Scritch Scratch

“Get a grip on yourself, Claire. He’s not even talking about ghosts yet. And even if he starts, none of it is real. Sure, I used to think it was when I was little, but not anymore. I’m a scientist now. Scientists know better than to believe in things like ghosts.”

This passage shows how Claire uses her interest in science as a tool for Overcoming Fear, especially her fear of ghosts. She believes that science can help her find rational explanations for things that frighten her. Although it turns out that ghosts are real, Claire will still be able to use the scientific method to investigate the mystery. Claire’s stern language to herself shows how she hasn’t learned to acknowledge her feelings and show self-compassion, part of her character’s development.

“The next fifteen minutes are boring, since traffic is moving like a turtle and Dad is droning on about some disaster involving a boat called the SS Eastland. Apparently, it sank in the Chicago River right at the intersection of LaSalle Street and Wacker Drive. A lot of people drowned.”

This is an example of the novel’s use of foreshadowing, especially as a clue for the mystery plotline. This detail is mentioned casually among other tragic disasters in Chicago’s history. Claire does not know it yet, but the SS Eastland is the key to solving the mystery of boy 396.

“I laugh to myself as he continues explaining, because really, how could anyone believe in a devil baby with red eyes? Nineteen thirteen must have been a wild time, because the rumor of a child with horns, scaly skin, and pointed ears apparently had everyone talking.”

Here the novel makes one of its numerous local history references in order to embed the narrative in contextual fact and culture. The Demon Baby of Hull-House is one of Chicago’s most famous ghost legends and is thought to have inspired Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby. This passage is a good example of Lindsay Currie’s creation of Claire’s voice, which is often humorous and sardonic.

“If something is missing, it isn’t mine. Still, the feeling is eerie. It seeps through my skin and settles into my bones. I don’t like it.”

Here the novel invokes a feeling of real fear and supernatural experience through Claire’s first-person narrative. Claire is overwhelmed with the feeling that she is missing something whenever she encounters the ghost boy. The transfer of feelings between Claire and the ghost boy prefigures their connection: She and the ghost are linked through their shared experiences, and he is trying to communicate with her using the only tools available to him.

“If I say I saw a little boy sitting here and then he vanished, Dad can twist that all up into another one of his dumb ghost stories and use it to sell more tickets. He might even write it into a book. Before I know it, he’ll make our house a stop on one of his tours. We’ll be talked about more than we already are. No thank you.”

Claire does not trust her dad not to exploit her fears for his book or his ghost tour. Because he has not proven to her that he respects her boundaries, she does not feel that she can go to him for help. Intentionally or not, he is forcing her to work on Overcoming Fear without any parental support.

“I used to tell Casley all my secrets, even the most embarrassing ones. Now I can’t tell her anything. Not about the conversation with Warner, and definitely not about how I’m not just hearing spooky things but seeing spooky things now, too.”

Just as Claire does not feel that she can talk to her father, she also believes that she cannot confide in her friend. Her insistence on doing everything alone initially makes the job of managing the haunting much more difficult than it needs to be. Claire has yet to learn that it is okay to talk to others about her feelings and experiences: She is still at the beginning of her development arc.

“I did something a scientist should never, ever do. I ignored my instincts, the instincts that told me I was right to be afraid. I was so caught up in trying to cover up my fear that I pretended it wasn’t there. How could I have been so wrong?”

This is an important turning point in Claire’s understanding and approach to her emotions. Claire trusts the scientific method to guide her to the right answers, even when she is trying to understand the paranormal. This is a creative and effective solution on Claire’s part, and it shows that she is learning to trust herself and accept her fears instead of ignoring them.

“‘I just have a lot going on,’ I blurt out.

‘All right,’ he responds. ‘Maybe you’d feel better about whatever it is if you talked to Casley about it. Have you tried that?’”

Sam helps Claire realize that it is okay to talk to others about what she is going through instead of trying to solve all of her problems alone. Talking to Casley is her best hope of Uncovering the Real Story about why their friendship has been so difficult recently.

“You didn’t see his tour, Sam! The people are obsessed with ghosts. They’re willing to pay almost seventy dollars for two hours on a bus in Chicago traffic! Dad is always complaining about bills. Mom, too. If it meant that the Spirits bus would make more money, I think he’d totally add our house as a stop.”

Because Claire doubts herself and others, she does not believe that her parents have her best interests at heart; she thinks that her father has no respect for her boundaries. Her perspective that her parents insisted that she work on the ghost bus despite being a ghost-averse 12-year-old makes her fears understandable. But the reader may also perceive that Claire’s parents are very supportive of her and have adult problems that mean that they can’t always put her preferences first. By refusing to ask for help, Claire is taking on the whole burden of resolving the haunting on her own. The creation of this secret heightens the inner conflict as the haunting progresses.

“‘I’m not scared.’ Scientists don’t get scared. They don’t have to count to get a bike out of the basement or to walk through the alley. They don’t feel light-headed and afraid on ghost tours. They don’t have to ask their parents to solve their problems. Scientists gather data, analyze it, then fix their own problems.”

Claire tries to use the scientific method as a means of Overcoming Fear and Uncovering the Real Story. While this method is helpful in the short term, it also pushes her away from others. Claire’s words shows how she idealizes “scientists” as superhuman and immune from normal emotions, making herself feel like a failure. In reality, scientists often work in teams and do not have to fix all of their own problems without involving other people.

“That’s when the counting helps. It slows down my racing brain. It evens out my breathing. It makes me braver. It also really, really embarrasses me.”

Sometimes, even the scientific method and all the rational thinking in the world are not enough to help Claire overcome her fear of ghosts. Because counting does not seem adequately brave or scientific, Claire finds it embarrassing. In fact, counting is quite a common and harmless strategy that can help people healthily manage high anxiety levels.

“Look for the story history doesn’t tell, because that might be the one that matters!”

This passage is an example of the novel’s recurrent interest in historical research and its encouragement to young readers to share this interest. Claire’s mom encourages her to focus on Uncovering the Real Story. This is yet another clue that helps Claire understand the truth about the ghost boy, whose death was largely forgotten by history.

“‘Things change, Claire. It isn’t a bad thing.’ Her lip trembles.

It is if you liked the way things were before.”

This passage fosters empathy for Claire and for Casley as it shows them trying to navigate the individual challenges of growing up. Claire fears change in her relationship with Casley because she believes that change will mean Feeling Left Behind. She has yet to learn that Casley is right: Change is not always bad, and just because Casley’s interests are changing does not mean that she and Claire cannot keep being friends.

“It was so horrible, and at the time, it seemed like if I told anyone, even you, it was like admitting it was actually happening. I didn’t want to admit that. I wanted things to stay the same.”

This passage is an example of Casley’s emotional maturity. She sympathizes with Claire’s secret rather than blaming her, showing that she understands how she felt. Casley knows this from her experience with her parents’ divorce, and Claire is now experiencing it with her ghost problem. She has been too afraid to talk about the haunting because talking about it will force her to acknowledge that ghosts are real. Paradoxically, Casley’s words show how right Claire was to finally be open with her friend.

“I think about all the times I’ve seen Emily over the past three months. I imagined that she had a perfect life at home. Perfect bedroom to go with her perfect hair and makeup. Perfect parents and perfect report cards. I even envied her perfect teeth! How could I have been so wrong?”

Uncovering the Real Story about Emily helps Claire realize that she has been making assumptions about Casley’s new friend. She now understands that she has behaved with prejudice toward Emily and that her fears have made her unkind.

“Everyone needs help sometimes, even the girls who look like they don’t. Even the girls who seem perfect.”

Claire’s new understanding of Emily helps her in her own life. This new sense of compassion helps her to be self-compassionate too. She acknowledges that it is okay to ask for help with her problems, which is something she was very resistant to in the first half of the novel.

“I just wish they trusted me. Understood me. Then Dad would stop forcing me to listen to his ghost stuff, and maybe, just maybe, I could tell them about the ghost boy.”

There is a lack of trust between Claire and her parents that goes both ways. Claire laments the fact that they do not trust her, but she has already expressed that she does not trust her dad not to exploit her for his ghost tours. Without mutual trust and communication, Claire’s dynamic with her parents cannot improve.

“Dexter Graves may be just a ghost legend to a lot of people, but he was more than that in real life. He was a person. Like the ghost boy. As much as I want to hang out with Warner, I owe it to the ghost boy to figure out his story. Something is keeping him from resting in peace, and I don’t care what it takes—I’m going to figure out what it is.”

Claire once again demonstrates her interest in Uncovering the Real Story. She has deeply internalized her mother’s instruction to look for the real story. That commitment, coupled with her scientific, systematic approach, puts her on track to solve the mystery at last. 

“I thought I was missing something or that something of mine was lost. Never once did I consider that it was the ghost boy who was missing something.”

When Claire learns the truth about who the ghost boy is, she realizes why she has felt like something was missing. The ghost boy has been projecting his own feelings of missing something onto Claire. Like Claire, the ghost boy is dealing with Feeling Left Behind by history and by his family. He has been sharing his emotions with Claire, a haunting that has led her to share her emotions with her friends and family.

“This is history. It’s important. It’s also painful, but looking at pictures like this one is the only way to show respect. To remember what happened. And that is exactly what no one else seems to be doing. In fact, it seems like the entire city has forgotten the Eastland.”

Through Claire, the novel shows why many historical tragedies ultimately fade from people’s memories. Tragedies are painful to talk about and remember, and the historical record often overlooks the stories of the individuals involved. Claire has discovered why Uncovering the Real Story is so important. This is part of the novel’s emphasis on truth and the human experience through time.

“No wonder Willie doesn’t trust my parents. He probably doesn’t trust any adults. They took him on a boat, promised him an amazing day, but instead, he drowned. He trusts me, I remind myself. He trusts me to fix this for him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Willie and Claire both distrust the adults around them. Claire realizes that she is the only one who can truly understand Willie’s experiences, which means she is now responsible for helping him move on and rest in peace.

“Suddenly, it all makes sense to me. Willie Novotny was forgotten in the morgue after that horrible tragedy, and he’s still being forgotten now.”

Claire has dealt with Feeling Left Behind and is able to recognize that Willie feels the same way. Just as Claire was eventually able to overcome the challenges in her relationship with Casley and Emily, she also does her best to help Willie move past his own negative feelings. Her willingness to understand and help him rather than see him as a threat mirrors the same personal journey with her friends and family.

“Unless Willie wasn’t just looking for someone who knew the facts. Maybe he was looking for someone who understood how he felt. Someone who felt like everyone was moving on without them. Like me.”

Claire finally understands why Willie chose her. She spends much of the book believing that he is targeting her out of malice, but, in fact, Willie simply recognizes Claire as a kindred spirit who understands Feeling Left Behind and who has the skills and determination necessary for Uncovering the Real Story.