Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost! by Cornelia Funke

From the Publisher

Can Tom and the team “dampen the spirit”–permanently!–of a fiery phantom, or are they about to get burned?
Boy hero Tom, Hugo the Averagely Spooky Ghost, and famed ghoul hunter Hetty Hyssop have formed an agency dedicated to dealing with difficult apparitions. No spook can defeat them–until their too close encounter with a Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost.
This superheated specter (or “GILIG,” in ghosthunter-speak) has taken over the penthouse suite of a beachfront hotel, where it’s passing its eternal vacation by turning guests into ghosts themselves!
Maybe Hugo’s slime can douse the flaming phantom–or maybe the ghosthunters’ plan is doomed to go up in smoke. . . . Get scared silly!


From the Audio Download edition.

Children's Literature

Number two in the "Ghosthunter Series," this ghost fighting book comes to us from the award winning author of Inkheart, Inkspell, Dragon Rider and The Thief Lord. Aimed at younger readers than her novels, these books are light, fluffy, and fun. The characters are caricatures, as is appropriate for a ghostly fantasy. The story is simple and enlivened by the author's own humorous drawings. What grade school reader does not enjoy blustering bad guys, a funny ghost, a kid hero, and lots and lots of icing, saliva, and slime? More silly than scary, this book shows interested readers the acronyms and lingo of the ghost world, such as GILIG for Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost, and there is an appendix at the back of the book lest readers forget. Also in the back, readers will find instructions on how to handle encounters with various ghosts, including how to bring humans back to life after they have been turned into fire ghosts.

Veronica SchwartzCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

Gr 3-5
All of the quirky characters are back in this delightful sequel (Chicken House, 2006) to Cornelia Funke's Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (Chicken House, 2006). Nine-year-old Tom, Hugo, the Averagely Spooky Ghost, and ghoul hunter Hetty Hyssop are called to a fancy beachfront resort where the guests are being turned into ghosts. Armed with the tools of their trade, cake icing and champagne, the trio quickly finds the root of the problem-a Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost-and uses all of their courage and skills to defeat it and save the remaining guests at the resort. Veteran voice actor John Beach skillfully brings to life the madcap adventures by giving each character a unique voice that conjures up fantastic images in listeners' minds. This enjoyable story will thrill both fans of and those new to the series. A must have for every collection.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-In this sequel to Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (Scholastic, 2006), the phantom-fighting team is summoned to the remote Seafront Hotel to deal with another case of otherworldly mischief. The clues-hot water, steam, and sulfurous odors-seem to indicate the presence of a harmless Fire Ghost, but when Tom and Hetty Hyssop try to tackle the sizzling spook, they discover that there is a much more dangerous entity involved. Then Seafront guests begin disappearing, and the duo realize that they are outmatched. Only the third member of the crew, Hugo, an ASG (Averagely Spooky Ghost), has the occult skills to battle the sinister Lightning Ghost before it incinerates the hotel-and everybody in it. The Ghosthunters are delightfully diverse: nine-year-old Tom is a cool-headed, cautious type; Hetty is a feisty, no-nonsense senior citizen; and complaining, pouting, ego-tripping Hugo is a reluctant contributor but always comes through in the end. Much of the humor is conveyed through crisp, lively dialogue and dramatic scene descriptions. While the team's off-the-wall techniques are generally played for laughs, there are also some genuinely scary moments. Black-and-white cartoon illustrations add to the fun. A winning combination of chills and chuckles.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Intrepid veteran Hetty Hyssop, her young amanuensis Tom and their moody, slime-oozing spectral associate Hugo nearly meet a fiery doom in this smoothly translated import, the second episode of four originally published in Germany. Responding to the summons of a seaside hotel's manager, the Ghosthunters expect to find only a minor fire ghost to snag-but are instead confronted by a huge GILIG (see title), a spirit so powerful that The Big Ghost Encyclopedia warns readers to avoid contact at all costs. Standing fast as the hotel takes heavy damage and guests flee in terror (some of this last, to be sure, caused by Hugo's pranks), the Ghosthunters discover the GILIG's weakness just as they're about to be turned into ash, and the day is saved. Funke closes with a manual for prospective ghosthunters, plus an elaborate taxonomy of ghostly types, from ASG (Averagely Spooky Ghosts, which is Hugo's category) to FOFUG (Foggy Fug-Ghost). Replete with both spooks and with comically cluttered illustrations, this will win many new fans. (Fantasy. 9-11)

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