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The Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries #9
Kristy and the Haunted Mansion
When their car breaks down in a snowstorm, Kristy and her softball team are forced to stay overnight in a creepy mansion. Original.
150 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
18 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,120 books3,075 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 14, 2010
the krashers are playing a game against a team over in redfield, a few towns away from stoneybrook. for whatever weird reason (because it furthers the plot, i guess), charlie is driving the whole team, plus bart & kristy, in a rented van. the players incude four bashers (joey, jerry, patty, & some other boy), plus four krushers (karen, david michael, jackie, & buddy). nicky also played with the krashers during the game, but got a ride home with his family. i don't understand why he didn't get a ride TO the game with his family, but no one asked me to proof these books before they went to print, so we'll just go with it.
a huge storm blows in right after the game ends (the krashers won) & charlie is having trouble seeing to drive through the sheets of rain coming down. some of the kids get a little weepy because they are afraid of the thunger & lightning. bart points out charlie's turn off, but charlie says he is supposed to turn around by a big wall covered in ivy. jackie says they passed the wall ages ago. charlie drives for a while & takes a differnt turn-off to look for somewhere to get directions. they drive over a little bridge, & they pass a big creepy-looking mansion. it's the only house they pass before they reach another little bridge, which has been washed away in the storm. charlie turns around to get to the other bridge, but by the time they get back, it has also been washed away. the kids have no choice but to approach the creepy mansion & ask to use the phone or stay over until the bridges are fixed.
just a little time out: how awesome would it be if the house they approach was in fact the house from "the rocky horror picture show" & dr. frank tried to get all frisky with charlie?
okay, moving on. charlie & kristy go up to the little cottage near the house & explain their situation. the old man who answers looks a little creepy & explains that he doesn't have a phone, nor does the big house, but they are welcome to stay at the big house overnight. he says that no one lives there & he is the caretaker. he loads them up with bread, apples, blankets, & flashlights (because the power is out). so now the whole crew is staying overnight in a big creepy abandoned mansion.
they decide to explore a little. the house is very well-maintained. the formal dining room table is fully set, & all the bedrooms are outfitted with bedding & there are even still books & knickknacks on the shelves. the kids are kind of bummed, because they miss their families & feel bad about making their parents worry, but they have fun exploring the house. until they wander into a bedroom that has a huge old-fashioned portrait of a grim-looking old man on the wall. the nameplate says "owen sawyer" & jackie flips out. he tells everyone about some ghost stories his older brother shared with him, about the big haunted mansion on sawyer road. supposedly it's haunted. kristy realizes that the road with the washed away bridges is sawyer road & they are staying overnight in the haunted sawyer mansion.
in a bedroom that looks like it belonged to a girl, & features a portrait of a teenage girl named dorothy sawyer on the wall, karen finds an old diary. seriously, what is with various babysitters club characters constantly stumbling across old diaries containing useful information for their present circumstances? it happens in like every other book. anyway, dorothy writes in her diary that her father is over-protective & doesn't understand that she wants to travel & see the world. she also explains that she is in love with a young man named will blackburn, but her father doesn't approve of their union. although she fears that will will offer her only the same sheltered life she has with her father, she agrees to run off & elope. the diary's last entry is on the day before dorothy & will's planned escape. karen, kristy, & patty all wonder what happened next.
they get their answer soon enough, when jackie is rooting around in an old roll-top desk & finds a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings about dorothy's mysterious disappearance. on the day she was supposed to elop with will, a huge storm blew in & washed away the bridges on sawyer road. authorities suspect that dorothy tried to swim across the stream to reach will & drowned in the current. her body was never recovered, but she was eventually declared dead.
they also find a bunch of photos, of dorothy & her father & will. karen says dorothy looks familiar. bart, kristy, & charlie all think will looks familiar.
after everyone snacks on some bread & apples, they eventually settle down with their blankets in the big, lushly carpeted living room, & try to get some sleep.
meanwhile, in stoneybrook, everyone is freaking out about their disappearance. it's incredibly tedious. everyone keeps calling everyone else, wondering if they've heard from kristy or any of the other kids. bart's father even calls claudia. seriously? why the fuck would he call claudia & not, like, an adult? like watson? every time one of the sitters answers the phone, they think it's going to be someone calling with news, & of course it's not, because we the readers know that all the kids are stuck in a haunted mansion without phones. god, it's so boring. everyone is worried. that's all you need to know. like you couldn't have guessed.
anyway, the morning dawns bright & sunny. the old caretaker comes to the door to announce that crews are out repairing the bridges & that the kids can get back on the road soon. buddy pulls kristy aside & says he thinks that the caretaker might be will blackburn. so kristy brazenly says, "excuse me, mr. blackburn?" & the caretaker hardly misses a beat before he's like, "yup, guilty as charged." he says he bought the mansion after mr. sawyer died ("of a broken heart," some say). he doesn't live in it because it's full of too many painful memories, but he keeps it looking nice in tribute to dorothy's memory. kristy asks him about the alleged hauntings, & he's like, "hauntings? there's no haunting. when people see lights & smoke coming from the chimney, that's just me. i have to come inside sometimes to keep the place looking good." kristy asks for more info & will actually says, "it's a sad tale. a tale of a man who loved a woman who died. that man is me." seriously, who talks like that? i might start. he basically confirms that he & dorothy were going to run away & elope, but she drowned & he was very sad. then they all play a little softball & then they get on the road.
back in stoneybrook, there are joyous reunions all around. the babysitters club decides to have a sleepover to celebrate kristy's return. in the middle of the sleepover, karen interrupts to tell kristy that she stole a photo of dorothy from the mansion because she thought dorothy looked familiar. it would be a really awesome twist if dorothy turned out to be nannie. instead, mary anne looks at the picture & gasps. she recognizes the woman too. she thinks it's the woman who runs the sewing shop in town. naturally, mary anne is a regular customer, being an average 13-year-old girl & everything. karen agrees with mary anne. she apparently goes to the sewing shop all the time with her mom. the sitters decide to visit the shop in the morning & try to unravel the mystery.
so they do. they troop on in (watson drives them downtown), & after some hemming & hawing, kristy is like, "excuse me, are you dorothy sawyer?" & even though this woman basically faked her own death, which i'm pretty sure is illegal, & has been living under an assumed name for the last sixty years or so, which is also illegal, i am pretty sure, she's like, "yup, that's me." she explains that she did fall in the brook when she tried to run away with will, but she was able to save herself. & when she did, she realized that this was her big chance to be free--free of both her father & her stifling fiance. she knew everyone would assume she drowned in the brook, so she runs off & has an awesome jet-setting life, traveling the world & living out her dreams. when she was ready to settle down, she came to stoneybrook ("near the village of my home," she says--exactly how old are these people supposed to be? they're talking like they came of age in 1834) & opened a sewing shop.
kristy says that will is still alive & might like to see her. instead of being like, "um, i faked my death to avoid marrying him sixty years ago & he's been racked with guilt ever since, so i'm not entirely confident that he wouldn't just keel over with a heart attack if i showed up on his doorstep," she's like, "oh, that sounds like fun! i'll pop on by now that i know where he lives." well, he doesn't have a phone, so i guess he wouldn't exactly have been in the phone book. she's all, "that will give old will quite a turn!" i'll say.
the last page is all like, "the krashers got home safely, everyone was happy to see us, & dorothy & will are soon to have a joyous reunion. isn't it great that we're all better people?" i'm taking a wait-&-see approach to that whole "joyous reunion" part.
a huge storm blows in right after the game ends (the krashers won) & charlie is having trouble seeing to drive through the sheets of rain coming down. some of the kids get a little weepy because they are afraid of the thunger & lightning. bart points out charlie's turn off, but charlie says he is supposed to turn around by a big wall covered in ivy. jackie says they passed the wall ages ago. charlie drives for a while & takes a differnt turn-off to look for somewhere to get directions. they drive over a little bridge, & they pass a big creepy-looking mansion. it's the only house they pass before they reach another little bridge, which has been washed away in the storm. charlie turns around to get to the other bridge, but by the time they get back, it has also been washed away. the kids have no choice but to approach the creepy mansion & ask to use the phone or stay over until the bridges are fixed.
just a little time out: how awesome would it be if the house they approach was in fact the house from "the rocky horror picture show" & dr. frank tried to get all frisky with charlie?
okay, moving on. charlie & kristy go up to the little cottage near the house & explain their situation. the old man who answers looks a little creepy & explains that he doesn't have a phone, nor does the big house, but they are welcome to stay at the big house overnight. he says that no one lives there & he is the caretaker. he loads them up with bread, apples, blankets, & flashlights (because the power is out). so now the whole crew is staying overnight in a big creepy abandoned mansion.
they decide to explore a little. the house is very well-maintained. the formal dining room table is fully set, & all the bedrooms are outfitted with bedding & there are even still books & knickknacks on the shelves. the kids are kind of bummed, because they miss their families & feel bad about making their parents worry, but they have fun exploring the house. until they wander into a bedroom that has a huge old-fashioned portrait of a grim-looking old man on the wall. the nameplate says "owen sawyer" & jackie flips out. he tells everyone about some ghost stories his older brother shared with him, about the big haunted mansion on sawyer road. supposedly it's haunted. kristy realizes that the road with the washed away bridges is sawyer road & they are staying overnight in the haunted sawyer mansion.
in a bedroom that looks like it belonged to a girl, & features a portrait of a teenage girl named dorothy sawyer on the wall, karen finds an old diary. seriously, what is with various babysitters club characters constantly stumbling across old diaries containing useful information for their present circumstances? it happens in like every other book. anyway, dorothy writes in her diary that her father is over-protective & doesn't understand that she wants to travel & see the world. she also explains that she is in love with a young man named will blackburn, but her father doesn't approve of their union. although she fears that will will offer her only the same sheltered life she has with her father, she agrees to run off & elope. the diary's last entry is on the day before dorothy & will's planned escape. karen, kristy, & patty all wonder what happened next.
they get their answer soon enough, when jackie is rooting around in an old roll-top desk & finds a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings about dorothy's mysterious disappearance. on the day she was supposed to elop with will, a huge storm blew in & washed away the bridges on sawyer road. authorities suspect that dorothy tried to swim across the stream to reach will & drowned in the current. her body was never recovered, but she was eventually declared dead.
they also find a bunch of photos, of dorothy & her father & will. karen says dorothy looks familiar. bart, kristy, & charlie all think will looks familiar.
after everyone snacks on some bread & apples, they eventually settle down with their blankets in the big, lushly carpeted living room, & try to get some sleep.
meanwhile, in stoneybrook, everyone is freaking out about their disappearance. it's incredibly tedious. everyone keeps calling everyone else, wondering if they've heard from kristy or any of the other kids. bart's father even calls claudia. seriously? why the fuck would he call claudia & not, like, an adult? like watson? every time one of the sitters answers the phone, they think it's going to be someone calling with news, & of course it's not, because we the readers know that all the kids are stuck in a haunted mansion without phones. god, it's so boring. everyone is worried. that's all you need to know. like you couldn't have guessed.
anyway, the morning dawns bright & sunny. the old caretaker comes to the door to announce that crews are out repairing the bridges & that the kids can get back on the road soon. buddy pulls kristy aside & says he thinks that the caretaker might be will blackburn. so kristy brazenly says, "excuse me, mr. blackburn?" & the caretaker hardly misses a beat before he's like, "yup, guilty as charged." he says he bought the mansion after mr. sawyer died ("of a broken heart," some say). he doesn't live in it because it's full of too many painful memories, but he keeps it looking nice in tribute to dorothy's memory. kristy asks him about the alleged hauntings, & he's like, "hauntings? there's no haunting. when people see lights & smoke coming from the chimney, that's just me. i have to come inside sometimes to keep the place looking good." kristy asks for more info & will actually says, "it's a sad tale. a tale of a man who loved a woman who died. that man is me." seriously, who talks like that? i might start. he basically confirms that he & dorothy were going to run away & elope, but she drowned & he was very sad. then they all play a little softball & then they get on the road.
back in stoneybrook, there are joyous reunions all around. the babysitters club decides to have a sleepover to celebrate kristy's return. in the middle of the sleepover, karen interrupts to tell kristy that she stole a photo of dorothy from the mansion because she thought dorothy looked familiar. it would be a really awesome twist if dorothy turned out to be nannie. instead, mary anne looks at the picture & gasps. she recognizes the woman too. she thinks it's the woman who runs the sewing shop in town. naturally, mary anne is a regular customer, being an average 13-year-old girl & everything. karen agrees with mary anne. she apparently goes to the sewing shop all the time with her mom. the sitters decide to visit the shop in the morning & try to unravel the mystery.
so they do. they troop on in (watson drives them downtown), & after some hemming & hawing, kristy is like, "excuse me, are you dorothy sawyer?" & even though this woman basically faked her own death, which i'm pretty sure is illegal, & has been living under an assumed name for the last sixty years or so, which is also illegal, i am pretty sure, she's like, "yup, that's me." she explains that she did fall in the brook when she tried to run away with will, but she was able to save herself. & when she did, she realized that this was her big chance to be free--free of both her father & her stifling fiance. she knew everyone would assume she drowned in the brook, so she runs off & has an awesome jet-setting life, traveling the world & living out her dreams. when she was ready to settle down, she came to stoneybrook ("near the village of my home," she says--exactly how old are these people supposed to be? they're talking like they came of age in 1834) & opened a sewing shop.
kristy says that will is still alive & might like to see her. instead of being like, "um, i faked my death to avoid marrying him sixty years ago & he's been racked with guilt ever since, so i'm not entirely confident that he wouldn't just keel over with a heart attack if i showed up on his doorstep," she's like, "oh, that sounds like fun! i'll pop on by now that i know where he lives." well, he doesn't have a phone, so i guess he wouldn't exactly have been in the phone book. she's all, "that will give old will quite a turn!" i'll say.
the last page is all like, "the krashers got home safely, everyone was happy to see us, & dorothy & will are soon to have a joyous reunion. isn't it great that we're all better people?" i'm taking a wait-&-see approach to that whole "joyous reunion" part.
June 30, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this kinda great mystery by ghostwriter Ellen Miles the krashers (the krushers/bashers team introduced in Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs) are going home from an out-of-town softball game when the rain floods two bridges, trapping them. their only option is to seek help/sleep over at the huge empty mansion on the hill, which is cared for by a creepy old caretaker who lives in a cottage on the property. don't think I wasn't singing over at the frankenstein place while I was reading this. anyway, turns out there's a spoooooky mystery in the house. the young woman who lived there in the 1930s, dorothy, wanted to elope with her beloved, will. her dad did not approve. on the day of the secret elopement, though, she disappeared, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. so spooky. anyway, the krashers make it home safe and the mystery is solved (see highlights). the only subplot is that folks in stoneybrook are worried.
highlights:
-claud has a freshly tie-dyed shirt that she wears to babysit for jamie newton and in the rain the dye runs all over her. HAHA.
-the mystery resolution. this book is pretty straightforward, but I do like what ends up happening with the mystery. the bsc (and karen brewer) realize from seeing photos of dorothy that she is the same woman who is now running the sewing shop in town. they go and talk to her about trying to get her in touch with will again (after discovering that the creepy caretaker is in fact will, her beloved) and she says that she faked her death so that she could be free of her father AND her beloved, because she doesn't need no man. BOOM.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-why is charlie driving a van? whose van? it's never explained.
-why is karen one of the krashers, when there are older kids who are better at sports on the krushers (and the krashers are the all-stars). also I thought all of the bashers were boys (or at least they were described that way in Kristy and the Walking Disaster), so where did patty come from?
claudia outfit:
-"She was wearing white knee-length jeans shorts, white Keds, and a tie-dyed T-shirt she'd made the weekend before. It was a beautiful one, with spirals of yellow and green and purple, and she was proud of it. She was also wearing a pair of earrings she'd made from green glass she had found on the beach. The glass had been polished by the waves so it had no sharp edges, and Claud had hung two pieces in little silver cages that now dangled from her ears."
jackie disaster:
-plays with the drapes and pulls one down over him
no snacks in claudia's room.
in this kinda great mystery by ghostwriter Ellen Miles the krashers (the krushers/bashers team introduced in Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs) are going home from an out-of-town softball game when the rain floods two bridges, trapping them. their only option is to seek help/sleep over at the huge empty mansion on the hill, which is cared for by a creepy old caretaker who lives in a cottage on the property. don't think I wasn't singing over at the frankenstein place while I was reading this. anyway, turns out there's a spoooooky mystery in the house. the young woman who lived there in the 1930s, dorothy, wanted to elope with her beloved, will. her dad did not approve. on the day of the secret elopement, though, she disappeared, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. so spooky. anyway, the krashers make it home safe and the mystery is solved (see highlights). the only subplot is that folks in stoneybrook are worried.
highlights:
-claud has a freshly tie-dyed shirt that she wears to babysit for jamie newton and in the rain the dye runs all over her. HAHA.
-the mystery resolution. this book is pretty straightforward, but I do like what ends up happening with the mystery. the bsc (and karen brewer) realize from seeing photos of dorothy that she is the same woman who is now running the sewing shop in town. they go and talk to her about trying to get her in touch with will again (after discovering that the creepy caretaker is in fact will, her beloved) and she says that she faked her death so that she could be free of her father AND her beloved, because she doesn't need no man. BOOM.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-why is charlie driving a van? whose van? it's never explained.
-why is karen one of the krashers, when there are older kids who are better at sports on the krushers (and the krashers are the all-stars). also I thought all of the bashers were boys (or at least they were described that way in Kristy and the Walking Disaster), so where did patty come from?
claudia outfit:
-"She was wearing white knee-length jeans shorts, white Keds, and a tie-dyed T-shirt she'd made the weekend before. It was a beautiful one, with spirals of yellow and green and purple, and she was proud of it. She was also wearing a pair of earrings she'd made from green glass she had found on the beach. The glass had been polished by the waves so it had no sharp edges, and Claud had hung two pieces in little silver cages that now dangled from her ears."
jackie disaster:
-plays with the drapes and pulls one down over him
no snacks in claudia's room.
November 9, 2011
I enjoyed it until the ending...which seemed to suggest that after ditching a guy for sixty years, you should just pop by and pay him a visit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2010
I've read probably all the babysitter club books at one point, but this is one of my faves even today.
July 4, 2017
In yet another thrilling mystery installment, these crazy kids go sticking their noses in places they don't belong! Perhaps to a lesser extent than usual, but still!
This one sees Kristy and Bart combining their little kids baseball teams to make the Krashers. Somehow, for some reason, Charlie is driving them all around in a van instead of having an adult do it. Clearly it's a plot device, but still. Come on.
A big storm kicks up after the game, and Charlie can barely see the road. They miss their turn, and take a different turn instead. The bridge ahead is washed out, and by the time they turn back so is the one they just crossed. So, naturally, they must spend the night in a big old mansion that they think might be haunted.
It isn't, of course, but they do find a *gasp* Mystery! The house is owned by a man named Will, whose fiance disappeared in the 40s on the even of their elopement. Turns out in the end she isn't dead, but is running the sewing store in Stoneybrook and she took off on purpose so she didn't have to rely on a man.
Badass, old woman! Badass!
This one sees Kristy and Bart combining their little kids baseball teams to make the Krashers. Somehow, for some reason, Charlie is driving them all around in a van instead of having an adult do it. Clearly it's a plot device, but still. Come on.
A big storm kicks up after the game, and Charlie can barely see the road. They miss their turn, and take a different turn instead. The bridge ahead is washed out, and by the time they turn back so is the one they just crossed. So, naturally, they must spend the night in a big old mansion that they think might be haunted.
It isn't, of course, but they do find a *gasp* Mystery! The house is owned by a man named Will, whose fiance disappeared in the 40s on the even of their elopement. Turns out in the end she isn't dead, but is running the sewing store in Stoneybrook and she took off on purpose so she didn't have to rely on a man.
Badass, old woman! Badass!
August 4, 2020
I know I've hated on the last couple BSC Mysteries, but this one gets back on track for being good and believable, and an enjoyable read.
That's not to say that it's without its questionable elements to drive the plot:
But despite the nitpicks, I do like the story. And I really liked the subplots, which dealt more with the baby-sitters worrying about Kristy and co. than actual baby-sitting lol. All in all, a solid BSC mystery, hurray!
That's not to say that it's without its questionable elements to drive the plot:
But despite the nitpicks, I do like the story. And I really liked the subplots, which dealt more with the baby-sitters worrying about Kristy and co. than actual baby-sitting lol. All in all, a solid BSC mystery, hurray!
January 6, 2021
Another nostalgia read to start the year. I generally disliked the books featuring Kristy when I was first reading the BSC, but I really liked this one. It unfortunately didn’t totally hold up. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a fun, creepy read for a 10-yr-old, but it’s SO unrealistic. Of course the premise is, but I specifically mean the ending - where (spoiler) the babysitters find the woman who had faked her death. (She was in Stoneybrook the whole time, naturally.) And then the woman says, you know, might as well go visit the guy who’s been pining over me for the last 50 years, so much so that he bought my old house, maintains it perfectly, but can’t bring himself to live in it! It’ll be a laugh! It’s a little much even for the BSC.
Read
July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
December 25, 2021
The characters chosen for the mystery books make no sense. To me, Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs should have been a Kristy book, and this should have been a Dawn book.
This plotline of the baby-sitters being trapped somewhere with a million kids and having to survive has officially been done to death.
I do appreciate that the ghostwriter of the mystery books is a fellow Barsty shipper, because she found a way to include steamy Bart content in both of her Kristy mysteries.
This plotline of the baby-sitters being trapped somewhere with a million kids and having to survive has officially been done to death.
I do appreciate that the ghostwriter of the mystery books is a fellow Barsty shipper, because she found a way to include steamy Bart content in both of her Kristy mysteries.
November 11, 2022
I never read this as a kid and it’s great! Kristy POV aren’t always my favorite, but I liked seeing her interact with her family members and Bart. This was an adventure, but not as far-fetched as some (ahem marooned on an island). Lots of BSC sleepovers too!
July 1, 2023
3 stars. Haven’t picked up a BSC mystery in a while. This was pretty good. Kristy and her softball get stranded and have to stay the night in a creepy old mansion that they think is haunted. This was fun and I liked the ending.
September 9, 2023
I almost downgraded this to 3 stars because the very end is so ridiculous. But it's a fun story and doesn't have any of the weird gendery stuff that I lot of the other books have had. This was exactly the kind of story I wanted when I was this age.
July 1, 2017
Review by Z.M.: "My teacher Mrs. Rode would love these books. I liked the whole book (everything)."
April 14, 2019
Picked up a bunch of BSC books for a quarter a piece and I'm enjoying rereading them. I loved them when I was a kid.
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September 14, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
January 25, 2021
(LL)
There were some good suspenseful moments in here. The ending was a little ridiculous, but it was a decent story overall.
There were some good suspenseful moments in here. The ending was a little ridiculous, but it was a decent story overall.
September 2, 2021
This could have been five stars if not for the ending. Delightfully creepy and anxiety inducing (at least as far as BSC books go) with a sad story to go with the mystery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 10, 2024Charlie Thomas was the real MVP of this novel, where is his spin-off series??
August 22, 2024
This mystery makes you excited and entertained till the end👍🏻
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February 1, 2026When their car breaks down in a snowstorm, Kristy and her softball team are forced to stay overnight in a creepy mansion.
November 8, 2023
This one was actually pretty good. It certainly had the spooky mystery feel to it, while not going over the top like other BSC mysteries do. It begins when the Krashers (Bashers and Krushers) are playing a game out if town. For some reason instead of the parents who are also attending driving their kids to and from the game they get a bus and go together. Guess it builds team spirit? Who knows. Anyway they win and head back for home except for Nicky Pike who goes with his family which is why the van thing makes no sense. Anyway a huge storm hits and after getting lost they find themselves stranded in an old mansion after two bridges back to town wash out. The description in my kindle said they broke down in the middle of the blizzard which was odd. They didn't break down and why would they be playing baseball in winter? Outside? Anyway a creepy old man let's them stay in the big house gives them food, flashlights, lanterns and blankets and in they go. Since it's stormy out there's no power and no phones in sight so the b plot is everyone at home worried about them. Meanwhile back at the mansion Jackie Rodowsky reveals that he's heard about a ghost haunting the Sawyer mansion. A girl drowned during a storm in the 30's. They soon discover that they're staying at the Sawyer mansion and that the daughter Dorothy who died looks familiar as does Will the man she was running away with when she died and so behins the mystery. It was actually kind of cute. Karen proved to me she's a sociopath by stealing a picture from the house. Ugh someone discipline this child before it's too late. I also liked the throw back to the pre cell phone era where you can't always get a hold of someone and people actually had money on them for a pay phone and of course no Google to look up these stories. Simpler times. This one was fun and actually kept my attention. Maybe these mysteries are getting better. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
November 1, 2016
I needed something light to read during the stresses of moving, and this fit the bill perfectly.
However,
Also, nothing at all happened that indicated the house was haunted while they were staying there. This should have just been called "the abandoned mansion" or something.
However,
Also, nothing at all happened that indicated the house was haunted while they were staying there. This should have just been called "the abandoned mansion" or something.
July 29, 2008
decent babysitters club mystery
September 20, 2010
Good crisis story, but I would have liked it a lot more if the mystery of Dorothy Sewyer hadn't been discovered. Ah well.
July 6, 2025
As a kid, I was always drawn to the horror and mystery spin-off editions and pretty much ignored the realistic stories found in my favorite children's series.
November 25, 2016
more nostalgia
December 8, 2024
Man, those children get marooned places by storms SO MUCH. I really grew up thinking this would happen more often than it does. I've only been marooned by a storm once in my whole life.
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