The Watcher in the Woods by Florence Engel Randall

(pb; 1980: YA novel)

From the back cover

“Jan had felt it the very first day, walking up to the door of the old house. She ahd known the watcher was there as they knocked and waited for old Mrs. Carstairs to come. And the little old woman, glancing at the woods, had known it was there, too.

“No one wanted to discuss it, certainly not mom or dad. Then mirrors were mysteriously broken, the TV began to transmit strange programs, and ten-year-old Ellie began hearing strange songs and receiving even stranger messages. Jan couldn’t explain it, but she was afraid.

“It hadn’t been easy for Jan, moving to this new town and starting a new school when she was almost sixteen. Meeting Mark seemed to make it better, but would he believe her if she told him about the watcher in the woods?”

Review

Watcher is a fun, sometimes rambling read, with its dread-lite atmosphere of constant paranoia and lackadaisical characters. Its use of supernatural/science fiction and mystery makes it worthwhile, but not great, stuck-at-the-DMV distraction.

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The resulting film was released stateside on October 9, 1981. John Hough and an uncredited Vincent McEveety directed it.

Bette Davis played Mrs. Aylwood. Lynn-Holly Johnson played Jan Curtis. Kyle Richards played Ellie Curtis. Carroll Baker played Helen Curtis. David McCallum played Paul Curtis. Benedict Taylor played Mike Fleming. Ian Bannen played John Keller. Georgina Hale played “Young Mrs. Aylwood.”