The Crossroads – Haunted Mysteries #1

The Crossroads

Haunted Mysteries (#1)

by Chris Grabenstein

Random House, 2008

336 Pages

Middle Grade (8-12 and up)

 
Zack Jennings just lost his mom. It wasn’t an easy death either, it was a long, slow cancer death, and to make things worse, Zack’s mom could be cruel. The book starts with a new beginning for Zack, his dad, and his new step-mom, but the stress of coping with his mother’s illness has already defined Zack as a fighter. Good thing, too, because he can see ghosts… and one of them has it in for his family.

In the front yard of Zack’s new house, a huge old oak sits watching with malignant evil. When the ancient tree is hit by lightning, the soul of an evil, brylcreem-wearing greaser straight out of Christine   is freed, seething with hate. You see, it was Zack’s grandfather, the town sheriff, who killed this Happy Days   reject’s only son.

With the help from other spirits who were killed in a bus crash at The Crossroads, Zack and his new mom Judy face the very real, corporeal threat when the spirit realizes that Zack is a descendent of the man who shot his son and tries to exact revenge. The ghost of Clint Eberhart possesses the body of his own grandson and forces him to do unspeakable things, then with the aid of his surviving fiancée, the two kidnap Zack. When the Grandson dies struggling to re-gain control of his body, the infant great-grandson becomes the target of the spirit’s mad aspirations, and it’s up to Zack to save the baby.

Although the characters’ relationships to one another can be confusing at times, it’s always clear who the bad guy is, and there are some genuinely scary elements here. The idea of a spirit being trapped in a tree, especially a malevolent one that can affect the lives of the living by dropping branches on passing cars, can make you think twice about that gnarled old tree at the end of the path while walking alone through the woods at dusk. In fact, Grabenstein offers a new aspect to the mythology of ghosts: that one spirit’s unfinished business might not only keep him earthbound, but prevent the spirits of many other innocents from passing on.

The mystery of the crossroads is the central theme: why have so many ghosts gathered, and what truly happened in the Greyhound bus crash so long ago. Judy’s research reveals the relationship between the evil Eberhart and the Jennings family, allowing her to come to Zack’s aid, and helping her come to terms with her sudden new role as step-mother. Another creepy component is the tree itself. Even after the tree has been reduced to cinders, the stump remains, anchoring the spirit it has held for so long. Luckily Zack has found a friend in Davy, who has insight on dealing with the supernatural.

The story flows well, and the lighthearted humor and short chapters make for easy reading. It is realistic in its treatment of how its characters would respond to both ghostly happenings and in the results of a fire that gets out of control to change the family’s lives forever.