The Gray Ghosts of Taylor Ridge

by Mary Francis Shura, Michael A. Hampshire (Illustrator)

Nat's pesty little sister, Nan, blackmails him into going out to Taylor Ridge where, an old man tells them, gray ghosts come "chinking" after dark.

Genres: Mystery

128 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

About the author

Mary Francis Young was born on 23 February 1923 in Pratt, Kansas, the daughter of Jack Fant and Mary Francis (Milstead) Young. When she was very young, her family moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she raised. She studied at Maryville State College. On 24 October 1943, she married Daniel Charles Shura, who died in 1959. They had two children: Marianne Francis Shura (Spraguc) and Daniel Charles Shura. On 8 December 1961, she married Raymond C. Craig, they had a daughter Alice Barrett Craig (Stout), before their divorce.

Since 1960, she wrote over 50 books of various genres: children's adventures and teen-romances as Mary Francis Shura, M. F. Craig, and Meredith Hill; gothic novels as Mary Craig; romance novels as Alexis Hill, Mary Shura Craig and Mary S. Craig; and suspense novels as M. S. Craig.

Her children's novel "The Search for Grissi" received the Carl Sandburg Literary Arts Award in 1985, and she also was nominated to the Young Hoosier Book Award. In 1990, she was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.

She lived in Hinsdale, Illinois, where her apartment burned on 13 December 1990. At 67, she died of injuries suffered in the fire on 12 January 1991 in Loyola University Medical Burn Center in Maywood.

Reviews

[Qt]

Nicely written and a good story, though I mistook the title for a Halloween-type one; I think I would have enjoyed it more if I were closer to the suggested age range ;-)

[Adelia]

I found this book in my 3rd grade teacher's classroom library and I must have checked it out at least a dozen times. I hunted down a copy a few years ago and like to reread it every now and again.

[Amanda]

I hated this book. It was so boring and I literally had to force myself through it! I read it a few years ago, and just remembered it now. I don’t recommended this book to anyone, though young children my like it because it is very simplistic. Anyway I give it 1 out of 5 stars.

[Sarabeth Sappington]

I collected this book from a random bookstore in Perfect condition because I loved the illustrations! I was surprised how good it was! And creepy considering I'm 23 now. This would be a fun little book to read with kids around halloween. It has a satisfying ending that was more heartfelt than I expected!

[Elizabeth]

I've read this book at least 3 times. It's an easy read but the details and events are good. It's one of my favorite fall reads.

[Statler]

The Grey Ghosts of Taylor Ridge is a great mystery book. There is a boy named Nathan he has a sister named Nan. They meet this old Guy that is blind and lives alone and he tells them a story about this hidden treasure. They try to find it and eventually find a man that had fallen into a well they save him and they find the treasure at the bottom.