Ok, so this isn't actually 5-star material...but I have to give it 5 stars for the sake of 10 year old me. If 10 year old me would have had a computer and internet and Goodreads, she would have given this 5 stars and a gushing review. The Ghost at Dawn's House was definitely my favorite Baby-Sitters book when I was little. Reading it again last night didn't disappoint! (Although 43 year old me now realizes SOMEONE besides the known person was hanging out in that passageway...and that's super creepy.) ( )

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This book sort of seemed lamer than the others have; not that the whole series isn't super dated, but this one had a higher concentration of it, I guess.

This is a somewhat poor addition to the Babysitter's Club series (which I'm nonetheless really enjoying). The ghost story never picked up for me and there wasn't as much group time with the other girls, or innovative babysitting activities, which is what I like most. What I really enjoyed however was Dawn's description of what she eats (she calls her diet 'health food', I call it actual food). I love it when dishes are described in any story, it feels like I'm eating a meal too. ( )

I was excited for this book in the series, expecting a chilling little ghost story, because a children's ghost story is about as much as I can, and want, to take. I should have remembered that this is the Babysitters series, though - the ghost story was not so much spooky as adventurous. Still a fun story, but not as thrilling as I hoped. Certainly thrilling for the girls, though. It's the last few weeks of summer, and Dawn is in the mood to be scared. The weather is stormy and she borrowed a book of ghost stories from the library. In keeping with the creepy atmosphere, Dawn decides it is time to search her house for the secret passage she is sure exists somewhere. After all, her home was built over a hundred years ago, and even has an old barn on the property. The first time she searches she enlists the help of all the other babysitters, but they fail in their hunt. Then, a few days later, quite by accident, Dawn finds it: a tunnel that links the barn to the house. Through a few amazing leaps of logic, and a sketchy historical legend, Dawn decides that the passage must be haunted by a crazy ghost.

While Dawn's supernatural investigations are ongoing, the babysitting continues. A couple of the babysitting stories are about Jamie Newton and Karen and Andrew and David Michael, but the majority of them involve the Pike children. Specifically, the babysitters are trying to figure out how to solve the Nicky and the triplets situation. Nicky wants to play with the other boys in the family, but the triplets think Nicky is too young for them and like to tease him, instead. His parents are understanding, but think he needs to work this out for himself, so they have given him a way out by letting him go off on his own, as long as he stays within two blocks of the house. Dawn isn't sure that she likes this rule, though, because every time Nicky disappears she worries that something bad has happened to him. I liked this story line in the book the best. I felt bad for Nicky, and understood that the triplets wanted to play with older kids, but thought they were being too mean. Dawn was great with handling the situation. I hope we continue to see how these relationships evolve in future books.

The book as whole was good. It reminded me of when I was younger, and my siblings and my friends and I would try to scare ourselves silly just for something fun to do. Not by watching horror shows - I have never liked those - but by telling spooky stories and making up legends and imagining we saw or heard something. The way Dawn just decides that a ghost lives in the passageway is typical of a preteen girl's logic. I would have enjoyed having an adventure like Dawn's in this story. Also, I've decided I really like Dawn's character, possibly the most out of all the girls. She is smart, and healthy, and calm, but can take a firm stand when she needs to. She loves her friends, and has a bold streak. At the same time, she seems the most level headed of the group. I would be friends with her. I am a little sad that I have so many books to read before the next Dawn story. ( )