The Old Willis Place

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story is a children's novel written by Mary Downing Hahn. It was first published in 2004 and is found in 9001 libraries.^[1]

Plot

Diana and her younger brother Georgie live in the woods near Oak Hill Manor, known locally as the Old Willis Place after its last inhabitant, a cruel old woman named Lilian Willis. Diana and Georgie have many rules they must follow, including never going beyond the chained driveway that marks the edge of the property, never going into the house itself, and never speaking to anyone or allowing themselves to be seen. The county hires caretakers to live in a mobile home on the Willis property; however, none of the caretakers ever lasts very long. Diana is excited to see that the latest caretaker has a daughter named Lissa, a lonely, imaginative girl whose mother died when she was five. Diana imagines becoming friends with Lissa, though Georgie warns her that the rules forbid it.

One day soon after her arrival, Lissa goes exploring the Old Willis Place and seems on the verge of approaching the front door before Diana steps out of the woods to stop her. Diana is so filthy and ragged that Lissa mistakes her for a monster and flees. Upset by Lissa's reaction, Diana writes an apology for frightening Lissa and asks if they can meet. However, Georgie interrupts their meeting and berates his sister for breaking the rules again.

The three children are spotted by Lissa's father, who questions Diana and Georgie on where they live and where their parents are. The siblings lie, pretending that their parents live nearby and that they only use the woods to play. Lissa's father agrees to overlook their trespassing provided they do not go near the Old Willis Place itself. However, Lissa confides that she plans to sneak into the Old Willis Place and explore while her father is away, inviting Diana to go with her. Diana is wary, as entering the house is against the rules, but she is so desperate to have Lissa for a friend that she agrees.

The following day, Diana and Lissa enter the Old Willis Place, where Lissa feels compelled to see the locked parlor in which Lilian Willis died in spite of Diana's attempts to stop her. Opening the parlor frees Miss Lilian's malevolent spirit.

Diana and Georgie, knowing that Miss Lilian will come after them, finally admit to Lissa that they themselves are ghosts. Sixty years ago, Miss Lilian caught them playing in her cellar and locked them in as punishment. However, later that day, Miss Lilian suffered a stroke and was taken to hospital, leaving the children trapped. By the time she returned home, they had starved to death. Miss Lilian left the bodies hidden in the cellar and pretended to have no knowledge of what became of the missing children. For decades afterwards, the children's ghosts torment Miss Lilian as revenge for killing them until she, too, died and became a ghost who pursued and tormented the children who once tormented her. The children managed to trap her ghost in the parlor and made strict rules to prevent her from ever being freed.

Lissa tells her father to search the cellar, where he finds Diana and Georgie's bodies. The bodies are at last given proper burials, while Diana and Georgie wonder what will become of them now. They are soon found by Miss Lilian, who wants to punish them for revealing her terrible secret. Diana realizes that all of them are bound to the Old Willis Place by the terrible grudges they hold for things that happened long ago and that unless they can forgive one another, none of them will ever leave. The children forgive Miss Lilian for leaving them to die and apologize for tormenting her in her final years, while Miss Lilian, in turn, expresses remorse for her role in the children's deaths. A beautiful silver light descends, and from it, the ghosts of the children's parents arrive to take them into the afterlife. The children's forgiveness allows Miss Lilian to join them there.

Lissa, witnessing the whole scene in secret, is happy for her friends and takes comfort in the idea that her mother also resides within the beautiful light, waiting to reunite with Lissa.

Characters

Diana- Main Protagonist, 12 years old

Georgie- Diana's brother, 8 years old

Miss Willis- Main antagonist

Lissa- Diana's human friend

MacDuff- Lissa's dog

Nero- Diana's cat

Lissa's dad - Also known as the Heron Man for his skinny body

Bibliography

Hahn, M. D. (2004). The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story. New York: Clarion Books.

References