The Screaming Staircase

by Jonathan Stroud
Reviewed by Shriyanshu Kode

The Story:

Lucy, a young girl, teams up with the Lockwood & Co. ghost hunting agency. Ever since the Problem occurred in London, there has been a need for people with a special skill called the Talent. Lucy has the special skill of listening to ghost whispers. After an ugly ending in her hometown she joins a new ghost hunting agency, Lockwood & Co., in London.
Lucy still carries her experiences from her last stint and continues not to believe in herself. The agency is made up of two young and fearless boys, Lockwood and George, and is also ran without any adult supervision. The agency however runs into some quick problems after one of their investigations results in a very bad ending. Lucy blames herself for the shortcomings of the case and continues to carry a lot of blame throughout the story. Lucy also tries to avoid using her talents, thinking that it might hurt the people around her. The agency has its own problems, as Lockwood & Co. now owe money and need to collect the huge amount fast. Hope was not lost yet, since a ghost artifact found in the horrible investigation wreckage has evidence that could lead to an answer for an old mystery. The crew dives into the case hoping to restore the reputation of the agency. The case however abruptly comes to a stall as one of the richest man in all of Britain, Mr. John Fairfax, offers a huge sum of money to search a very dangerous haunted house called Combe Carey Hall. In desperation they take the offer and start the investigation. Lucy must believe in her abilities once again as the crew is faced with multiple difficult and dangerous challenges. Lucy, Lockwood, and George also make some very unexpected progress in their case during their investigation. (300)

My Opinion:

When I first started reading the book I thought that it would be a collection of stories as the book was split up into parts. However the really great thing about this book was that it really made a full circle which summed up the story wonderfully. The conflict in the main character is stated evidently by the author and really applies to our current society. Many people do not trust their abilities but they need to get past their fear and try to accomplish their feats by themselves. The only real weakness in the story was the beginning since most of it was a flashback. The flashback stopped me from getting to the thrilling story itself but it also introduced the conflict and provided significant details.  The author used fantastic word choice that forced me to use context clues in order to find out what a particular word meant. I would recommend this book to seventh and eighth graders since it was easy to understand but also had some challenging vocabulary. Lastly, I would rate this book eight out of ten stars and would gladly read it again. (189)

Study Questions and Vocabulary:

First Section

1. How did Mr. Hope died

1a. Mr. Hope died by tripping on the staircase and smashing his head on the floor. He died on the spot. (pg. 11)

2. What item did Lockwood forget to bring to the ghost hunt?

2a. Lockwood forgot to bring the chains to the ghost hunt (pg. 23)

3. What is Lucy’s full name?

3a. Lucy’s full name is Lucy Jean Carlyle (pg. 57)

4. What were the three objects Lucy had to study during the Lockwood interview?

4a. Lucy had to study a gentleman’s wristwatch, a piece of lacy red ribbon, and a long-bladed penknife during the interview. (pg. 85)

5. Why did Lockwood have to go to the hospital after the investigation of the house.

5a. Lockwood had to go to the hospital after the investigation because he was ghost touched. (pg. 119)

1. manacled (pg. 55)

2. sinewy (pg. 57)

3. innocuous (pg. 10)

4. engrossed (pg. 85)

5. vigil (pg. 122)

Middle Section

6. How much did Lockwood and co. have to pay to the Hope family after setting Hope’s house on fire?

6a. Lockwood & Co. had to pay £60,000 to the Hope family after setting the Hope’s house on fire. (pg. 135)

7. What ghost source did Lucy accidently leave in her coat pocket?

7a. The locket of Annabel Ward was left by Lucy in her coat pocket. (pg. 153)

8. Who did DEPRAC bring in to trial for the suspicion of murdering Annabel Ward?

8a. DEPRAC brought in Hugo Blake for the suspicion of murdering Hugo Blake. (pg. 197)

9. Who asked Lockwood to investigate a very dangerous house called Combe Carey Hall?

9a. Mr. John Fairfax asked Lockwood to investigate the house and Mr. Fairfax is also one of the most richest people in the British Isles (pg. 216)

10. Why did Lucy unleash the ghost of Annabel Ward?

10a. Lucy unleashed the ghost of Annabel Ward in order to find a clue in the case. (pg. 244)

6. collateral (pg. 134)

7. galumphing (pg. 161)

8. askance (pg. 195)

9. ectoplasm (pg. 245)

10. trifle (pg. 212)

Last Section

11. What is the name of the place that Lockwood and Co were going to investigate?

11a. The name of the place that Lockwood and Co were going to investigate is called Combe Carey Hall (pg. 252)

12. What did Lockwood bring to the investigation that Fairfax forbid him to bring?

12a. Fairfax forbid Lockwood from bringing explosives and Greek fire to the investigation but Lockwood still brought them. (pg. 278)

13. How did Lockwood, Lucy, and George get out of the Red Room.

13a. Lucy found a secret exit in the wall which led to a tunnel, and then escaped through that tunnel. (pg. 306)

14. How is Fairfax related to the Annabel Ward case?

14a. Fairfax is related to the Annabel Ward case because he is the actual murderer of Annabel. (pg. 339)

15. What did the haunted house become a year later?

15a. The haunted house became a prep school a year later. (pg. 368)

11. oppressive (pg. 254)

12. insidiously (pg. 297)

13. timorous (pg. 264)

14. convalescent (pg. 331)

15. callous (pg. 379)