The Screaming Staircase

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

The Screaming Staircase
UK cover
AuthorJonathan Stroud
IllustratorKate Adams
Cover artistAlessandro "Talexi" Taini (UK)
CountryUnited Kingdom
SeriesLockwood & Co.
GenreSupernatural, thriller
PublisherRandom House (UK)
Disney-Hyperion (US)
Publication date
August 29, 2013 (UK)[1]
September 17, 2013 (US)
Media typeHardcover, Paperback, ebook, Audio CD
Pages384[2]
ISBN978-1-4231-6491-3
Followed byThe Whispering Skull 

The Screaming Staircase is a young adult, supernatural thriller novel by Jonathan Stroud. It is the first book in the series Lockwood & Co., and was published on 29 August 2013 by Random House in the United Kingdom, and by Disney-Hyperion in the United States on 17 September 2013.[1][3]

The story is set in a version of modern-day London experiencing an event called "the Problem," ghosts which appear throughout the city at nighttime and attack the living. Agencies have been created to fend off the ghosts and protect the public for a fee. However, only certain children and teenagers have the "talent" to sense the ghosts, which they gradually lose as they reach their twenties. The agencies are run by those who have passed the ghost-sensitive age, and the agents are the youth with the talents necessary to solve the hauntings, which puts them in danger in the process.

The story follows Lucy Carlyle and Lockwood & Co., the only supernatural agency in London run by children. The agency is led by Anthony Lockwood and has one other member prior to Lucy's joining, George Cubbins. As the series progresses, they investigate and solve hauntings and find deeper truths behind the ghosts and the Problem.

Plot[edit]

A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, and spectres are appearing throughout the city, and they are not exactly friendly. All ghosts have a "source" where they originate from, though if the "source" is destroyed the ghost will be as well. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see and eradicate these unnatural foes. Many different Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business. After being rejected by several agencies because of an accident that happened during her childhood, when she was there, in a team with a bad supervisor (though she was the only one to have survived this accident), the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up, as a last resort, with the bookworm and researcher George Cubbins (whom she does not like at first) and Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After trying to tackle a dangerous ghost, who was, when alive, budding actress Annie Ward, who had been murdered, and its "source" (a locket) without iron chain (ghosts are weaker around iron) and consequently setting fire to the house which it haunts, Lucy, Anthony and George are sued, but do not have enough money to pay, and because the number of customers they receive have plummeted, are invited by John William Fairfax (who pays a generous price but adds odd conditions to his agreement, such as no fire canisters) to take part in the perilous investigation of his residence Combe Carey Hall (this is not their only source of funds; George has discovered that the murder of Annie Ward was within living memory, and Lockwood tries to solve it using the locket after remembering an agency that got a lot of money for solving the murder of someone who became a ghost). Someone tries to steal the locket with the ghost concealed in it (by day the ghosts live in their "sources") but Lucy secretly hid it in her clothes and the burglar did not find it, so Lucy carries it around with her for the rest of the book. The first murder suspect is Annie Ward's ex-boyfriend named Hugo Blake but at the end is revealed to be Fairfax), one of the most haunted houses in England, once a priory, but the monks stopped worshipping God and instead turned to darker entities; when the outside world found this out they burned down the site and threw seven of the most evil down a well. Another infamous tale of a screaming staircase that hurls people off it (indeed, a Fittes agent perished because of these stairs) was fabled to be where an old baron, a former owner centuries ago, put his enemies' skulls and burned candles underneath said skulls (the screaming is thought to be his ghost). Though people think that the screaming staircase is the main one, it is the actually one through which you access the well in which the seven monks died. Since the burning of the priory, accidents and incidents continue to plague the house because of the terror instilled by the hauntings which drive former occupants mad (a suicide attempt, a drowning and multiple others). However, nobody is able find the well because it was reached by a now-secret passage that had been boarded up after the burned-down site of the priory was constructed upon. Though no-one else has been successful, George compiles plans of the old priory and the modern house, and works out where the secret passage is. From there, they locate the main "source" of the ghosts, the well, and though Fairfax had told them explicitly not to bring fire-canisters, they smuggle some in; with those they blow the well up, destroying the source for the time being. As they escaped from the chamber, Fairfax, who is scared that they have found out that he was guilty to Annie Ward's murder, tries to kill the group of teenagers, but Lucy unleashes Annie Ward's furious spirit upon him and he is "ghost touched", which is what occurs if a ghost makes physical contact with humans. Since Fairfax paid Lockwood and Co before they actually did the job, the agency has enough money to pay off the lawsuit, and has new publicity, due to stopping the hauntings of Combe Carey Hall; Lockwood is featured in an interview in a newspaper. The book ends with a celebration.

Characters[edit]

  • Lucy Carlyle:[4] The newest member of Lockwood & Co. and the narrator of the book, Lucy is 15 years old,[5] and is described as quick to start a fight. She was known in earlier revisions as Lucy Purser.[6] The daughter of a stationmaster in the North of England, she joined a local agency at an early age. However, after a disastrous case resulting in the loss of her fellow agents, Lucy left her former employment and family to start again in London. Lucy's Talent lies in her hearing and empathy through touch.
  • Anthony Lockwood: The leader of Lockwood & Co., often referred to as just Lockwood. He is described as "dashing" and "a bit reckless".[6] His Talent is a sharp "sight" - seeing ghosts and deathglows, the psychic residue left by a violent death. Lockwood is known for his quick yet thorough approach to hauntings and prides himself on his abilities. He is a mysterious young man; orphaned and left with the family's property.
  • George Cubbins: Anthony's deputy, and quite cynical. He is rather portly and a little slovenly.[6] George is much more focused on research and preparation than the other two agents, and prefers a longer waiting time between assignments. He rarely gets along with his fellow agent Lucy, but he shares a strong passion with Lockwood. He is also quite attached to a skull in a glass jar which he owns. The skull is possessed by a ghost.
  • Suzie Martin: The daughter of Mrs. Hope, she meets Lockwood & Co. in her mother's absence, so they can investigate the presence of a Visitor in her family's home. She is quite sceptical of how young the agency is.[7]
  • Annie Ward: A young woman who returns as a type-two ghost following her death. Lockwood & Co. encounter her at the beginning of the book, and then go on to solve the mystery of her murder. Her Source is a locket which Lockwood and Co. found around the neck of her corpse. She and Lucy share a strong psychic connection.
  • Inspector Barnes: An investigator of DEPRAC (Department of Psychical Research and Control), which is based at Scotland Yard. Barnes seems to disapprove of and possibly dislike Lockwood and George, however cooperates with them in the case of Annie Ward
  • Sir John William Fairfax: The wealthy industrialist who owns the haunted Combe Carey Hall, assigns Lockwood & Co. the mystery within the mansion and offers them the money needed to save the company from debt.
  • Hugo Blake: Annie Ward's 22-year-old boyfriend, who was accused of murdering Annie Ward.

Sequels[edit]

A sequel to the book, titled The Whispering Skull, was published in September 2014.[8][9] A second sequel, titled The Hollow Boy, was published in September 2015.[10] The fourth book in the series, The Creeping Shadow, was published in September 2016. The final book, The Empty Grave, was published in September 2017.[11] A related book, The Dagger in the Desk, was published in February 2015.[12]

Adaptations[edit]

The film rights were acquired in December 2012 by Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures, making this the first live-action project for the former. The film, titled Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase, was to be produced by Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri.[13] However, in September 2017 it was announced that Big Talk Productions had optioned the rights to Lockwood & Co., with plans to adapt it into a television series.[14] In December 2020, the show was announced to be going to Netflix, adapted by Joe Cornish.[15] Filming began on the Lockwood & Co. television series in the week following 5 July 2021,[16] and it premiered on 27 January 2023.[17]

Reception[edit]

The Screaming Staircase has received the following accolades:

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Stroud, Jonathan (9 February 2013). "Lockwood Publication Dates!". Jonathan Stroud's Blog. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  2. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (17 September 2013). The Lockwood & Co.: Screaming Staircase. ISBN 978-1423164913.
  3. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (25 October 2012). "Lockwood & Co news 25th Oct". The Random House Group Press Office. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Coming Up in 2013 #7: Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud". The Book Zone. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  5. ^ Binea, Literatwo (15 August 2013). "Jonathan Stroud – The official "Lockwood & Co." interview". Literatwo Binea & Mr. Rail. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Stroud, Jonathan (26 October 2012). "Hello Bee! Great question - well, there are three main character: Anthony Lockwood himself, who's the leader of the agency. He's quite dashing and a bit reckless, and gets into trouble consequently. There's George Cubbins, his deputy, who's rather more portly and (you'll be pleased to know) has a nice line in acerbic comments; and Lucy Purser, who's the newest member of the group and has one or two chips on her shoulder. They all live together in Lockwood's house in London and go out to tackle ghosts..." Facebook. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  7. ^ Stroud, Jonathan. "Scribd". Scribd. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  8. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (11 August 2013). "Ask the Author". Random House. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  9. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (25 October 2012). "Lockwood Movie Deal Announced!". Tumblr. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  10. ^ "The Hollow Boy, by Jonathan Stroud". The Independent. 4 October 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  11. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (7 September 2017). Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave. Corgi Childrens. ISBN 9780552575799. ASIN 0552575798.
  12. ^ Stroud, Jonathan (9 February 2015). Lockwood & Co: The Dagger in the Desk. Penguin Random House Children's UK. ISBN 978-1-4481-9694-4.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (24 October 2012). "Illumination, U acquire 'Lockwood' series". Variety. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  14. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (19 September 2017). "'Lockwood & Co': Big Talk Prods To Adapt Spooky YA Detective Series For Television". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  15. ^ Ravindran, Manori (13 December 2020). "Netflix Unveils New U.K. Projects With Sam Mendes, Rowan Atkinson, Andy Serkis". Variety.
  16. ^ Daniels, Nia (5 July 2021). "Filming begins on Lockwood & Co for Netflix". The Knowledge. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  17. ^ Netflix. Lockwood & Co. | Official Teaser | Netflix. Retrieved 26 October 2022 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "2013 CYBILS AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED". The Children's Book Council. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  19. ^ "The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., #1)". Goodreads. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  20. ^ "2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Winners Announced". Los Angeles Times. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2014". Book Reporter. n.d. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  22. ^ Saker, James (31 July 2014). "We Read Experience". Ronson Jewish Community Secondary School. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  23. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (27 March 2014). "Booktrust unveils shortlist for Best Book Awards". The Book Seller. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  24. ^ "2014-2015 Nominees & Winners". NCSLMA YA Book Award. 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Five of our books nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2014". Knight Hall Agency. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Worcestershire's Teen Book Award winner announced". Evesham Journal. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  27. ^ "The 2014 Inky Awards Shortlist". Readings. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Warwickshire Book Awards". Stratford Girls' Grammar School. 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  29. ^ "The 2015 UKYA Blogger Awards: A Whole Lot of Awesome". Once Upon a Bookcase. 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  30. ^ "The Weald Book Award". LRC & Library. n.d. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  31. ^ "2015 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Top Ten". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 26 January 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  32. ^ "clau_2016.pdf" (PDF). Children's Literature Association of Utah. 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  33. ^ "Past winners". Nevada Library Association. n.d. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  34. ^ Lagios, Melina (2 February 2016). "And the Award Goes To…". San Juan Islander. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award". Rebecca Caudhill. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Screaming_Staircase&oldid=1216228159"