Book Review: Down a Dark Hall

(This isn't the edition I read, I read the 1974 edition)

Book: Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Description:

Why does the exclusive boarding school Blackwood have only four students? Kit walks the dark halls and feels a penetrating chill. What terror waits around the next corner?



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I don't know if this is considered a classic but it should be. I had no idea when I bought this book from my favorite thrift store that I would be reading a chilling thriller. This is the second book by the author that I've read and I hope to read more.

So what is this book about? It's about 14 years old Kathryn "Kit" Gordy who following her mother remarrying will be spending a year at a boarding school for girls in upper New York while her mother and step-father spend a year traveling around Europe for their honeymoon.

As soon as Kit sees the boarding school from the drive up, she immediately starts to feel that there is something strange and possibly evil about the place. She had tried everything she could to get her mother to take her away but her mother refused and sort of gave her a guilt trip about making a big fuss about nothing. Her new step-father was far from being considerate of her feelings and didn't want to hear anymore of her attempts to leave. With no other options, Kit eventually realized she was stuck there and wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

As the first student at the school, Kit tried to get use to it but she just couldn't. The next day brought three more girls, Sandra "Sandy" Mason, Ruth Stark and Lynda Hannah who turned out to be the only other students who will be attending the school. Only four students didn't seem right to Kit but she does her best to try to be happy at the school and to take her studies seriously.

However, soon strange things were starting to happen such as each of the girls experiencing very strange dreams. Then they started to tap into skills and abilities they never knew they had. Everyday the girls would wake up looking tired and feeling drained. What was going on at that school.

This was one of those books I just couldn't put down, I had to know what was going on and what was going to happen next. The story is full of drama and suspense and not to mention creepy. This was very well-written and it had me totally sucked into the story.