The House of Dies Drear is a young adult novel by American author Virginia Hamilton. Dies Drear was first published 1968, and is a ghost story (maybe!) and a mystery (definitely!), told mostly from the point of view of Thomas Small, a thirteen-year-old boy. It's set in an isolated, old house full of secret passageways and hidden tunnels. The house used to be a 'station' on the Underground Railroad, the name given to a network of people dedicated to helping American slaves escape from their masters and reach freedom in the pre-Civil War era.

In 1969 this book won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for "Best Juvenile" story. In addition to the Edgar Award, Hamilton won almost a hundred other awards, including the prestigious National Book Award and a Newbery Medal in 1975 for her book M.C. Higgins, The Great. She was the first black author to win the medal.

Storytelling was a big part of Hamilton's life growing up, as she said in an interview, "My mother said that her father sat his ten children down every year and said, 'I'm going to tell you how I escaped from slavery, so slavery will never happen to you'" (source). She was drawn to writing stories for children and young adults because she had "such clear memories about being a kid" (source). Sounds like a good reason to us!

If you want to learn more about Thomas and his family after reading The House of Dies Drear, be sure and pick up a copy of The Mystery of Drear House, the second and final volume of The Dies Drear Chronicles.