The Haunted Room is a young adult novel, originally printed in 1889, and reprinted by Lamplighter Publishing.  Like all of Lamplighter’s books, it was chosen to promote Godly character and good morals through an engaging story. This hard-bound, gold-embossed book retails for $26.00.

The Haunted Room tells the story of a father and his three teen and young adult children who inherit a run-down estate in the English countryside. There is great mystery concerning a “haunted room” in the house, the bedroom of the former master of the house that had been bricked-in and unused since his death 50 years earlier. Before the family moves to the estate, the children’s uncle challenges them to consider their own “haunted rooms,” those areas of the heart that conceal each person’s greatest flaw or sin. He names the sin of each young person, and while each denies the flaws in his or her own character, these besetting sins are clear to the other characters and the reader. Through the course of this suspenseful plot, the characters eventually come to realize and confront their own tendencies to pride, fear, and selfishness.

The Haunted Room was a enjoyable book to read. Although it started a bit slowly with, in my opinion, a bit too much moralizing and explanation, the pace picked up into a mystery with a surprise ending.  As an adult, I enjoyed reading this novel, but I think that it would also be enjoyed by many teens who enjoy good “clean” fiction and old-fashioned stories.

My 16-year-old daughter enjoyed the book as well, saying, “A Haunted Room is my new favorite book. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down! I did wish it had a little more action in each chapter but it still had just enough to pique my interest.”

I recommend The Haunted Room as a family novel or teen to adult reading. It would be a great addition to any family’s collection of wholesome books.

-Product review by Debbie Lott, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2017