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.

Type Three

A very rare grade of

ghost

, first reported by Marissa Fittes, and the subject of much controversy ever since. Allegedly able to communicate fully with the living.

Visitor

A

ghost

.

Ward

An object, usually of

iron

or

silver

, used to keep

ghosts

away. Small wards may be worn as jewellery on the person; larger ones, hung up around the house, are often equally decorative.

Water, running

It was observed in ancient times that

ghosts

dislike crossing running water. In modern Britain this knowledge is sometimes used against them. In central London a net of artificial channels, or runnels, protects the main shopping district. On a smaller scale, some house-owners build open channels outside their front doors and divert the rainwater along them.

Wraith

fn2

A dangerous

Type Two ghost

. Wraiths are similar to

Spectres

in strength and patterns of behaviour, but are far more horrible to look at. Their

apparitions

show the deceased in his or her dead state: gaunt and shrunken, horribly thin, sometimes rotten and wormy. Wraiths often appear as skeletons. They radiate a powerful

ghost-lock

. See also

Gallows Wraith

,

Raw-bones

.

About the Author

Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford in 1970. After studying English Literature at York University, he moved to London, where he worked as an editor in a publishing firm. He is the author of the best-selling BARTIMAEUS sequence, which is published in 35 languages and has sold 6 million copies worldwide. As well as four other novels: HEROES OF THE VALLEY, THE LAST SIEGE, THE LEAP and BURIED FIRE, Jonathan is now writing a chilling new series called LOCKWOOD & CO. He lives in Hertfordshire with his family.

Also by Jonathan Stroud

Buried Fire

The Leap

The Last Siege

Heroes of the Valley

The Bartimaeus series

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Golem’s Eye

Ptolemy’s Gate

The Ring of Solomon

The Amulet of Samarkand: Graphic Novel

Lockwood & Co.

The Screaming Staircase

www.lockwoodbooks.co.uk

www.jonathanstroud.com

LOCKWOOD & CO.: THE WHISPERING SKULL

AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 15870 6

Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

A Penguin Random House Company

This ebook edition published 2014

Copyright © Jonathan Stroud, 2014

Cover illustration © Alessandro ‘Talexi’ Taini, 2014

Interior illustrations copyright © Kate Adams, 2014

First Published in Great Britain

The right of Jonathan Stroud to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.