The Screaming Staircase

Jonathan Stroud (b. 1970)

Ghost Stories Paranormal Fiction Juvenile Fiction Fiction Psychic Ability

Doubleday • 2013 • hardcover

About the Author

Jonathan Stroud

b. 1970

Jonathan Anthony Stroud (born 27 October 1970) is a British writer of fantasy fiction, best known for the Bartimaeus young adult sequence and Lockwood & Co. children's series. His books are typically s...

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Description

Follows three young operatives of a Psychic Detection Agency as they battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.

This book is part of a brilliant series for children (and parents) who love to be creeped out. It’s set in London when the city is experiencing an outbreak of ghosts who kill people if they come into contact with them. The catch: only children can see them. These stories features the kid-run ghosthunting agency, Lockwood & Co. — it’s led by the talented 14-year-old heroine Lucy Carlyle and charismatic teen Anthony Lockwood. Their job is to destroy ghosts by finding the objects in the world of the living that spirits are attached to. The social implications of the ghost epidemic are almost as chilling as the cases the agency takes on — almost. It’s a gripping read and a great intro to dystopian literature and social dynamics. You’ll want to sleep with the lights on, even after you’ve exhausted yourself by reading guiltily ahead late into the night.