Rereading: THE BOGGART AND THE MONSTER by Susan Cooper

Cover art by Trina Schart Hyman

In this sequel to Cooper’s “The Boggart,” Jessup and Emily are back in Scotland visiting Mr. Machonochie, the man who bought their family’s ancestral castle home Castle Keep on Loch Linnhe. They and local friend Tommy Cameron find out they all know about The Boggart, that mischievous spirit who lives in the castle and loves to play tricks.

Mr. Mac, as they call him, decides to take the children on a camping trip to see some of the other lochs, and The Boggart stows away in their camping gear and goes too. When the reach Loch Ness, the Boggart senses a kindred spirit sleeping at the bottom of the loch. Meanwhile, the children have met Harold Pindle, in charge of a new scientific expedition to find the Loch Ness Monster using scientific scanners and submersibles. This seems interesting, and the campers are present when the shape of Nessie (the Monster) is seen on their screens. The Boggart is also quite interested because Nessie is really a very old friend, another boggart attached to Loch Ness’s Castle Urquhart. That boggart is the source of the Nessie sightings and myths, but he’s been sleeping for decades. The Boggart decides to wake him up and get reacquainted, and that’s when all kinds of trouble ensues.

A fun read, recommended.

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