Kingdom of Wrenly – A Ghost in the Castle

Jordan Quinn's A Ghost in the Castle is a first ghost story for 5 year olds about a prince, his dragon and a moaning noise in the palace at night.

What happens

Prince Lucas is asleep when his bedroom door creaks open on its own and bangs shut again. Then comes the noise. Oooooooooo.

He tells himself it's the wind. It isn't stormy, and the wind whistles rather than moans, so that theory doesn't last long.

Out he goes into the passageway with Ruskin, his scarlet dragon, who hides behind a suit of armour at the first opportunity. Sensible dragon.

What they find at the end of the corridor is a glowing blue light and a very cold patch of air. And the next morning a pale woman in a grey-blue dress turns up in the castle kitchen and asks Lucas a question about his dragon. Then she's gone, and the cook says nobody was ever there.

It's a proper little mystery from that point. Lucas and his best friend Clara go looking. They ask a guard. They ask the queen, who assumes they're playing a game. They overhear two knights who have seen the same things and been told to keep quiet about it.

Then they find a handwritten entry in a library book, and a note scribbled in the margin in ink still wet enough to smudge. Tonight at midnight. West Turret. Empty Room.

Your reader will guess that Lucas and Clara are going to be in that turret at midnight, and they are, in coats, with candles, hiding in a wardrobe.

Now, it's a ghost story, and at 5 that's worth a thought. The scary parts are all in the first half. Creaking doors, moaning in the dark, sudden cold, a shape with long bony fingers on a wall. There's a good jump when a door slams behind the children in an empty tower room.

But it turns kind, and it turns kind well before the end. Nothing chases anybody and nobody gets hurt. A child who likes being a little bit scared as long as it comes right will have a lovely time. A child who lies awake after a spooky story probably wants this one in daylight.

The sentences are short and the chapters are shorter, so a newish reader can get through a chunk in one go and feel very pleased about it.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, try The Bard and the Beast next. Same prince, same dragon, same castle, except this time Lucas is being made to take music lessons and would honestly rather be racing toads.