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findthatbookSo I read this book, or maybe short story when I was in elementary school I believe - so early 90's.
So what I remember is the main character talking to two ghosts about how they died. One is a man who was in a war (revolutionary I think?). He was a message carrier, so he walked with a white flag and wasn't shot at bc of this. He gets a pebble in his shoe and puts the flag down to take it out, and as he does this one of the soldiers from the other side attacks him and cuts his head off with a bayonette. There was also an illustration of his head sitting on the table the first time the character meets him.
The second ghost is a young girl who drowned. She is described by the main character as wearing a long necklace at first glance, but upon further inspection she is soaking wet and has waterlilles tangled around her neck. She was on a boat going down a river, imagining that a handsome man would come out on the deck and speak to her. She says the thought is so romantic that she leaned back against the railing to look up at the stars. When she's telling this part of the story she hesitates, and the headless ghost chuckles at her and says "go on, (female ghosts name I can't remember - Ellie? Bessie?") tell him." She then stamps her foot and tells how the railing had been taken down for repair earlier in the day and not put back up, so she fell into the river. Then and she says something like "I didn't know how to swim back then - no real lady did - so all those skirts soaked up the water and I drowned."
Other than this scene, I have no idea what the rest of the book was about. Why is this kid meeting ghosts? Why are the ghosts in the same place? It's driving me bonkers and any help would be appreciated!!
So what I remember is the main character talking to two ghosts about how they died. One is a man who was in a war (revolutionary I think?). He was a message carrier, so he walked with a white flag and wasn't shot at bc of this. He gets a pebble in his shoe and puts the flag down to take it out, and as he does this one of the soldiers from the other side attacks him and cuts his head off with a bayonette. There was also an illustration of his head sitting on the table the first time the character meets him.
The second ghost is a young girl who drowned. She is described by the main character as wearing a long necklace at first glance, but upon further inspection she is soaking wet and has waterlilles tangled around her neck. She was on a boat going down a river, imagining that a handsome man would come out on the deck and speak to her. She says the thought is so romantic that she leaned back against the railing to look up at the stars. When she's telling this part of the story she hesitates, and the headless ghost chuckles at her and says "go on, (female ghosts name I can't remember - Ellie? Bessie?") tell him." She then stamps her foot and tells how the railing had been taken down for repair earlier in the day and not put back up, so she fell into the river. Then and she says something like "I didn't know how to swim back then - no real lady did - so all those skirts soaked up the water and I drowned."
Other than this scene, I have no idea what the rest of the book was about. Why is this kid meeting ghosts? Why are the ghosts in the same place? It's driving me bonkers and any help would be appreciated!!
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Date: January 13th, 2018 02:47 (UTC)no subject
Date: January 15th, 2018 13:38 (UTC)no subject
Date: February 12th, 2018 04:46 (UTC)no subject
Date: February 12th, 2018 05:03 (UTC)The house was going to be demolished, and the modern kids had broken in to play before it was destroyed. And they wound up saving the house with the help of the ghosts.
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Date: February 12th, 2018 12:26 (UTC)