Chris Grabenstein - The Hanging Hill

Zack shook his head. “Nope. She’s standing right next to me.”

“I meant your real mother.”

“I know. Me too.”

When Zack said that, Judy kissed him, too.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank my incredible editor, R. Schuyler Hooke, who truly knows how to help a writer find the story buried underneath all the words.

Elizabeth Mackey Johnson, Lisa McClatchy, Jenny Madden, and all the wonderful people at Random House who treat their authors so well.

My agent, Eric Myers.

My incredible wife, cheerleader, and first reader, J.J.—you should hear her do all the voices!

Meghan, Sam, Rodman John, Anna, Riley, Maddie, Wendell, Wesley, Timothy, and all my other early readers.

Our gray cat Parker, who so graciously posed for me during the creation of Jinx.

Our dog, Fred, who is a big Zipper and a constant inspiration. I’m so glad he had to do his business that one time at three a.m.

And most especially, I’d like to thank all the teachers, students, parents, and librarians who have taken Zack and Judy into their hearts and homes. You guys are the best.

Chris Grabenstein is the author of The Crossroads , which Booklist called a “rip-roaring ghost story” in its starred review, as well as six critically acclaimed adult mysteries and thrillers. In fact, his first book, Tilt-A-Whirl , won the Anthony Award for best first mystery. If any of that sounds like a TV commercial, maybe it’s because Chris wrote copy for TV and radio ads for too, too long. He also wrote for Jim Henson’s Muppets and co-wrote the CBS TV movie The Christmas Gift , starring John Denver. Right out of college, Chris did improvisational comedy with some of the top performers in New York City, including one guy named Bruce Willis. Chris and his wife, J.J., live in Manhattan with three cats and a dog named Fred, who starred on Broadway in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang . You can visit Chris and go behind the scenes of The Hanging Hill at www.ChrisGrabenstein.com.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2009 by Chris Grabenstein

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Grabenstein, Chris. The Hanging Hill / Chris Grabenstein. — 1st ed. p. cm. Summary: While working at a summer stock theater, eleven-year-old Zack and his stepmother encounter the ghost of one of Connecticut’s most notorious criminals.

eISBN: 978-0-375-85384-5

[1. Ghosts—Fiction. 2. Stepmothers—Fiction. 3. Theater—Fiction. 4. Criminals—Fiction. 5. Connecticut—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.G7487Han 2009

[Fic]—dc22

2008027274

Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

v3.0

Table of Contents

Cover

Other Books By This Author

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

Chapter 97

Chapter 98

Chapter 99

Chapter 100

Chapter 101

Chapter 102

Chapter 103

Chapter 104

Chapter 105

Chapter 106

Chapter 107

Chapter 108

Chapter 109

Chapter 110

Chapter 111

Chapter 112

Chapter 113

Chapter 114

Chapter 115

Chapter 116

Chapter 117

Chapter 118

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Copyright