Mostly Ghosts

Mostly Ghosts is the title of a short lived series of children's books published in the 1980s by Mary Anderson. It was aimed predominantly at children in middle schools grades 3-6, with the main characters being roughly the same age.

Books

• The Haunting of Hillcrest (August 1987)
• The Leipzig Vampire (October 1987)
• Terror Under the Tent (November 1987)
• The Three Spirits of Vandermeer Manor (December 1987)

Plot

The plot line of Mostly Ghosts surrounded identical twins Amy and Jamie Ferguson. While both twins are almost identical in appearance, their personalities are complete polar opposites of the other. The female twin, Amy, is a psychic who is able to contact the deceased spirit of their ancestor Jebediah Ferguson, an officer in the revolutionary war. In each short book the twins will be confronted with a supernatural force and will require the assistance of their deceased ancestor. While there are supernatural themes such as vampirism in the books that would suggest bloody or gory tones, Anderson managed to keep the series from becoming too objectionable to younger audiences.

Characters

Amy Ferguson

Amy is psychically endowed with the ability to see and contact ghosts. Amy also had secondary psychic powers in the form of precognition. It is suggested that Amy had the potential for greater powers, but the limit of her powers were never fully reached (as the series ended after only four books). The only living person who is aware of Amy's powers is her brother Jamie, who is sworn to secrecy. At times throughout the books their parents begin to suspect that Amy sees more than the ordinary person but never question her outright. Amy's personality can be described as dreamy, with her head in the clouds. She dislikes homework and is often the twin that plunges headfirst into danger. In the book attention is often drawn to the strawberry red hair color that both of the twins share.

Jamie Ferguson

Jamie is the more grounded of the two twins and is often the voice of reason in the novels. He enjoys schoolwork and when not with Amy, can be found in the town library. Jamie is mostly unable to see or hear Jebediah, although there is at least one occasion where he was able to hear his ancestor's voice after much concentration. Jamie is the only living person who is currently aware of Amy's psychic gift.

Jebediah Aloysious Tredwell

Jebediah is an ancient ghostly cousin of the Ferguson family, and was alive during the time period of the American Revolution. He quite frequently drops famous names of the time period, such as George Washington. Jebediah is usually the main resource of supernatural information for the twins, having had either had direct contact with the persons of interest (in the case of the Leipzig Vampire), or experience dealing with the pertinent supernatural force. It is suggested that the psychic powers stemmed from his branch of the family. Earlier in the series he is said to have died in bed at the age of 84, but Amy appears to see him at the age he was while he was in service. It is unknown whether or not he was married or had children. His personality can be described as both dreamy and intelligent. Jebediah is the great uncle of Miriam Ferguson.

Miriam and Richard Ferguson

Amy and Jamie's parents, while being mentioned in the series, are not predominant characters in the series. Their appearances often serve as a foil for the children's reactions, and at times have to be rescued by the plucky children. The mother and father each resemble a twin in demeanor, with the mother most resembling Amy and the father's personality matching Jamie's personality.

External links

• A brief description of Mostly Ghostly #2, The Leipzig Vampire