Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Ghoulish fun...

Eva Ibbotson writes stories about funny and not too scary ghosts; a recurring theme is displaced or homeless ghosts. One of my favorites books is Dial—Ghost where the ghost family has to make its home in a knicker shop (Ibbotson is British…think—Jockey brand)



The Haunting of Granite Falls
, 2004 is the story of a millionaire who purchases an ancient Scottish castle from 12-year-old orphan Alex MacBuff, and moves it to Texas. Every castle has ghosts; this one has five of them: Krok, a Viking warrior; Miss Spinks, a governess intent on drowning herself; Stanislaus, a toothless vampire; Flossie, a child/poltergeist; and Cyril, a hellhound. They are the only family Alex has every had.

Her writing always makes me grin. There is just the right touch of ghoulish humor. Her “Granite Falls” could be modeled on Marble Falls, Texas; “where Granite Mountain is a huge dome of high-quality pink and red granite, prized worldwide. Quarrying began in the 1880s for construction of the Texas Capitol. An unending flow of the superb material has continued ever since, yet the bulk of the dome has hardly been diminished.” A interesting connection for Texas readers.

Read more about Eva and her books here.
Island of the Aunts, 2001 is wonderful.

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