mother and father, Hester and Milton, abused the children for several years. Joey's family is an incendiary with a short fuse. Surprisingly Joey has grown to be an honest, idealistic, and loving boy.

In this story of the innocent winning over pure evil and the impossible, the main character, Joey Barns, becomes obsessed with disproving an old lady's mysterious warning that the old house which has just become his new home, is haunted and harbors death for him and his family. The old lady's warning hangs heavily on Joey's mind, as does the question of the existence of ghosts.

Excerpts from the Book

In the distance the weather-tortured scarred roof of the old house reached up out of the dead motionless fog that hung along the ground like a blanket. It reached up toward the dingy-gray morning sky, as if it stood watch over the endless rows of miniature trees that were almost totally shrouded by the fog. Its age almost predated recorded local history; it had held its monument location for nearly one hundred fifty years. Some said it should have been taken down many years before.

Half awake, Joey approached Paula and Lucy at the bathroom. He could see their faces still carried their haunting experience.

"Joey," Paula whispered, "do you think we should tell Hester about the ghost last night?"

All Joey could do was stand there stupid-faced and brain-locked. It was the first time she had looked to him for his help. Last night was too incredible, too horrible, and nothing would form in his brain.

"No," he finally said. "Like you said last night, she wouldn't care. All she'd do is make excuses why you were making up a ghost story or tell you that last night was some sort of dream." He paused. "Are you guys okay this morning?"

"I guess I'm okay," Paula said tiredly, "and I think little Lucy's okay."

Joey thought Paula looked totally bewildered, and Lucy seemed to be seeking safety under her big sister's wing.

"I suppose you're right. But what will we do when we go to bed tonight? We can't sleep here another night, can we?"