Book cover: "The Haunted Mountain" by Mollie Hunter

Sorry it's been so long between posts.¹

• Title: The Haunted Mountain
• Author: Mollie Hunter (1922-2012). Her full name was Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith and she was known for her fantasy-tinged tales that are inspired by Scottish history or folklore. Her 2012 obituary in The Scotsman notes: "She produced most of her books from her home in Milton, a small village near Drumnadrochit in the Highlands, becoming totally immersed in her characters. ... Mollie spent a great deal of her time touring schools and libraries and was made particularly welcome in the United States."
• Illustrator and dust jacket designer: Trevor Ridley, who also illustrated at least one Ruth Manning-Sanders book (Stories from the English and Scottish Ballads).
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
• Publication date: 1972 (my copy is the 1974 reprint edition)
• Pages: 127
• Format: Hardcover
• Dust jacket price: £2 net
• Provenance: This book once belonged to Mary Lou White and it has an inscription from the author: "For Mary Lou, Best wishes from Mollie Hunter. 11/7/78"
• Dust jacket excerpt: "There is no doubt that the mountain called Ben MacDui in the Highlands of Scotland is haunted, as this story of MacAllister tells. MacAllister lived long ago in those parts, and he was a very stubborn man. He ignored the Skeelie Woman's² warning not to defy the strange creatures that went by name of 'the Good People' — fairy people they would have been called in English, though they were not at all as fairies are sometimes imagined to be."
• Excerpt #1: MacAllister had a good distance to travel to Peigi-Ann's home — five or six hours riding altogether, in fact — for the track to it was by way of a lairig, as they call a mountain pass, and this lairig was a long one that cut right through the Cairngorm Mountains . The Lairig Ghru — the Gloomy Pass — it is called, for it is a wild and desolate lace and even in high summer that are stretches of it that never see the sun.
• Excerpt #2: "I want more of these!" the Skeelie Woman exclaimed, holding up her fist with the little store of cairngorms clenched in it. "Bring me more of them Fergus — bring me a great double handful of them! If I cannot be part of the world of the sidhe, I want some of the treasure that belongs to it."
• Excerpt #3: The heap of grey stone that was once An Ferla Mor is easy to see among the red granite rock of Ben MacDui, and the lost jewels still lie where they fell around it. The gleaming gold of them among the rocks is easy to see, too, and anyone who chooses may climb the mountain to gather them. However, it would have to be a very brave person indeed who did this ...
• Rating on Goodreads: 4.18 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review: In 2018, Bridgett Leslie wrote: "I read this as a child, and it struck me enough that I have remembered it over the years. It was fun to re-read it as an adult. It did not frighten me the way it did when I read it as a nine-year-old, but it was still enjoyable."
• Rating on Amazon: a sterling 4.9 stars (out of 5)
• Amazon review excerpt #1: In 2009, Jo J wrote: "Was disappointed with the quality of books available for my kids ages 7 and 9 and looked for books I read as a child that were fun and clean. Was pleased to find Haunted Mountain for them. It has a great mix of adventure, fantasy, mystery, and fright that is perfect for kids."
• Amazon review excerpt #2: In 2004, Laura Day wrote: "Only true bibliophiles will understand when I ask: Do you remember those books that touched you when you were young? Those that simply spurred you to read further and become a genuine book lover? The Haunted Mountain was mine. It was a book that I read and promptly lost, and couldn't for the life of me remember the author's name or the title! It was a labor of love trying to discover this book for the second time! After countless internet searches I have finally found it! Mollie Hunter is amazing! ... There are elements of magic, love, lore, and sacrifice woven expertly throughout Hunter's novel. This book is an absolute jewel!"
• Another good review: Check out Nick Campbell, who calls it "a cosy novel for the autumn months."

Footnotes

1. In a nutshell, on top of work, I've spent the past month taking care of two dozen indoor cats (four of whom had/have health issues and multiple veterinarian visits), the outdoor feral cats who are trying to weather the 110-degree heat (Mamacita, Creamsicle, Splash, Yinzer, Meowmix and Marmalade), a fledgling raven named Poe who was blown here during a dust storm and now comes for daily snacks alongside the wary cats, a gaggle of baby skunks (one of whom jumped into the pool three times, requiring three rescues) and a raccoon the size of Godzilla. In good news, former outdoor-cat Gumball has made an excellent adjustment to living inside among the other cats. 

2. "Skeelie wife" is an old Scottish term for a woman credited with great or supernatural ability to cure ailments. Their duties often involved assisting in the delivery of babies. And the skeelie wives themselves were often thought to be half-human/half-fairy.