The
Haunted Room, by A.L.O.E.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
My
term: Excellent
Shortly before moving, in a conversation discussing the “haunted room” with their uncle, the young people are challenged to search their hearts and see if they can find a “haunted chamber” there- some secret besetting sin which they are blind to, but appears plainly enough to others. They ask him to tell them what he sees as their “haunted chambers”, which he agrees to do. All are surprised, and somewhat angry when he complies with their request, and reveals that Bruce's besetting sin is pride, Emmie's mistrust and fear, and Vibert's selfishness.
Then they move to the new house, and Emmie soon realizes that her besetting sin is indeed the one pointed out by her uncle. She is terrified of almost everything- the storm she is caught in on arrival, the old housekeeper, the possibility of illness among the tenants, and most of all, the haunted chamber. Things go from bad to worse when she accidentally finds her way into it, and discovers not ghosts, but an evil trio who are carrying out their lawless business in the privacy of the old house. To make matters even worse, Vibert is neglecting his studies, and has fallen under the influence of a man who is teaching him to gamble, and using him as a cat's-paw for his own devices. The climax comes when Bruce mysteriously disappears and terrible news comes from London concerning Vibert. Emmie eventually overcomes her fear, and is the means of saving her brother's life, and then they travel together to London, as Bruce conquers his pride in his desire to save Vibert. In the months following, the younger brother overcomes his selfishness and learns to love others more than himself. Overall this is an excellent book, and I recommend it highly.
This book is available from Google books, and Project Gutenberg. Links below.
Gutenberg version: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35533/35533-h/35533-h.htm
Google books: http://books.google.com/books/about/The_haunted_room_by_A_L_O_E.html?id=zv4BAAAAQAAJ
(Direct link to the book): http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=zv4BAAAAQAAJ&num=19&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&pg=GBS.PP1
Added 2/5/19
Few books have had such an effect on my life as A.L.O.E.’s Haunted Room. How many of us really know the depths of our own hearts? Have I considered, with any degree of depth, the idea that I may have a “pet sin” lurking in some hidden chamber of my being? A sin which, to quote Vibert, “is as plain as the nose on [my] face, only, like the nose, it is too close to [me] - too much a part of [myself] for [me] to see it?”
A.L.O.E. does not have a continuous single Scripture for a theme throughout this book. Instead the story follows the parallel between a bricked-up chamber where any sort of evil or danger can hide at will, and a portion of the heart which is never surrendered to God. If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His, (Romans 8:9) she reminds us, pointing to the fact that partial surrender to God is not enough. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1) is a call to the fearful to remember that we are not given the spirit of bondage unto fear, but called to fully trust the Lord for every aspect of our lives. Again, the message of full surrender rung loud and clear to me throughout these pages.
Charlotte Tucker emphasized the fact that our strength must come from the Lord, not ourselves. Emmie failed miserably in every attempt to conquer her mistrust as long as she looked only to herself. She did not rest on the promise, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) She did not go in the strength of the Lord my God, (Psalm 71:16a) therefore she failed. But as soon as she trusted the Lord fully, she found that, though she still feared, she could press on in the strength of the Lord, and even say when the heavens seemed to be splitting asunder: “But do not the lightnings obey God’s bidding? Is it not the voice of my Father which I hear in the thunder? Even if it bring His summons to His child, should I fear to go unto Him?”
The three main characters, Emmie, Bruce, and Vibert, show three totally different personalities and three apparently totally different struggles: Emmie does not trust God fully, therefore she is crippled by fear; Bruce is too proud to seek advice, own a fault, or look to anyone but himself for help; Vibert is blinded by his own selfishness to the fact that he causes difficulties to all around him, even when he seriously endangered Emmie by a foolish prank.
I at once identified the most with Bruce. Level-headed, clear-sighted, and determined to do exactly what is right, at least, what is right in his own stern eyes, Bruce has little to no patience with the selfish folly of Vibert and scarcely more with the unreasoning fears of his sister. Pride blinds him to his own faults while revealing those of others in stark bareness. It takes a near death experience to finally enlighten him to the fact that he is not trusting in the Lord, but himself, and to teach him to submit to others.
I already knew I had a problem with pride before I read the book, but what surprised me was the gradual discovery that I had a problem with selfishness too. To be sure, my version of selfishness was pretty different from Vibert’s, but when I really got down to the nitty gritty, so to speak, and looked at what the Lord was revealing to me about my own heart, I realized that many of my actions were me-centered, not Christ-centered or others-centered. This discovery was not a lightbulb moment which came while I was reading the book, rather it was the result of more careful attention to the real motives in my heart which formed the basis for actions. This attention was largely prompted by reading The Haunted Room.
A direct effect of reading this book was that I began asking my siblings what they thought of my character. I wanted to know if there was some sin that was as plain as the nose on my face, but, like my nose, too close for me to see it. They actually agreed with my new assessment and were rather surprised that I would ask such a question.
I have since read The Haunted Room a number of times and have been blessed every time. Never again can I peacefully sink into the idea that I fully know the inner workings of my own heart, aside from the enlightening power of God’s Holy Spirit. It has also reminded me that true victory comes from God alone.
I wrote the above "journal entry" for the Lamplighter summer reading challenge (2018).
