- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Comedy
There's a Ghost in this House
An ingenious interactive picture book in which translucent overlay pages make friendly ghosts appear as a young girl hunts through her haunted house. Oliver Jeffers turns spookiness into a warm, giggly, reader-in-control game.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length80 pp
- Read aloud~16 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Second person
Tone
- Whimsical
- Funny
- Gentle
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never actually seen a ghost, and she would very much like to. So she invites the reader along to help her look: under the stairs, behind the sofa, in the cupboards and up in the attic. The genius lies in the paper. Oliver Jeffers layers loose ink drawings over atmospheric black-and-white photographs of a grand old mansion, and inserts translucent tracing-paper pages so that, as you turn them, wobbly, wide-eyed ghosts magically appear draped over the furniture. Because the reader controls when the ghosts pop up, the scares are pure delight rather than fright, making this a perfect not-too-spooky choice for younger children. Playful, beautifully designed and wonderfully interactive, it is a modern Jeffers classic that turns a ghost hunt into a warm, funny, hands-on game the whole family can share.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A read-aloud and shared-play book for roughly 4 to 8s, with almost no text so early readers can carry it themselves. The reader-controlled scares make it gentle enough for sensitive children and a favourite around Halloween.
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- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 5–8
Prose load
Minimal
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Interactive book
- Not too spooky
- Halloween
- Beautiful design
- Read aloud
Avoid if
- Wants lots of text
- Dislikes gimmick formats
Particularly good for children who are…
- Nightmares or fears
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The magic tracing-paper pages let children make the ghosts appear themselves, so it feels like a secret they are in on. Hunting through the spooky old house is thrilling without ever being frightening, and the wobbly ghosts are funny rather than scary.
- Secret world
- Becoming invisible
- Being a detective
Why parents love it
A beautifully designed interactive book from a modern master, where the reader is in control so even sensitive children stay delighted rather than scared. The overlay pages make it a genuine event to read aloud, and it survives endless repeats.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Shared humour
- Bedtime appropriate
About the author & illustrator
Oliver Jeffers.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
