Ophie's Ghosts

Ophie’s Ghosts is a young-adult historical novel by American author Justina Ireland. Originally published in 2021, the novel is set during the Jim Crow era and the Great Migration and tells the story of 12-year-old Ophelia “Ophie” Harrison. After Ophie’s father is killed by white supremacists for voting in Georgia, Ophie and her mother flee to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a better life. There, they start working for a wealthy white family in their palatial manor. Ophie, who has been able to see ghosts ever since her father’s death, discovers that the house is filled with them. She befriends a ghost named Clara and becomes curious about the girl’s mysterious death. As Ophie investigates Clara’s fate, she learns important lessons about history, love, and herself. The novel is written from the third-person point of view and explores themes such as Curiosity and Exploration as Survival Tactics, The Importance of Addressing Past Injustices, and Work as a Pathway to Agency and Exploitation.

This guide refers to the 2021 Balzer + Bray paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, and racism.

Plot Summary

One night, Ophelia “Ophie” Harrison is awakened by her panicked father, Robert, or “Daddy.” Daddy instructs Ophie to leave the house immediately with her mother, Etta, or “Mama,” as something bad is happening. In their hiding place in the woods, Ophie curls against Mama, terrified that the approaching white men will hurt them. Then, Daddy appears and assures her that she is safe. Ophie falls asleep.

In the morning, Ophie is horrified to discover that her family’s house has been burned to the ground by white supremacists and that Daddy is dead. The pastor explains that he was killed after voting in town yesterday afternoon. A confused Ophie swears that she saw Daddy just last night, but when Mama tells Ophie never to mention this again, Ophie silently realizes that she must have seen Daddy’s ghost.

Ophie and Mama relocate from their hometown of Darling, Georgia, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They move in with Daddy’s relatives: Aunt Rose, Aunt Helen, and three bratty cousins. Living quarters are tight, and Mama is afraid of overstaying their welcome. She takes a job with the wealthy white Caruthers family in hopes of saving money. Soon, she pulls Ophie out of school and makes her start working at the Carutherses’ home of Daffodil Manor, too.

Ophie assumes a position as a personal caretaker for the elderly Mrs. Caruthers. She misses school and thinks that the old woman is a snake, but she knows to keep her mouth shut. Mama has instructed her to mind her manners and to perform every one of Mrs. Caruthers’s demands without complaint. Ophie knows that if she misbehaves, they will both be in danger of losing their jobs, and if that happens, they will never be able to save enough money for their own house.

One day, a fine young woman appears in Mrs. Caruthers’s room while Ophie is performing the tea service. The woman helps Ophie prepare and pour the tea, as Ophie is unfamiliar with the practice. Ophie moves to thank her afterward, but the woman disappears.

Ophie spends the following days searching for her mysterious new friend, but no one knows who she is. One day, she finally encounters the young woman again and discovers that she is a ghost named Clara. When Ophie mentions Clara’s name to Mrs. Caruthers, the old woman has a fit and falls ill.

Ophie is curious about Mrs. Caruthers’s response to Clara’s name and starts asking questions. The groundskeeper, Henry, and the cook, “Cook,” both warn her not to pry, but Ophie does learn that Clara used to work at the manor and apparently had a good relationship with Mrs. Caruthers. However, Clara disappeared around the time of the Carutherses’ cousins’ last visit from Virginia. Mrs. Caruthers has not been the same since.

Ophie becomes increasingly interested in Clara and wonders why she hasn’t moved on yet, so she goes to Aunt Rose one day for help. Rose can also see ghosts and gives Ophie advice on how to handle the spirits. She explains that they all want something from the living and haven’t moved on because they have unfinished business. However, she warns Ophie not to trust them, as ghosts can be dangerous, too.

Ophie takes her aunt’s advice with a grain of salt and returns to Daffodil Manor more determined than ever to find Clara. Finally, one day, they run into each other in the attic. Clara explains that she was in love with Mrs. Caruthers’s son, Richard, and that although she indeed died when the cousins visited, she can’t remember what happened. Ophie is convinced that someone killed her.

Over the following days and weeks, Ophie seeks answers to the mystery of Clara’s murder. She asks the help and the ghosts for clues. Then, one day, Richard announces that the Virginia cousins are coming to visit again. Ophie wonders if they could have been involved. She asks Clara more explicit questions about her past, and Clara begins to remember what happened. She reveals that someone attacked her on the night they were meant to throw a party for the cousins.

Richard hires a few new servants in anticipation of the cousins’ arrival. One of them is a young girl named Penelope. Ophie does not like her until, one day, Penelope starts acting and speaking like Clara. Ophie soon realizes that Clara is possessing Penelope. She wants to help Clara but fears that Clara will use Penelope’s body to do something bad.

Finally, the cousins arrive. During dinner service, Richard announces that he is engaged to Edwina, a young woman who has been hanging around the house. Penelope—with Clara inside of her—lashes out, insisting that Richard can’t go through with it. She then flees the room. Ophie later finds her crying alone. Clara reveals that she and Richard were going to announce their engagement on the night of her death. She suddenly remembers who killed her, but she immediately disappears.

In Mrs. Caruthers’s room that evening, Ophie is horrified to discover Penelope—possessed by Clara’s ghost—standing over the old woman’s bed with a knife. Richard and Mama come running. Ophie addresses Penelope as Clara in an effort to draw her away from Mrs. Caruthers. Ophie then reveals what really happened. Clara was a white-passing Black woman who fell in love with Richard. When Mrs. Caruthers discovered their plans to announce their engagement, she killed Clara. Mrs. Caruthers admits the truth and then dies. The remaining characters open Mrs. Caruthers’s closet and discover Clara’s body inside.

Ophie and Mama work a while longer at Daffodil Manor. They save a good deal of money and combine it with a donation from a good Samaritan. They then buy their own house and start a new life together.