When her dog snatches her science project and runs away with it ten-year-old Cassie Larchmont follows her dog to an old Victorian mansion near the lake (Hollenbeck House). Her mother has told her to stay away from that house. (It is said that a crazy old woman, Myrtle, lives there and murdered her two children long ago and no one ever found their bodies.) When Cassie catches up with her dog an old lady (Myrtle) comes out of the mansion and mistakes Cassie for someone called Ellen and starts coming after her. Frightened, Cassie runs away and trips, falls, and hits her head. She then hears a childish voice telling her to not be afraid and that they will help her. She is then helped to her feet. When Cassie turns to thank her rescuer she sees no one there. Cassie then goes home.

That night Cassie wakes up from a dream, looks out of her bedroom window toward Hollenbeck House, and sees Myrtle, dead and hanging from a tree. Cassie wonders if she saw someone else in the dark, near the tree by Myrtle’s body.

Some of Cassie’s friends (Diane and Lisa) come to Lake Solaria (where Cassie lives) during the summer with their families. Cassie loves spending time with her friends. One day she meets a mysterious new girl named Nicole who is dressed in very old clothes who wants to be Cassie’s friend. Cassie introduces Nicole to Diane and Lisa. One day the girls get together and go over to the old Hollenbeck mansion. Nicole says she knows how to get inside and she says there is something wonderful in the house. When they enter the house it is old, decayed, and dirty but Nicole leads them to a special, secret room filled with so many toys and dolls…a dream room. The girls love it and play with the toys, but since Myrtle just died here and their parents don’t want them going to the house the girls make it their secret club/room and plan to go to the room in the house often.

As time goes by the girls start to wonder why Nicole shows up out of the blue and leaves suddenly. They never get to meet her family or see where she lives. And why does she wear the same strange old clothes all the time? Then bad accidents and deaths start happening around Lake Solaria/Hollenbeck House. A police detective is on the scene trying to find out who is responsible for all this. But the more he looks into the evidence and Hollenbeck House, the more he begins to think that this may be something more frightening and beyond their control.

This was a really great, spooky read. Nicole was a totally creepy little kid. I liked the cast of characters, some were good, some were bad. I couldn’t wait to finish the book to find out what was going to happen. The setting on the lake and Hollenbeck House was eerie.

A captivating and compelling read from the 1980’s. ( )

this is a chiller!!! I think the fact that it's children makes it all the more suspenseful!!! ( )