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This House is Haunted

John Boyne

3.59 · Rating details · 11,131 ratings · 1,734 reviews

1867. On a dark and chilling night Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor.

It is the start of a journey into a world of abandoned children, ...more

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Paperback, 349 pages

Published April 10th 2014 by Black Swan (first published 2013)

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Apr 22, 2013 Blair rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts-and-horror, 2013-release, library-books, historical

What do you get if you mix Rebecca and The Turn of the Screw with a dash of Jane Eyre and a pinch of Dickens? The answer is This House is Haunted, a gloriously gothic confection revolving around - you'll never guess - a haunted house. This actually IS a haunted house too, not some metaphorical type of haunting, although there's also an element of humour to the proceedings, which serves to set this story apart from the many historical ghost stories it could be compared to.

In 1867, a young woman, What do you get if you mix Rebecca and The Turn of the Screw with a dash of Jane Eyre and a pinch of Dickens? The answer is This House is Haunted, a gloriously gothic confection revolving around - you'll never guess - a haunted house. This actually IS a haunted house too, not some metaphorical type of haunting, although there's also an element of humour to the proceedings, which serves to set this story apart from the many historical ghost stories it could be compared to.

In 1867, a young woman, Eliza Caine, is bereft after the death of her beloved father. With no other family, no friends to turn to and (she believes) no prospects of marriage, Eliza replies to an advertisement for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall, a grand country pile in Norfolk. When she arrives there, it quickly becomes apparent that something is very wrong: the locals are hostile, the children she's in charge of are left to fend for themselves, and nobody will tell her where their parents are. Worse still, a series of inexplicable incidents force her to the conclusion that there is a malevolent spirit present in the house. Unwilling to abandon the children, Eliza sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery and fear surrounding Gaudlin Hall, but to do so she must put her life at risk.

The book both pokes fun at and pays homage to the classics it references - I particularly liked the secrecy surrounding the Westerley family and how the village conspires to cover up the truth. At times the behaviour of the characters - Eliza's naivety in the face of extremely obvious indications that something supernatural is going on; the way everyone changes the subject whenever the topic of the children's parents comes up; Alfred Raisin's dismissal of the previous governesses' concerns, despite the fact that almost all of them ended up dead! - verges on parody, but not in a bad way. (I know this is a completely inappropriate comparison, but the village in this book reminded me a lot of the comedy film Hot Fuzz, a spoof of cop movies, which I watched recently. Sounds odd but there's the same sense that the story is joyfully sending up all the clichés habitually present in its source material in a very affectionate way.) Similarly, Eliza's character is both genuinely admirable (she constantly rails against the way women are sidelined by society) and parodic (her romantic daydreams about every attractive man she meets). It's obvious that the author's tongue was lodged firmly in his cheek when writing this book, and that sense of humour makes it all the more enjoyable to read.

The light touch to the narrative means that the predictable twists and silly bits - inevitable components of a ghost story - work well: if you know you're reading something that's not entirely serious, you're not likely to worry about how much you need to suspend your disbelief. At the same time, Eliza is likeable and believable enough that you do truly care what happens to her: the book is engaging, sometimes extremely creepy, and definitely has more substance to it than a mere pastiche. Speaking as a big fan of ghost stories, I really enjoyed This House is Haunted and if you share my passion for this type of book, you need to get it on your to-read list. ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Delee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, supernatural-or-paranormal, reviewed, mystery, own, historical-fiction, the-great-escape-group-read, creepy-dwellings

There is something about fall and winter that puts me in the mood to read spooky books- I soooooooooo love cuddling up with a good ghost....story.

1867 London:

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After the loss of her father- 21-year-old, plain Jane Eliza Caine- accepts the position of governess at Gaudlin Hall, in Norfolk.

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photo 8994b492-93bc-408d-bab7-5df60464fdea_zpsdhnws2rc.jpg

...but no one is there to greet her upon her arrival- which seems rather strange to Eliza. The next morning her creepy little wards- the Westerly children- Isabella-12 and Eustace-8, are present and accounted for. ...more

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Aug 21, 2013 karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: free-from-work, creepy-children, death-is-not-the-end

this book is available for spooky month!

pssst - spoiler alert - THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED!!

i made the mistake of reading blair's review of this before trying to write my own. one, it is much better than anything i could attempt and two, she saw something in this book that i did not and it has kind of clouded my impressions and judgments of the book and made me think that maybe i missed the point.

here is a link to hers so you can read how it should be done:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

unt ...more

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Nov 01, 2017 Amalia Gkavea rated it it was ok

Shelves: gothic-fiction, irish-literature, england, paranormal, historical-fiction, european-literature, mystery-horror

''Where are you?''
''But answer came there none.''

Eliza Caine may have found the answer to her question at some point, but unfortunately, I never found mine as to why I was expecting so much from this ‘’ghost’’ story...A story that tried too hard to include many Gothic tropes, to appear scary and intellectual at the same time, but eventually fell flat on all levels, in my opinion. But for the sympathetic protagonist, the intriguing children and some scarce glimpses of a remotely creepy atmos ''Where are you?''
''But answer came there none.''

Eliza Caine may have found the answer to her question at some point, but unfortunately, I never found mine as to why I was expecting so much from this ‘’ghost’’ story...A story that tried too hard to include many Gothic tropes, to appear scary and intellectual at the same time, but eventually fell flat on all levels, in my opinion. But for the sympathetic protagonist, the intriguing children and some scarce glimpses of a remotely creepy atmosphere, I would have rated it with 1 sad little star…

Eliza wants to start a new life away from London after the death of her father. She abandons her occupation as a teacher for small girls (as we were told so many times because we readers are practically stupid and we forget too easily…) and replies to a dubious advert for the position of the governess in an old estate. When she reaches her destination, she realises that there are certain strange forces at work and the previous women’s work ended under peculiar (to put it mildly) circumstances.

The basis of the story, while not original by any means, is very interesting and has a lot of potential. When one is an avid lover of ghost stories, two things happen. One, we can’t keep away from every single read about the subject and two, there is very little that can impress us and truly catch our attention. I expected and I wanted an old-fashioned ghost story with an English foreboding estate, a troubled governess and secrets of the past haunting everyone, but not in a childish, naive manner of writing. Because, in my opinion, that is what I found here. A kind of writing that was flat, uninspiring, pretentious and predictable. Although the first 30% of the book was somewhat satisfying, the rest went downhill all too quickly. There was not a single thing that made me feel scared, although Boyne tried too hard to force it out. Excuse me, but this wouldn’t scare a child. So I treated it as a mystery rather than a ghost story and I still found it severely lacking. Boyne’s notion of ‘’scary’’ is Eliza being thrown around on walls, floors and grounds like a sack of potatoes with numerous parts of asphyxiation thrown for good measure. Overdone, unrealistic, ridiculous. There have been ghost stories I could actually believe in. Stories that made me shiver, stories that gave me nightmare. This one made me roll my eyes in frustration and I was lucky they weren’t stuck on the back of my head…

The characters are better constructed. The children are a good combination of creepy and intriguing and I really liked Eliza. I found her to be a reliable narrator and I admired her deep sense of duty and commitment to the children. Her musings concerning her work as a teacher touched me deeply, perhaps because I recognised many of her thoughts and feelings. Now, did I find her naive? No. Some of us put our priorities on children, come ghosts or vampires or bad parents, and we stick to them. This is what she did, this is why she didn’t run away and I don’t think this was unrealistic.I mean, really. We have a wrestling battle between spirits and humans and some consider her decision unbelievable...I know this will sound absurd to many in our current, artificial world where being ‘’comfortable’’ is all that matters, but anyway..Sorry for the rant, let us continue.

The end was somewhat satisfying and by ‘’end’’, I actually mean the last page, because the last chapters were eerily bad, almost laughable. I don’t know, many reviewers seemed to like it, so I’m clearly in the minority, but I cannot lie. For me, Boyne tried to combine The Turn of the Screw, Jane Eyre and The Woman In Black in a big ghost-tale feast. Even Rebecca, if I take the resolution into consideration. But he is not Henry James, or Charlotte Bronte. He is not Daphne Du Maurier or Susan Hill. Although he pretended to be a contemporary Dickens, he failed miserably in my books. So, pushing all the anachronisms and improbabilities aside, this was mediocre at best and one of the biggest disappointments of my current reading year. I don’t doubt that he can write (I’m not qualified to judge…) but I won’t seek any of his books anytime soon…

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word... ...more

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Dec 07, 2018 Beverly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My first book by John Boyne, one of the most treasured authors on Goodreads, This House is Haunted did not disappoint. A Victorian era ghost story, this novel tells the oft told tale of a governess who because of the death of her only living relative, her beloved father, must go out into the world and seek her living. Unlike the heroines of most of these stories though, Eliza Caine had a loving home and is a skilled teacher before she begins her adventure. She is tenacious, smart and loyal to he ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Dem rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Dem by: Lisa

Shelves: favorites

In my opinion John Boyne is one of Ireland's most versertile writters. I am rarly dispappointed when I pick up this author's novels and This House Is Haunted was a haunting and very satisfying read.

What makes a good Ghost stroy? For me it has to be set in Victorian times, with an isolated country manor and unexplainable happenings and you have my interest.

This house is haunted is set in Norfolk in a country house called Gaudin Hall. Eliza Canine arrives to take up her position as Governess ...more

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Jun 22, 2015 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

**No update required on 2nd reading - 5+stars - just a fab ghost story with a brilliant protagonist**

Original review:-
This is what I would call a good old traditional ghost story;
Large austere house - check
Tragic circumstances - check
Moody weather - check
Frightening children - check
Mystery surrounding what the hell is happening here - check

And it is brilliantly done!

I absolutely LOVE the main character Eliza Caine who has a good amount of wit about her and doesn't do 'damsel in distress'. She is ...more

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Nov 12, 2019 Neale rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Eliza Caine is terribly disappointed when Charles Dickens announces to the gathered crowd that he is going to read them a ghost story. It is 1867, and Charles Dickens is giving a reading in a speaker’s hall at Knightsbridge. Not fond of ghost stories, Eliza spends a restless night dreaming of graveyards populated by spirits and ghosts. Given the name of this novel, a portent perhaps?

Upon waking she finds her father in a terrible fever. He had been gravely ill before last night, in which they had ...more

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Aug 18, 2015 B the BookAddict rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic-hist

“I blame Charles Dickens for the death of my father”

So begins John Boyne's gothic tale of a young woman, Eliza Crane, suddenly alone in mid 1800s London. Orphaned at twenty-one, and forced to leave home, she answers a rather cryptic advertisement for a governess position in a mansion, Gaudlin Hall, in Norfolk.

A brooding house, a series of mishaps, unanswered queries and the non-appearance of the parents make for a puzzling arrival for Eliza, not to mention the two sweet but precocious children s ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Tamar overwhelmed by work, but forging on.... rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This House is Haunted, by John Boyne, is a good old-fashioned gothic ghost story, with feminist elements scattered throughout. We are introduced to Eliza Caine, a young woman brought up by her widowed father. By her own account she is plain (“…it is true I had never been attractive…”) and perhaps destined to become a spinster, at the ripe old age of 21. When her father dies, she is jolted into reality, learning that the house she grew up in was leased and the rent was in arrears. The landlord in This House is Haunted, by John Boyne, is a good old-fashioned gothic ghost story, with feminist elements scattered throughout. We are introduced to Eliza Caine, a young woman brought up by her widowed father. By her own account she is plain (“…it is true I had never been attractive…”) and perhaps destined to become a spinster, at the ripe old age of 21. When her father dies, she is jolted into reality, learning that the house she grew up in was leased and the rent was in arrears. The landlord informed her to pay up or move out and Eliza, who hitherto enjoyed a quiet, modest, comfortable and trouble-free life, discovered that she would have to learn to support herself.

She had a teaching job that did not pay much. Believing that she would not be able to pay for lodging and support herself for long with the very small amount of money her father was able to settle on her upon his death, Eliza saw an advertisement for the position of governess at a manor house in the country, to begin immediately. Eliza was surprised that no references were required, and she did not bother to do any checking on her own before accepting the position, so the reader is not nearly as surprised as she is to find that nothing was as she expected. Upon arriving at her destination, Eliza is greeted by two children, Isabella and Eustace. No parents are in the picture, nor are there any servants. Also, it turns out that she is about the sixth governess in the past year! Hmmmmm!

There is a hint of Jane Eyre in the air (sorry about that), but that quickly dissipates. There are definitely one or two ghosts in residence at any given time – one of whom is particularly malevolent and dangerous. Eliza finds that she has a few accidents where she is inexplicably pushed or injured – and to make matters worse, it transpires that of her five predecessors, one was murdered, three died under mysterious circumstances, and the one before Eliza managed to get away, just barely, by virtue of the misleading advertisement she placed that enticed Eliza to replace her.

So, we have Eliza in a typical gothic, governess ghost story. What was different about this story is that the weak pathetic heroine turns out to have a strict moral compass and strong backbone which drive the story. During her relentless pursuit of the truth behind what is going on at the manor, she is savvy enough to repel the advances of the very married Estate solicitor (attracted though she may be), quite blasphemous in her attack upon the town vicar, and (very politely) doesn’t put up with any chauvinistic crap thrown her way by man or woman (which is how this character won me over).

For those of you who are tired of reading, stop here….four stars.

For those of you interested in a sample of Eliza’s sharp mind (tongue), dry wit, and social commentary mixed equally with humor and pathos, see the following reminiscence of a pupil and her family (often still ringing true today):

…Clara had the sort of brain that could organize and rationalize without difficulty and, as young as she was, I rather thought that she might in time follow me into the pedagogical profession. I even spoke to Mrs. Farnsworth about her on several occasions, and she suggested that with her mathematical skills Clara might someday have a future as a secretary for a bank manager. I recall the incident specifically because I made a remark, intended as a joke, that perhaps she could even be the bank manager one day, whereupon Mrs. Farnsworth removed her glasses and looked at me aghast and accused me of being a revolutionary, a charge I denied.

‘You’re not a modern are you Eliza?’ she asked, standing to her full height and looking down at me, filling me with as much trepidation as she had when I was a small girl and she my teacher. ‘I won't stand for moderns at Saint Elizabeth's. And neither will the board of governors.’

‘No, of course not,’ I replied blushing furiously. ‘I was being facetious that's all.’

‘Hmm,’ she said unsatisfied’. ‘I hope so, Clara Sharpe the manager of the bank! The very idea!’

And yet although I did not consider myself to be a modern at all, I found her level of offense to be in itself offensive. Why should a girl not strive for higher things, after all? Why should we all not?

…I thought of Clara now because she ended up in a rather distressed condition. Her father was a drunkard while her mother did all she could to keep the family home together despite the pittance her husband brought in for the upkeep of his wife and daughter. What little money the man earned was more likely to be spent on porter than on food or clothing, and there was more than one morning when Clara arrived in the classroom her face bruised, and I longed to live in a decent civilized society where I might make inquiries about who had done the bruising and why. Not that I had any doubts as to the answer to that question. On such days I dreaded to imagine what Clara's mother looked like, for I suspected her father of mistreating his wife just as badly as he did his daughter. I considered going to the police but of course they would have laughed at me and said that what an Englishman did in the privacy of his own home was his own business.

But the man must have gone too far one night and attacked Mrs. Sharpe when her ire was drawn, for she took a roasting pot from the oven, turned on her heel and hit him so sharply across the head with it that he fell to the ground, dead. The poor woman. a victim of unanswered violence for so long, was immediately arrested - for naturally, an assault upon her husband was a crime, whereas an assault upon a wife fell into the realm of marital privilege. Unlike Santina Westerley, however, who was clearly an unbalanced creature, Mrs. Sharpe was not sentenced to death. The judge, a modern sort - Mrs Farnsworth would not have approved of him, believed that she deserved some leniency and commuted her sentence to life imprisonment without any possibility of parole, a sentence which in the same position, I would have liked infinitely less than a week of nervous anticipation, a few seconds of extraordinary pain, and an eternity of peace ever after, the reward offered by the rope. Clara, having no other family to take her in ended up in the workhouse… ...more

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Jun 19, 2015 Char rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ghost-stories, haunted-houses, dark-fiction, audio-book, gothic-victorian-novel, dickensian

This was a haunted house story so Dickensian in style, Dickens himself is a catalyst within. I listened to the audio version, narrated by Alison Larkin.

I enjoyed this story of Eliza Caine attempting to fulfill her position as governess to two children, in a house almost falling down due to disrepair. How she got there and her attempt to keep the children safe I will leave for you to discover.

I liked the style of the storytelling and I enjoyed the character of Eliza, though at times she seemed ...more

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Aug 10, 2015 Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-creepy, historical-fiction

"What if a soul departs this life but is neither in heaven nor hell? What if they remain?"

This was a fantastic, old-fashioned ghost story - it was just the ticket for a mid-October read to get me in the spirit of Halloween! John Boyne effectively created a very eerie, atmospheric setting for this book which takes place in England during the year 1867. The prose is quite tantalizing and drew me right into the story. I actually pictured each scene as if it were occurring in front of me on the big "What if a soul departs this life but is neither in heaven nor hell? What if they remain?"

This was a fantastic, old-fashioned ghost story - it was just the ticket for a mid-October read to get me in the spirit of Halloween! John Boyne effectively created a very eerie, atmospheric setting for this book which takes place in England during the year 1867. The prose is quite tantalizing and drew me right into the story. I actually pictured each scene as if it were occurring in front of me on the big screen - in fact, this would make a great movie adaptation which I would not hesitate to see.

The story begins with Eliza and her father attending a ghost story reading by the renowned Charles Dickens himself. Eliza is immediately enveloped by a feeling of unease and foreboding. This will in turn set the tone for the rest of the novel and will affect Eliza's thoughts and understanding of subsequent events. "I began to fear that I might not sleep that night, so certain was I that I was surrounded by the spirits of those who had left their corporeal form behind but had not yet been admitted through the gates of heaven and so were left to trawl through the world, crying aloud, desperate to be heard, causing disarray and torment wherever they went..."

When Eliza finds herself alone in the world at the age of twenty-one, she accepts the very mysterious position of governess at Gaudlin Hall. Here she becomes responsible for a pair of very peculiar children - Eustace, to whom Eliza becomes fondly attached, despite his uncanny exchanges with unknown entities, and Isabella, whose sudden appearances and bizarre utterances and behavior made my skin crawl! Mystifying comments by the children, evasive conversations with the townspeople and the knowledge that she is the sixth governess to be hired over the past year, all lead Eliza to realize that she has entered into a very puzzling situation indeed! But, even more daunting is the malicious presence that begins to threaten Eliza's ability to fulfill her obligation as governess and in fact, torments her very life.

Plenty of suspense and a gothic feel, rather than pure horror, unfold as Eliza learns the history of Gaudlin Hall and its inhabitants. Refusing to leave the children to an unknown fate, the very resourceful Eliza must devise a plan to effect their release from this menacing spirit. What happens next? Does Eliza succeed? You will just have to get this book and find out! Recommended to all fans of classic and creepy ghost stories rather than grisly horror novels.
...more

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Dec 28, 2013 Shaun rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

Really, NPR ... one of the best books of 2013? Ugh!

This House is Haunted is absolutely, positively, irrefutably NOT one of the best books of 2013, and the fact that it made NPR's list disappoints me.

Attempting to write in Dickensian prose, John Boyne has indeed penned a ghost story, only it isn't an especially good one.

First and foremost, the main character Eliza Caine, a twenty-one-year old teacher who applies for a position as governess following the loss of her father (and sole family) only t ...more

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May 26, 2013 Elaine rated it did not like it · review of another edition

A quick glance at my GoodReads will confirm that I don't often give poor reviews. But this book deserves one. Despite this, I implore you to read it, for it is a book so bad it has to be read to be believed. From the beginning, with it's picture-perfect ghostly atmosphere, this book is more pomp than plot, and entirely fur coat and no knickers. Eliza Caine is painted as the ugly girl with the big heart. Or at least she was supposed to be. Her entire character falls as flat as John Boyne's attemp ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Chris rated it liked it · review of another edition

A 19th century gothic, ghostly Dickensonian read.

The cover of the book I got from the library was quite sinister looking so that lured me in.

Eliza Caine is our main character. She is a very young, innocent teacher at an all girls school. Her mother and her sister passed on early in her life; Eliza has no friends, no relatives other than her dearest Father. It is when her Father passes and her grief is consuming, she sees an advertisement for a governess for two children. Deciding to make a fre ...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Carol rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, historical-fiction, read-2014, gothic, ghosts

Ok, I'm happy....finally a good old-fashioned nineteenth century ghost story!

How would you like to attend a book reading by DICKENS himself telling a spooky tale? That is how this novel begins, and continues along in an unsettling manner for the new governess of Gaudlin Hall. For Eliza Caine, the secrets of the past are slowly uncovered, but "the presence" in the old house reveals itself from day one and becomes increasingly violent as the story evolves.

Not super scary, but still creepy good wit

...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hoopla, library, library-request, audio-avail-ill, 2017, on-dj, on-laptop, ghost-stories, gothic

4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this ghost story. It was exactly what I was looking for: atmospheric, British, well-written, and as believable as books of this genre can be. It wasn't too predictable and there was even a bit of a "gotcha" ending. It loses half a star because the writing wasn't as stellar as I think books with a five star rating should be, and it was a bit predictable in places. But overall, it gave me what I was expecting, which is what it's all about, for me. I enjoyed it, and ...more

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Aug 13, 2013 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Although a haunted house with a governess and two young children is nothing new, this is a wonderful read for October. The atmosphere is just scary enough, the back story all the authors own with a few unique touches. A very young governess named Eliza Caine who is just wonderful. Two children, a girl and boy, though it was the young boy that I loved. A big old house with many secrets within and without and of course a mystery to solve. Who is haunting this house and why? The pace is quick and t ...more

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Oct 13, 2013 Janet Doolaege rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I had been looking forward to reading this book, as I love a good ghost story, particularly those by M.R. James. I’d read a favourable short review and the cover looked intriguing.

What a disappointment. The story is sadly lacking in originality, with Charlotte Bronte, Arthur Conan Doyle and Henry James all showing through its flimsy surface. It starts promisingly but then lapses into gothic cliché, with the heroine being offered a post as a governess at creepy Gaudlin Hall in the wilds of the co ...more

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Sep 24, 2013 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, edelweiss-review

This House is Haunted by John Boyne is a 2013 release, published by Doubleday.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

When Eliza's father passes away, she needs to get away from the city and start fresh. This impulsive decisions leads her to accept a governess position in the country. Upon arrival at the crumbling home, Eliza is shocked to discover the two children are not being supervised. Their parents are not there and the only other ad ...more

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Jul 07, 2015 Stepheny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-great-escape

John Boyne’s novel, This House is Haunted is an eerie tale set in London. The story takes place in the mid 1800’s and centers around Gaudlin Hall.

Our main character, Eliza Caine, has recently lost her father and takes a position as the governess for the Westerly children. From the moment Eliza arrives at the train station things start to happen that make her question her hasty decision to take on this new job.

When Eliza mentions in passing that she will be taking up residence as the new governe ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, gothic, own, irish, horror

This House is Haunted is essentially a love letter to Victorian and Gothic literature - it's like if you put The Turn of the Screw, Jane Eyre, and the complete works of Charles Dickens into a blender, with an occasionally tongue in cheek contemporary spin. It's also a reminder of why John Boyne is one of my favorite authors; there's such a compulsively readable quality to his prose, where it's witty and compelling and tense all at once.

I feel like a very common pitfall of the ghost story horror ...more

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Sep 18, 2016 Latasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-challenge, ghosties-haunted-house, library-books, supernatural-paranormal, audio-books, lop-halloween-chal-2016, horror

A nice ghost story

This is a nice old fashioned ghost story. We don't get many like this anymore. Good story, well written and likable characters. ...more

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Apr 06, 2016 Lisa *OwlBeSatReading* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, historical, ghost-paranormal, best-of-2016

Well that one ticked every single box.
Spooky, historical fiction. Simple story line, none of this to-ing and fro-ing that can sometimes get a bit tedious. Ghosts, eerie children, old mansion and posh talk of the era, how fabulous ;-)

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Aug 25, 2013 Patrice Hoffman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This house is clearly haunted. So why stay there in this haunted, decaying, country estate? For the sake of a good story, that’s why. 21 year-old Eliza Caine is left parentless, optionless, and eventually homeless when coming across an ad in the newspaper for employment as a governess. Her grief for losing her father, of which she blames on Charles Dickens, motivates her to leave work as a school teacher in hopes of finding a new beginning in Norfolk. She just didn’t anticipate her new beginning This house is clearly haunted. So why stay there in this haunted, decaying, country estate? For the sake of a good story, that’s why. 21 year-old Eliza Caine is left parentless, optionless, and eventually homeless when coming across an ad in the newspaper for employment as a governess. Her grief for losing her father, of which she blames on Charles Dickens, motivates her to leave work as a school teacher in hopes of finding a new beginning in Norfolk. She just didn’t anticipate her new beginning could potentially be her ending.

John Boyne is a favorite of mine after reading only one novel, The Absolutist. When I was given notice that I was approved for This House is Haunted via Netgalley, I could not have been more excited. A favorite author of mine writing, in one of my favorite genres, what could possibly go wrong?

Boyne brings to life the world that was London 1867 with this atmospheric, gothic tale of a woman who crosses paths with a ghost I wouldn’t want to be alone in a back alley with. Eliza, being educated, is able to paint a vivid picture in this narrative. There’s enough foreshadowing to draw readers into the mystery that is the Westerley estate. But there’s also enough information given to our heroine to suggest she’s as insane as the ghost for sticking around.

Although Eliza makes some questionable decisions, John Boyne fleshes her out completely. She is definitely the most developed, well rounded character in This House is Haunted. Because she can’t know everything about all the people she comes in contact with, they are a little thin but still handled well enough that they are memorable. The children in her care Isabella and Eustace could have been developed a lot more, but I attribute their lack of depth to add to the mysterious tone in this novel.

Although there is no doubt that Boyne is an accomplished writer, being a lover of all things thrills and chills, I noticed that he did fall into a few b-horror movie traps. I won’t list them all. They’ll scream from the pages at you like the woman who dies first in every horror movie. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Eliza stayed. Even in the end… maybe I’m a wuss, but no! I’m not staying anywhere I’m not wanted. There didn’t seem to be enough of a bond, so why go through all the scrapes, bruises, hunting, running, and near-death encounters? Oh yes! I answered already. For the sake of a good story that is.

This House is Haunted doesn’t add anything new to the genre that is gothic, historical fiction, but is definitely worth the read. John Boyne is definitely a favorite and this exploration of unbreakable bonds should be on anyone’s to-read list. The word flow and pacing will keep readers reading from page one to the end in one sitting.
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Jun 19, 2015 Ivonne Rovira rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Victorian ghost fans

Recommended to Ivonne by: Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

At the death of her father, plump, plain Eliza Caine at 21 finds herself in the common situation of 19th century English girls of good breeding but little money. With no real skills, Eliza’s only prospects are marriage or teaching. Earning little at a day school, Eliza thinks her prayers have been answered when she secures a better position as governess to two children in Norfolk.

Yet, almost immediately, Eliza begins to reconsider. She nearly suffers a fatal accident en route to her new abode. A ...more

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Nov 07, 2015 Bettie rated it did not like it

Shelves: published-2013, britain-england, one-penny-wonder, palate-cleanser, boo-scary, gothic, winter-20152016, tbr-busting-2016, victoriana, ghosties-ghoulies

Description: 1867. On a dark and chilling night Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor.

It is the start of a journey into a world of abandoned children, unexplained occurrences and terrifying experiences which Eliza will have to overcome if she is to survive the s ...more

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Aug 20, 2015 Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, 3-star

3 stars for this pleasant but not particularly scary tale of Eliza Kane who takes up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall following the death of her father.

After surviving a near death experience at the train station, and having been saved by the local Doctor, Eliza finds the children alone - no parents, no servants, no governess, and the children will not explain.

Eliza soon learns that she is the fifth governess in six months, all but one of them having met an untimely end. And as attempt ...more

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May 27, 2017 Kaora rated it liked it · review of another edition

I have been in the mood for a good ghost story for quite some time.

Unfortunately while this was okay, it wasn't a great book.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job of doing the voices. I think I enjoyed it more because of her.

That being said I felt a little like the author spoon-fed me a bit. For example, he hammers home the coldness of the tap water, mentioning it twice in a few chapters. I thought it odd at first, but then when he uses the character being burned by that s ...more

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Apr 09, 2014 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Eliza Caine is a young woman, who lives in London with her father. He works in a museum and she teaches in a school for girls; their lives uneventful but happy. However, when her father dies suddenly, Eliza decides on impulse to answer a newspaper advertisement for a governess in Norfolk. To her surprise, she is offered the post with what seems great haste and, almost before she has time to consider, she is on a train and leaving her old life behind. However, on arrival at the fog shrouded stati ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Gothic Literature: 3: This House is Haunted: chapters 14-finish!	9	11	Jan 20, 2020 10:25AM
Gothic Literature: 2: This House is Haunted: chapters 8-13	6	5	Jan 15, 2020 03:49PM
Gothic Literature: 1: This House is Haunted: chapters 1- 7	3	7	Jan 10, 2020 11:08AM
Gothic Literature: Intro: This House is Haunted by John Boyne	5	4	Jan 06, 2020 04:19PM
Goodreads Ireland: Q4 2018 QIR: This House is Haunted Discussion Thread	7	15	Nov 25, 2018 03:45AM
Question About Ending (spoilers)?	2	53	Mar 31, 2018 02:18PM
Amor y letras : The Enchanted House	21	23	Apr 07, 2017 12:20PM

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About John Boyne

John Boyne

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John Boyne (born 30 April 1971 in Dublin) is an Irish novelist.

He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he won the Curtis Brown prize. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by UEA.

John Boyne is the author of ten novels for adults and five for young readers, as well as a collection of short stories.

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“There is cruelty in the world Eliza, you can see that, can't you?
It surrounds us. It breathes on us. We spend our life trying to escape it.” — 11 likes

“before we learn to feel afraid of things, our bodies know how to do them anyway. It’s one of the more disappointing aspects of growing older. We fear more so we can do less.” — 4 likes

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