The Screaming Staircase

* UK old
* US old
* UK new
* US new

***The Screaming Staircase*** is the first book of the *Lockwood & Co.* series‏‎. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2013 and in the United States on September 17, 2013. It's story mostly follows the Annabel Ward case.

## Blurb

A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and spectres are appearing throughout the city, and they aren't exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see and eradicate these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Investigation Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business.

In *The Screaming Staircase*, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independently of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall's legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?

## Plot

### Part I: The Ghost

#### Chapter 1

Lucy and Lockwood are waiting at 62 Sheen Road, for their client, a Mrs. Hope, to greet them at the door, so they can begin their psychic investigation after they receive reports of Mrs. Hope's dead husband, Mr. Hope, returning to haunt the house and his wife. The two of them have just been chased by an Irish dockworker after Lockwood offended him. Instead, they are surprised by Mrs Hope's daughter, Suzie Martin, who arrives and informs them that her mother was unwilling to visit 62 Sheen Road again, as the apparitions had been growing stronger, night by night. Suzie Martin hands them the keys and leaves hurriedly in fear of the effects of The Problem. Lucy and Lockwood decide to finish the case that night as they are likely to be removed from the case the next morning. Then, they step into the house. After using their respective Talents, and experiencing some strong ghostly phenomena, including a knocking that Lucy hears by the flight of stairs, far too early in the day, they decide to drink some tea before continuing their investigation.

#### Chapter 2

While the kettle is boiling, Lucy and Lockwood check their pouches once more. After the tea is ready, the two of them read over the descriptions and sensations given by their client about the Visitor, and decide it is a probable Type Two. Once they finish their tea and snacks, they continue their investigation. They wander the bottom floor for an hour, without finding any alarming signs, aside from a lower temperature compared to the kitchen, which leads them to the conclusion that the Ghost is upstairs. The moment they step on the stairs, Lucy begins hearing the knocking once more. The temperature also begins dropping and the moment they reach the landing, the knocking pauses. There are still no visible phenomena, including death glows, but malaise does begin to manifest. Lucy and Lockwood begin to test the second-floor doors, one by one. They decide that the study (which was the second door that they had opened) is the place where the Source is located. They decide to use iron filings because Lockwood forgot to bring the iron chains which leads to a short argument between the two. While Lockwood scans the other rooms, Lucy goes downstairs to bring the filings. She puts the kettle on again and when she brings the bags full of iron upstairs, she sees the ghost of a girl standing in the study.

#### Chapter 3

Lucy begins to go into ghost lock but breaks away, and she gently calls for Lockwood to aid her, but not too loudly because fear heightens the powers of the ghost. Lockwood doesn’t respond the first three times, saying he has a theory that the ghost is not of Mr. Hope, but of another person who had a very powerful death-glow. The ghost begins to whisper that she is very cold. But Lockwood does respond the moment Lucy urgently tells him that he is right and that there is proof of his theory right on the landing. When he comes out, the ghost repeats that she is cold several times before lashing out and attacking both of them. Lucy is taken by surprise despite having her rapier drawn and nearly falls over the stairs. Before she can fall over, however, Lockwood drives the ghost back into the study and Lucy hoists herself up before the ghost can come back. Lucy is disappointed in herself for failing to react in time and Lockwood says that if she is feeling weak, they would go back home. She declines and they have a short argument about the iron chains once more, but they calm down and decide to finish the case quickly. They decide that the Source is in the chimney breast and clear away the papers in the room. Lucy places a large semicircle of iron filings a yard away from the wall along with the circle of filings in the middle. They also get additional lanterns for sufficient lighting and Lockwood tells Lucy his theory that Mr. Hope probably disturbed the ghost’s Source while converting the room to a study. And so, they begin picking at sections of the wall with pocketknives and crowbars.

#### Chapter 4

Lockwood continues to break into the wall while Lockwood also points out how the wall was filled in at one point. Lucy adjusts the filings they accidentally kicked out of place and presses her hand against the floorboards to check for psychic residue. Lockwood begins breaking into the wood. She begins to hear three thuds, which grow sharper in sound and eventually repeat; it is the sound of Mr. Hope’s fall. Lucy tells Lockwood, and he tells her to not get unsettled because she is “the weak one,” which leads to another brief argument between the two. Lucy keeps guard while Lockwood continues breaking into the wall. Lockwood begins to get close to the Source and the ghost starts to rise. The lanterns begin flickering and the doors slam open. Lucy gets out a silver net to place over the Source. The ghost-girl stands just in front of Lucy behind the iron filings. Lockwood pulls the wooden board free and nearly topples, but Lucy catches him before he does. When the board is finally pried free, Lockwood falls on top of Lucy because both of them are startled by the female body that they see in the wall cavity. They are beyond the protection of the iron filings. The ghost nearly ghost-touches Lockwood because he is unable to pull his rapier free, and Lucy is unable to find her rapier as well, so she throws a magnesium flare at the ghost. The papers in the study begin to burn while Lockwood escapes the wrath of the ghost. Lockwood tells Lucy to follow Plan E, which involves Lockwood distracting the ghost while Lucy takes care of the Source. Lucy goes to the section of the wall with the body, and the ghost begins to attack her as well. She places the net over the body, but she grabs the necklace around the girl’s neck because she pities her and wants to remember her. She stuffs the necklace in her coat pocket and the psychic pressure in the room goes away. However, the room still continues to burn, and, as the only way to escape, Lucy and Lockwood head to jump out the window. They are perched at the windowsill about to jump and having a small argument when Lucy is hit by a wooden board and falls. Lockwood tries to catch her, but he falls in the process.

### Part II: Before

#### Chapter 5

Lucy was born in a small, rural town in the north of England. Her father was an alcoholic who died when Lucy was five years old after being run over by a train. The Untimely Death regulations were followed, according to procedure, so her father’s spirit wouldn’t return. Lucy’s mother, on the other hand, washed clothes for the town and did not care much for her brood of seven daughters. Lucy knew that she had the Talent of Listening from a young age, after having several experiences of hearing ghostly phenomena. Talent runs in her family, but Lucy has significantly better Talent. For this reason, her mother signed her up to become an agent the moment Lucy turned eight years old. Lucy’s powerful Talent eventually led her to finish Grades 1-3 quicker than most. Before she could complete Grade 4, however, the Wythburn Mill incident occurred, in which her teammates perished. And so, she runs away to London to begin a new life.

#### Chapter 6

Lucy applies for a position in an agency called Lockwood & Co. after spending two weeks in London and being rejected by seven agencies in six days. She heads for her interview at 35 Portland Row and meets George Cubbins, who tells her to wait till their other interviewee leaves. Both of them hear a scream emit from within the house followed by the previous interviewee leaving, and then George tells her that it is time for her interview. Lucy heads into the house and sees a collection of haunted antiques lining the shelves and meets her interviewer, Anthony Lockwood. He welcomes her in, tells George to put the kettle on and begins her interview. During the interview, Lucy is embarrassed, causing a short argument between her and George. Lockwood calms both of them down and the interview ensues. Lucy passes the interview with flying colors and is accepted into Lockwood And Co.

#### Chapter 7

Lockwood shows Lucy around 35 Portland Row, showing her the attic (which serves as her new bedroom), his and George’s rooms, the basement (which serves as the headquarters of Lockwood And Co.), and the door of a room which he asks her to not go into. He also runs through the list of items which he used in her interview. George then calls both of them for dinner, which precedes a conversation about Lockwood's past. Afterward, Lucy lies down in her new bedroom, ruminating about her new colleagues.

#### Chapter 8

The next morning, a new client by the name of Mr. Potter comes to Portland Row. He reports instances of spectral phenomena. Lockwood agrees to investigate it.

## TV adaptation

The events of *The Screaming Staircase* were adapted as the first three episodes of the first season of Netflix's *Lockwood & Co.* TV series: "This Will Be Us," "Let Go Of Me," and "Doubt Thou The Stars."