Cover of The Whispering Skull

The Whispering Skull

  • 2014 first published
  • 464 pages
  • ★ 4.7 (15 ratings)
  • 12 editions

The Whispering Skull is a 2014 ghost story and horror novel by Jonathan Stroud. The story is set in London. It deals with psychic ability, ghosts, physicians and Dead.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.7 out of 5 from 15 ratings, and 128 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 12 editions across 3 languages.

At about 464 pages, most readers finish it in 8–9 hours.

About The Whispering Skull

In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn't made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood's investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper. Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well-until George's curiosity attracts a horrible phantom. Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood's annoyance. Bickerstaff's coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found.
Description from Open Library

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Setting

Subjects

  • JUVENILE FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories
  • Ghost stories
  • Paranormal fiction
  • JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
  • JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories
  • Psychic ability
  • Supernatural
  • Ghosts
  • Mystery and detective stories
  • Physicians
  • Children's fiction
  • London, England
  • Dead
  • Mysteries & Detective Stories
  • Horror & Ghost Stories
  • Fantasy & Magic

Quick answers

Who wrote The Whispering Skull?

The Whispering Skull was written by Jonathan Stroud and first published in 2014.

What genre is The Whispering Skull?

It is usually shelved as Ghost Stories and Horror.

How long is The Whispering Skull?

The median edition has 464 pages, about 8–9 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Whispering Skull?

Readers who like it often enjoy Secrets at the Chocolate Mansion, Asylum and Catacomb (Asylum).

More by Jonathan Stroud

All books →

Books like The Whispering Skull