#44 The Haunted Fort

[tomswift2002]

The Haunted Fort
Published: 1965
Written By: David Grambs

Plot: A long-distance telephone call from Chet Morton's uncle summons Frank and Joe Hardy and their staunch pal Chet to a summer art school, located near old Fort Senandaga which is reputed to be inhabited by a a ghost. The young detectives' assignment: recover two famous oil paintings stolen from the valuable Prisoner-Painter collection owned by Jefferson Davenport.

Mr. Davenport, millionaire sponsor of Millwood Art School, reveals that one of the famous Fort Senandaga pictures painted by his ancestor, General Jason Davenport, contains a clue to the hiding place of a priceless chain of gold.

Vicious threats and deadly traps beset Frank, Joe, and Chet as they search for clues to the stolen paintings and the gold treasure - a search that is complicated by a stormy feud between a proud Englishman and an equally proud Frenchman over the military history of the fort.


Other Hardy Boys Books By David Gramb: The Shore Road Mystery (1964), Footprints Under The Window (1965), The Secret Of Skull Mountain (1966), The Secret Of The Lost Tunnel (1968, co-authored)

[tomswift2002]

I'm about 12 chapters into the book.  In terms of where it falls in when David Gramb wrote the book, it was clearly written around the time of the revised Footprints Under The Window, as both books are from 1965, although I would assume that The Haunted Fort was probably written first, in order to make sure that the newest number (44) got out for 1965, whereas the revised 12 could be released later in the year or even at the start of 1966 if there was an issue with the editing and the writing of the book.

I've read The Haunted Fort a few times.  Its not one of my favorites, but it is still better than many of the Undercover Brothers & Adventures books. 

When I think of this book, I think of the fact that this is the 5th book in a row where the boys are not in Bayport for the majority of the book (Mystery of the Desert Giant, The Viking Symbol Mystery & The Mystery of The Aztec Warrior start in Bayport, but then leave for other parts.  The Haunted Fort is the same, the boys start in Bayport, but by Chapter 3 they are far from home). 

Of course re-reading it, I had totally forgotten about the sea serpent incident in the book, and now I know where the David Browne cover art for the 1992 Armada cover comes from.  (http://hardyboys.co.uk/gallery/03.php)  Of course that cover is not correct, as Frank and Joe were not in the bateau when the "Sea Serpent" was in the water (or maybe they are later in the book, however, the first sea serpent scene has the boys on the shore, before the got the bateau).

[tomswift2002]

I finished the book today and while it was interesting, a found the ending was not the best.  It came down to two of the three criminal's being known to the Hardy's.  Plus I was finding that the Hardy's kept going back to Millwood Art School and then back to the fort, and it felt a lot like filler.

[MacGyver]

I remember liking The Haunted Fort as a kid, probably because of the spooky aspect of a haunting.