9/10/11

Kristy and the Haunted Mansion (M#9)

Original Publication Date: 1993

Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles

Synopsis:

The Krashers (a team of the best of Bart's Bashers and Kristy's Krushers) are together again for a game against a team in the town of Redfield, thirty miles away (how did they find out about this team?). There are four Bashers plus Buddy Barrett, Karen Brewer, Nicky Pike, Jackie Rodowsky, and David Michael Thomas. After winning a close game, they head home in a rainstorm (Nicky goes with his parents). A wrong turn here, a washed out bridge there, and before you know it they find themselves needing to stay overnight in a creepy mansion, let in by a creepier caretaker who lives in a small cottage on the property. Naturally, a mystery is afoot.

They find out this is the infamous Sawyer house, which is rumored to be haunted. Later, Karen finds an old diary belonging to a young woman who lived there a few decades ago, Dorothy. She was intending to run off and marry her beau, but decided she didn't want to live under any man's thumb, and simply disappeared. She was presumed dead. Eventually, the group discovers that the caretaker is the man she was going to marry, and that the Dorothy stayed close, eventually opening a sewing store near Stoneybrook. They find this out after getting back home. They go ask her if she's Dorothy, and she confirms, and says perhaps she'll go visit her old flame.

Yeah...she let everyone believe she was dead for decades and then thinks it'll be quaint to ring up her long-lost love. That should go well.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: popcorn

Kristy is scared of lightning.

Kristy's pretty sure ghosts don't exist, which is about right: she's eschewed the idea for the most part in the past, but is less convinced when in weird situations.

Normally Claudia's outfits don't interest me too much (I know, sacrilege), but two have always stood out to me: her Ms. Frizzle get up that she wears in RS#40 and her tie-dye clothes that run in the rain. The latter is featured in this book.

Kristy likes anchovies.

Kristy thinks Stacey may be re-thinking her relationship with Sam.


Their Families:

Charlie remembers when Kristy was a baby.

Sam likes anchovies.


The Club:

How terrifying for Mrs. Barrett, to have Buddy lost again.


SMS: nothing new


PSA Time:

Maybe, when you're driving a bunch of people to place you've never been before, you should write down the actual street directions, so you know to turn left on 175 Street instead of at the rock wall with the vines on it.


Misc:

So far the Krashers have only appeared in mysteries.

I'm not entirely sure if it's legal for Charlie, at seventeen, to drive a van that seats twelve people. It seems like it shouldn't be allowed, but in Connecticut nearly twenty years ago, maybe.

One reason that Dorothy gives for running away is that she wants to travel before settling down. I understand that things were different in 1935 (when her story is set), but I usually don't understand when people make that excuse today. I married relatively young, at 21, and when I was engaged I remember someone in a position of authority asking, "Why are you rushing to get married now? Don't you want to go see the world?" I responded, "Yes. With him."


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 4

Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Summers after 8th grade: 3

BSC Fights: 8

SMS Staff and Faculty: 32

Students (other than the BSC): 98; 65 8th graders, 2 7th graders, 18 6th graders, 12 unspecified

Clients: 29

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 73

Crushes:
Claudia-8
Stacey-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Mallory-1

4 comments:

Laura said...

I also love Claud's Ms. Frizzle outfit. (That was the first time I'd ever heard of Ms. Frizzle.) I have now since read some of the books and seen the tv show. I always want to read books I hear about in BSC books and think/thought it was so cool when I'd already read one they mentioned.

I never thought about Dorothy letting everyone think she was dead before going to see Will, back in the day. (I must've had my own batch of Kool-Aid or something 'cause I just thought it was romantic like the BSC and Karen did.) Now, though, I just laugh because, yeah, you're right, that really IS going to go well.

Did the Krashers ever practice together before playing a game? (Maybe they did and we just didn't hear about it.)

One reason that Dorothy gives for running away is that she wants to travel before settling down. I understand that things were different in 1935 (when her story is set), but I usually don't understand when people make that excuse today. I married relatively young, at 21, and when I was engaged I remember someone in a position of authority asking, "Why are you rushing to get married now? Don't you want to go see the world?" I responded, "Yes. With him."

I'm not married but I totally understand this.(Your "with him" idea.)I used to think like your "someone in a position of authority" and wanted to see the world before 'settling down' but now I think/realise that if I ever found the right person, I'd want to share those experiences with him. (A friend of mine in college got married about the same age as you and I commented that she got married young. And I wasn't condemning it, just commenting and she said "There's no sense waiting when you know it's right.")

May I ask how you know KatHM comes before SBC? Because I have a list of BSC franchise books in order (or so I thought) and I have Mansion listed after Big Crush and the only info I can find on them is that they both came out in June 1993.

SJSiff said...

I used to think Dorothy's idea of surprising Will after decades was romantic, too, until I read a snark of the book and had it pointed out to me.

The Krashers team was formed in the seventh mystery (Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs) and practicing together was at least implied.

Since meeting my husband, he and I have done three big roads trips during which we've seen the 48 contiguous United States, plus two Canadian provinces. 21 is too young for some people, but not everyone. We just had our five year anniversary last month. :) (In case you're curious, the authority figure was one of the officers in charge of my ROTC unit, of which I was a member at the time)

I figured out that the Haunted Mansion came first by reading the dreaded chapter two. It mentions Stacey and Sam starting to drift but not as far as they have by the end of Stacey's Big Crush, so it should come chronologically first. The latter also seems to be set later in the school year.

Laura said...

Congratulations on your anniversary!

Yes, Dorothy's selfishness was pointed out to me through a snark as well.

Re: Krashers practice - I figured they probably practiced but I just thought it was weird that we never got a sitting-chapter where one of the BSCers took her/his charges to a practice, 'cause we heard about Krusher practices all the time.

What does ROTC stand for? Something Something (Officers, maybe?) Training Corps?(I'm pretty sure it's not Rachael Ought To Chill - as said by Topanga on Boy Meets World but she really just thought Rachael should stop talking.)

Oh, okay. I remembered SBC being near the end of the school year and I'd thought Mansion was during the summertime but I haven't read either in a while. ("m on a series re-read now and just about to start Dawn and the Impossible Three.) I think when I was making my list I had a system where I put RS books first followed by SS then Mysteries then Karen books if I just had the month and year to go by. Or if I'd read two books that had the same date, I'd try to figure it out by clues in the books. I should go back and do that with all of them that I have.

Speaking of the dreaded Chapter 2, I actually like reading that. I like the perspective flip you get with each of the members.

I know by M#14 (Stacey and the Mystery Money) she thinks of Sam as her old boyfriend because she mentions that when she and Terry run into him and his date at the Rosebud Cafe it felt like she was saying "Hi, old boyfriend, meet new boyfriend."

SJSiff said...

ROTC is Reserve Officer Training Corps. During college, I had classes and other training that I did with the intention of commissioning as an officer in the US Air Force, but then my asthma came back. So I got a coaching job and an office job and had a kid instead. Worked out okay in my book! :)

Yeah, Chapter Two isn't horrible, just usually boring.

So sad that Sam and Stacey (I like what you call them: Stam) didn't work out.