Down a Dark Hall

Great read. I highly recommend it.


I'm 22, and it scares me like I'm still 12.   September 12, 1997
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

Here's the deal: I read a spooky book when I was twelve. I couldn't remember the title or the author; all I knew is that the memory of long, dark hallways, doors locked from the inside and four lonely girls trapped in an institution haunted my nightmares for ten years. My concrete memories consisted of the thread of a plot: Four young girls, gifted with ESP, are brought to a private school so the headmasters can channel dead artists through their minds and sell the art as originals.

About a month ago, I mentioned the elusive book to a friend, who immediately named the title and the author, admitting his fear, as well. Pretending to buy for a younger sister who doesn't exist, I bought the book again -- with a new cover no longer featuring the young heroine with a candle -- and was overcome once more by Lois Duncan's ability to surround the simple narrative with swirling mists, dark corners and flickering candlelight.

DOWN A DARK HALL introduced me to the glorious world of wondering what's behind the door, a passion that extended into Stephen King, Clive Barker and even dark comic books. But even the "adult" writers can't capture atmosphere the way Duncan can. Like King's Carrie, Duncan illustrates the pain and chaos of adolescent girlhood, and the impossibility of escaping a world that doesn't understand. The difference is that your little sister can read Duncan while she's still young enough to feel the character's confusion... and the impact is strong enough to last a decade.


THis book is hard to put down!   April 24, 2002
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

Have you ever read a book and you were on the edge of your seat the whole time? Down a Dark Hall, by Lois Duncan is a suspenseful and engrossing book.

A fourteen year old girl named Kit Gordy is sent away to an all girls' school called Blackwood. Madame Duret is the head of the school and the other teachers are her son Jules and Professor Farley. Kit and the other girls that applied had to take a "special test" that determined if they had "special powers" in order to be accepted. Kit has a bad feeling about the place from the minute she arrives. She then realizes there are only three other girls that will be attending the school Sandy, Ruth, and Linda. A few months after they arrive, famous dead people started taking over their bodies. The famous piano player Franz Schubert took over Kit, the poet Emily Bronte took over Linda, and the two other girls were taken over by more than one person. Do they escape the dangerous Blackwood school?

I never wanted to put this book down. It had a plot that was twisted and the details through out the book were incredible. It is the kind of book that makes a person scared to walk through his own house after he reads it. Lois Duncan made it feel like I was actually there, in the story. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read suspenseful books.


Great!   February 17, 2000
Melissa (Deep River, Connecticut)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

The book Down a Dark Hall is about a young girl named Kathryn, she goes by Kit. Her mom is getting remarried to a man named Dan. They are going on their honeymoon and Kit wants to go with them. Her mom tells her that she can't and she gets all mad at her. Instead Kit's mom sends her to a boarding school called Blackwood. It is very suspicious. When Kit was walking down a hall she had a strange feeling someone was following her. Kit tries to tell herself that it is only her imagination, everything will be fine. Well it is not! This book Down a dark Hall is very suspenseful! There is also another really wierd thing about Blackwood. There are only four girls in the whole entire school! My theory is that there are these ghosts or monsters that eat this poor young children! This book is great. It is so hard to put down! I would recommend this book to a person who is over eleven or twelve years old. It can be hard to read at times and it is also scary at times too!


Reviewing Down A Dark Hall   April 27, 2005
Mid-Prairie Teen
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I thought this book was a great book. I stayed up until 1:00 in the mourning reading this great book by Lois Duncan. I have read many of her wonderful books and loved each and every one of them. This book topped them all off. Her books interest people who like magic or the abnormal. This book has a scary mansion that I first would have guessed it to be hunted. Lois Duncan is so good at making things feel like they are really happening and happening to you.
I liked that I feel like I'm the one to really be in the trouble that Kit gets her into. She reminds me of myself when I get into a sticky situation. I have to analyze everything and know everything that is going on. This book will give you the goose bumps just thinking about what really is going on. What could possible be going threw her mind? That is all you can think about.
I don't think there is really anything that I didn't like about this book. You know when someone likes the book when they stay up until 1:00 to figure out what happens in the book.
This book is about a girl named Kit who has to go to a private school. She is scared to go bye herself and doesn't want her parents to leave her there. When she finds out there are only three other girls there besides herself she starts to get a little nervous and wants to go home even more. She finally makes a new friend in the bizarre place. Then weird things start to happen at her new school that scares everyone. She starts to snoop around and finds things that she wishes she didn't. The weird and almost creepy things that happen scare you out of your mind.