Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Haunted Mansion Mystery (Barbie Mystery Files, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Haunted Mansion Mystery

(Barbie Mystery Files #1)

Linda Williams Aber

4.13 · Rating details · 30 ratings · 6 reviews

A Mystery for Barbie...

Something very strange is going on at Mr. Willow's old mansion. There are spooky whispers in the wind and ghostly footprints keep appearing in the hallways. Mr. Willow is so scared, he's thinking of leaving.

Is the house really haunted? Barbie is suspicious. Could someone be after the Willow fortune? It's up to Barbie and her friends to investigate.

B ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 56 pages

Published October 1st 2002 by Scholastic, Inc.

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Haunted Mansion Mystery, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie by Tanya Lee Stone

Ty Beanie Babies Collector's Value Guide by Collectors Publishing Co.

Ty Beanie Babies Summer 2000 Collector's Value Guide by CheckerBee Publishing

Toys on the Cover

114 books — 3 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.13 ·

Rating details

· 30 ratings · 6 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Haunted Mansion Mystery (Barbie Mystery Files, #1)

Jan 16, 2017 Elizabeth Williams rated it it was amazing

Five stars for some of my best childhood memories. This was the first book I remember reading by myself. This was before Narnia came along. I was also only 7 yrs. old. So don't judge me. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2021 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021

review to come

flag Like · see review

Dec 20, 2011 Amara Tanith rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012, reviewed, genre-kidlit-mystery

My dad likes slot cars, and when I was younger we used to periodically set a track up in the family room. Every few years or so we'd go into D.C. (or was it Baltimore?) and stop at a store that specialized in slot cars, "toy" trains, and corresponding accessories. He'd always go pick out new cars and track loops and whatnot. I'd always beeline for the miniature train stuff, and stare in wonder at the tiny people, animals, signs, buildings, etcetera. I loved--love--to look at the little towns the My dad likes slot cars, and when I was younger we used to periodically set a track up in the family room. Every few years or so we'd go into D.C. (or was it Baltimore?) and stop at a store that specialized in slot cars, "toy" trains, and corresponding accessories. He'd always go pick out new cars and track loops and whatnot. I'd always beeline for the miniature train stuff, and stare in wonder at the tiny people, animals, signs, buildings, etcetera. I loved--love--to look at the little towns the more dedicated "builders" put together, and I always wished I could have my own.

Because, really, I've always liked to create and to control. I always loved those train towns, and as a little girl I loved dolls (later, "paper dolls" and now world-building). But when I went to the library down by the beach--not my usual library--and discovered that they made "Barbie" books, I discovered something else that I quite enjoyed.

I was probably ten years old before I discovered the Barbie dolls had books--back in 2003, my family had only had its first computer for about two years, and I wasn't allowed to go on the Internet with it except for specific sites (Neopets, mostly). So my only way to discover books was by actually going to the library, which meant older and more obscure children's books totally slipped by radar. Then I found a shelf of Barbie books at a library about a half-an-hour away from my normal one, and was ever so surprised. 'Course, I was pretty much past my doll phase by then; I had started to make the transition from play-acting my stories with plastic and paper dolls to actually writing them on paper and my first personal computer (which had literally nothing on it besides Microsoft Office 2000). But I discovered that these Barbie picture books, while incredibly juvenile and rather mediocre even amongst tie-in children's books, they did have one thing that fascinated me.

Every other page in the book was a photo of a Barbie doll acting out whatever was going on in the plot. It's the silliest thing, but it enchanted me. Hell, it still makes me smile. Really, it's nothing more than a larger-scale train town. I wished so much that I could set up a miniature town or scene like that myself, especially now that I knew a way to interweave that concept with writing. So I read those ridiculous little Barbie books well into middle school, enamored merely with the pictures. 'Course, now that Barbie "Princess" stuff is so popular, I don't think they bother to make "normal" Barbie stories anymore, but... fond memories, at least.

So when I found the sequel to this book at the local thrift store, I couldn't say no. It was only $0.20, so how could I lose? Maybe I'd get some fun pictures to look at. But I wanted to start at the beginning in the unlikely case that there was an internal timeline I needed to be aware of, so I tracked this one done through the state-wide Marina system.

Disappointingly, the only image I got to grin in amusement at was the cover. I expected at least a page or two of pictures in the middle, but... no dice. And yes, I do feel ridiculously silly complaining that a book didn't have enough pictures, but... c'mon, it's Barbie. Isn't "silly" the whole point?

So as far as I'm concerned, this book didn't really have much to do with Barbie. The character's name is "Barbie Roberts", but... without the cover picture, you'd never know it was that Barbie Roberts. Her siblings aren't there, and none of the peripheral characters I'm familiar with--Ken, Teresa, Midge, Tommy, etcetera--are, either.

On the other hand, it certainly wasn't bad. There's nothing even ridiculously silly that I can make fun of. It was just a completely average mystery for children; great for those who love all things Barbie, but just average for the less enthusiastic.

The absolute best thing I can say about this? If your sons and/or daughters are genuine Barbie fans and aren't yet "into" reading, this series and the other older Barbie series (you know, the non-obsessed-with-princesses ones) might be able to change that. ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 28, 2021 Ingrid rated it liked it

Ok I admit this was more intriguing they I expected it to be

flag Like · see review

Oct 15, 2018 Mella rated it really liked it

Shelves: audience-children, borrowed-library-ebook, borrowed-library-read, crafts-and-hobbies-gardening, cozy-mystery-crime-thief, genre-cozy-mystery, genre-mystery, middle-grade-cozy-mystery, mystery-and-detective-cozy, mystery-and-detective-sleuths

Barbie is a reporter in this series and in the midst of her assigned jobs, finds a mystery.

In this one, the town is getting ready for the upcoming 100th Founder Day Celebration and Barbie is reporting on the town's founder, Mr Fielding Willow. A botanist, Fielding experimented with plants and created the Fielding rose - the reason why the town in named after him. He died before he could share the secret formula so the wider mystery is where he hid his formula.

Honestly it sounds more complicate ...more

flag Like · see review