Children's story about girl plays with ghost, smell of lilacs(??), doppelgänger?

[Sam]

Hi all, I have been searching for a book I remember reading as a child. I have forgotten the specifics but it was about a young girl (orphan?) who hides out in the woods at the bottom of the garden and plays with another girl who later turns out to be a ghost (doppelgänger?) and steals her life, leaving her trapped in the wood, peering out at the house she used to live in and watching the doppelgänger live her life. There was always the smell of flowers (lilac?) when the girl was around.

I'm not sure if I read this in some horror compilation, or it was an actual book. I'd love if anyone knows and this rings a bell.

Thanks

*Edit: I think I read this around 1993 ish, and it was set in the modern day.

[Cheryl has hopes her life will calm down soonish]

When were you a child - so we can guess when the book may have been written - ?

Did it seem to take place nowadays, or in historical times?

[Sam]

Sorry, this was back in around 1993 ish. It was set in modern times.

[Kim]

I don't have any help for you, other than to say this rings a bell for me too - and I would have read it sometime in the late 80s. Might help with dating it, assuming I'm not out to lunch...

[Caroline]

This is bugging me. Do you think it might be a book by Mary Downing Hahn?

[Kim]

Ooh - I looked at the book list, and I remember reading a couple of them. I think Doll in the Garden might be the book the OP was thinking of, but I remember I loved Wait Till Helen Comes!

[Caroline]

Celticoracle wrote: "Ooh - I looked at the book list, and I remember reading a couple of them. I think Doll in the Garden might be the book the OP was thinking of, but I remember I loved Wait Till Helen Comes!"

I adored her book The Sara Summer when I was a tween. I think it was my favorite middle-grade book. I read it at least three times. :]

[Sam]

Thank you for the suggestions. Those two books sound very familiar (I'm going to buy and read them now haha), but unfortunately neither one is the one I was thinking of :(

It definitely involved the girls swopping places, with the ghost/ doppleganger stealing the human girl's life. It also heavily featured the smell of some flower, I think Lilac though could be violets?

[Sam]

Bump, any more suggestions? Seems I may have picked one no one remembers :(

[Kitty]

could it be stranger with my face by lois duncan

[Kitty]

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83...

[Cheryl has hopes her life will calm down soonish]

Sometimes it takes awhile, but there have been books found for people here after years of bumping. Bump every month or two and someone will have joined the group or one of us will have read it in the meantime. :)

[Louise]

I feel sure I've read this. Was a maze involved somehow?

[Sam]

I don't remember a maze :/ stranger with my face sounds familiar also but still not the one.

The more I think about it, the more I have a feeling it might have been in a horror collection rather than a book in its own right. I don't remember it being a particularly long story.

[Sam]

And thanks Cheryl, that's a good idea :)

[Kitty]

Maybe this will http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/d...

[Kika96]

After reading your description and other suggestions, I think you should try The Old Willis Place. Its about a girl and a boy who live out in the woods as ghosts, watching their own house. It's also by Mary Downing Hahn. But I'm not too sure about the switching places part.
Nevertheless, here:

[Sam]

Thanks Kika but that book was published in 2004, about 10 years after I remember reading this story!

I think it must have been from a book of collected stories/ horror compilation. I wonder how I can search for that, if at all?

[Sam]

Do you know, looking back at all your comments I've just realised I did actually read Stranger with my face around that time! It affected me deeply and I had dreams about it for months afterwards!! Wow, that only just came back to me!

I still don't think it's the one I'm looking for asI specifically remember there being the overpowering smell of this flower whenever the bad girl was near :-/

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sam, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Cheryl has hopes her life will calm down soonish]

abandoned

[Sam]

I'm still looking!

[Sheila]

This might be too old, but Jane-Emily?

[Carmen]

Wait Till Helen Comes

[Rainbowheart]

Maybe Lucy Beware! by Pamela Sykes. There's a first book in the series but I don't think it matches.

[Jack]

Series or stand alone?

[Rainbowheart]

Still looking, Sam?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Still looking now?