The Happy Hollisters and the Haunted House Mystery (The Happy Hollisters, No. 21) - Hardcover

Jerry West

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1299704514 ISBN 13: 9781299704510

Publisher: Doubleday, 1962

Synopsis

GHOST HUNTER WANTED TO RID A HAUNTED HOUSE OF SPOOKS! APPLY MRS. NEELEY. THE ANTIQUE HOUSE. Their curiosity aroused over this unusual advertisement, Pete and Pam Hollister visit Mrs. Neeley to apply for the job. At first, they think the elderly lady is imagining things when she tells them that the spinning wheel sings and the grandfather clock strikes thirteen. However, they quickly change their minds when they see a light flickering in one of the windows and hear frightening cries coming from the old mansion. Running from the house that night, Pam loses her shoe in a tangled shrub. When she returns with the other members of the Shoreham Detective Club, they cannot find the shoe nor any clue to its whereabouts. Instead, they spot a stranger watching the Antique House. Pete later catches the same man watching the Hollister home and suddenly the family finds itself involved in another mystery almost as baffling as the one surrounding the Antique House. How the Hollisters cleverly hunt down the "ghosts" hidden in the haunted house provides a thrilling climax to an adventure filled with danger, fun, and excitement.

About this title

About the Author

The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West was actually written by Andrew E. Svenson, a prolific yet somewhat anonymous, writer of books for children. Jerry West was the pen name assigned to Svenson when he started writing The Happy Hollisters for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packager well-known for its development of children's book series including Tom Swift, The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. Many of these series were intended to have long publishing lives, and were written by multiple authors using the same pseudonym. The Happy Hollisters, however, were all written by Andrew Svenson, whose identity as Jerry West was kept secret until several years after his death in 1975. Andrew Svenson was born in Belleville, NJ, in 1910, and his interest in writing started early. He was editor of his high school newspaper and yearbook at Barringer High School in Newark, and then went on to study Creative Writing at the University of Pittsburgh. After his graduation in 1932, he worked as a reporter and editor for the Newark Star Eagle and the Newark Evening News. During this time, Andrew Svenson was encouraged by his friend and co-worker Howard Garis (author of Uncle Wiggily) to try his hand at juvenile fiction. Svenson joined the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1948, where he contributed to established series as Franklin W. Dixon (The Hardy Boys) and as Laura Lee Hope (The Bobbsey Twins). The first volume in The Happy Hollisters was published in 1953 by Doubleday & Company, and he was made a partner in the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1961. As he wrote and developed 33 titles in The Happy Hollisters, he was also creating additional series for children under other pen names: Bret King by Dan Scott and The Tollivers by Alan Stone, the first series written for and about African-American children. Andrew Svenson wrote more than 70 adventure and mystery novels for children, which were published in 17 languages and sold millions of copies. The Hollister family was modeled on his own family and he often used Svenson family events and travels as the foundation for The Happy Hollisters books. He also kept copious newspaper clippings for story ideas, and interviewed hundreds of school children and teachers for additional suggestions. These ideas were worked into his storylines, adding an educational element that was appreciated by parents and educators alike. Children loved the books for their elements of danger and excitement geared to their comprehension level.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1962
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1299704514
• ISBN 13: 9781299704510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Helen S. Hamilton
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 183