Hauntings 7: All on a Winter's Day
The series should cater for that large group of children who are so fascinated by the strange and ghostly, and these two show the enormous range possible within the genre. Susan Price is always worth reading and here she has a strongly realistic story about Sarah spending a holiday with no-nonsense Gran and Uncle. Out of a very ordinary world the strange story slowly emerges. Uncle Bryan has special powers, as does Granny, and makes Sarah a pet out of a fox stole. This responds to Sarah's direct commands and then begins to respond to her unexpressed anger. It's satisfyingly horrifying and realistic too. Lisa Taylor's story is much harder to get into. It's strange from the moment that Lucy and Hugh wake up to find mother gone, everything changed and ghostly figures in occupation. It's intense and, by the end, engrossing with a lovely twist in the final pages.