The Haunting
core novel 1982 The Haunting
Record
| First published | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.79 (1,285 ratings, collected 2026-09-27) |
| Page count | 135 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780460060974 |
Synopsis
Barney Palmer is a shy eight-year-old living with his father, his stepmother and his two older sisters, the taciturn Troy and the talkative Tabitha, who is writing a novel about the family. He has had imaginary companions before, but one day a shadowy figure appears to him and announces that Barnaby is dead, and Barney, whose full name is Barnaby, fears the message is meant for him. The dead Barnaby turns out to be his great-uncle, and the haunting that follows, with its footsteps and its demanding voice, leads back into the history of his mother's family, the Scholars. In each generation, Tabitha discovers, the Scholars have produced a magician with strange powers, and the missing Great-Uncle Cole, long presumed dead, may be one of them. Barney must find out who is haunting him and why.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Haunting
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Margaret Mahy
Awards (verified)
- Carnegie Medal, 1982: won
Notes
- A separate story from The Changeover (1984): different family, no shared characters. Filmed as The Haunting of Barney Palmer (1987).
Sources
- Wikipedia
- EBSCO Research Starters
- https://www.murrayewing.co.uk/mewsings/2021/05/22/the-haunting-by-margaret-mahy/
- CILIP Carnegie Medals
← The Haunting dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.