All the Lovely Bad Ones

This turned out to be one of my favorite Mary Downing Hahn books, and one of my favorite ghost story books in general. Here's why.I have been disappointed by most of the ghost stories I've read over the past few years. Sometimes nothing really happens until a little bit of ambiguous nonsense on the next to last page. Or we get gruesome hyper-violence. Or we get psycho-thriller literary gamesmanship. Not so with this book.Here, we start with an Inn with a history of hauntings. Two visiting kids decide to fake some ghosty activity and end up waking up the real ghosts. From the blurbs that sounds like the sum of the plot. But no, without doing too much SPOILING it is fair to say that the awakening of the ghosts is really the start of the story, with action, mystery, a deep backstory and some very touching and/or scary interactions with ghosts.The book is fast paced, with a crisp and direct style appropriate for the target reading demo. It's scary, but in an honest thrills sort of way. The book doesn't turn on violent scenes, but is suspenseful and has it's scary moments. The narrator, the older of the two visiting kids, has a matter of fact but reasonably personable style that doesn't overshadow the action. There is a fair amount of mild humor, and some nicely turned phrases and descriptions. The overall effect is tight, well crafted and efficient. There is a fair amount of monologuing, but that doesn't interrupt the flow of the story and keeps the plot on track for younger readers.So, this turned out to be a very satisfying, classically scary and entertaining ghost story with a lot more going for it that I had expected. A nice find.

I introduced my twin 10 year old daughters to the world of Downing Hahn and they just can't get enough! If they get a choice of reading they will always reach first for one of her books.

I have read and loved many of Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories for children (yes, even an adult can appreciate them), and though many of her stories can be quite formulaic, I have enjoyed reading them and recommending them to my students, especially those who love ghost stories. The stories are generally well-plotted and are high on atmosphere, without any offensive language or gore.In "All the Lovely Bad Ones", a pair of siblings who love playing pranks find that the joke is on them when they visit their grandmother at her inn in Vermont during the summer. Both twelve-year-old Travis and his younger sister Corey love playing tricks on people, and when they hear that their grandmother's inn may harbor restless spirits, they playact as ghosts in a bid to get the inn some attention and hopefully more guests for their grandmother's business. Their tricks do attract attention - from both humans and supernatural entities!To Travis and Corey's horror, they find that the inn was once a poorhouse which was run by a cruel and greedy man and his sister. Many poor people died horrible deaths at the farm, and were buried in nameless graves. Among the dead are young boys who are now restless spirits, having been awakened from their sleep by Travis and Corey's shenanigans. Both brother and sister now have to set things right and put the spirits to rest at last.The story moves along, though at times it does appear to drag. The back story of how the poor farm was run and what happened to its hapless residents makes for interesting reading. Travis and Corey are typical fun-loving teens though they can be annoying at times. Overall, it is an atmospheric ghost story that might appeal to upper elementary readers.

Mary Downing Hahn has done it again. She wrote a suspenseful, thrilling, scary ghost story that made me not want to put it down. I recommend all of her books for people who love a good ghost story that sends goose bumps up your spine. All the Lovely Bad Ones is a story that will never make you bored, especially those who believe in the supernatural.

Perfect for my daughter's summer reading. Delivered fast

Just as described

our young advanced reader loves this book (and her other books) - she likes the "scary but not too scary" books and this was perfect for her

Horrible for children

Found this book to be silly rather than spooky. Going by the synopsis, I had expected the haunting to be subtle or gradual, but it begins all of a sudden and is of unbelievable poltergeist type. The ghosts tear up the children’s clothes, books, swing on chandeliers and create a nuisance and embarrassment of themselves. It was ridiculous that the ghost children helped in the digging work and were doing all kinds of activities like living ones. The whole plot seemed contrived, rushed and made up - it's as if the author wrote it just for the heck of writing a book.Would not recommend anyone to read this. The Doll in the Garden is way better.

It is a very good read, not too scary but still engages the reader from start to end.Not Mary Downing Hahn's best but definitely worth reading.