Mostly Ghostly facts for kids

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Mostly Ghostly is a fun series of books written by the famous children's horror author R. L. Stine. These books are made for kids around 11 to 14 years old, especially those in middle school. The exciting stories from the books have even been turned into movies!

Books in the Series

Here are the books in the Mostly Ghostly series:

• Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2004)
• Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (2004)
• One Night in Doom House (2005)
• Little Camp of Horrors (2005)
• Ghouls Gone Wild! (2005)
• Let's Get This Party Haunted! (2005)
• Freaks and Shrieks (2005)
• Don't Close Your Eyes! (2006)

What the Story is About

The main character is an 11-year-old boy named Max Doyle. He suddenly gains a special power: he can see ghosts! Max soon meets two ghost kids, Nicky and Tara. They are trying to find their parents, who also became ghosts.

Nicky and Tara make a deal with Max. If he helps them figure out how they died and what happened to their parents, they will help make his life better. But usually, their help just makes things worse! Even so, Max keeps trying to solve the mystery. The three friends go on many silly adventures and meet different villains.

Meet the Characters

Max Doyle

Max is the main character of the series. He is the only person in his town who can see ghosts, which makes him a bit psychic. Even though he is friends with ghosts, he is mostly a normal kid. He starts out at 11 years old and then turns 12. Max is very smart, but he is not good at sports. This makes his dad a little disappointed. Max is also not very popular at his middle school and often gets picked on.

Nicky Roland

Nicky is a ghost boy. He lost his parents, who were ghost-catchers, when an evil ghost named Phears escaped from ghost prison. Phears turned Nicky's whole family into ghosts. Nicky is Tara's brother. At first, he didn't really trust Max, but he seems to like him more in the later books. Nicky is 11 and a half years old.

Tara Roland

Tara is a ghost girl and Nicky's sister. Like her brother, she became a ghost when Phears escaped and turned her family into ghosts. Tara is a friendly ghost. She liked Max right away, unlike Nicky. She tries hard to help Max, but her efforts often lead to more trouble! Tara is 9 years old.

Colin Doyle

Colin is Max's older brother. He often picks on Max and tries to embarrass him. Colin loves to play pranks on Max whenever he gets the chance. He is very popular, good at sports, and strong. All the high school girls think he is good-looking. Max's dad even thinks Colin is funny when he embarrasses Max. Unlike Max, Colin cannot see ghosts.

Mr. and Mrs. Roland

These are Nicky and Tara's parents. They were ghost-catchers who captured the evil ghost Phears. When Phears escaped, he got angry and turned the Rolands into ghosts. In the fourth book, Little Camp of Horrors, they finally meet their children again. However, they leave soon after to continue their mission of destroying Phears.

Phears

Phears is a very evil ghost. He was captured by the ghost-catchers Mr. and Mrs. Roland. He was so angry about being caught that he broke free. He also freed other evil ghosts that the Rolands had captured. To get revenge, he turned the Rolands into ghosts. Once he was free, his only goal was to destroy the Roland family. His full plans are still a mystery.

Mr. Doyle

Mr. Doyle is Max and Colin's dad. He usually takes Colin's side in arguments because he is very proud of his athletic son. He also sometimes teases Max when Colin is not around. Like the rest of his family (except Max), he cannot see ghosts.

Mrs. Doyle

Mrs. Doyle is Max and Colin's mom. She is very allergic to cats. She usually takes Max's side in arguments because she doesn't think bullying is funny. However, if Max gets into trouble, she sometimes takes Colin's side, even if Colin is the one who caused the problem. She also cannot see ghosts.

Traci

Traci is a popular girl at Max's middle school. Max has a crush on her. With some help from Nicky and Tara, Max actually manages to impress her sometimes. She has blonde hair in the books, but in the movie Mostly Ghostly, her hair is black.

Aaron

Aaron is Max's 12-year-old best friend. He wears swim goggles instead of regular glasses and doesn't like to do his homework. Max's parents don't really like their friendship. Aaron always seems to have a new plan or idea.

Mrs. Murray

Mrs. Murray is the Principal of Max's school. She is also the person who announces Max's magic act.

Buster

Buster is Max's loyal dog. He doesn't do a lot in the stories, but he is always there for Max. He also helped Max discover a magic spell: "From the light of earth the dark descends, should they return that all depends, when hands..." The rest of the spell is found later in the series.

Other Movies

The Mostly Ghostly book series has also been made into three movies:

• Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2008)
• Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (2014)
• Mostly Ghostly: One Night in Doom House (2016)