The Seer of Shadows

by Avi

  Mumler was eventually arrested and brought to trial for fraud, but was acquitted because the prosecution was unable to demonstrate how he made his fake photos.

  With digital photography and computer software, a ghost image is even easier to make, but these days it’s much less likely to fool a viewer. Most people have a sense of how photographs are made, and there is far less belief in things like ghosts and visible spirits. Still, it might be fun to try.

  Mary Todd Lincoln with the ghost of her husband. William H. Mumler, 1869.

  SPOOKY AND FUN FACTS ABOUT BROOKLYN’S GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY

  Green-Wood was founded in 1838 and it is still in operation today. Approximately 600,000 graves sprawl over 478 acres of land. Visitors can tour the grounds and see ornate tombs just like the Von Machts’ in The Seer of Shadows.

  Afraid of heights? Beware: Battle Hill, the highest point in Brooklyn, New York, is on cemetery grounds. It is approximately 200 feet above sea level.

  The Gothic Revival entrance to the cemetery is not only spectacular to look at, but the center spiral of its three buildings is home to some unexpected inhabitants. No, not ghosts, birds! In the 1960s, a flock of South American Monk Parakeets escaped a container at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, and flew fifteen miles to Green-Wood to nest. Happy in the lush surroundings, the birds have never left.

  People go to cemeteries for fun? Cemeteries happen to be very popular tourist attractions, and in the 1850s Green-Wood Cemetery attracted more than 500,000 (living) people a year.

  There are many Civil War soldiers buried at Green-Wood. During the Civil War, the cemetery even set up a “Soldiers’ Lot” and offered free veteran burials.

  Famous Green-Wood Cemetery Residents:

  Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990): Composer, conductor, and teacher. He composed the famous score to West Side Story.

  Horace Greeley (1811–1872): Founder of the influential newspaper the New York Tribune, and considered one of the greatest editors of his time. In The Seer of Shadows, Mr. Greeley is Horace Carpetine’s namesake.

  Elias Howe, Jr. (1819–1867): Inventor of the sewing machine.

  Samuel F.B. Morse (1791–1872): Inventor of the Morse code.

  BACK ADS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  AVI is the author of more than sixty books, including CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead, a Newbery Medal winner, and CRISPIN: At the Edge of the World. His other acclaimed titles include THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, both Newbery Honor Books, and most recently THE SEER OF SHADOWS. He lives with his family in Colorado. Visit Avi at www.avi-writer.com.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  ACCLAIM FOR

  THE SEER OF SHADOWS

  “In perhaps his best work yet, Avi has created a truly chilling tale that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned and the lights are turned out.”

  —Children’s Literature

  “An ideal recommendation for any child hoping for a ghost story that is both frightening and hauntingly mysterious.”

  —School Library Journal (starred review)

  “An intriguing ghost story. Details about photographic processes add authenticity, while the book’s somber ending will leave spines tingling.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Avi’s rich language evokes images and speech patterns of a bygone era, and his careful chronicling of early photography’s art and science make this novel a pleasure to read. Strong male and female teen characters appeal to a broad readership from science fiction, suspense, and ghost story aficionados to photography and history buffs.”

  —VOYA (starred review)

  “Not only can historical fiction be fun and adventurous, it can be mysterious, too. Award-winning author Avi takes the reader into the ghostly past in The Seer of Shadows. Through his fascinating characters and creepy plot, Avi creates a suspenseful mood that will keep readers engaged from start to finish.”

  —Pittsburgh Post Gazette

  “This tale proves that the time-honored ghost story, capably researched, well-paced, and fusing the Gothic elements of mystery, madness, and romance, can still thrill in the hands of a skilled craftsman.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “In this digital age where film is almost a relic of the past, young readers will be fascinated by Avi’s detailed descriptions of early photography and tricks of the trade. They will be further enthralled by the fast-paced narration and introduction to the spiritualism of the times, as well as by Horace’s concluding account of his career in photography.”

  —BookPage

  “Avi’s latest is a fast-paced, yet haunting portrayal of an upright boy trying to make his way in a world that has suddenly gone strange and dangerous. Written from the point of view of Horace as an adult, this engaging novel has great immediacy and strong narrative drive.”

  —ALA Booklist

  “This dandy mystery re-creates and stays within its historical period while also introducing characters confronting timeless questions of personal honor.”

  —The Horn Book

  “Eleanora is just the spirit middle-grade ghost fanciers adore.”

  —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

  “This spooky tale by the author of CRISPIN and many other books for young readers captures the era nicely. There are lots of details about photography as well as information about the racism of the time, and Horace’s transition from proudly logical young man to believer in spirits is credible. This ghost story isn’t too creepy for middle school readers, and it works well as a historical novel, too.”

  —KLIATT

  BOOKS BY AVI

  The Barn

  Beyond the Western Sea, Book I: The Escape from Home

  Beyond the Western Sea, Book II: Lord Kirkle’s Money

  Blue Heron

  Crispin: The Cross of Lead

  Devil’s Race

  Don’t You Know There’s a War On?

  Encounter at Easton

  Fighting Ground

  Finding Providence

  The Man Who Was Poe

  The Mayor of Central Park

  Night Journeys

  Nothing but the Truth

  Prairie School

  Romeo and Juliet—Together (and Alive!) at Last

  Smugglers’ Island

  Something Upstairs

  Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name

  S.O.R. Losers

  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

  “Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?”

  Windcatcher

  The Poppy books:

  RAGWEED POPPY POPPY AND RYE

  ERETH’S BIRTHDAY POPPY’S RETURN

  POPPY AND ERETH

  CREDITS

  Jacket art © 2008 by Mark Tucker/MergeLeft Reps, Inc.

  Jacket photographs taken on location at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

  COPYRIGHT

  Here: “Mary Todd Lincoln with the ghost of her husband” picture by William H. Mumler, ca. 1870–75, used by permission from the College of Psychic Studies, London, England

  THE SEER OF SHADOWS. Copyright © 2008 by Avi. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  www.harpercollinschildrens.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Avi, 1937–

  The seer of shadows / by Avi. — 1st ed.

  p.cm.

  Summary: In New York City in 1872, fou
rteen-year-old Horace, a photographer’s apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

  ISBN 978-0-06-000017-2

  EPub Edition © February 2016 ISBN 9780062472335

  [1. Photography—History—Fiction. 2. Ghosts—Fiction. 3. Swindlers and swindling—Fiction. 4. Revenge—Fiction. 5. New York (N.Y.)—History—1865–1898—Fiction. 6. Horror stories.] I. Title.

  PZ7.A953Sf 2008 2007010891

  [Fic]—dc23 CIP

  AC

  0910111213CG/CW10987654321

  First Paperback Edition, 2009

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