The House of Dies Drear
_cover.jpg) |
|
| Author | Virginia Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Eros Keith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dies Drear |
| Genre | Children's mystery fiction |
| Publisher | Macmillan Publishers |
|
Publication date
|
1968 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 279 pp |
| Awards | Edgar Award |
| LC Class | PZ7.H1828 Ho |
| Followed by | The Mystery of Drear House |
The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton is a children's mystery novel, with sinister goings-on in a reputedly haunted house. It was published by Macmillan in 1968 with illustrations by Eros Keith. The novel received the 1969 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.
The setting of the story is Ohio in 1968. Thomas Small, a 13-year-old African American boy, moves with his family into a house that was once part of the Underground Railroad. His father, Mr. Small, tells Thomas that the caretaker of the house is Mr. Pluto. People think he is the devil because Mr. Pluto rides an old buggy driven by two horses and because Pluto is the Roman name for Hades the god of the underworld.[3] Once they move into the house, strange and scary things begin to happen. They meet a malicious family next to them, the Darrows. In the end, they learn that the Darrows are doing all they can to scare away the Smalls and get the treasure located in the underground railroad tunnel.
Thomas Small is a 13-year-old boy, moving with his family from North Carolina to Ohio. His father is a history professor who has leased the historic home of the abolitionist Dies Drear. The house has been mostly empty for years, and is riddled with hidden passageways that were used to hide escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad. An elderly caretaker called Mr. Pluto lives in a cave on the property, which he has converted into a home. There are rumors that the house is haunted by the ghosts of two escaped slaves who were captured and killed, and by the ghost of Dies Drear himself.
Upon arriving, the Smalls find that Mr. Pluto has already arranged their furniture for them. Thomas meets a boy (Mac Darrow) and his adopted sister (“Pesty”), who regard him as an outsider and don’t warn him about the drop into a hidden passage under the house. Thomas gets lost inside it and hears strange sounds as he scrambles to find a way out. Finally he hears his mother talking and pounds on a passage wall, which opens up into the house. His father warns him not to go exploring the passages, as they might cave in. His parents don’t believe that anyone was in the passages with him, but remove the mechanisms that open the passage just in case.
Thomas explores outside the house near dark, and accidentally strays across the cave Mr. Pluto has converted into his house. Mr. Pluto terrifies Thomas and catches him, unusually strong and fast for such an old man, and chases him back to the house. Thomas keeps calling Pluto a devil. Pluto eventually apologizes after he realizes Thomas is not one of the local children, who he says often sneak around his home to torment him. He delivers an ominous warning about haunting in the area before he leaves. Thomas is certain that Pluto is hiding something.Thomas decides to sleep on the couch rather than in his new bed room, so that he can see if anyone approaches the door. During the night, someone sneaks into the home through a secret passage and hides a small metal triangles in the door frame of each of the 3 bedrooms. The Smalls find them in the morning, unsure what they mean, though they determine they form an incomplete square with a greek cross inside when put together.
...
Wikipedia