The House on Hound Hill: A Riveting YA Tale of London's Haunted Past and the Black Death

by Maggie Prince

Something is not right in Emily’s new house in the historic London neighborhood of Hound Hill. And something is not quite right with Emily. Encountering hints to her home’s haunted past, she begins to experience distressing symptoms: a headache, a fever, extreme thirst, hallucinations, and, then, a doorway to an earlier period of great distress. Readers will be swept away in this riveting and suspenseful tale that vividly reveals the great suffering of the Black Death, a disease that killed almost a quarter of the population of London.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Time Travel, Teen, Horror, Childrens, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

History teachers: this is a well-researched plague novel which is equally educational as entertaining. The horrors are real... mulled ale and stinking, foetid tallow candle smoke being the least revolting aspects. If you want to scare your students, read them the latest state of antibiotic resistance for 2023, and remind them that in this post-antibiotic era the plague still circulates. No joke. Tetracycline was still a silver bullet back in 1997...

Rounding up to 4, because it didn't unfold or end quite how I was certain it would. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure I knew how it would go, and was a little bored throughout. I was wrong, it turns out, and the ending was marvellously disquieting in its implications.

I kind of wish we got to know Matthew Rodriguez's story more. Sequel?! Fan fiction?! :)

[Particle_Person · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book about a girl whose parents have recently split moving into a new house with something...odd about it. The girl, Emily, feels out of place, caught between friends she hasn't made yet and losing her old ones, and her emotions gradually lead her to see images of the past, the Great Plague of 1665, imprinted on the present. And then the opposite happens and she finds herself in 1665 in the middle of a terrifying situation.

The book is written entirely in the present tense, which I found annoying for about three seconds and then I stopped noticing it because the author uses the technique so skillfully. It makes it seem like Emily is perpetually stunned by everything that's happening to her, and it's all going down much too fast. Since that was clearly the author's intent, it works.

There are two other fantastic books that this one reminds me of. One is "The Ghost of Thomas Kempe" by Penelope Lively, and the other is "Black Harvest" by Ann Cheetham or Ann Pilling (Ann has two pen names and you can find editions of that book under either). They share a similarity in plot — somehow the past gets involved with the present — and also that in both of them, the main character is dealing with some major life issues that are given context or illuminated by dealing with the ghost problem. If you've enjoyed either of those books, you'll probably like this one, and vice versa.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

my sister recommended this book to me years ago, and I really liked it. the mystery keeps you interested in the story and what exactly happened and will happen to the boy in the story.
I remember being disappointed that there wasn't any love in the story, though. I wanted her and the guy to somehow end up together!

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book in my library for probably 20 years and haven't read it so it is definitely time, and suits the season. I have always been fascinated by the Great Mortality and I did learn a few things here that had never crossed my mind before. Not sure how effective the whole time slipping aspect was, and that ending was just blah. Definitely early YA genre feel. But it was an easy read and fit my mood.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a co-worker who is searching for YA historical fiction covering London's Black Death. I don't think it will meet her needs for her classroom but it wasn't a waste of my time to read it. There were enough descriptive passages to pique my interest and I'll continue to look for historical fiction from this period in London's history.

[Chelsea Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had a copy of this book since probably 2000. I remember reading it repeatedly. I decided to reread it while coming across it in my library.

Still right up my alley and I enjoyed it!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, I've read it twice already.

Mystery, ghosts, and history. Everything you could ask for!

I don't know how the author managed it, but this was romanticizing the black plague, as crazy as that sounds. The first time I read this as a kid in middle school I think, I was so interested in the tallow candles and the cart carrying the dead through the streets, and just how people lived in the town and how life was when the black plague, and the little rhyme "ring around the roses" actually stemming from the symptoms of the plague. It was all so interesting, what with the ghost cat and the guy, though I wish there were some romance. I always like a little romance in a book, whether it's adult or YA. It proves that if you're a good writer with good ideas you can make any subject romantic and interesting, it doesn't have to be dark and depressing, but this is just a great book. I love it, and I was lucky enough to find it in the library's book shop and I snatched up so I now own the copy I read as a kid.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House on Hound Hill will have readers on the edge of their seats as they try to discover and maneuver the 17th century with Emily. As Emily gets settled in her new house she begins to see things, and at first she thinks she’s crazy but then people in the present are coming down with the plague. Emily starts talking to these hallucinations and comes to the realization that history is alive on Hound Hill. The reader is transported between time periods and forms a real connection to the problem Emily is having. Is her house haunted, is she going crazy, why is she starting to feel so ill? Readers will be turning the pages to find out what happens to Emily and will likely figure out her fate before she does.

[Bo S · Rating 4 out of 5]

My book is about a girl that knows that something is not right in her house.She knows that her house was haunted in the past too.While all of this is happening she starts to get side effects like a headache,fever,extreme thirst, and hallucinations and then a doorway to an earlier period of distress.Also there is a disease called the black death that wiped out more than half of the population in london.Also later in the book she passes out and then when she wakes up she realizes that everything is different the houses are made of stone and not wood the sky in not bright and blue it is all purple bruised color and the people are also way different and asking her questions that she had not had an answer too because they did not involve her life.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved the beginning and middle of this cool book about the plague in London. It had a time travel/ghosts/visions type thing going on. It was creepy and suspenseful and very enjoyable. I was a little disappointed by the ending, which is why I only gave it 4 stars. I can't decide if the ending is confusing or if it's just really abrupt. Or maybe both. But still, the overall effect was very cool.

[Shankia Tinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book some years back, and to this day, I still remember it well. More than anything, what gets me is how the story has a mixture of various genres: mystery, fantasy, history, etc. I like stories that merge categories. I also like how--even though the story itself is fiction--it is based on events that actually happened years ago.

If Maggie Prince writes anything else, I sure hope that it is similar to The House on Hound Hill!

[Gail Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this story - it reminded me of a story I read as a child called, "Stephen" or "Steffan" I don't remember the spelling and I don't remember the author. It was about a young prince from the 800's being found in the 1800's by two children. Stephen came and went between the two times much like the main character here that went to and fro from 1665 to 1995. It made me want to find the book from the library of my youth and read it again.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! A girl in present day finds a ripple in time and begins to live in both the present time and the past, the days of the Black Plague. Each time she gets sent back to the past she stays longer and longer until she is there permanently. Something unresolved happened in the past and she has to figure out what it is.

[Christine Verstraete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I found this in a pile of books I was sorting out and almost set it aside. Then I saw it was set i n the time of plague in London, a topic I find interesting. The teen in the book moves into a house where plague once broke out and finds herself among those able to see and feel the past. A fascinating and realistic approach to showing the horrors of the 1600s in London. Fascinating read!

[Jennifer Hubble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good and a quick read. It was about a girl who moved into a house on Hound Hill with her family and finds out she has the ability to see and time travel to the time of the black plauge in 17th century london. Kinda startling and sad at times but good if your looking for a light read

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how much I would like it if I had read it on my own but I liked it for class. My students didn't love it. It's a little. Infusing for them and there were some parts that confused me too.

[Shiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is abiit confusing, and bizarre, but very special and unique and is rlly good!

[Natasha pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I read it over and over. Though I keep expecting some romance to be included. But there is none, and it has been left out unfortunately.

[Russell Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

What does happen when the energy and history of a place becomes trapped? Worse Still, what happens when the bonds that hold that history and energy begins to come apart.

[Ashlie Emberlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, short read.

[Cristian Valenzuela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was really boring. The main reason was because i could berely get to the finis. I thought this would be a thrilling book about paranormal actions but wasn't

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary blend of haunted house, time travel, and historical fiction. And now you're all afraid to move into an old house lest this phenomenon happen to you.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vaguely intriguing; time is fluid in this novel, which is a neat premise, but the story was a bit too odd and abrupt and didn't flow very well.