"A Drowned Maiden's Hair"

Schlitz, Laura Amy (2006). A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama. Grades 4-6.

Eleven-year-old Maud is known as a trouble maker at the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans. When we meet her character, she has been locked in an
outhouse (outdoor bathroom) by a teacher as punishment. Several girls are awaiting adoption by three wealthy sisters, but to her teacher's astonishment, Maud is chosen over the others. Maud can not believe her luck! New experiences await her, including a train ride, eating exquisite foods, wearing beautiful clothes, and having her own room. At first she does not question why her room is in the attic or why she can't be seen by the neighbors, but Maude grows curious and eventually the sisters inform her that they are spiritualists who hold seances and that she is needed to act as a spirit. Maud knows that what they are doing is wrong, but she decides to play along with their charade. Only when she is left behind during a house fire does Maud realize that the women do not share her affection and that she is nothing more than their prop.

A Houdini Murder Mystery

Lawrence, Iain (2008). The Séance. 262 pages. Grades 5-7.

In 1926, Houdini arrives in the city to appear in several shows as well as to expose fake mediums. Thirteen-year-old Scooter King is excited to see Houdini, but his mother (a medium) isn't as thrilled. Luckily, she isn't on Houdini's list and doesn't have to fear public exposure as a fraud. But things don't go as planned for Houdini. First, a comedian is found dead in Houdini's water tank, then several more people are murdered at a séance, held in the same theater. As Scooter attempts to solve the mystery, he only places himself into more danger. His trail leads him to the home of the Russian medium, Viktor Valerian, but will he be able to make it out alive in order to notify the authorities?

If you liked this book, try Tom Lalicki's Danger in the Dark: A Houdini and Nate Mystery.

Lalicki, Tom (2006). Danger in the Dark (A Houdini & Nate Mystery). 186 pages. Grades 5-7.


It is the summer of 1911 and thirteen year old Nathaniel lives with his widowed mother and his great-aunt Alice in New York City. When he is woken up repeatedly by strange voices, Nate begins to suspect that something unusual is taking place at his aunt’s home. He soon realizes that his aunt is having spiritual gatherings that are led by Mr. Trane, a man that his aunt had just befriended. After meeting Houdini at his place of work, Bennett & Son, Gentleman’s Hatters, Nate asks for his help to uncover the mystery behind these gatherings and they find out that the phony man leading the séances is trying to get his hands on his aunt’s fortune rather than reach out to spirits. If you enjoyed reading about Houdini and would like to learn more about his life, try Spellbinder: The Life of Harry Houdini, also by Tom Lalicki.