Spindlewood

By: Freddie Kölsch

Published by Balzer + Bray, 2026-07-21

Born skeptic Lilac Black knows ghosts aren’t real – until she is thrust into the secret world of seers and spirits at the Spindlewood School. Perfect for fans of The Clackity and The Swifts.

Lilac Black does not believe in ghosts. She knows the séances her uncle conducts aren’t real. So when Lilac pretends to talk to a spirit to get him out of a tight spot, she expects a scolding, not a celebration. She certainly doesn’t expect an invitation to her uncles’ alma mater, the top-secret Spindlewood School of Seeing.

Irresistibly curious, Lilac enrolls at Spindlewood. But as the only Unseeing student at a boarding school full of Seers, she has to bluff her way through classes like Summoning, Banishment, and Theory of the Beyond. As if her big deception wasn’t enough, something is very wrong on campus.

Spirits send cryptic messages warning of danger, and every ghost at Spindlewood seems drawn to a secret door deep in the library basement. Something is waiting down there...something related to the long-ago deaths of Lilac’s parents. Lilac and Emmanuelle will need to use all their powers—or at least their wits and courage—to save Spindlewood from a terrifying fate.