Readers who like nothing more than to have shivers running up and down their spines will be delighted with Phil ‘Aveline Jones’ Hickes’ spooky new series.
Shadowhall Academy is a boarding school, all chilly corridors, creaky floorboards and rambling grounds. Lilian feels out of place when she arrives as new girl, and strange knocking sounds from the walls at night only make her feel more unsettled. She does make friends with other girls in her dorm, but the unexplained – supernatural? – events don’t stop.
Her new school harbours all sorts of secrets and old sorrows it seems – can Lilian and her friends resolve some of these before something terrible befalls one of them? As the climax approaches, you’ll find yourself turning the pages faster and faster while simultaneously dreading what’s coming next!
This is another superior and deliciously scary story from an author who really knows how to keep us on edge.
Welcome to Shadowhall Academy, where spirits haunt the school halls. A brilliantly spooky new series from the author of Aveline Jones.
I heard a tapping noise, right by my head. Like there was someone in the wall trying to get my attention...
When Lilian Jones starts at creepy, cold and bewilderingly large Shadowhall Academy, she's nervous about making friends. And when her roommates tell her the school is haunted, she thinks they're just trying to scare the new girl. But then bizarre things start happening - tapping and whispers in the walls at night, tales of missing students and strange figures in the woods. Lilian discovers that not only are the school ghost stories true, but her new friends could be in danger. So she sets out to uncover the secrets of Shadowhall Academy, whatever it takes.
'I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a story so much. It's a classic 'just one more chapter' book; genuinely chilling and made my heart thud on several occasions (especially in the library!!). The characters are brilliantly drawn, and I felt like part of the gang as their friendship developed. I especially loved Serena. I also loved the wry humour, and the cold but at the same time homely atmosphere Phil so cleverly builds in the school. I think kids are going to absolutely love it.' - Jennifer Killick, author of Dread Wood
"Boarding school and spookiness - Malory Towers gone rogue!" LesleyParr, author of When the War Came Home
Author
About Phil Hickes
Born in the UK, Phil now lives with his wife in Portland, Oregon, where he works as an advertising copywriter. He has a passion for horror, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night. His short stories have been published in adult horror anthologies, but Phil turned his hand to writing middle grade as he wanted to create the same visceral thrill he remembers from reading Alan Garner, Clive King and Roald Dahl.
The Haunting of Aveline Jones is his first middle grade novel.
