Title: Down a Dark Hall
Author: Lois Duncan
First published September 1, 1974
192 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9780440918059 (ISBN10: 0440918057)
Rating: 3.76
Overview
Have you ever wondered why some people and organizations are able to achieve remarkable things while others struggle to repeat their success? It all comes down to their ability to start with why.
In Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek explores the powerful idea of The Golden Circle and how it provides a framework for building successful organizations, leading movements, and inspiring people. Drawing on real-life stories of influential leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers, Sinek shows how starting with why can lead to greater innovation, influence, and profitability.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking to inspire others or find inspiration themselves, whether in big business or small, in the nonprofit world or in politics. Discover the power of starting with why and learn what it truly takes to lead and inspire.
About the Author
Lois Duncan, whose birth name is Lois Duncan Steinmetz, was an accomplished American author who primarily wrote books for children and young adults. Her crime thrillers were controversial at times, given her target audience.
Duncan’s parents, Lois Steinmetz and Joseph Janney Steinmetz, were well-known magazine photographers. She was born in Philadelphia and raised in Sarasota, Florida.
Duncan started writing and submitting manuscripts to magazines when she was ten years old and sold her first story at thirteen.
Duncan attended Duke University from 1952 to 1953 but dropped out to start a family after getting married. During this time, she continued to write and publish articles in magazines such as Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, and Reader’s Digest.
Throughout her career, she published more than 300 articles. After her first marriage ended in divorce, Duncan moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to teach journalism at the University of New Mexico.
She earned a BA in English in 1977. In 1965, she married Don Arquette and had two more children with him.
Duncan was most well-known for her suspense novels for teenagers. Some of her works have been adapted for film and television, including the 1997 movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was based on her novel of the same name.
Other made-for-TV movies include Stranger with My Face, Killing Mr. Griffin, Don’t Look Behind You, Summer of Fear, and Gallows Hill.
In 1989, Duncan’s youngest child, Kaitlyn Arquette, was murdered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, under suspicious circumstances. Duncan wrote Who Killed My Daughter?, which details the facts and conjecture about the still-unsolved case.
Her second book about her daughter’s murder, ONE TO THE WOLVES: ON THE TRAIL OF A KILLER, contains all the new information Kait’s family has uncovered from private investigation.
Duncan’s 1971 children’s book Hotel for Dogs was made into a theatrical movie in 2009, starring Emma Roberts. Scholastic has republished the book along with two sequels, News for Dogs (2009) and Movie for Dogs (2010).
Duncan’s Gothic suspense novel, DOWN A DARK HALL, is currently being adapted into a movie and is expected to be released in 2016.
You can follow Lois on Twitter.
Editoral Review
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan is a classic novel in the young adult horror genre, published on September 1, 1974. Duncan was a prolific author of young adult fiction, and Down a Dark Hall is considered one of her most significant works.
The novel centers around Kit Gordy, a sixteen-year-old girl who is sent to Blackwood Boarding School to improve her academic performance. The school is housed in a gothic mansion and is run by the stern and mysterious Madame Duret.
Kit soon discovers that the other students at the school are highly gifted in the arts, music, and sciences but have been sent there for unspecified reasons. Kit begins to experience strange hallucinations and discovers that the school is not what it seems.
The setting of Blackwood Boarding School is vividly described, and the gothic atmosphere adds to the tension and mystery of the plot. Duncan creates a sense of foreboding and menace through her masterful use of imagery and setting.
The main characters are all well-drawn, and Kit is a relatable and sympathetic protagonist. Madame Duret is a formidable antagonist, and the other students, including the enigmatic Jules, are intriguing and mysterious.
The themes of isolation, alienation, and the search for identity are prevalent throughout the novel. Duncan explores these themes through the characters’ experiences at Blackwood Boarding School and their interactions with each other.
The novel also touches on the dangers of playing with the unknown and the consequences of crossing certain boundaries. Overall, Down a Dark Hall is a well-crafted and compelling novel.
The pacing is excellent, and the plot is full of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. The only drawback is that the ending feels rushed and somewhat unsatisfying.
In terms of its place in young adult horror fiction, Down a Dark Hall is a classic that has stood the test of time. It paved the way for many other young adult horror novels and remains a must-read for fans of the genre.
In conclusion, Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan is a classic horror novel that is well worth reading. Its themes and characters are timeless and relatable, and its setting and atmosphere are skillfully crafted.
Although the ending feels rushed, the novel as a whole is a satisfying and immersive reading experience. Highly recommended for fans of horror and young adult fiction.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
