The Pit — Ann Pilling

The Pit is a powerful story, encompassing plague-ridden London, ghosts from the past and present, and one boy's determination to solve unanswered questions and cure an old man's terror.

When an old man comes to stay with Oliver's parents, Oliver is astonished by the man's acute phobia of fleas and rats. Determined to discover the source of the old man's terror, Oliver is drawn to a demolition site, where workmen are suffering appalling mental injuries. Oliver realises that something of enormous, terrifying power has been unearthed by the workmen but before he can find out more, a terrified scream comes from the cellar of his house. Thinking the screams to be from the old man, Oliver plunges into the cellar… to find himself in plague-ridden London, trapped in the body of a boy, surrounded by plague victims.

Reviews

“Highly recommended reading for boys and girls.”
Tribune
“Horror/Fantasy readers should relish it.”
Books for Keeps

About the author

Ann Pilling was brought up in Warrington, Cheshire, and many of her books are set in the industrial North West. After reading English as London University, she taught in Buckinghamshire (the setting for The Empty Frame), then spent some time in America before returning to England and settling in Oxford. She is married with two sons and one grandson.
Ann has been writing books for children since 1983. Her first published novel was Black Harvest, the first in a series of five ghost stories.
Whenever possible, Ann retreats to the Yorkshire Dales which she calls ‘the country of my heart'.