• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Is this place actually haunted by ghosts? Or something even more terrifying?

Xander thinks the George Wickerman Hospital would be the perfect setting for Spirits and Specters, a role-playing game where players go on “missions” to find evidence of paranormal activities. According to local legend, tuberculosis patients were used as test subjects in medical experiments that ended tragically, and their disfigured ghosts walk the hallways of this now-abandoned building. What better location to go ghost hunting? Even though they didn’t really believe the rumors, Xander and his friends soon begin to suspect that they are not alone.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! Available in French as L’hôpital hanté.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer Haunted Hospital in two accessible editions. The audiobook features alternate text descriptions of images, including the cover. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Raised in Morinville—a small town north of Edmonton, Alberta—Marty Chan is a playwright, radio writer, television story editor, and young adult author. Marty graduated from the University of Alberta in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (English major/drama minor). He fell into improv comedy when he joined Edmonton Theatresports, but his paralyzing stage fright resulted in ”penguin arm“ acting, forcing him to abandon performing and take up writing. His signature play, Mom, Dad, I’m Living With A White Girl, has been produced across Canada, published three times, and broadcast as a radio drama. The stage play won an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Best New Work and the Adams Chinese Theatre Award at Harvard University. In October 2004, the play had a successful Off Broadway run in New York. Marty was a regular contributor to CBC Radio Edmonton from 1994 to 2000. His weekly commentary series, ”The Dim Sum Diaries,“ recounted his misadventures as the only Chinese kid in a small prairie town. These weekly commentaries were adapted into a half-hour television program (The Orange Seed Myth) which won a Gold Medal for Best Television Pilot at the Charleston World Film and Television Festival, and earned Marty a Gemini nomination for best writing in a children’s program. In 2004, Thistledown Press launched Marty’s first young adult novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, which has become a hit with young readers across Canada. Resource Links magazine rated listed it as one of the Best Books of 2004 for grades 3 to 6. Marty was the first playwright in residence at the Citadel Theatre. He also served as the chair of the Edmonton Arts Council and taught playwriting at the U of A. He received an Arts Achievement Award and a Performance Award from the City of Edmonton. He also earned a Horizon Award from the university for his contributions to theatre. Currently, Marty resides in Edmonton with his wife Michelle and their two cats, Buddy and Max.

Marty Chan's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection

“An immersive, page-turning ghost hunt.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Well-paced and has a good, creepy atmosphere...another good title from the “Orca Currents” series, and it would be a positive addition to an intermediate school library or classroom bookshelf.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“A treat for any young teen who loves action and mild frights.”

School Library Journal (SLJ)