The Vampire Mystery

The Boxcar Children #120

by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Creator), Robert Papp (Illustrator)

The Aldens meet Mr. Hudson, a local author who is best known for his novel about a vampire. But rumors of a real vampire are going around town―a vampire who haunts the graveyard behind Mr. Hudson's house! But since vampires don't exist, the children soon realize that someone must be trying to scare people away from Greenfield! Who brought the old legend back to life―and why?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, Vampires

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut, on April 16, 1890, to Edgar and Jane Warner. Her family included a sister, Frances, and a brother, John. From the age of five, she dreamed of becoming an author. She wrote stories for her Grandfather Carpenter, and each Christmas she gave him one of these stories as a gift. Today, Ms. Warner is best remembered as the author of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES.

As a child, Gertrude enjoyed many of the things that girls enjoy today. She loved furnishing a dollhouse with handmade furniture and she liked to read. Her favorite book was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Often on Sundays after church, Gertrude enjoyed trips to visit her grandparents' farm. Along the way, she and Frances would stop to pick the wildflowers they both loved. Gertrude's favorite flower was the violet.

Her family was a very musical one. They were able to have a family orchestra, and Gertrude enjoyed playing the cello. Her father had brought her one from New York ---a cello, a bow, a case and an instruction book. All together, he paid $14. Later, as an adult, she began playing the pipe organ and sometimes substituted for the church organist.

Due to ill health, Ms. Warner never finished high school. She left in the middle of her second year and studied with a tutor. Then, in 1918, when teachers were called to serve in World War I, the school board asked her to teach first grade. She had forty children in the morning and forty more in the afternoon. Ms. Warner wrote, "I was asked or begged to take this job because I taught Sunday School. But believe me, day school is nothing like Sunday School, and I sure learned by doing --- I taught in that same room for 32 years, retiring at 60 to have more time to write." Eventually, Ms. Warner attended Yale, where she took several teacher training courses.

Once when she was sick and had to stay home from teaching, she thought up the story about the Boxcar Children. It was inspired by her childhood dreams. As a child, she had spent hours watching the trains go by near her family's home. Sometimes she could look through the window of a caboose and see a small stove, a little table, cracked cups with no saucers, and a tin coffee pot boiling away on the stove. The sight had fascinated her and made her dream about how much fun it would be to live and keep house in a boxcar or caboose. She read the story to her classes and rewrote it many times so the words were easy to understand. Some of her pupils spoke other languages at home and were just learning English. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN gave them a fun story that was easy to read.

Ms. Warner once wrote for her fans, "Perhaps you know that the original BOXCAR CHILDREN. . . raised a storm of protest from librarians who thought the children were having too good a time without any parental control! That is exactly why children like it! Most of my own childhood exploits, such as living in a freight car, received very little cooperation from my parents."

Though the story of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN went through some changes after it was first written, the version that we are familiar with today was originally published in 1942 by Scott Foresman. Today, Albert Whitman & Company publishes this first classic story as well as the next eighteen Alden children adventures that were written by Ms. Warner.

Gertrude Chandler Warner died in 1979 at the age of 89 after a full life as a teacher, author, and volunteer for the American Red Cross and other charitable organizations. After her death, Albert Whitman & Company continued to receive mail from children across the country asking for more adventures about Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny Alden. In 1991, Albert Whitman added to THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES so that today's children can enjoy many more adventures about this independent and caring group of children.

Books about Gertrude: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little story

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting Boxcar Children, perfect for Halloween time. The children are housesitting for their grandfather’s author friend when strange things begin to occur. Is it a vampire, like in the author’s books?

Though it’s a newer book, it’s still classic Boxcar Children.

I was also interested to discover that a new Halloween Boxcar Children book comes out every October it seems.

[Iron Rain Of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was allot of fun to be honest, enjoyed how the audiobook had background noise added to it to be more realistic. The spookiness was fun, though the kids state the obvious sometimes, I was still surprised about the ending! Overall allot of fun.

[Grace DuBois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I think all the books are alike.
They are nice and short so you can read them really fast!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was scary." -Briar
This one had all of my babies on the edge of their seats with fear.

[Kasey Loftis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another good one in the series. It was a nice little spooky one for the halloween season. It's pretty similar to all the other ones in that the kids are visiting a friend of their grandfathers (he has a lot of friends by the way) and they have some way of helping this friend with a mystery. There is always someone who is dreadfully awful, as well as one person who is supposed to be a friend or helper but has some suspicious behavior about them. The kids solve the mystery, everyone is sorry and super remorseful as soon as they get caught...not the day before, not the hour before, but when they get caught. Their remorse gets them off the hook for any trouble and everything is okay! Oh and Benny is hungry....a hundred times through the book. I think I just summarized every single one of the Boxcar Children books.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't end the way that I was expecting it to be. From the beginning, I thought it was the older neighbor because she didn't want to deal with a loud family next to her. In reality, it was the realtor stealing the signs and destroying the flowers so his friend could buy the house. It was the long-lost brother that was leaving lights on and eating the food. In the end, he decided to keep the house as long as his brother stayed with him.

[Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is AMAZING. It's the first audio book that I saw the pictures because this is just a book that you can listen to and I REALLY REALLY thought I was looking at the pictures. Right before bed, I asked, "Can I listen to it at bedtime?" Then I finished it, and then I slept super good because I loved it. I didn't want to stop reading it. I'm excited to read another one of Boxcar Children.

[Brynja · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Oh, my!" Violet cried. A number of Mr. Hudson's beautiful flowers had been ripped
from the ground and were lying across the walkway. Benny was the first to see the words written across the porch boards in bright red letters. '"Leave...me...to...rest...in...pea...pea...'" He turned to Henry for help. "'Leave me to rest in peace,'" Henry read. "'Or you will be sorry.'"

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 120 of the Boxcar Children series. This one is less scary than it sounds. This simple mystery is a kind sweet one that speaks to forgiveness and family. Overall a nice read, this book extols the values that have permeated the series as a whole. This one is very family friendly. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading these books. Even though these later books are supposed to be more "modern" (like characters having cell phones) the old-fashioned sweetness of them just shine through. I love how supportive the Alden kids are of each other, and reading about their adventures just make me smile.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
I loved these books as a kid & I'm really enjoying reading through the series again. I liked the mystery & the suspense. I like how there is more than one possible suspect, who each have reasonable motive. Would recommend.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another adventure with the boxcar children

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

81%

A Real fake vampire!

[Lilkadykitty :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story.

[Sue :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun but very predictable story.

[Susan M (MomBlogger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vampire Mystery (Boxcar Children Mysteries)
By Gertrude Chandler Warner

When young Benny Alden checks out the book “The Legend of the Vampire,” from the library, strange things begin to happen in the town of Greenfield.
Mr. Hudson, the author of the book and a friend of the childrens’ grandfather, needs to leave town for a few days and leaves his house in the care of Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. Since he is trying to sell his house, the children offer to clean up the yard for him while he is gone. Unfortunately, someone has other plans for the house. Flowers are ripped from the garden, the words “Leave me to rest in peace or you will be sorry” is painted in red on the front porch. Something that looks like blood is being left on neighbor’s back porches, and a strange cloaked figure is seen at night in the cemetery behind the house.
Will the Alden children be able to solve the mystery in time? Is the legend of the Greenfield Vampire real, or is someone trying to scare Mr. Hudson and the children?

Exerpt from book:
“After they placed their order, Jessie pulled out her notebook and a pencil. When facing a mystery, the Aldens often found that writing all the facts and clues on paper helped them to see what was going on.
Jessie wrote “Vampire Legend” at the top of the page. “What do we know about the vampire legend?” she asked.
Henry took a long drink of his lemonade. “People around Greenfield used to tell stories about a vampire. We know that vampires are not real, so the people must have done it for fun or to scare each other.”
“And Mr. Hudson heard the stories when he was growing up. He turned them into a book.” Violet added.
“Then Mr. Hudson saw a vampire in the cemetery behind his house.” Benny leaned across the table, eyes wide.
“No, Benny. He saw something that concerned him. He didn’t actually see a vampire,” Henry added.
“Then what did he see?” asked Benny
“We’re not sure,” Henry said.“

True to the “Boxcar Children” series, this book keeps the reader interested and wondering what will happen next. I loved reading about Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny when I was a child; and now my children have that privilege as well. The story is well written and I love the determination of the Alden children to help out their new friend Mr. Hudson. I was captivated from beginning to end, and loved every clue that the children found along the way. This is a wonderful story for children of all ages. I can’t wait to read this again with my children.

[Katherine Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute, quick read that takes me back to early grade school.


Oh these Boxcar Children books take me back. I don’t know if the books have necessarily become shorter or I’ve just become a faster reader, but I remember it taking all afternoon to read one of these novels when I was little. I sped through this novel in less than a half hour and thought that I could have definitely read it faster if I so wanted.

Reading these novels years later, it’s nice to see that while the writer has taken the characters into the current decade without losing the foundation that both the books and the characters were built on.

One thing that I’m not too keen on is the language used. Of don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing but squeaky clean stuff here, but in order to appeal to today’s kids the stiff formal language really needs to be updated more. In a world where today’s youth is playing COD and watching Jersey Shore – yeah, these books aren’t going to be snatched off the shelves by anyone other than ultra-conservative parents.
But onto the novel itself.

The mystery was cute and perfect for the Halloween season. While I felt as though everything were rather rushed (inevitable from the short length of the novel) I can see where it was meant to keep the attention of its targeted audience.

In the end, I like how I can dip back into my inner child (more than I already do) by reading these types of novels and this one didn’t disappoint in that respect. However, there’s only so far a person can retreat into childhood and this was just a little too much. Yes, I would buy it for young cousins whose parents are a little too strict. In the end, I’m only giving this a 4/10 and a recommendation for very young readers.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ebook copy of this book through NetGalley. (Thanks, NetGalley!) While I'm an academic librarian and rarely get to help children, I do work with quite a lot of education students who want recommendations on children's lit. Thus I try to sample it often.

The Boxcar Children was one of my favorite series, oh, twenty-plus years ago, when I was in elementary school and a little bit older. I had no idea that the series had kept going! When I read this one, I was pleased to find that Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Grandfather seemed to have rolled with the times well. They still have their sweet 1950s vibe. The author who has continued the series has done a lovely job of keeping that classic Alden family character while making subtle references to modern times. She balances it quite well.

I do wish that the author had brought out the vampire theme in this book a little bit more. Children who want a taste of the vampire trend honestly aren't going to get a big taste. The vampire is fairly tangential to the story. No fun if your big sis is reading Twilight. Still, a fun addition to the Boxcar Children series.

[Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Oh Benny, are you sure that is a good book for you?" asked twelve-year old Jessie. She was twelve, and kept an eye on her younger brother.

Yeah, that there's some good quality writing and editing. Did you know Jessie is twelve?


Other than that, plenty of the usual inept and pointlessly rude adult characters.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor editing made this a cringe-worthy read.

"People said prowled the town at night and brought his victims to the cemetery." (P. 14)
"Violet admiring old bicycle." (P. 17)

The writing: appalling
The plot: predictable
Verdict: There are better Boxcar tales to be read.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little "scary" (but not scary) mystery that kids will love. It involves a local legend of a vampire and some "bad guys" with intentions to scare.

I've always enjoyed a good Boxcar Children mystery, and this one is included.

[Shervi]

Good

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cute as an audio book complete with sound effects. Entertaining for my commute. I enjoyed it.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to suck your blood! Not on the kids dime. A house is being sabotaged and the kids are going to knuckle down and find the twerp.