Ellen Oh as a young reader, pictured with her baby sister. [Photo courtesy of Ellen Oh.]
My favorite author was Alexander Dumas, and my favorite book was The Count of Monte Cristo. I was also a huge Agatha Christie fan and read all of her mysteries, which then led me to Stephen King. And I don’t think I’ve been quite the same ever since. Spirit Hunters is a bit of a departure from your “Dragon King Chronicles.” What motivated you to move to slightly more realistic middle grade fiction? I’ve always loved ghost stories and horror stories as a kid, especially ones set in contemporary/realistic settings. It is far more frightening when a ghost story feels like it could actually happen to you right at the moment you are reading it. I remember many a frightening night holed up in my bed, unable to even go to the bathroom until the first rays of the sun lit up the morning sky. Writing Spirit Hunters was my way of recapturing those long ago moments of childhood fear. And every time I would write a scene that would raise the hair on the back of my neck, I would remember being 10 and reading The Shining in the middle of the night. Perhaps because young me was so good at scaring myself, I enjoy frightening others a bit too much now, especially my own children. I wanted to write something that would really creep out and terrify my kids. And I was so happy to hear that I succeeded. Why is moving to a new neighborhood so often associated with ghosts and haunted houses in middle grade literature? Do you think this combination addresses a common tween angst? Did you move when you were that age? Why, yes, I did! I feel like you just psychoanalyzed me! I moved from Queens to Brooklyn when I was 11 years old, and it was such a frightening and awful time for me. [I moved] right in the middle of the school year and into a seventh grade class so cliquish and so mean that I still have emotional scars from it decades later. I also moved into a really old building with those old New York City radiators that made the most frightening sounds at all hours of the day. Nighttime was the worst. But it was so bad that being home alone even during the daytime would terrify me. It would literally sound like scary monsters were crawling through the pipes in order to get me. Grandparents are so important to middle grade students but also are frequently not in the picture. Harper gets a chance to reconnect with her grandmother. What intrigues you most about the grandparent/grandchild relationship? My mom is a really unusual grandma. She isn’t at all grandmotherly, and she is more energetic than I am. I always thought of my mom as this Wonder Woman figure, and my kids love that she is this youthful, dynamic grandmother. It got me thinking about how we never see grandparents as heroes, and I thought, Why not? Let’s make a grandmother who fights evil and is a total badass. It’s kind of an homage to my mom. It is a brilliant move to have Harper’s brother possessed by the evil spirit. Sibling relationships are really important to tweens but are not frequently depicted. Does Michael’s possession tell usWe are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing
Add Comment :-
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!
Mary Charters
So excited to have Ellen as a keynote speaker for the 2018 NYLA SSL (New York Library Association Section of School LIbrarians) conference. This was a great interview!Posted : Jul 20, 2017 03:34
:paula
Karen, this is a fantastic interview! The thing about moving to a new (old) house - what a great insight!Posted : Jul 18, 2017 11:04