On the Trail of the Ghost

“On the Trail of the Ghost,” made for kids ages 7 to 10, turns your backyard, a park, or your house into an old estate where a very shy little ghost lives, one who is too bashful to show itself and leaves five clues behind so that the kids can find it. Nobody is scared here: you are looking for a friend. The clues all belong to this kind ghost: trails of glittering dust to follow along the path, a little bell that jingles in one direction, a forgotten sheet to pick out among several, a message written in mirror writing to read, and a map of the estate to complete. The kids move, search, compare, and figure things out, trail by trail, until they find the little ghost and treat it to a snack. Every clue points clearly to the next one, without ever going in circles. The book includes the clue cards, an estate map to customize, an investigation journal to fill in, and a guide for the grown-up that sets up the trail in a few minutes. At the last stop, every player earns a Friendly Ghost Hunter diploma to cut out and fill in. The guide also offers options for different places, backup hints, and a shorter version for the youngest players.