Ammie Come Home by Barbara Michaels*

Ammie, Come Home is one of the best ghost stories I have ever read, and I almost didn’t read it. When I was in the 2^nd grade I read a ghost story that scared me so bad, I swore I would never read another ghost story as long as I lived. Ammie is part of a trilogy, and I had read the second book, Shattered Silk, which is not a ghost story but just a good old fashioned gothic murder mystery (and wonderful in its own right). My mom kept telling me that I should read Ammie because I loved Shattered so much. I finally picked it up from my local used book store to shut her up! Now it is one of my favorite books of all time. It tells the story of Ruth and her niece Sarah that live in an old house in Georgetown. One night, as a lark, Ruth decides to hold a séance. This seemingly innocent activity turns sinister when an otherworldly voice does penetrate the ordinary, but it comes from Sarah and not from the medium! This in turn releases a terror in the house that Ruth, Sarah, and their friends Pat and Bruce must combat. I think what I like most about Michaels’ ghost stories is that there is a mystery to be solved and not just terror. Once they know the reason behind the haunting, the haunting stops. This book was also made into a really bad made-for-TV movie called The House That Wouldn’t Die.