The Haunting
#6223.79 adjusted 3.87 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1982 Reading commitment Low Margaret Mahy Last reviewed 2026-09-27
Overview
Margaret Mahy's 1982 ghost story for children, the first of her two Carnegie Medal winners, follows eight-year-old Barney Palmer, who is visited by a shadowy figure announcing that Barnaby is dead, and who fears the message is meant for him. With his sisters, the talkative would-be novelist Tabitha and the silent Troy, he uncovers the secret of his dead mother's family, the Scholars, who produce a magician in every generation, and the identity of the missing great-uncle who may be haunting him. Set, like The Changeover, in the author's New Zealand, but a separate story.
Urban fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Haunting (1982) core · 3.79 (1,285 ratings); A separate story from The Changeover (1984): different family, no shared characters. Filmed as The Haunting of Barney Palmer (1987).
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Haunting? The Haunting's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Haunting finished? Complete (1982).
- How much reading does The Haunting take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~135 pages).
- How is The Haunting ranked? #622 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,285 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #622?
Ranked #622 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.79 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,285 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.04 behind #621, The Wrath of Ambar.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 1k ratings · Ranks #622 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Carnegie Medal, 1982: won: The Haunting
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.79 across 1,285 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Haunting (Margaret Mahy) accepted 2026-09-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-27
Rule: Core Canon = The Haunting (1982) only, standalone.