The Screaming Staircase
*Follows three young operatives of a Psychic Detection Agency as they battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.* This book is part of a brilliant series for children (and parents) who love to be creeped out. It’s set in London when the city is experiencing an outbreak of ghosts who kill people if they come into contact with them. The catch: only children can see them. These stories features the kid-run ghosthunting agency, Lockwood & Co. — it’s led by the talented 14-year-old heroine Lucy Carlyle and charismatic teen Anthony Lockwood. Their job is to destroy ghosts by finding the objects in the world of the living that spirits are attached to. The social implications of the ghost epidemic are almost as chilling as the cases the agency takes on — almost. It’s a gripping read and a great intro to dystopian literature and social dynamics. You’ll want to sleep with the lights on, even after you’ve exhausted yourself by reading guiltily ahead late into the night.
Themes & atmosphere
Also by Jonathan Stroud
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What you might want to know about The Screaming Staircase
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
After a job in the north goes wrong, teenage psychic Lucy Carlyle signs on with the smallest agency in London, Lockwood and Co., a three-person operation in an old terrace house. Their first joint case sends them to Combe Carey Hall, the most haunted house in England.
Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co. series has five books: The Screaming Staircase, The Whispering Skull, The Hollow Boy, The Creeping Shadow, and The Empty Grave. The series is complete.
Yes. Netflix released a 2023 adaptation of Lockwood and Co. The show was cancelled after one season despite favorable reviews and fan campaigns to save it.
The Screaming Staircase was written by Jonathan Stroud, published in 2013 by cbj.
The Screaming Staircase is 418 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Screaming Staircase takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
The Screaming Staircase is a standalone novel by Jonathan Stroud, not part of a series.
The Screaming Staircase is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.