SOLVED. Paranormal about a brother & sister who are dropped at some relative's hotel. Older couple at the hotel tell them about the ghost of a woman who haunts the place. Kids think they're crazy & try to scare them by pretending to be the ghost. [s]

[Abby]

I read this book when I was in elementary school, so about 5-8 years ago. I have no idea when it was published but it didn't seem old at the time. Wasn't a very big book but I can't remember what the cover looked like. The boy and girl are young, probably around 9-13. When they pretend to be the ghost they find a bunch of old clothes in the hotel and dress the girl in a long white dress, pretty sure they paint her face white also. They wait until dark and then the girl stands outside the old couples hotel room window while the boy hides. She then starts to wail/scream. When the old couple comes to their window to look outside she turns and points at them wailing louder. The next day the couple excitedly tell the kids about it and they get a good laugh out of it. The only other thing I can remember is towards the end of the book. Apparently there was an actual ghost of a woman who hung herself. She worked at a foster home/orphanage for boys, which used to be the hotel I think. One day she locked them all outside in the snow and they all froze to death, that is when she killed herself. The ghost then like gets into the boy's head somehow? He climbs the same tree that she killed herself in and ties a noose around his own neck and the ghost is trying to get him to jump off the branch it's tied to. I'm pretty sure during all this his sister is yelling and crying at him to stop but I'm not sure. Can't remember how it ends.

[Meg]

All the lovely bad ones by Mary Downing Hahn!

[Abby]

Meggie wrote: "All the lovely bad ones by Mary Downing Hahn!"
Thank you so much!! Been driving myself crazy for the past few months trying to remember it

[Rainbowheart]

All the Lovely Bad Ones for the link.

I think this should be in the Children's/YA Solved folder.