Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Matthew Hamilton, a gawky 11-year-old, has just moved to Timber City, where his dad has been hired as city manager. While his older brother and sister almost immediately start making friends, Matt is more solitary. A story about ghosts appearing near Rathburn Park, home to an old mansion and, also, before a deadly fire swept through it, the original site of the town, prompts Matt to investigate. He meets a girl in old-fashioned dress, and he is thrilled when she introduces herself as Amelia Rathburn—and stymied when, shortly afterward, he learns that the only Amelia Rathburn on the premises is almost 100 years old. 
