Claire is a scientist. She likes things that can be tested and proven. She is completely embarrassed by her dad's obsession with the paranormal. He's written a successful book and does a haunted tour of Chicago every night. She hates all this! But the truth is she's also scared. She believes in science and numbers, but sometimes that doesn't really matter when you are alone in a dark alley.
When her dad's normal assistant has a family emergency one night, Claire is roped into being his assistant. She doesn't have to do much besides hand out flyers and make sure the bus doesn't get towed when her dad is taking tourists on a walk of haunted locations, but Claire absolutely does not want to go. What if someone from school sees her and uses this information to torment her? It's humiliating.
When she notices a small sad looking boy in old-fashioned clothes at the back of the bus, Claire gets a strange feeling. Then he disappears and no one else has any memory of his. Claire tries to brush it off as just her imagination, but it soon becomes clear that something from the haunted tour has followed her home. There are strange sounds in the night, flooded dresser drawers, and cryptic messages on the bathroom wall. Who is this ghost, and what does he want? Claire and her older brother Sam race to uncover the truth before the ghost's frustrations lead to violence against her!
Middle school readers will love this creepy ghost story rooted in a real historical tragedy from Lindsay Currie. All the events and places on Claire's dad's ghost tour are real and could lead to further inquiry from readers, and the ghost from this story is based on the Eastland disaster of 1915 where a real ship sank killing hundreds of people, many of whom were children. Claire also works through a misunderstanding she has with her best friend and a new girl at school. Plus, it's refreshing to see a supportive sibling relationship. I will definitely recommend this ghostly chiller to my students! Highly recommended.
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