Children's Novel with Creepy House and Boy Who Helps and Befriends Old Man Who Lives There

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Children's Novel with Creepy House and Boy Who Helps and Befriends Old Man Who Lives There

1CarbonatedCaticorn
aug 12, 2022, 10:19 pm

A boy passes by the same creepy old house every day. One day he somehow ends up approaching it and meeting the old man who lives there. I think he was scared of the old man and the place prior to this due to some rumors kids would tell. He ends up helping the old man out by returning regularly to assist with various things (either out of kindness or as a job, I think because the old man can no longer keep up with things around the property) and they end up forming a bond.

I read this book sometime prior to 2007. It was probably aimed at 4th-6th graders or similar.

2CarbonatedCaticorn
aug 12, 2022, 10:19 pm

There was someone looking for what sounded like a similar book many years ago. I’m not positive if it’s the same, but it had some more details that could be helpful: A boy and his friends sometimes race their bikes to an old church, and the loser has to walk on top of the walls around the churchyard. One day the boy falls into the yard and meets the old man who lives there, whom he and his friends are scared of. The man helps him with his scraped knee and the two eventually become friends. Later on, the boy wakes up early to ring the church bells for the old man on Christmas since he can’t do it on his own. In the end the old man dies of pneumonia.